Micah’s Place plans office addition and retail conversion; staff says expansion may go straight to building permit

Chris Bryant, the prospective general contractor for a Micah’s Place project on Sadler Road, described Tuesday morning a plan to convert an existing office to retail and construct a new office behind it so the business can move a retail operation in‑house instead of leasing offsite.

Development staff reviewed the concept and provided preliminary guidance: planning staff noted applicable commercial zoning and buffering and screening requirements; engineering staff said the expansion appears to fall under the county’s exception for existing commercial sites that add less than 4,000 square feet of impervious area and could qualify to go directly to a building permit rather than a full DRC review; the health department said it had no comments if the project proceeds through building permit; and fire staff requested typical building permit submittal items such as life‑safety plans.

Chris Bryant said the owner ‘‘has a retail location out in the western part of the county that they're paying an excessive amount of rent for. They want to bring that in house and develop the lot that they have on Sadler Road,’’ adding the plan creates an office behind the existing office and converts the current office into retail.

Elizabeth Bach of the Planning Department said the parcel is zoned Commercial General and subject to the county’s Article 16 setbacks and dimensional requirements; she noted the property carries a commercial future‑land‑use designation and pointed to buffering and screening rules, including dumpster screening under Land Development Code §37.05(d)(6). Bach asked whether the proposed additional parking toward the rear was paved and where existing structures would be removed.

Caleb Hurst of Development Services told the applicant a review of the materials suggests the additional impervious area likely falls below the 4,000‑square‑foot trigger described in Land Development Code §51.07 (exceptions for expanding commercial sites). Hurst said, ‘‘as long as you stay under 4,000 square feet of additional impervious, you would be able to go straight to a building permit,’’ but staff will confirm after the applicant provides exact figures for the new parking area. Hurst also reminded the applicant that the parking area must be paved and that parking dimensions are governed by the Roadway and Drainage Standards.

Ronnie from the health department said if the project bypasses DRC and goes through building permit, the health office had no comments for the pre‑application. A county fire representative advised the applicant to include demolition and life‑safety plans with the building permit application.

Bryant had no outstanding questions following staff comments. The committee did not issue approvals; staff will provide formal comments and the applicant must submit a building permit or full application depending on final impervious calculations.