The Columbia County Planning Commission voted in favor of a proposed Parker’s Kitchen at the busy intersection of Washington Road and Bobby Jones Expressway.
Last month the commission postponed its review of the gas station chain’s request for a variance of the former site of Walgreens at 3900 Washington Road to allow the construction of a new convenience store.
The request sought to eliminate buffer requirements along where the property abuts a single-family residential area. Parker’s has since provided the county with an updated concept plan that includes a smaller store building, additional landscaping along one of the lot lines, reduced parking and a new location for the dumpster pad, farther from the lot lines. The request now is reduce, rather than eliminate, the subject buffer requirements.
The company also proposed installing clearance bars along that driveway to make sure tractor trailers or other commercial vehicles don’t use the driveway to re-enter traffic through the adjacent residential neighborhood.
Cody Rogers of EMC Engineering, speaking on behalf of Parker’s Kitchen, highlighted this to the commissioners during Thursday’s meeting.
“One of the concerns from the commission and from residents was the trucks accessing in Caribe Drive,” said Rogers. “We did add those two bars so that trucks coming from either direction would see, and you won’t have a traffic jam where you have a truck making it halfway down from one side of that entrance to the other and realizing they can’t continue.”
Neighboring homeowner Kemberly Younts returned before the commissioners Thursday, having attended last month’s meeting to oppose Parker’s Kitchen’s request. This time, Younts urged commissioners to consider closing the access road connecting the property to Caribe Drive, and the nearby Casa Linda neighborhood.
Younts asked the commissioners about installing a cul-de-sac allowing motorists to turn right on Caribe toward Washington Road, but not left toward the neighborhood. However, Scott Sterling, director of Columbia County’s planning services division, told commissioners that he had discussed this possibility with the county engineer, who did not find the prospect viable.
The planning staff had recommended approval of the variance request with the conditions that all lights on the property be turned away from the residential area, and that the buffers and separations follow the plan provided to the county. The planning commissions voted to approve, unanimously, with the conditions.
Later in the evening, the commission voted to recommend denying to rezone 39 acres off Columbia Road to Special District Zoning (S-1) for a proposed solar park.
Landowner G.B Sharma told commissioners that deals to sell the property, which he bought in 2007, kept falling through before he was contacted by Bijan Solar.
Several residents attended to speak against the rezoning, citing concerns that the installation may negatively impact property values, or edge the residential area toward become more industrial.
Planning staff recommended disapproval of the rezoning, saying that a district zoned only for a solar park would not fit with the intent of the future development map for the area to encourage residential development. The commissioners unanimously voted to recommend disapproval.
