The Columbia County Planning Commission, during its meeting Thursday night, voted against a proposed liquor store off Columbia Road, with several of its would-be neighbors opposing.
Malay Patel, owner of Top Notch Liquor on Barton Chapel Road in Augusta, requested from the county a conditional use license to establish a package store on his property at 102 Old South Belair Road, which would take up 11,000 square feet of a 15,000-square-foot commercial building he plans to build there.
The legal representative of Patel’s company Arav & Sanvi LLC told the planning commissioners that the remaining 4,000 square feet of space would be leased to three tenants, and that the company was in talks with businesses such as coffee shops.
The property sits at the intersection of Columbia and Old South Belair roads, north of the Brookwood Townhomes, with a seven-acre parcel to its east neighboring homes along Maple Creek Drive.
Residents of those neighborhoods spoke against the request, mostly decrying the prospect of a liquor store in the area and a potential increased in traffic. Though one Grovetown homeowner, Hailey Etzel, spoke in support, saying the development of the shop and adjacent retail space would prove beneficial to the county by adding jobs and tax revenue, and lauding how Patel runs his business in Augusta.
“If we want to attract young families to Columbia County, to grow I think we need to grow our businesses,” Etzel said, later going on to note that the development would be conducive to the traffic at the intersection. “I’ve known the applicant for several years, done business with him at his business in Richmond County, patronize his business in Richmond County. It’s a very well run business. It’s well lit, it’s adequately staffed. It’s a safe shopping experience.”
Though the planning staff recommended approval with the condition that the building connect to county sewer, the commissioners voted unanimously to recommend disapproval of the request.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
