Hall says goodbye to zoning board

Deanne Hall officiated her last Columbia County Planning Commission meeting Thursday.

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A new county ordinance, recently approved by the U.S. Justice Department, required Hall to step down as chairwoman.

Approved in December, the ordinance demands that planning commissioners resign if they declare an intention to run for public office.

Hall is running for the District 3 county commission seat Diane Ford intends to vacate at the end of the year.

Hall said at the end of the meeting that she appreciated the support of the county's planning staff and her fellow planning commissioners.

"I've been very honored to sit beside all of you," she said.

Also during Thursday's meeting, plans by the commission to review the preliminary plat for the first phase of Marshall Square were tabled at the request of the developers.

Developers wanted to postpone the decision until the commission's May 1 meeting so they can provide graphics of their plans for a sidewalk system inside Marshall Square, a 52-acre mixed-use development between Evans Town Center Boulevard and North Belair Road, said Jeff Browning, the county's director of planning and development.