Bullock County commissioners approve several rezones, OK daycare and lift condition on commercial property; table drive-through request

Bullock County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to approve several zoning changes and conditional-use requests, including rezoning parcels for single- and two-family housing, lifting a prior condition on a commercial property that restricted alcohol sales, and approving a conditional-use permit for a 40-child daycare. Commissioners tabled a request for a drive-through facility at an AMPM convenience store after the applicant failed to appear.

The actions will allow: a rezone for a manufactured home site on Lily Creek Road; removal of a 2009 zoning condition at 6980 Kennedy Bridge Road that previously barred alcoholic beverage sales; creation of a duplex subdivision at Cody Lane; a 162-acre rezone to allow creation of 5-acre residential lots off Lotts Creek Road (with conditions); approval of a conditional-use permit for a day-care center on Simons Road (R-40 parcel); and a 10-acre rezoning adjacent to an existing Birdsong peanut operation for an additional warehouse. Commissioners also voted to table a conditional-use request for a truck-stop / drive-through facility at the intersection of U.S. 80 and Burkhalter Road because the developer or agent was not present to answer questions.

Why it matters: The approvals permit new residential development, an expanded agricultural/industrial operation, and a daycare facility that proponents said will serve local families. Lifting the condition on the Kennedy Bridge Road parcel reopens the property to a future beer-and-wine retail application, though any alcohol license would still be subject to state and county proximity rules and a separate licensing review.

Planning staff presented each item and recommended approval for…