Columbia County Commissioners at their Tuesday meeting approved a conditional use request for a massage and spa business located at 106 Davis Road, and also agreed to reclassify North Old Belair Road from a local road to a minor collector road.
A more detailed staff recommendation filed with the county planning commission for its March 18 meeting recommended approval of the application. County staff recommended approval because the applicant, Heather Gault, is a licensed massage therapist, and her business will be located among other businesses.
The staff recommendation read, “Since this request is located within an established commercial center with minimal impact to surrounding properties, and does provide a service to the established residences and workforce within this area, staff is in favor of the request.”
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The recommended reclassification for North Old Belair Road is based on increased traffic in the area. North Old Belair was originally a dead-end road classified as a Local residential road. The staff did a study of the area after receiving a request for a speed hump study on North Old Belair Rd, according to the provided recommendation sheet. The number of vehicles using the road each day was found to have increased 132 percent, from 1,273 to 2,958.
“The results of this study showed a significant increase in the average daily traffic (ADT). Staff believes the results of this increase can be attributed to the connection of William Smith Boulevard (minor collector) located in Crawford Creek Subdivision to North Old Belair Road by a developer, providing access to Columbia Road for Crawford Creek residents as well as thru access from Hereford Farm Road to Columbia Road,” according to the recommendation sheet.
Furthermore, the Highway Functional Classification Concepts Local roads have an average daily traffic (ADT) of 80-700, according to the recommendation sheet.
As part of the consent agenda, the commissioners approved Columbia County Animal Services receiving $175 from Michelle Artrip, $100 from Barbara Williams and $3,100 from Subaru of America.
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Columbia County received bids for improvements at Reed Creek and Little River Water Pollution Control Plants. The low and only bid was submitted by Southern Civil LLC of Townsend, GA for $1,32 million. The budgeted amount for the project was $1million. The improvements include replacing all influent pumps and aeration covers at the Reed Creek plant and interconnecting the on-site generator with the administrative facility at the Little River plan.
A $52,423 bid from Safety Zone Specialist was approved for the purchase three new traffic message boards that can be programmed remotely.
The consent agenda also included a request to establish a county-wide procedure that would deny requests for the installation of “Children at Play” or similar signs. According to the staff recommendation, the Federal Highway Administration discourages the erection of such signs because they “create a false sense of security, are not enforceable or effective, and should not be installed.”
Haley Knight is a contributor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at haley.knight@TheAugustaPRESS.com.
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