Savannah Getting Highlands' Homes Back From Pooler

After more than a decade of being located in the city of Savannah, the residents of the Highlands community in northwest Chatham County are getting rid of their Pooler address. The U.S. Postal Service has agreed to change the Highlands residents’ mailing addresses so that they reflect the community’s location within Savannah’s boundaries, along with a new zip code reflecting the change. The city has been pushing for residents to get a Savannah address for about three years to make it clear where the Highlands community is located and prevent any confusion for residents and emergency responders, said city spokesman Bret Bell. “It’s one of those things residents have been asking for,” Bell said. The change will be implemented on July 1, but there will be a one-year transition so that mail will still arrive using the old address during that period, he said. Savannah Alderman Van Johnson described the pending date as “independence day from Pooler” for about 2,600 property owners in the community. The change means the residents will no longer face difficulties finding the correct addresses on their smart phones or knowing where they live when calling in an emergency or what government to call when they have an issue, Johnson said. Still, Johnson said the community will need more than an address change as more homes are built and the population growth further affects a community already dealing with traffic congestion and emergency response issues. Johnson had made a failed attempt to postpone approval of the final plats for three new subdivisions in the community at the last Savannah City Council meeting because of concerns about the growth there.