Council sends Save A Lot subdivision appeal to full body with no recommendation after neighborhood objections

The Planning and Zoning Committee heard an appeal on May 20 from neighborhood advocates seeking to overturn a Land Use Control Board approval that created a 0.82-acre lot at the north end of a Save A Lot parcel (4696 South Third Street). The LUCB had approved the subdivision by a 4–3 vote; Planning staff recommended denial of the appeal and confirmed the proposed lot met applicable UDC lot and bulk standards.

Dr. Lynette Williams, executive director of Acklena Lakeview Gardens CDC, said the neighborhood was not properly informed about potential uses and feared a gas station or oil-change facility would be built on the newly created lot; she said the area already has a high concentration of gasoline stations and that community input had been insufficient. The applicant’s representative, Westwood Waters of Renaissance Group, said the listing in the application that mentioned an oil-change concept was a mistake in the seller portal and that the immediate application was only for a lot split; he said the owner planned to market the newly created lot and any future use would require a separate special-use permitting process with neighborhood meetings.

Councilman Ford stressed the neighborhood’s redevelopment strategy for Third Street and said he did not want new auto-service uses there. The committee considered the record and, without reaching a unified recommendation, voted to forward the appeal to the full council with no recommendation. Planning staff said the lot currently conforms to CMU-3 zoning lot standards and that any future development proposals would require their own public process and approvals.