Pooler Community Unites in Protest Against Controversial Park...

POOLER, Ga. — On Saturday, local nature advocates guided Pooler residents on a walk to highlight areas where upcoming development projects could impact the trail adjacent to the Savannah-Ogeechee Canal.

During a Pooler City Council meeting on Monday, officials voted to amend the zoning conditions for the property located at 200 Jesup Road. This decision eliminates access via Dublin Road and instead introduces a new access point on the south side, which passes through the historic Savannah-Ogeechee Canal.

Pooler City Council has given the green light to a zoning change near the canal and park.

Standing on the trail, one can view the existing structures that once housed the Oglethorpe Speedway. However, a developer now plans to construct three new warehouses on the site.

Due to the zoning modifications, the developer’s only viable route for constructing a road is through the Savannah-Ogeechee Canal.

“This is one little spot, that I was like why here, why not over on Jimmy Deloach, put more warehouses there.” said Sevendant. “Not here, next to Tom Triplett Park, next to Savannah Ogee-Chee canal. They’re two precious resources, and they’re two little gems that the city of Pooler has in their city, and they should protect it, not destroy it.

A volunteer with the Friends of Urban Nature, Peter Van Brussel said the council’s vote was disappointing.

“This is a space that’s been used for recreation for generations, and it should be usable for generations to come,” said Van Brussel. “There’s a warehouse issue in the greater Savannah area, and they’re demolishing forests left and right. And this is just kind of a hopeful push back on a space that should be preserved.”

Brussel showed walkers where the bridge would go and gave them a visual of how much space it would take up with a tape measurer.

Some residents on the walk didn’t realize the trail was there and now consider the development a “destruction of habitat.”

Pooler City Manager Heath Lloyd said in a statement on Saturday there are still a few criteria before the developers can go through with the build.

“The access requirements were tied to the 2022 rezoning and required trucks to use Raymond Road, which, despite being rezoned to light industrial, remains a residential neighborhood. Our focus in this situation is mitigating truck traffic through the neighborhood. This change ensures truck access will come from the south and requires approval from Georgia Ports Authority, Army Corps of Engineers, and Chatham County for the new access road across the canal before any site plan approval can be issued. This protects neighborhood streets while working within the zoning put in place in 2022.”

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Pooler Community Unites in Protest Against Controversial Park and Canal Development Plans

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