The Effingham County Board of Commissioners approved two Dollar General site plans on Dec. 2 after extended discussion about maintenance responsibilities, compatibility with nearby residential uses, and what residents characterized as a 'bait-and-switch' during rezoning.

For the Springfield site on Old Tusculum Road, senior planner Kimberly Bartlett said the 10,640‑square‑foot building will sit on about 1.97 acres with 36 parking spaces, septic and well service, a 30‑foot vegetative buffer and a seven‑foot opaque fence on the south edge. Peter Schoenauer of Tidewater Engineering said the developer maintains a lease relationship with Dollar General corporate and that maintenance agreements are included in the final-plat process; the board approved the site plan with standard plat-recording and encroachment-permit conditions.

The second site plan, on Neese Road, drew stronger comment. Commissioner Burdett criticized the change in commercial occupant after a rezoning public hearing that residents said presented a sandwich/coffee shop; Burdett said residents had not had a chance to weigh in on the Dollar General and called it a “bait and switch.” Legal staff reminded the board that once a property is rezoned to a zoning district whose permitted uses include a given business, the county cannot prohibit that permitted use unless conditions were imposed at rezoning. The applicant said their proposed elevation matched allowed materials in the ordinance, but commissioners insisted on architectural alignment with the surrounding residential character.

The board ultimately approved the Neese Road site plan with a stipulation that architectural compliance align with B‑1 (neighborhood commercial) requirements and that staff review the final architectural submittal to ensure the building’s massing and materials conform to adjacent residential surroundings. Commissioners also stressed that maintenance agreements for retention/pond areas will be required as part of the final plat and should be enforced if maintenance lapses occur.