Residents for Liberty County GA
Follow the Residents for Liberty County GA Facebook group for regular updates, discussions, and information regarding “all things Liberty: growth, zoning, environmental, and governmental processes.”
Help update the Liberty County Joint Comprehensive Plan by taking this survey from the Liberty Consolidated Planning Commission.
Liberty County is a place of connectivity. Natural lands that include Fort Stewart and Conservation Lands in east Liberty collectively offer north-south corridors for animals and recreation. Its river systems are the connective tissue from St. Catherines to Hinesville and beyond. The county is an indispensable part of Georgia’s State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), a statewide strategy to conserve wildlife populations and the habitats they depend upon.
Without comprehensive, intentional, collaborative planning strategies that balance conservation, community, and industry, Liberty County will cease to exist as a natural corridor.
Below you’ll find two maps. The first—”Current”—shows the current warehouse presence in chiefly East Liberty County. Thanks to rezoning and developer pressure, numerous warehouses have recently been proposed and rapidly approved for construction. The second map—”Future”—shows how many warehouses will pop up in the next 5 years. Note these new warehouses’ proximity—and therefore threat—to surrounding wetlands.
Here you see East Liberty County’s recently adopted land use map. The gray area is Sunbury/Islands Subarea—where most of the industrial rezoning has taken place. Over the last several months, in accordance with this map, many agricultural zones (demarcated in green) have been rezoned into industrial (gray), which immediately abut the residential zones (yellow and orange). The proposed commercial zones (red) are insufficient to provide any sort of adequate buffer for the existing communities, not to mention any that will be built to house the workforce drawn to Liberty as industry grows.
Transition zones are a way to taper land use from “heavy” (think industrial: 24-hour lights, traffic from trucks, noise from machinery and operations) to “medium” before hitting the “light” use (think residential: commuter car traffic, schools, playgrounds). These transition zones can be commercial, containing local businesses and public spaces, or conservation areas.
For example, a transition zone could be a “character area” that combines the more condensed development of town homes with green spaces or conservation areas.
Just south of the City of Riceboro, the timber company Weyerhaeuser proposed to construct a new log fumigation facility using the pesticide methyl bromide, a highly toxic hazardous air pollutant that has been largely phased out of production.
The people took action and Weyerhaeuser has withdrawn its application for the permit. This is a huge victory for the people of Liberty and McIntosh Counties. To all who spoke up, sent in letters, showed up at meetings, and spread the word: thank you and well done!
Toxic chemicals and pollutants aren’t just a concern for Liberty County residents; read more on our Coastal Toxins page.
Follow the Residents for Liberty County GA Facebook group for regular updates, discussions, and information regarding “all things Liberty: growth, zoning, environmental, and governmental processes.”
Visit the LCPC’s website for regular updates on Public Comment periods, land use plans, public meetings, and more regarding development in Liberty County.
The Current | 4/3/24
Coastal Courier | 2/29/24
Savannah Morning News | 12/19/23
The Current | 12/18/23
GPB | 12/11/23
Coastal Courier | 12/11/23
WTOC 11 | 12/11/23
Savannah Morning News | 12/1/23
The Current | 11/18/23
Coastal Courier | 11/17/23
Coastal Courier | 9/21/23
The Current | 5/24/23
Coastal Courier | 3/16/23
Coastal Courier | 3/9/23
WTOC 11 | 1/19/23
Coastal Courier | 1/19/23
Coastal Courier | 1/11/23
Coastal Courier | 12/14/22
Coastal Courier | 12/14/22
Please contact Susan Inman, Mid Coast Advocate, to learn more about our work in Liberty County.