Alongside voting on the controversial rezoning request by Winchester Homes of Georgia to rezone tracts along Pleasant Home Road, the Augusta Planning Commission addressed several similar petitions in its meeting Monday afternoon.
Beazley Development Co. will have to wait another six months before it can bring its south Augusta rezoning request back before the Planning Commission.
The developer applied in August to rezone some 189 acres along tracts on Windsor Spring Road and Manchester Drive from Agricultural to R-1 single family residential, with the aim of building a new subdivision of 354 single-family units.
The Planning Commission voted to disapprove the request early last month. Beazley Development requested to withdraw the request without prejudice before the case was to go before the Augusta Commission.
The city attorney present informed the commissioners that bylaws required that the Planning Commission put a motion on the floor to allow the withdrawal, hear the petitioner’s case and then vote.
Joseph Gulino, vice president of land development with Beazley, told the commissioners that the company opted to withdraw the application to allow time to reevaluate its plans, confer further with homeowners in the nearby Cambridge subdivision—who vocally opposed the rezoning in October—and reach mutually beneficial terms.
The attorney also told commissioners that when they voted on whether to allow Beazley to withdraw the application without prejudice, the motion would be denied if only one of the commissioners voted to deny. A majority of the commissioners voted to allow the withdrawal, though Commissioners Lorraine Barlett and Douglas Prince abstained from voting, and Commissioners Sonny Pittman and Debra Spencer voted against it, effectively voting down the withdrawal.
The Planning Commission also voted unanimously to rezone 2955 Gordon Hwy. from Agricultural to B-2 General Business so that applicant Jeffery Knight can set up a game room and paintball facility; and 928 Hephzibah-McBean Rd. from One-family Residential to Manufactured Home Residential, so that petitioner Opal Markell could move her home next to her ailing mother’s address.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
