In Tuesday’s Augusta Commission meeting, a rezoning request by property owner Yagya Nidhi Puri for the purpose of building two units, each housing three apartments, on a .77 acre parcel of land on Skinner Road was voted down 3-7, with only Bobby Williams, Francine Scott and Ben Hasan voting yes.
The request was for shifting the property at 108 Skinner Rd. from Zone R-1A (One-family Residential) to Zone R-3A (Multiple-family Residential). The original request was heard in March, and the request was pared down from an original number of 24 units on the same property down to 12, and eventually down to six.
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Director of License and Inspection Richard Sherman spoke about the specifics of the rezoning request, addressing possible traffic congestion and stating that the Chick-Fil-A located at 3066 Washington Rd. is set to demolish its current location and rebuild on land it purchased next door at 3044 Washington Rd., currently occupied by Mi Rancho. Sherman said that process could alleviate some of the road congestion concerns brought up by opposition to the rezoning request.
The representative for the opposition, Sarah Skinner, laid out her reasoning for being against the re-zoning. She lives a few houses down from the proposed development.
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“You’ve been told about the traffic,” Skinner said. “What you haven’t been told is about our neighborhood. Forty of the households in the surrounding neighborhood and 535 homes in Montclair, a subdivision which shares with us the main access road to the neighborhood, are against this motion.”
Skinner went on to say that the streets in the neighborhood surrounding the proposed development have no sidewalks and very narrow, and said that several people tell her about the unsafe driving conditions there based on motorists using those streets as “cut-through” roads coming out of the businesses surrounding Skinner Road.
“We already have extensive congestion, especially around 9 a.m., 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the evening due to Chick-Fil-A,” Skinner said. “And this rezoning would go against 2018’s Envision Augusta Comprehensive Plan in that it does not reinforce livable communities and neighborhoods, encourage traditional neighborhood design, or fall within a designated area for a clustered development. Putting six units on .77 acres is above the density for our neighborhood and surrounding properties.”
Skinner said that she and her community implored the Commission to think about what they would want their own neighborhoods to look like.
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In March, Trent Mercer, president of Montclair Association, Inc. wrote a letter to Richard Sherman strongly opposing the motion. He cited many of the same reasons Sarah Skinner brought up, including the incongruence to the Envision Augusta Comprehensive Plan objectives.
District 10 Commissioner John Clarke said, “I’ve been involved with this group of homeowners and I can understand their concern. I’ve stated that all growth is not necessarily good growth. Builders are going to build… but builders build and then they leave. Neighbors are still there and have to deal with what has been added. I’m against adding any homes to that area at least until we see what Chick-Fil-A does with their traffic flow in the future.”
He motioned to disapprove the zoning and was seconded by District 7 Commissioner Sean Frantom.
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District 4 Commissioner Sammie Sias said, “Looking at the lay of the land, I am disturbed the plan started at 24 units. That to me is a straight out grab by a developer. And I think the traffic issues are going to get worse whether this comes to fruition or not.”
District 3 Commissioner Catherine Smith McKnight spoke up to say she agreed with Clarke and Sias, also signaling that she would vote no.
The vote to approve the rezoning lost 3-7.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com.
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