Applicant requests rezoning for mini-storage and warehouse at Highway 81; planning commission tables application to allow access and acreage clarifications

The planning commission heard an application to rezone about 7 acres at 257 Highway 81 from residential to business uses for a proposed 20,000-square-foot warehouse (Phoenix Bridal) and four mini-storage buildings.

Applicant Angel Zurita and engineer Jason Brown presented a site plan showing the proposed building footprint and a planned access route that would share an entrance across a flag lot owned by an adjacent residential property. Brown said the applicant had been negotiating with the adjacent property owner and had a draft easement or an offer to sell the small parcel needed for a separate commercial access, but the document had not been executed.

Commission members and county staff noted that residential and commercial parcels normally cannot share a driveway and that, if the commercial proposal depends on acquiring a slice of the adjacent parcel or an executed easement, that property interest must be included in the rezoning application so staff and departments can review it. Staff advised the commission that the access arrangement could require re-advertising and reapplication if acreage or ownership changes. Because access and parcel boundaries affect the county’s review (including public works and GDOT comments), the applicant asked to table the item and revise the application; the commission granted the request. The applicant was told to return with a revised application that includes the access parcel or an executed easement and to re-advertise if required. The hearing record will include comments provided by neighbors at the meeting as the applicant prepares a revised filing.