This time two years ago, 60-foot-tall pine trees loomed between Interstate 95 and the residents of Rice Hope. There in Port Wentworth, they have been growing for at least 20 years, providing wildlife habitat, fresh air, shade and, most importantly for some, a sound barrier and protection from the busy highway.
By mid-June 2022, all the trees had been cut down, according to Tara Johnson, a five-year resident of Rice Hope, to fill one-story cottages in the neighborhood that was already home to hundreds of homes. He transformed the once safe and quiet neighborhood into “living next to a busy interstate with a parade of trucks day and night.” Although they knew more houses would be added, no one expected the decimation of the tree line.
Now, 28 property owners have partnered and hired a law firm, preparing to sue the city of Port Wentworth and the developers of Rice Hope. They are seeking help with expenses through a GoFundMe.
Although the lawsuit has not yet been filed, the owners allege that the city failed to conduct a comprehensive review of the plans submitted by the developer.
Furthermore, residents believe that even the solution provided by the city, a wooden fence parallel to I-95, lacked a comprehensive review of GDOT’s necessary and “easily accessible” information on road noise reduction before being implemented. implemented.
This has caused a host of problems, Johnson said: full views of I-95 from the second floor of his home, 24-hour highway noise, loss of use of outdoor areas, depreciation in the home’s value despite views of the lake and general effects on the health and well-being of the neighborhood.
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Failure to do comprehensive reviews
The site plan that initiated the removal of the entire tree line was approved by the sitting members of Port Wentworth’s 2021 planning commission and city council.
Two of those planning commission members — Rufus Bright and Gabrielle Nelson — are now current city council members, who were elected to a council that removed three incumbents in November. that year.
Within months of site plans being approved, major changes changed the makeup of Port Wentworth’s municipal administration, beginning with the dismissal of then-city administrator Edwin Booth and mass strikes. The city was also tasked in 2022 with redoing its 2021-41 comprehensive plan, the document that governs future land use and development within a city.
This comprehensive plan was adopted in August, prior to the approval of location plans for Rice Hope’s new homes. In the character area description for suburban residential areas, the comprehensive plans state that developments require the preservation of trees during the development process and post-development. The developer also violated municipal laws by failing to obtain municipal permits before disturbing the land and by failing to install environmental protections before construction.
“So basically it was a bunch of people not doing their jobs,” Johnson said. “I contacted the city hall to find out what was happening and they placed a stop work order on the entire site because they were really upset about it. They didn’t realize what was about to happen, they let it happen and in the meantime they destroyed an entire corner of the neighborhood.”
Johnson, leading the charge, caught up with several people after the scene was razed, including the developer, newly hired city manager Steve Davis and newly elected councilman Nelson. Davis issued the stop work order on the property after viewing the scene.
Nelson said he didn’t realize at the time of approval that they would clear-cut the trees and called for the developers to be fined, which they did, after discovering it had already been done.
“There is also a difference between someone asking for a rezoning and asking for site plan approval,” Nelson said. “With a site plan, if they checked all the boxes, got all the permits and everything, it would seem personal to just say, ‘no, I don’t want that,’ and they could sue.”
In an email to Johnson in July 2022, Davis stated that city administration met with the developer, demanding that they increase the size of the earthen berm from 4 feet to 10 feet. privacy fence at the top of the berm and install a mix of pine and cypress trees on the interstate side of the berm and flats on the homeowners’ side of the fence.
“The main thing in this process was everything the city promised they would try to do to help us, but they didn’t deliver on most of it,” Johnson said. “Their solution didn’t work, the solution wasn’t even what they promised us – the average height of most of the berm/fence is 11-12 feet.”
The Federal Highway Administration has guidance on noise reduction in highway traffic, stating that noise barriers do very little good for homes on a hillside overlooking a road that rise above the barrier and to avoid undesirable effects, the general rule is that the barrier must extend four times as far in each direction as the distance from the receiver to the barrier.
Additionally, it says that noise barriers and earthen berms are only beneficial for homes in the “shadow zone,” the space right next to the barrier. Unscreened homes receive no protection from the sound barrier, other than the view of the interstate. Openings in the barrier also reduce the effectiveness of the barrier, which the Rice Hope fence has.
Fears and worries
Melanie Munton, whose daughter just turned 6, and Celina Hall, who receives frequent visits from her grandchildren, said that at the top of their list of concerns is safety due to the proximity of the Georgia Welcome Center.
“In five minutes, someone could get out on the interstate, put your child back in the car and cross the state line before you even knew they were missing,” Hall said. “We have a lot of trafficking and kidnapping happening across the country.”
Lisa Barrow, who moved to Port Wentworth from Kentucky in 2021, echoes the sentiment.
“This is nothing more than a wooden fence,” Barrow said. “There’s no protection, if one of those semis lost control they would just go through that fence. Before, we were very wooded and you couldn’t see our neighborhood from the highway and now we are very exposed.”
Many residents have moved to Rice Hope, lake view properties, and paid thousands of dollars more for the serenity, peace and privacy of the area. Barrow said they toured several properties in the area and loved the lake and the character of the neighborhood.
“We moved here hoping this would be our retirement homes,” Barrow said. “We laughed and said that’s it, we’re not moving again. Now we are no longer sure.”
One resident moved in with her sister because of the noise from the highway, which after testing it with a sound meter, Johnson said could reach 70 dB. Another resident plans to put her house up for sale this month to escape the noise. Dan O’Connor and his wife Melissa had their home appraised and were told the value dropped by $100,000 because of noise from I-95.
Another major cause for concern is the loss of sleep due to the near-constant noise from the highway, something that has been raised by several residents who have jobs that require them to wake up early.
“My husband and my son, you can physically tell they’re tired,” Johnson said. “My son’s dark circles are getting darker and darker. When trucks are going too fast, they use their engine to brake and slow down, and for some reason, in the middle of the night, they all do this. It only lasts about 10 seconds, but it will wake you up from a deep sleep.”
Johnson firmly stated that the wall did nothing to stop the noise, it just penetrated directly into the second floor of his home, and getting out to just talk in person or on the phone is a chore.
“It was beautiful before,” Johnson said. “We could sit outside and everyone would occasionally come by a super loud truck, but you never thought about it because you couldn’t even see them.”
From now on
Ultimately, the ideal solution for every homeowner is the same: this time a concrete barrier.
“A GDOT-approved concrete barrier,” Johnson said. “We need someone, we don’t care who it is, to build this wall to keep out the noise and to block the view.”
The GoFundMe goal for the litigation is set at $10,000, and they have raised $850 so far.
Destini Ambus is the Chatham County municipalities general assignment reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can contact her at dambus@gannett.com
This article originally appeared in the Savannah Morning News: Rice Hope residents to sue Port Wentworth over view and noise pollution
