Belair Auto Sales and Services is looking to expand its business at its west Augusta location, according to the letter of intent accompanying a rezoning request to Augusta Planning.
Vernon Neely, the owner of the used auto dealership, petitioned in March to rezone his property at 4040 Belair Road from Agricultural to B-2 General Business, in order to use the three-acre parcel for “any expansion of any…commercial endeavor” related to the auto seller.
Neely’s letter of intent also notes one home residence and two apartment buildings on the property near the auto shop.
The application doesn’t include any plans detailing what the expansion would entail, or any changes to the property.
In November of 2007, the Augusta Commission approved rezoning the property from B-2 to Agriculture district, save for a one-acre portion on the southeast corner of the parcel, under the condition that no more manufactured homes be placed there. According to county property records, Neely purchased the parcel in 2004.
Planning staff noted that the property, which sits along Jimmie Dyess Parkway without having access to it, is the subject of several ongoing code enforcement cases, some which pertain to the operation of an auto service business in an Agricultural district. The cases include the use of a property as a scrap yard for vehicle parts, which would not be permitted in B-2 zoning either, along with overgrown vegetation, a building in need of repair, and garbage and debris scattered throughout.
The petition is currently on the agenda for the Augusta Planning Commission’s June meeting on Monday, but had been postponed from the May meeting for which it had been originally scheduled.
At that time, staff recommended approval with conditions, including making the property code compliant, and for any further development to entail adding an on-site septic tank system and street trees along Jimmie Dyess Parkway.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
