Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Columbia County approves variance for Parker’s Kitchen; residents press for traffic controls
Summary
The Board approved a variance allowing Parker’s Kitchen to reduce buffer and setback requirements; neighbors raised traffic, safety and litter concerns and developers agreed to consider mitigation including a truck-height bar and paying for speed humps.
The Columbia County Board of Commissioners on June 17 approved a variance allowing Parker’s Kitchen to reduce or remove structural buffer and separation requirements along a residential lot line for property at Tax Map 078C Parcel 223, a move residents said will increase traffic and safety risks in adjacent neighborhoods.
Neighbors urged the board to require traffic controls rather than rely on voluntary measures. “We're gonna have so much traffic down there, we're gonna have to put yellow lines on the streets,” resident Kimberly Johns said, describing large volumes of vehicles, litter and drivers treating neighborhood streets “like a racetrack.” Johns also asked the county to close or limit the site's rear access to prevent the store’s traffic from diverting through nearby streets.
The variance was requested to reduce an…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
