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Commission approves rezoning to B‑2 for proposed liquor store at Toni Branch and Highway 204 with restricted uses
Summary
The board rezoned a 0.98‑acre property at Toni Branch and Highway 204 from B‑1 to B‑2 to allow a liquor store, adding a list of excluded uses and requiring the applicant to pay for any traffic improvements if later warranted; residents objected over traffic, light and neighborhood fit.
The Bryan County Board of Commissioners approved rezoning nearly one acre at the corner of Toni Branch and Highway 204 from B‑1 Neighborhood to B‑2 General Commercial to allow the development of a liquor store and potential restaurant, while expressly excluding a set of higher‑impact uses and preserving the applicant’s obligation to fund any required traffic work.
Staff told the board the site is currently zoned B‑1 but a liquor store is not permitted by right under that classification; rezoning to B‑2 would allow the package sale use. Staff recommended approval while listing uses that would be prohibited in this instance — including animal boarding, adult uses, vehicle washing, funeral homes, motels, shooting ranges, drive‑throughs and fireworks sales — and warned that any required traffic improvements identified during civil construction would be at the applicant’s expense.
Planning and Zoning had recommended denial at its May meeting; several residents spoke against the rezoning at the commission hearing, citing safety, congestion and neighborhood character concerns. Benjamin Hutchinson, the homeowner adjacent to the proposed driveway, said, “There will absolutely be traffic slow downs there,” and warned of backups onto Highway 204. Other neighbors described the intersection as dangerous, expressed worries about light and trash and said the area already has nearby liquor stores.
Applicant representatives said the site is entitled for commercial use and submitted a traffic data analysis (TDA). County staff reported a TDA estimate of about 259 trips per day; the project team later referenced AM and PM peak trip counts of roughly 11 and 31, respectively, and said GDOT standards did not require immediate road improvements. The board’s approval limited certain higher‑intensity B‑2 uses and left the applicant responsible for any traffic mitigation that becomes warranted during permitting and civil construction.
Commissioners asked about light‑spill controls; the applicant said site lighting would conform to the Unified Development Ordinance to avoid affecting adjacent properties or the intersection. The board approved the rezoning on a voice vote with the stated restrictions.
