The Columbia County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to rezone a parcel on 325 N. Belair Rd. from R-2, single family residential, to C-1, or neighborhood commercial, for the purpose of a building a medical office complex.
Conditions for the rezoning included the installation of a 30-foot structural buffer adjacent to the eastern property line connecting to the 20-foot structural buffer adjacent to the Owens Road access road, and the providing of left and right turn lanes on Owens for proposed driveway access.
Ricky Wiggins, a resident along Bohler Drive, spoke before the board to oppose the removal of the natural barrier, consisting of heavy vegetation that includes trees reaching 200 feet, in order to place the 30-foot structural buffer. Wiggins’ reason for opposing was due to concerns about the privacy.
Commissioner Don Skinner motioned to approve the rezoning request with the condition to leave the natural buffer undisturbed, save for the installation of a fence.
The board also approved, with conditions, the rezoning of property located off Kuhlke Drive and Brittany Way.
The rezoning application was revisited after having been tabled from the board’s Oct. 5 meeting. The application requested that the property be rezoned from R-3, or single family residential, to S-1, or special.
At the previous meeting, Pamela Lightsey, who lives on Brittany Way, asked the board to postpone the matter in order her and other residents near the property to continue further relevant negotiations with the seller and buyer.
Lightsey noted to the board the property owners agreed that a third party attorney should author the documents negotiating between the parties, and that as of the meeting not all of the owners have had access to the latest revisions.
Lightsey also said that clear communication from their insurance company regarding issues of liability and questions proposed pertaining to increased traffic were what were still missing from the documents.
“We are grateful in getting the decision to take these two weeks, but unfortunately have not completed this,” said Lightsey. “We respectfully ask an additional two weeks so we can come back with finished documents.”
Skinner made a motion to table the matter again until the next meeting on Nov. 2, and Commissioner Dewey Galeas seconded, but the motion died when none of the other commissioners voted in favor.
Commissioner Gary Richardson then motioned to approve the rezoning, and Chairman Doug Duncan seconded. Ultimately the board voted to approve five to one with Skinner opposed.
A major planned unit development revision for a property at 1000 West Lake Commons Dr. was tabled until the next meeting on Nov. 2. The initial request by West Lake Commons and RB Capital Investment was to revise the site layout and uses for property in order to build a commercial development.
Mahi Majanovic, a resident at West Lake Drive, spoke before the board requesting caution when the matter is revisited at the next meeting.
“Do not misunderstand me, I am not against this development,” said Majanovic. “But I am asking you to scrutinize to the nth degree the engineering protocol we have, and also to be creative when looking at this that no additional storm water comes off this site and impacts private property downstream.”
A massage business was granted unanimously granted a rezoning request as well. The property owner at 4114 Evans to Locks Rd. site of the Jenn Salon, and the owner of a massage service inside a suite at the salon requested a change of conditions to allow the massage service to move to 4116 Evans to Locks, at it had outgrown the space available within the salon.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering Columbia County with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
