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North Augusta board approves home‑occupation permit for online seller at Mossy Oak Circle
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously granted Justin Kersey a special exception to operate an online retail business from his home at 112 Mossy Oak Circle with three conditions: no on‑site customers, no external signage or structural alterations, and shipping limited to residential mail/parcel services.
The North Augusta Board of Zoning Appeals on Sept. 2 approved application ZE25‑009, allowing Justin Kersey to run an online retail operation from his residence at 112 Mossy Oak Circle under three conditions aimed at preserving the house's residential character.
Staff presented the application and said the proposed use would be conducted entirely indoors from a single converted bedroom, involve storage of apparel in labeled totes, and rely on standard postal and parcel carriers rather than commercial deliveries. The board examined the development code criteria for special exceptions (article 5, section 5.3.7) and focused on traffic, noise, scale, accessory‑structure limits and commercial‑vehicle restrictions.
Kersey, sworn for testimony, told the board he stores inventory in about a dozen totes, photographs merchandise at home and ships items via USPS or UPS. "I've been running the business on and off for about a year now with no complaints from anybody," he said, describing himself as a USC Aiken student who works at Publix and does not expect the business to generate unusual vehicle traffic.
Staff also presented an emailed neighborhood comment from Melinda Collins indicating conditional support but asking the board to ensure the use remain low impact and to consider future growth, traffic and storage concerns. Board members repeatedly noted the code's 10 daily‑trip threshold for home occupations and asked whether the operation would exceed that standard; staff and the applicant said it would not.
After reading and discussing the applicable criteria and staff findings, the board voted unanimously to grant the special exception with three conditions recommended by staff: (1) no clients or customers shall visit the property in relation to the business; (2) no signage or external alterations to the structure; and (3) all shipping and delivery activity shall be limited to standard, residential‑scale mail and parcel services. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
The board's action permits the online retail activity as described in the application under the stated conditions; no monetary penalties, permits beyond the special exception, or enforcement steps were specified during the hearing.
