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Savannah City Council to Tackle Environmental and Parking Issues

Ongoing construction efforts for environmental remediation and additional parking spaces near the Enmarket Arena in Savannah.

News Summary

The Savannah City Council is set to hold a Work Session focusing on environmental remediation and parking shortages near the Enmarket Arena. The contaminated land leased from the Tenenbaum family presents risks and financial burdens for taxpayers. The council will also discuss the current lack of adequate pedestrian and cycling access and plans to expand parking facilities by 2025, while addressing differing opinions among council members regarding these initiatives.

Savannah City Council to Address Environmental Concerns and Parking Issues Near Enmarket Arena

The Savannah City Council will hold a Work Session on May 20, 2025, to discuss remediation efforts for a polluted plot of land near the Enmarket Arena. This site, currently under lease by the city, poses significant environmental risks and ongoing financial implications for taxpayers.

The contaminated area is situated next to the Enmarket Arena, which was approved for development following a vote on a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) ballot around 2016. Officials agree that the site’s location was intended to improve access for pedestrians and cyclists, thus decreasing the need for extensive parking solutions. However, there are currently insufficient facilities that allow for safe biking or walking routes connecting to the arena.

The city is leasing the land from the Tenenbaum family, who own the nearby Chatham Steel complex. Despite the lease agreement made during the tenure of former Mayor Eddie Deloach and Council Member Van Johnson, there are existing environmental concerns. Notices from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) regarding the necessity for pollution cleanup have been noted, yet the lease was finalized without addressing these issues.

Recent inspections of the site revealed construction activities intended to manage surface water runoff. These efforts include the installation of a newly dug retention pond designed to contain water that may have been contaminated from rainfall. Employees from APAC Inc., who are currently working on the site, have indicated that they are pumping potentially polluted water into holding tanks for testing and filtration.

Taxpayers have been shouldering the financial burden of the land lease since 2020, with the city incurring costs while the site remains unused. The existing ten-year lease not only includes annual cost increases but also provides the city with the first right of refusal for purchasing the land. However, there is no set price included in the lease agreement. Additionally, the document lacks the signature of City Attorney Bates Lovett and is solely signed by City Manager Jay Melder and Sheldon Tenenbaum.

Questions about the lease’s validity, potential purchase price, and the professional firms responsible for estimating remediation costs are expected to be raised during the upcoming Work Session. The council plans to address the reality of parking shortages that have occurred this year, as parking expansion remains a critical discussion point.

In alignment with this project, Savannah intends to add 2,000 parking spaces by 2025, with a committed budget of $4.5 million designated for soil removal and construction. The contaminated soil on the site has been identified as containing traces of arsenic, lead, copper, and chromium, remnants of the area’s previous industrial use.

During recent council discussions, Alderman Alicia Miller-Blakely stood out as the sole member opposing the remediation and parking expansion project. This dissent highlights the diverse perspectives within the council regarding how to best address the dual issues of environmental safety and urban infrastructure development.

The upcoming Work Session on May 20 will be pivotal in determining how the city moves forward with remediation efforts, manages environmental concerns, and addresses parking challenges related to the Enmarket Arena.