Augusta ENT is seeking a variance to accommodate its upcoming Grovetown location off Gateway Boulevard.
The ear, nose and throat medical practice submitted a request to change the buffer requirement along the western side of the site, which faces Tudor Branch, removing the plant buffer requirement.
The county approved the rezoning of the property in 2022 from R-1 Residential to P-1 Professional to make way for Augusta ENT’s proposed 12,000-square-foot clinic, approving the civil engineering plan later that same year.
That plan included a 30-foot natural buffer along a portion of the western edge, with more than 300 feet along the remaining western side planned to have a 20-foot buffer comprised of 17 Eastern red cedar trees.
The narrative document accompanying the application notes that these plans changed as development progressed, with a 15-foot retaining wall along the west and south sides of the site, and growing concerns that tree roots might eventually damage the medical building’s foundation.
Augusta ENT currently has three CSRA locations, including one on North Belair Road in Evans.
The Columbia County Fish and Game Club is seeking the elimination of setback requirements on its property in Appling.
The private organization owns some 32 acres at 6075 Ridge Road, zoned S-1 Special since 1984. That zoning entails a 20-foot building setback on the outer edge of the property, a buffer between the S-1 property and nearby residential areas.
“Currently many of the long-established mobile homes do not meet this requirement,” says the club’s narrative document.
The club issues its members locations to place trailers, mobile homes and RV’s — sites that are not traditional home lots — for weekend and recreational, rather than permanent residential, use. The limit of trailers and similar vehicles is 83 total.
The narrative also states that the space between the lake and residential zoned properties is owned by the Corps of Engineers, effectively making it a buffer. As such, the organization claims, it is requesting that the county reduce the 20-foot setback requirement down to zero.
The Columbia County Planning Commission is slated to address the Fish and Game Club’s request in its first meeting of 2024 on Jan. 4. It is scheduled to vote on August ENT’s request at its Jan. 18 meeting.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
