Planning commissioners recommend Jenkins Farm rezoning with condition to include causeway paving plan

The Mainland Planning Commission voted 6-0 on March 3 to recommend approval of ZM-25-21, a rezoning request for 18 tax parcels along Jenkins Farm Road that would convert the properties from Forest Agricultural/Conservation Preservation to a Planned Development district and permit use of a private unpaved access easement.

Stephanie Leaf, Planning and Zoning Director, told commissioners that the applicants submitted revised plan-development text and two exhibits—an existing road exhibit and a proposed concept plan for paving the causeway—that incorporate subdivision regulation language requested by the county attorney. Leaf said the exhibits were added to the agenda packet for the meeting and recommended that the commission include them as supporting documentation in any approval.

Engineer Jake Lemmings of Robert Veil Engineering described the concept plan as a 16-foot-wide paved road along the causeway with narrow shoulders, two pull-off locations, a cul-de-sac at the paved terminus and a relocated gate. "What we're proposing here...is doing a 16 foot wide, paved road," Lemmings said, and he noted a pinch point where survey measurements showed a gravel width of roughly 17.48 feet and DNR lines limiting lateral expansion.

Commissioners pressed the applicant on shoulder width, vehicle accommodation and phasing to preserve resident access during construction. Lemmings answered that the design aims for a 2-foot shoulder where DNR setbacks permit but that the pinch point cannot accommodate the full shoulder; the paved road would be laid at the existing grade because the project cannot impact DNR lines.

County attorney John McQuig explained rights and obligations attached to private easements. "They have no obligation to contribute," McQuig said of some current easement beneficiaries who decline to pay; he added that parties who damage an easement can be required to repair it but that enforcing nonpayment or damage typically requires civil action: "A lawsuit."

After debate, commissioners voted to recommend approval of ZM-25-21 with a modification: the proposed concept plan for paving the causeway and the supporting survey exhibits are to be incorporated as part of the plan-development documentation. The motion was moved by a commissioner and seconded; the advisory recommendation now proceeds to the Glynn County Board of Commissioners, which holds final decision authority.

The commission's action is advisory; commissioners and staff repeatedly noted that the County Commission will consider the rezoning and any conditions. The commission recorded the vote as 6 to 0 in favor.