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Commissioners approve R‑2 rezoning for Callaway Road area; several site revisions and variances also pass
Summary
The Columbia County Board of Commissioners approved a rezoning to R‑2 for property off Callaway Road allowing an estimated 70 single‑family units and passed three related land‑use requests including a preschool use at a church, a three‑lot PUD revision and a setback variance adjacent to CSX tracks.
The Columbia County Board of Commissioners on April 1 approved multiple land‑use requests, including a rezoning from R‑1 to R‑2 for a parcel off Callaway Road that staff said could accommodate roughly 70 single‑family homes, and several related site revisions and variances.
The R‑2 rezoning (tax map 060, parcel 013B) was approved 4‑1 after discussion of traffic, fire protection and utility upgrades. County staff said the developer must fund road redesign and water‑system upgrades, install fire hydrants, and add turn lanes and traffic‑calming measures as conditions of approval. A staff member said, “They will have to pay for all of it.”
The rezoning sets the stage for a future development concept that staff described as nonbinding; the concept shown to commissioners indicated about 1.88 units per acre. Staff emphasized the county’s growth‑management plan allows up to three units per acre in this area and that final density will depend on subsequent plan approvals and possible variances.
Also approved were: - A major S‑1 revision (tax map 0778, parcel 016C) to allow a preschool to operate in leased space inside an existing church building and to add a front playground enclosed by black, vinyl‑coated chain‑link fencing. Staff said additional landscaping will be required to soften the playground’s appearance. - A major PUD revision (tax map 060, parcel 1755) to subdivide a former funeral‑home property into three single‑family lots; staff recommended R‑1 standards for setbacks and uses, and required shared access rather than three separate driveways. - A variance for reduced setbacks on tax map 077A, parcel 011E, including a 3‑foot setback adjacent to the CSX right‑of‑way and reduced front setbacks in a portion of the site. Staff said the requested reductions are consistent with similar adjoining uses and would locate contractor storage and warehouse uses away from the road.
County staff noted that neighbors attended the Planning Commission meeting but did not put opposition on the record. Commissioners repeatedly stressed that road and utility upgrades would be developer‑funded and that detailed engineering, traffic studies and possible variances would return to the Planning Commission and the board before construction could start.
The board approved the planning items after motions and seconds; where recorded, the R‑2 rezoning passed 4‑1.
What’s next: Planning staff and the developer will proceed with required concept plans, engineering and any variance requests to be considered by the Planning Commission and the board before permits are issued or construction begins.
