Rincon residents fight back against potential new warehouse development

RINCON, Ga. (WSAV) – Residents in Rincon are trying to stop a development that would add warehouses in their town, and they’re fighting the rezoning effort with an online petition.

“They’re just kind of cramming it down our throats,” Chris Dupree, who lives in the area that would be affected, said.

Rahn Station Road is in a quiet area of Rincon where you’ll see one or two cars come by every few minutes.

“It’s a two-lane, curvy road. Put an 18-wheeler with a load of whatever you’ve got on it. You’re looking at an accident,” William Horton, who also lives in the area, said.

If the plan to rezone about 425 acres of land to is passed, there will be plenty of trucks up and down Rahn Station servicing the proposed warehouses.

“These companies are coming in and buying up land and just throwing it in. Our commissioners are not looking at the people already living here,” Horton said.

“They should be looking more to us to make sure we have what we need first. Then, hey, put a little business here, growth here. Bring it up slowly. Something we can absorb,” he continued.

Residents said that they’re worried about having proper infrastructure.

“A house caught fire back here,” Horton said. “We didn’t have ample water supply. The house was a total loss. So, if you look at the area, it just doesn’t fit.”

They also said that they’re concerned about other unintended consequences.

“You got warehouses sitting around. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out…You’ve got people that are curious. What’s that going to do with the crime rate?” Dupree questioned.

Dupree told WSAV that if the warehouses are built, they’ll be right in his backyard.

“We didn’t get nothing in the mail…No email, nothing,” he said.

He said he doesn’t believe he’ll be part of the decision-making process moving forward, either.

However, no final decision has been made yet.

The Planning and Zoning meeting where this issue will be decided is on Nov. 12, where residents can voice their concerns before commissioners make a final vote.

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