A rezoning request to accommodate the expansion of Grovetown subdivision Tillery Park died at the Thursday evening meeting of the Columbia County Planning Commission after a voting tie among the four commissioners present.
Ivey Development and the Pollard Land Company applied last month to rezone some 24 acres off Baker Place Road from M-1 light industrial to planned residential development. This would facilitate the 82 home lots the builders plan to add for its already-approved residential development.
The Tillery Park neighborhood would then be expanded to 871 residential lots along 321 acres.
The rezoning request also includes a petition for a major revision of the parts of Tillery Park already approved, specifically asking to revise the boundaries of the existing planned residential development and “to the changes to the road layout on these parcels to accommodate the additional sections of the project,” according to the staff report.
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The application also included a self-disclosure document stating that Pollard Land contributed $500 to the campaign of Commissioner Dewey Galeas for reelection to his District 4 seat on the Board of Commissioners.
Planning Commission Chairman Jim Cox expressed concerned about the number of attached homes planned for the parcel, which borders Interstate 20 to the north, and potential traffic congestion.
Mark Ivey with Ivey Development responded to that there will be two ways to enter and exit the subdivision, in compliance with fire code requirements, and noted that no room would be left over for on street parking.
“You don’t want to put your biggest houses against the interstate,” said Ivey. “You put your most affordable back there because that’s the most likely to sell.”
Planning Commissioner Russell Wilder made a motion to approve the rezoning. He and Commissioner Gene Futch both voted in favor, while Cox and Vice Chairman Al Dempsey opposed. As Commissioner Michael Carraway was not present at the meeting to break the tie, the motion failed.
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The Laurels, another residential development project by Pollard Land Company, was postponed a second time.
Pollard Land, along with CSRA Development and property owner Rachel Miles, applied in early June to rezone 107 acres on Old Pearre Place and Clanton Road from R-A residential agricultural to planned residential development. The project is an “active adult” residential community comprised of more than 200 detached single-family units for residents ages 55 and over.
This application was postponed from Planning Commission’s July 7 meeting to allow the applicants time to address comments and concerns from both county staff and neighboring property owners.
Keith Lawrence of CSRA Development asked the commissioners to postpone the item again to complete updating the plan for the development to address concerns of staff, the planning commission and neighbors, including the number of units, setbacks and traffic concerns.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously to postpone the rezoning request to its Sept. 1 meeting.
On July 22, Kelsey Folks and Christ Church Presbyterian applied to revise the S-1 special zoning of the church’s property at 4201 Southern Pines Dr., in order to open a daycare center.
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The church, located at the intersection of Furys Ferry Road and Southern Pines Drive, is in the midst of a five-phase expansion project that includes a 7,700 square foot education and administration building.
The school building is to be used as a preschool and daycare center. Folks, who has operated a daycare at 4220 Belair Frontage Rd. in the One Way Baptist Church building since 2020, said in the narrative document attached to her request that “Evans is severely lacking in daycare availability” and that this use of the new structure will “answer a need in the community.”
The planning department noted in its staff report that the site’s current zoning allows for use as a daycare, but that a major revision is still necessary in this case, as this childcare center would be a new business operating on church property.
That staff recommended approval without any conditions, and the Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
