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Augusta Planning Commission approves rezoning for off-campus student housing in Sandhills, 5–4
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Summary
The Planning Commission approved a rezoning to allow a six-bedroom, student-oriented development near Augusta University, despite neighbors’ concerns about traffic, scale and parking; the approval carried 5–4 with conditions including a combination plat, downward lighting and required site-plan approval.
The Augusta Georgia Planning Commission voted to rezone multiple parcels in the Sandhills/Old Augusta character area to R-3B to allow a proposed off-campus student housing development, approving the application 5–4 with staff conditions.
Ashley Catterton, development services administrator, told the commission the request covers properties at 616, 708 and 710 Weed Street and 2450 Wheeler Road and that the applicant’s concept planned roughly 132 bedrooms intended to serve about 130 students in six-bedroom units. Staff found the rezoning consistent with elements of the 2023 comprehensive plan and recommended approval subject to conditions including combining parcels via plat, directing new lighting downward and meeting site-plan and tree-ordinance requirements.
Developer Wayne Miller, who identified his business address as 2500 Trade Center Drive in Evans, said the team added about 30–35 parking spaces since the prior presentation, met with the Sandhills Neighborhood Association and with Augusta University staff on transit and circulation, and that the goal is to create "a walking community" that de-emphasizes cars in favor of buses, bicycles and walking.
Neighbors at the podium opposed the rezoning on safety and scale grounds. Resident Brian Green said the 132 bedrooms equate to 132 students and raised safety concerns about speeding on Mount Auburn, telling the commission he had recorded vehicles at up to "60 miles an hour" on local streets. Henrietta Combs and Carolyn Cones Robinson said construction access, increased traffic, exhaust and the size of a two-story project in a neighborhood of mostly one-story homes would harm the block.
Commissioners questioned whether leases could be limited to Augusta University students; legal counsel and staff clarified zoning approval cannot legally require tenant status restrictions because of fair-housing law, and that lease enforcement and marketing ultimately remain private landlord decisions. The developer said his intent is to market mainly to students but acknowledged that fair-housing rules limit legally enforceable occupancy criteria.
The commission’s roll-call, as recorded in the hearing, shows the motion to approve carried by a 5–4 vote. Staff will require the applicant to record a combination plat and obtain site-plan approval before construction; the applicant was told the rezoning will return to the Augusta Commission on Feb. 17, 2026 for final action.
Next steps: the developer will comply with the conditions listed by staff and pursue required site-plan approvals before construction.
