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Rezone request at 1075 Gaines School Road draws neighbor opposition; Planning Commission recommends approval with condition banning drive-thrus
Summary
A request to remove part of a commercial office planned development at 1075 Gaines School Road to allow standalone retail drew neighborhood opposition over traffic and tree loss. The Planning Commission recommended approval with a condition prohibiting drive-thru uses.
The commission heard a rezone request April 15 for part of 1075 Gaines School Road to allow retail uses on a parcel now covered by a commercial-office planned development (PD). Staff described the request as a straight rezone of the parcel to commercial-neighborhood (CN), with the portion owned by Covenant Presbyterian Church to remain in the PD to preserve off-site parking and shared access.
A representative for Southeastern Retail Development, Alec Leslie, said the retail zoning would allow a building larger than the 2,500-square-foot limit now allowed under the site's COPD designation and that the petitioner has not yet submitted a site plan. The Planning Commission recommended approval with one condition: no drive-thru uses on the parcel; the condition would not bar stand-alone ATMs or similar kiosks.
Neighbors spoke against the rezone at the meeting. Andy Herrod, who lives about 100 yards from the site, urged denial and said the sites present COPD status gave the neighborhood more certainty. Herrod and other speakers said the driveway that serves the church and the office property provides access near the Barnett Shoals/Greencrest intersection, which they described as congested; they raised concerns about additional queuing, cut-through traffic through the adjacent neighborhood and the potential loss of mature street trees. Herrod disputed the petitioners assertion that the rezoned parcel would match surrounding corners and called the rezoning a potential "spot zone." He also argued the Planning Commission had not visited the site and that the commissions language about preserving trees was not binding.
Commissioners expressed interest in seeing a specific site plan for neighbors to review; Commissioner Myers said the applicant had agreed in prior conversations to provide a plan. The Planning Commissions favorable recommendation with the no-drive-thru condition was forwarded to the commission for final action at a future voting meeting.
