Jeff Whitten, Correspondent.

In a sense, Pembroke City Council’s vote Monday night to rezone and annex some seven acres – part of a 76-acre tract already within the city limits – could be viewed as a drop in the bucket compared to the tidal wave of growth heading its way.

It’s the third and by far the smallest request in terms of area the city has approved since Hyundai’s plans to build an electric vehicle plant in Black Creek was announced in May 2022, as developers and landowners seek to cash in on growth projections associated with the facility.

City council members, who in years past have managed to control growth, have voted to deny a number of such annexation requests in recent months, as a number of Pembroke’s approximately 2,600 residents have organized petitions and spoken out against the projects at council meetings, citing everything from concerns about quality of life to impacts on the environment.

But the three approved by council and a fourth PUD scheduled for a vote in October, will, if it gets the green light, mean Pembroke has annexed approximately 550 acres for four “planned unit developments,” or PUDS, that will add a combination of some 2,891 homes, townhomes and unspecified commercial development to the city.

The largest to date, the Warnell Tract PUD, calls for 2,000 units – a mix of single-family homes, townhomes, multi-family dwellings and commercial on more than 574 acres, only 227 of which were annexed by Pembroke. Another approved PUD will add 272 single-family residences on 124 acres, while the PUD up for a rezoning and annexation vote in October seeks to add 395 single-family homes to a 126-acre tract off Highway 119.

Monday’s vote, which followed presentations from developers and after some discussion, paved the way for the building of a 224lot development on what is known as the Garrison Tract.

here were several questions from council members – including Ed Bacon, who wants developers Lamar Smith and Jerry Konter to find a way to keep traffic from the new homes off of Garrison Street to protect residents who’ve lived there for decades.

Bacon said he wasn’t opposed to the project, but didn’t want the traffic to impact residents already there, calling it unfair to them.

Konter said there was a tradeoff, noting that residents in the area will have access to recreational opportunities in the new development.

A question from councilwoman Diane Moore regarding vinyl siding led to a lengthy presentation by Smith on the housing crisis and government regulation. Smith is among the members of the Savannah Homebuilders Association who are involved in a still-unresolved lawsuit filed in 2019 against Bryan County over its impact fees and Uniform Development Code ordinances.

In other business:

Mayor Tiffany Zeigler announced another set of informal information sessions on Sept. 23 at City Hall for residents interested in finding out what’s happening in the city. The first two-hour session, called Coffee and Conversation, is at 9 a.m., the second is at 6 p.m. It is called Let’s Discuss.

Zeigler said the sessions will give residents a chance to ask questions of city officials and are an effort to provide transparency. They will include elected officials, City Administrator Chris Benson and other staff members, and there will be coffee at both meetings, she said.

Pembroke Fire Chief Peter Waters said his department responded to 126 incidents in August, including 40 that occurred while firefighters were in Richmond Hill helping during Tropical Storm Debby.

Pembroke Police Chief Bill Collins said his department is now fully staffed with 10 officers and is also continuing to team up with the Bryan County Sheriff ’s Department to provide security for the schools in Pembroke.

Collins told council members that in the wake of the Apalachee High School shooting in Winder, he and Sheriff Mark Crowe are planning to hold active shooter training at a school in Pembroke at an as yet undetermined date.

Fernanda Camacho Hauser, the city’s director of the downtown and economic development, said there are two Faith in Blue events set for October – a tailgate at the Bryan County High School football game on Oct. 11 and a worship gathering from 3 to 5 p.m. Oct. 20 at the green space near City Hall. The city is also teaming up with Pembroke Public Library from 5 to 6 p.m. Oct. 19 for a Trick or Treat event on Railroad Street, and organizers are already taking applications for its annual Christmas parade.