The City of Grovetown is continuing to work on updating its zoning code.
A public information meeting was held on Tuesday, Feb. 28 for community members to come out and listen to the changes be proposed for the form-based code in the zoning code. Ronnie Kurtz, director of planning and community development, said the reason for this additional meeting was because more feedback from the community was wanted.
“The form-based code was originally adopted around 2014/2015 prior to a lot of the development and growth that occurred out in the Fort Gordon area that directly impacts us, the change in traffic pattern around Robinson Avenue and Wrightsboro Road, as well as just a general growth in the entire Richmond (County) and Columbia (County) areas,” Kurtz said.
About a year ago, four main goals were established when it came to redoing the code, Kurtz said. These goals are:
- To restore traditional residential zoning districts similar to the existing R-2 and R-3 standards
- Restore standard commercial zoning districts, with overlay standards applicable to the City’s main thoroughfares along Wrightsboro Road and Robinson Avenue.
- Modify landscaping standards to allow for removal of trees from single family lots and set minimum density standards
- Codify density limits for multifamily and townhome developments
Kelley Klepper, with Kimley-Horn who has been helping to rewrite the code, spoke to the audience about the changes.
For residential zoning, the draft currently keeps the zoning districts residential (R)-1, R-2, and R-3 districts the same as the old one. The new zoning districts combine the city center (CC) -6 and CC-7 into R-C1, combines CC-5, R-4, R-355, and CC-4 into R-C2, and changes CC-4 to R-HD, Klepper said.
“You’ll see CC-6 and CC-5, and things like that, those are the districts that have been modified and are being recommended for modification to go to a more traditional type of zoning district and series of standards,” Klepper said.
According to information given at the session, R-C1 is for lower density residential development, which includes single-family detached or two-family dwellings. R-C2 is for a variety of housing types, which includes single-family detached and single-family attached dwelling units “at a density not greater than 10 units per gross acre.” R-HD is for areas for high density residential development, such as single-family dwellings and multiple-family dwellings.
For commercial zoning, the new zoning district combines C-1, CC-1, and CC-3 into NC – Neighborhood Commercial, and combines CC-8 (public, city-owned land), CC-2, C-2, and C-4 to GC – General Commercial.
Neighborhood commercial (NC) is for small scale commercial uses, including retail sales, personal services, and recreational and institutional establishments. General commercial (GC) is for areas of amusement, specialized sales, and travel accommodations activities, according to information presented at the meeting. Kurtz said the GC zoning would be good for a store like Wal-Mart.
The industrial district zoning district combines M-1 and M-2 into M-Industrial. M-Industrial is for areas for manufacturing, assembling, fabricating, warehousing, and related activities, according to information from the meeting. The special district zoning changes PUDD into PUD (Planned Unit Development). Klepper said Brighton Park in Grovetown is an example of a PUD with single family detached, attached, multi-family, open spaces, parks, and some commercial aspects.
Community members were able to ask questions during the session, with Amanda Schlegel asking about how the things would work with Robinson Avenue since the state owns the road and if a driveway could come out onto the road.
“You are allowed to have driveways along Robinson Avenue. given that it is state owned,” Kurtz said. “Part of the fact that the state owns that road is that they have a say as to where exactly they go and they finalize a lot of the curb cuts.”
The way the code is currently written was more of a problem because it required buildings to be right on the road, which is not allowed within a GDOT right-of-way or easement.
“You could have curb cuts in those easements, you could have parking in those easements, you can’t have buildings,” Kurtz said. “What this is allowing is making it easier for people to go ahead and develop without having to be necessarily concerned about that requirement coming in and coming to us to get a variance from our requirements… this code would allow them by right to have that building further off and avoid that concern in the first place.”
“The codes that you had 20 years ago, the uses that we had 10 years ago, the code that were implemented with the city center districts need to be looked at or refreshed every so often,” Klepper said.
A draft of the zoning map and additional information can be found on the City of Grovetown website. A copy of the information session can be found on the City of Grovetown Facebook page.
The draft will be presented to the Grovetown Planning Commission at its meeting on Thursday, March 16 at 6 p.m. in the city council chambers, Kurtz said. The planning commission will make a recommendation on whether it should be adopted and that will be sent to the Grovetown City Council. If the planning commission is in favor of the draft, it would be presented at the April city council meeting and then approved in May.
