Savannah-based convenience store chain Parker’s Kitchen is planning another location in Columbia County, this one in Grovetown on Lewiston Road.
In May, the owners of three parcels at the intersection of Columbia and Lewiston roads totaling more than eight acres, along with Drayton-Parker Companies, submitted two variance requests to Columbia County’s planning department to accommodate a Parker’s Kitchen store and gas station.
The proposed development would entail recombining the three tracts to create a parcel for the convenience store and two additional out-parcels, for which there are currently no plans.
Construction would also include a curb cut along Lewiston Road, and an access road connecting Columbia and Lewiston. The applicants are seeking a variance to reduce the 30-foot buffer required against the adjacent residential zoned property, owned by Georgia Power.
The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) stated that the access road must align with median cuts planned for the widening project, according to a letter to the county on behalf of Drayton-Parker from EMC Engineering Services.
“Aligning the driveway with the planned median cut and maintaining an acceptable turning radius… from the median cut will require the proposed drive to encroach into the 30’ wide buffer on the south side of the subject property nearest Lewiston Road,” the letter states. “GDOT is not willing to grant a variance for the placement of the access drive and asked that the median cut not be modified from their current design plans.”
The company is also seeking a variance of county ordinance restricting the hours of operation from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., in order to open the store for 24 hours.
The Columbia County Board of Commissioners approved a PUD revision to accommodate a Parker’s Kitchen in early May. The Planning Commission is scheduled to consider these variances in its meeting on June 29, along with a rezoning request from Drayton-Parker to build another of its convenience stores at 170 S. Belair Road.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
