Two days after the Board of Commissioners approved a variance allowing an upcoming Parker’s Kitchen convenience store on Jimmie Dyess Parkway to run for 24 hours, the Columbia County Planning Commission has voted against another one of the fuel stations near the intersection of William Few Parkway and Columbia Road.
The owners of the parcel at 5607 Columbia Road, along with Drayton-Parker, had petitioned to rezone some three acres of that property from Residential Agricultural to Community Commercial, and for variances allowing a proposed Parker’s Kitchen gas-station to operate for 24 hours and reduce buffers.
Last year, the landowners received approval from the Planning Commission for the same set of requests at that property, when the project was going to be a Circle-K. They later withdrew their application.
In Thursday night’s meeting, Daniel Ben-Yisrael, Parker’s Kitchen’s real estate development manager, was candid with the planning commissioners about the Savannah-based convenience store’s plans to settle in the area, making note of the locations on Lewiston Road and in Riverwood Plantation.
“Our internal analysis and the metrics show that this store location would be profitable,” Ben-Yisrael said. “It’s not uncommon for us to locate stores within what would be considered a close proximity to one another if, in fact, the numbers justify it. In this case it does.”
He also told commissioners, responding to questions, that most stores operate for 24 hours, and their commercial kitchens were typically open well after 11 p.m., but since COVID have usually been closing before 11.
Residents Barbara Britton and Beth Connell spoke out against both the rezoning and variance requests, citing the potential for a 24-hour gas station to draw crime.
In separate votes, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended disapproval of both the rezoning request and the variances at the property.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
