In a rare situation, the Augusta Commission tied in a vote over rezoning a stretch of Washington Road to allow for an expansion of the Jim Hudson Lexus auto dealership, leaving it to Mayor Hardie Davis to break the tie. Davis voted to allow the zoning change.
At the Sept. 21 commission meeting, 24 residents of the Montclair neighborhood in West Augusta showed up to protest the zoning change, armed with a petition signed by 115 people. Six people showed up to the meeting to support the zoning change.
The rezoning request was made by Martinez Properties, LLC, asking to change the zoning of 3140 Washington Rd. and 107 Warren Rd. from one-family residential to general business. The zoning change would cover 4.47 acres.
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According to Darren Meadows, spokesperson of the Hudson Automotive group, the plan is for the group to buy the property, which is adjacent to the Goodwill Shopping center at the intersections of Washington, Warren and Furys Ferry Roads, to create a new dealership for a luxury car brand.
Meadows told the commission that he could not divulge the name of the brand of automobiles that the Hudson Automotive Group plans to sell at the new dealership, but he stated that it would be a luxury brand.
In his presentation to the commission, Meadows said that the new facility will add 30 new jobs and over $500,000 in combined tax revenue annually.
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According to Meadows, in negotiating with the Montclair homeowners association, the auto group agreed to install low density LED lights that are pointed away from the residential homes, to build a privacy fence and only allow dumpsters on the property to be emptied during specified hours to avoid bothering residents with noise.
One of the neighborhood association’s complaints was that automotive car lots have loudspeaker systems that broadcast day and night, but Meadows said that the facility will not have an outdoor loudspeaker system as those systems are now obsolete.
Jim Daniel spoke on behalf of the residents who oppose the zoning change and stated that planned development would forever alter the historic landscape of the neighborhood by placing a car lot the size of two football fields right in the middle of a neighborhood known for its old growth trees.
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“Montclair has gone 56 years with the property adjacent to us being zoned residential. Montclair is a planned neighborhood with more than 500 homes,” Daniel told commissioners and added that such a development as a car lot would drive down property values.
The commission voted at first on a substitute motion to deny the zoning petition that tied. The mayor abstained. The original motion to allow for the zoning change also ended in a tie and the mayor cast a vote to allow the dealership deal to continue.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com.
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