Planning panel recommends variances for Parker's redevelopment at 3900 Washington Road

The Columbia County Planning Commission on June 5 recommended approval of a set of variances to allow redevelopment of the former Walgreens at 3900 Washington Road into a Parker's gas station, contingent on landscaping, separation and lighting conditions.

Staff said the applicant revised the site after an initial proposal that removed required separation and buffer standards along a shared lot line with adjacent R-3 single-family parcels. Dylan (staff member) told the commission the new plan increases separation between structures and adjacent homes to about 54 feet and requires a 16-foot landscape buffer along the shared lot line. "Given those conditions are met, staff is comfortable in recommending approval with those conditions," Dylan said.

The revisions also reduce the fuel canopy from 10 pumps to eight, relocate the dumpster pad farther from residential lots, and reduce building square footage and some parking on the building side nearest homes. The applicant added overhead clearance bars at the driveway that accesses Caribe Drive to deter commercial trucks; engineers described the bars as roughly in the 9- to 10-foot range so "commercial box trucks are also intended to be limited by these bars, not just 18-wheelers," the applicant's representative said.

Several nearby residents opposed the plan during public comment, raising concerns about cut-through commercial traffic, nighttime activity and property values. Kimberly Yots, who lives at 3914 Casa Rosa, told the commission she fears the development will turn neighborhood streets into an exit route for commercial traffic and asked whether the county could require a cul-de-sac or restrict left turns from the access road into the subdivision: "They are planning on making this neighborhood part of their exit strategy," Yots said. Sylvia Elam, speaking for her mother, said she supports shielding lighting but worried reduced rear lighting could allow loitering behind nearby businesses.

County staff and the county engineer discussed the feasibility of permanently closing or cul-de-sacing the existing driveway from the commercial parcel to the neighborhood. The county engineer said making the road a cul-de-sac was not a viable option because of public-safety access and because similar restrictions on other neighborhood streets could create unintended consequences; staff said the county will continue to coordinate with Georgia DOT as Washington Road improvements proceed.

Applicant Cody Rogers of EMC Engineering Services reiterated that Parker's revised the plan after the May 15 meeting to add landscaping, move the dumpster and install the clearance bars. The commission moved to recommend approval "with conditions" to file VA250502 for 3900 Washington Road; the motion carried by show of hands. The recommendation will be forwarded to the Columbia County Board of Commissioners for final action on June 17, 2025.

Staff conditions recorded in the commission packet and noted at the hearing require the 16-foot landscape buffer as shown on the approved site plan, the 54-foot separation between residential lot lines and any gas-station structures, shielded lighting with a photometric plan submitted for review, and the reduced canopy and adjusted dumpster location as depicted on the revised concept plan.