The Augusta Planning Commission has recommended approval for a special exception request to property along Mike Padgett Highway to distribute medical cannabis during its meeting Monday afternoon.
The request is for Living Well Pharmacy. Proprietor Vic Johnson petitioned to be allowed to distribute low-THC medical cannabis. Johnson’s pharmacy is licensed by the Georgia Board of Pharmacy to dispense low-THC oil to Richmond County’s more than 400 registered patients, but it sits less than 1,000 feet from a church operating inside a shopping center.
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All commissioners voted to recommend approval for the special exception, save Commissioner Locke McKnight, who abstained.
Early in the meeting, McKnight, who is the president of Stables Management Development, recused himself as his fellow commissioners considered his petition to revise the maximum building height for apartment complex from two stories to two and a half.
In February, the Augusta Commission rezoned property at Heard Avenue and Heckle Street from R-3B to R-3C Multi-family Residential, to combine parcels and make way for further development of Stables’ Hillside Lofts. One of the conditions of that rezoning limited the apartment building’s height to two stories.
McKnight sought to modify that condition, as Augusta’s Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance allows R-3C structures a maximum of two and a half stories. The remaining commissioners voted unanimously in favor of McKnight’s request.
Commissioners also unanimously voted in favor of granting Stryten Energy a special exception to store and process sulfuric acid at the former Textron plant at the intersection of Mike Padgett and Marvin Griffin Road, where the company plans to use a portion of the site to produce vanadium electrolytes for a specialized rechargeable battery.
Commissioner Donnie Smith expressed some reluctance about recommending the special exception for Stryten, citing concerns about potential chemical spills in nearby Butler Creek. Commissioner James O’Neal also inquired about any risks a breach would incur.
Childers stressed Stryten’s commitment to safety precautions and noted that the sulfuric acid would have the “same concentration level as a standard car battery.”
Planning staff had recommended approval of the request, with exceptions including compliance with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
