About two dozen people attended a town hall meeting at Hinesville City Hall Thursday to address residents’ concerns over a rezoning petition.

At its July 5 regular meeting, the Hinesville City Council tabled a rezoning request brought by Pete Dan Clark. Clark and his business partner, Sam Miness, are asking the city to rezone .69 acres at the corner of Surrey Road and Highway 196 from single family dwelling to office institutional. An adjoining parcel the men own has already been rezoned for office use, city officials said.

Clark and Miness bought nine modular units from Hunter Army Airfield and moved them to the site. They intend to connect the units into one 10,000-square foot structure, which could then be divided into office suites.

The property owners’ request was recommended for approval by the Liberty Consolidated Planning Commission. The council is expected to vote on the rezoning at its regular meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Several residents from Arlington Park subdivision spoke in opposition to the request, citing traffic concerns. They said there is no turning lane to allow drivers to safely turn left from Arlington onto 196.

“I cringe whenever I hear the brakes going on,” Arlington Park resident Curtis Velasco said.

City Manager Ken Howard said a survey had been taken of the top five most dangerous intersections in Hinesville, and Surrey and Arlington Roads and Highway 196 were not on that list. The city’s most dangerous intersection is Airport Road at 196, Howard said.

Miness and Clark said they just want to “get through” the rezoning process. The businessmen then hope to work up a site plan for project approved. They’ve asked for a variance to have a 15-foot vegetative buffer on the property reduced to 5-feet. The LCPC had placed a condition on the partners’ rezoning request, requiring the property owners to erect a 6-foot privacy fence along with a 15-foot buffer between the potential office suites and homes behind the property.