Warner Robins Council hears crime stats, rezoning petition

WARNER ROBINS — The police department gave its year end update and another set of homes got the green light from the city of Warner Robins at their latest meeting on Monday.

According to planning and zoning manager Darin Curtis, the four-acre property, located at 1302 Feagan Mill Road, was previously zoned for county agricultural. Council approved annexing the land into the city and changing the use to multi-family residential.

During work session, Curtis said the city’s joint comprehensive plan supports suburban residential development, and planning and zoning gave a favorable recommendation.

Initally, the county objected, but later retracted its stance, Curtis mentioned.

“I believe that to be on the basis that the owner and the engineer were able to illustrate to [the county] the merit of their project,” he said.

The developers revised the site plans to include 54 townhomes in a gated community, complete with a dog park, playground, and pavilion.

Responding to questions from Mayor LaRhonda Patrick, Curtis said the units will be attached to one another, like townhomes and duplexes, and range from two to five units per building.

While the plans are still in the concept phase, Curtis predicted the units will most likely be for rent unless a public right-of-way is created on the property.

Councilman Kevin Lashley asked about the construction’s timeframe; developer representatives said it would be as soon as possible.

Also during pre-council, the city heard year-end statistics from the police department, which said crime is on a decline.

According to police Chief Wayne Fisher, in 2020, the department took around 17,000 incident reports, with just over 8,000 classified as group A crimes — offenses against people or property.

Fisher said in 2020 that around 8,800 people were considered victims, or about 1 in 10 of the city’s population, given a population of around 80,000.

By 2025, the population had increased to 87,000. Fisher said the department took in around 15,000 reports, involving about 7,300 victims and 6,100 group A crimes, almost 2,000 fewer than five years ago.

“We are having a positive effect in crime reduction impacts within our community, while, in fact, we have growth within our community: population increase and density increases. Normally, you would see a trend of an increase of crime,” he explained.

Fisher cites the decrease in part due to fostering relationships with the community, educating local youth, and using technology to support law enforcement efforts.

“It’s through these collaborative efforts within the community, the city government, and our law enforcement partners through the Middle Georgia area and Houston County, that is reflected into the reduction of crime and these numbers coming through,” he said.

Fisher said law enforcement took an approach focused on reducing systemic issues. He used Operation Wenden Way Blockade as an example, an operation in 2024 that investigated drug trafficking and gang activity. The operation led to 30 arrests.

While crime is down overall, Fisher said crimes seeing increases are embezzlement, fraud and forgery.

Fisher also said domestic violence was at a high level, consistent with national trends. He said both crimes are more difficult to prevent, but education is key.

To view the meeting’s agenda and supporting documents, visit the city’s website.

A full look at the meeting can be found on the city’s Facebook page.

The next Warner Robins City Council Meeting will take place Monday, April 6, 4:30 p.m., at Warner Robins City Hall, 700 Watson Boulevard.