Bulloch County won’t be objecting to the annexation of a large parcel of land by the city of Statesboro, which is slated for development, despite commissioners voting to formally vocalize disapproval. Emails obtained from the county suggest that while efforts were made to file the objection, the county did not meet the state’s deadline for objection and the application was rendered void.
Bulloch County Commissioners voted on August 12 to formally object to the annexation of a 714-acre parcel of land by the City of Statesboro after a resident asked officials to consider the financial impacts on the county. The parcel is planned for a development known as Blue Fern Village, which is currently within the boundaries of unincorporated Bulloch County. If annexed by the city, the land would become home to 1,794 “townhomes, duplexes, “casitas” or small cottages and single-family homes on lots ranging from 3,500 square feet to 6,200 square feet,” according to the Statesboro Herald.
The hope by commissioners was not to halt the annexation, as that was an unlikely option, but instead come to an agreement with the county about cost-sharing and the pull on public resources by the county as the city takes on a new tax base. Read more about that meeting and vote here.
The citizen concern dealt specifically with the flooding and draining issues caused by Little Lotts Creek near Golf Club Drive. As previously reported:
“This is an unprecedented size.” Citizen Billy Anderson said the pine trees in the area, which are set to be cleared, hold a conservative estimate of two million to twenty-eight million gallons of water per day before considering sealing the ground with pavement.
“That’s the size of Cypress Lake if it was five-foot deep,” he said. “You can’t tell me that isn’t going to have a tremendous effect on that creek. We are already getting flooded out.”
Anderson said he deals with it as it pertains to his own property, but people won’t want to live in the neighborhood with the kind of flooding that will undoubtedly be exacerbated. “Folks that buy in that neighborhood aren’t going to have a clue until their neighborhood looks like Richmond Hill does right now.”
Anderson lamented that the county owns the roads and it won’t be the city’s issue to fix when everything runs downstream. “It’s going to come out of our pocket and the city’s the one getting the tax money from it.”
Commissioners heeded his concerns and opted to take action, but the vote did not cement that the objection came to fruition, as the public would learn from a Facebook post from the City of Statesboro on Monday afternoon.
Missed Deadlines
Further inquiry with the county suggested a breakdown in the process at the state level with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. James Pope, Director of Planning and Development for Bulloch County, said in an email Monday afternoon that it was the state agency that would not take action.
“Unfortunately, DCA has refused to appoint an arbitration panel, but we did attempt to file the necessary paperwork in a timely manner,” he wrote.
Records provided to TheGeorgiaVirtue.com indicate that the county did make efforts to submit the paperwork ahead of the deadline, but additional documentation from the state was required. The state was reportedly expecting the documents by the August 17 deadline, but county officials now say they were unaware of a specific deadline for the paperwork since the initial application for objection was submitted.
Emails from Juli Yoder of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs on August 19 say that the county did not provide complete notice in accordance with Georgia law.
“The City’s letter of notice was delivered to the County on July 3, 2024, per a signed affidavit of hand-delivery. The 45th day from July 3, 2024 was August 17, 2024. Thus, as of today, August 19, 2024, 47 days have passed.
The failure to submit a complete petition for annexation to DCA during the 45 day timeframe, renders the request for arbitration void. The Georgia Department of Community Affairs respectfully declines to appoint a panel in this matter.”
An email from county attorney Jeff Akins just after noon on Monday also asked DCA to reconsider its decision:
In the regular commission meeting on Tuesday, August 20, Pope briefed commissioners on the issue and noted that DCA can be ‘difficult to work with.’ He noted that in the future, the county would make an effort to get paperwork in with more lead time so as to avoid something similar happening again. In this instance, the county had only four business days from the vote until the deadline since commissioners did not move to take action until the issue was brought forth by a citizen.
Commissioner Anthony Simmons said he wanted the county to reach out the state representatives in the area because ‘not everyone wants to be in the city.’ He said it’s not fair for a developer to just come in and say ‘you’re going to be in the city.’ Currently, the pending annexation does not include any existing homes or residents.
