The Columbia County Planning Commission at its Thursday Nov. 4 meeting voted to deny rezoning requests for a proposed hotel and gas station on Appling Harlem Road and a proposed subdivision on Owens Road.
Sunil and Bhumika Patel requested rezoning for a property at 1803 Appling Harlem Road from a residential agricultural district to a general commercial district for the proposed use as a hotel and convenience store. This location is near the AGS1 Amazon Robotics Fulfillment Center which opened on Discovery Road on Oct. 1.
Laurie Jordan of Appling spoke before the board against the rezoning, noting that a Circle K and a Dollar General were already nearby and that opening a gas station and hotel at this location would conflict with the county’s long-range development plan.
Appling resident Maya Morgan also spoke against the rezoning, citing traffic issues.
Commissioner Al Dempsey, who made the initial motion to deny the request, expressed sympathy with several residents who attended the meeting in opposition to the rezoning. The motion to deny the request was passed unanimously.
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Charleston-based MoRE Development requested that two properties on 4315 and 4299 Owens Road, located behind the Brandon Wilde retirement community, be rezoned from a planned unit development and single family residential to a planned residential development.
The purpose for the rezoning would have been for a proposed subdivision called Owens Village, consisting of 174 single-family homes.
Danielle Montgomery, planner II for Columbia County, explained before the board that while MoRE Development’s proposal fits with Vision 2035, the county’s comprehensive plan for its growth and development, its application documents did not meet the standards expected of a planned residential development. Montgomery noted that the MoRE requested that the rezoning application be revisited in two weeks to allow more time to revise its documents, and that the planning staff supported this alternative.
Attorney Jim Trotter spoke before the board on behalf of MoRE Development and reiterated the request to postpone the matter for two weeks so that MoRE could revise its development plan.
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Former Columbia County commissioner Frank Spears spoke before the board objecting to Owens rezoning request, stressing the planning staff’s own conclusion that MoRE’s application documents were not sufficient.
Spears requested that the board not table the matter, but rather deny the request so that the matter could potentially be revisited after six months, when MoRE could address all the issues in its proposal.
“This is a huge decision to be made, affection so many lives,” said Spear. “We’ve got to plan carefully.”
The board also voted the denial unanimously.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering Columbia County with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
