The Augusta Planning Commission, during its monthly meeting Wednesday afternoon, voted unanimously to approve a petition for a proposed residential development in south Augusta, despite public opposition from neighbors of the subject property.
Planning Commissioner Robert Cooks recused himself as the rest of the board members addressed a rezoning request he submitted in March on behalf of B.A. Johnson Construction Company, to change a five-acre property at 4309 Windsor Spring Rd. from R1-A One-family Residential to Zone R1-E family residential.
B.A. Johnson is looking to build a residential development consisting of 28 single-family detached homes with greenspace. The rezoning request and the concept plans have been on the agenda since May—the plan originally had 32 proposed homes—but Cooks had withdrawn the petition on those occasions.
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Residents of the nearby Manchester subdivision attended the meeting to oppose the request. Complaints ranged from concerns about safety and security, to traffic to the possibility of lowering the area’s property values.
One Manchester resident, Raymond Dick, speaking to the commission on behalf of several of the complainants, noted the density of the proposed neighborhood as well as the materials slated to be used, comparing them to the brick-built homes of Manchester.
“For the developer to put that many homes in that small a space is just not conducive to the area,” he said, also noting that most residents weren’t necessarily against the area being developed, but were concerned with the current plans for the subdivision.
Per the planning staff’s recommendation, the Planning Commission voted to approve the rezoning with conditions, among them being that the number of lots do not exceed 28.
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The commission later voted to postpone a manufacturing development project in south Augusta. In May, W.K. Dickson & Co., Inc., on behalf of Camp Josey Property Group, submitted to the planning department a request to rezone some seven tracts of land along Camp Josey Road and Deans Bridge Road in Blythe, totaling more than 550 acres.
W.K. Dickson & Co. aims to change the subject land from Agricultural to Heavy Industrial, in order to establish a soil mining operation and a recycling facility for wood, concrete and asphalt.
Neighboring residents opposed this proposed development as well, with complaints largely about the effects of both the soil excavation and recycling operations on the local environment—such as through noise or dust.
After commissioners George McKnight and Lorraine Barlett mirrored concerns by neighbors about the environmental impact, and after a motion to approve the request with conditions was voted down, the board then voted to postpone the item until the Planning Commission’s September meeting.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
