Port Wentworth planning commission member removed, residents oppose new board

Port Wentworth’s Thursday night council meeting turned heated when city officials discussed removing member Lauree Morris from the Planning and Zoning board, the committee that advises council on land use and development in the city.

Morris, a longtime Port Wentworth resident, had served on the board for two years and was reappointed by the council during the Sept. 22 meeting, where the previous board was dissolved and reorganized.

After a fiery back and forth between Morris and several council members, the council ultimately voted to relieve Morris of her planning duties, citing her behavior in the Oct. 10 planning and zoning meeting where she “refused to vote and questioned the legitimacy of the board itself.”

Council member Jo Smith was the sole council member to deny Morris’s removal, stating for the record that she believes the “punishment doesn’t fit the crime.”

“She refused to vote … I think it’s disproportionate to pull her off,” said Smith. 

The current conflict arose from a recent move to dissolve and completely restructure the city’s Planning and Zoning board. Previously the board was comprised of five to nine all-volunteer residents but membership dwindled over the years and, finally, was down to just four commissioners after the chairman, Clifford James Neesmith, was arrested on child pornography charges in September. Morris, who was the vice-chairman, assumed chairman duties for the September meeting. 

More:Auditors question Port Wentworth's planning and zoning practices. Here's how council responded.

More:Former Port Wentworth planning commission chairman arraigned on child pornography charges

Zoning ordinance rewrite

Meanwhile, the city’s planning and zoning process had also come under scrutiny from outside auditors. Horizon Community Planning’s audit report of the city’s zoning ordinance, which governs permitted uses for certain sections of land, revealed that the local laws were written so poorly that the entire ordinance needed to be scrapped and redone. 

City officials, developers and residents all had complaints about the zoning ordinance, which they described as hard to read and understand, leading to a cumbersome approval process for developments. Oftentimes, site plans, rezonings and other applications bounced back and forth between the council and planning and zoning board, leading to confusion for all stakeholders. 

More:Port Wentworth city planning woes: must redo ordinance, revisit comprehensive plan

Thus, while the zoning ordinance is being reworked, the city council voted to reorganize the diminished board so that permitting, plan reviews and rezonings could run smoother.

According to City Manager Steve Davis, the board was in dire need of some “expertise,” The new nine-member board includes four city employees (assistant city manager as chairman, police chief, fire chief and public works director) and five volunteer members (residents or business owners). 

The new makeup isn’t uncommon, according to Davis, and is similar to Pooler’s planning and zoning board. However, residents, including Morris, believed that the restructuring introduced conflicts of interest and ethical issues.

Conflicts of interest charged 

Opponents of the new makeup said that bringing city employees onto the board conflicts with city ordinance that states members shall not receive compensation for their planning commission duties. Paid employees could feel influenced to make a planning decision based on the city manager and council's priorities rather than the community, said Morris.

“I agree 100% that employees need to be involved and they need to review this stuff as well, but they can do that on their own … For them to have a seat (on the board) when their livelihood is tied to all this, it’s wrong,” said Morris.

Further, the former planning member stated that the board makeup violates Georgia code governing code of ethics and conflicts of interest for public officers and employees. 

The city manager rejected those concerns, emphasizing that the new board is now a “strong team of experts and professionals along with diligent new resident/business owners,” who will “not need (his) guidance or influence moving forward.”

In the most recent Oct. 10 planning and zoning meeting, Morris made motions to not approve the agenda or the previous meeting’s minutes – routine actions at the beginning of each meeting that the rest of the board eventually passed. 

“May I ask that the minutes reflect that I did not vote on any of the matters before us today due to the appearance of impropriety and questionable legality of this committee?” said Morris toward the end of the meeting.

At the meeting’s adjournment, Davis told Morris that the new planning board structure was passed by city council with the approval of the city attorney so “it’s already passed the legality challenge.”

Morris replied that she “was not going to argue.”

During the Oct. 27 council meeting, Morris and other residents further argued that the new planning and zoning meeting time set at 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays will be during work hours, limiting the number of residents who can be part of the board and who can attend public comment sessions. The previous meeting time was 6:30 p.m. 

It’s important to note that planning and zoning board decisions are not binding, and merely advisory for the council, which has final say on any zoning matters. Items that come before the planning board will likely show up during council meetings as well, which are held on weekday evenings. 

In addition to complaints about bringing on city employees, opponents also voiced concerns over which business owners were being added to the volunteer portion of the board. Thursday night, council appointed residents Charlene Middleton, Christopher Gray and Nishant Randerwala. John Holland, head of Newport Subdivision’s HOA, was approved in a previous meeting. Morris was the only member of the old board who was reappointed — and now removed.  

Residents, however, were particularly concerned about the appointment of local business owner Sean Register, who runs the shipping company Register International and is a board member of the Bryan County Industrial Development Authority. Register was also a partner in opening Port Fuel Center, a truck fuel stop off of GA-21 in Port Wentworth. 

Council member Smith echoed residents’ concerns, citing that Register’s background in the shipping industry causes a conflict of interest and “he’d have to recuse himself” in almost every decision. Port Wentworth is currently trying to balance industrialization in the city with residents’ quality of life and conservation of green space. 

Davis later told the Savannah Morning News that he doesn’t see the situation the same way and that Register would, instead, bring in a much needed perspective as an industry professional. He disputed that even with the previous all-volunteer board, issues arose. 

“We’re trying to depoliticize this board,” said Davis,  “It’s been used for years for political gamesmanship.”

During Thursday night’s meeting, council member Mark Stephens told Morris that she “came in with guns blazing” in the October planning and zoning meeting and that she should’ve chosen a different route to communicate her concerns. 

Morris said she was simply stating her opinion. 

“I chose the avenue I thought was correct, because, honestly, if I felt like I could have gone to Mr. Davis and talked beforehand about it, I would have done that,” she said.

Council member Smith pointed out that Morris, a lifelong resident of Port Wentworth, already had years of experience on the board and that her overall “professionalism” still makes her one of the most qualified members, garnering some applause from the meeting's audience. 

“Professionalism involves communication, collaboration and working as a team,” said Davis, doubling down on the removal. He also noted that morale within city hall is “fantastic” after earlier turmoil in the year that involved a sudden employee walkout and a near city split. 

“At the end of the day, there’s a way to handle things and there’s a way not to handle things," said Davis.

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.