The Columbia County Planning Commission voted against a rezoning to make way for a car wash in Martinez, during its meeting Thursday evening.
Developers Brandon Graybill and Christian Wahl had submitted a request to rezone 170 South Belair Road from R2 Single-family Residential to General Commercial and Community Commercial.
Graybill and Wahl, who established Moby’s Car Wash in North Augusta last year, intend to build a similar tunnel car wash on the subject parcel, more than 4,700 square feet, as part of a larger development of retail space along four lots.
The concept plan for the project shows the opening of the car wash facing towards South Belair, with access to its gated entry toward the northern end of the site and a 20-foot landscape at the western side. Planning staff noted in its report that while the plans show no landscape strip internally, it would be required whether the road is private or public.
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The plans also show a deceleration lane adjacent to the parcel off South Belair, and a dedication of right of way to Oakley Pirkle Road Extension from the access road, to be dedicated to Columbia County for a possible future roadway extension.
The site abuts the Highview Acres subdivision to its north and the Fox Run subdivision to its east. The plans include a 30-foot structural buffer against both residential properties.
The developers had previously met with neighboring residents to address various concerns. Graybill told the commissioners that most of the issues the residents raised were about the possibility of a gas station at the location and installing the connecting road.
“We don’t have to have that road,” Graybill said. “If the county says we’ve got to have it connected, then we will connect it. But I feel like that’s going to be the case for anybody that develops this property.”
Several residents of Fox Run spoke to the Planning Commission in favor of the rezoning request, though some still raised concerns about the possibility of a connection road and increased traffic, particularly after reconstruction of Westmont Elementary School on Oakley Pirkle Road.
Planning staff recommended denial of the request, stating in its report that the C-C rezoning would be compatible with the county’s Vison 2035 comprehensive plan, but that the “more intense” C-2 zoning would not fit the plan’s intention for the South Belair corridor.
Vice Chair Mark Moody put forth the motion to recommend denial of the request. All of the commissioners save for Ryan Cato voted in favor of the motion.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
