Savannah River Academy is seeking expansion, but Columbia County’s assessment of a recent revision request may prove to be a hurdle along the way if the Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners agree.
On Oct. 4, 2021, head of school Maribeth Burns and architect Nick Dickinson applied for a major revision at the school’s location at 213 South Old Belair Rd. in Grovetown.
The current zoning for the location is special district. The purpose of the request to update the zoning conditions was to accommodate the school’s plans to construct two one-story buildings totaling 13,000 square feet, providing extra classroom space to make way for the school’s expected growth in enrollment from 115 to about 200 students.
This revision was ultimately approved by the Board of Commissioners on Nov. 16, 2021, with the condition that left and right turn lanes be installed before the issuing of the certificate of occupancy for any new buildings on the property.
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On Jan. 26, Burns and Dickinson applied for another change of conditions, requesting a further update of the revisions approved in November. Attached to the application was a driveway evaluation and recommendation document prepared by Augusta-based engineering consulting firm Infrastructure Systems.
The evaluation stated that left turn lanes were not warranted, presented four alternatives to installing them and recommended that the intersection instead be monitored “to ensure that the safety of the driveway operation continues in the future or if future corrective actions may be warranted.”
In its staff report, Columbia County planning staff recommended disapproval of the school’s latest revision request, citing the Columbia County Engineering Services Division’s own review of Infrastructure Systems’ evaluation, concluding that three of the alternatives to installing a left turn lane were not applicable.
The building permit for the school’s new additions was approved on Feb. 8, and the site plan was approved by the Plan Review Department on Feb. 9. The staff report notes that since the condition regarding the turn lanes requirement was timed to the certificate of occupancy, it gave Savannah River Academy extra time to evaluate the traffic requirement.
The revision request is scheduled to go before the Planning Commission on March 3, and before the Board of Commissioners on March 15.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering education in Columbia County and business-related topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
