Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning commission backs amendment to allow convenience store, forwards Z-2606 to full commission
Summary
The planning commission voted to approve an amendment to zoning case Z-22-56 to permit a 4,500 sq ft convenience store with fueling stations at 1602 Gordon Highway, accepting staff conditions and adding a use restriction limiting the site to a convenience store (and associated restaurant).
The Augusta Planning Commission voted to approve an amendment to zoning case Z-22-56 that would allow a convenience store and fuel canopy at 1602 Gordon Highway and moved the petition to the full Augusta Commission for final action.
Planning staff said the amendment would remove the previous requirement that any development “substantially conform to the concept plan” approved with the 2022 rezoning and described the applicant’s concept: “A convenience store that will measure approximately 4,500 square feet,” 56 off‑street parking spaces, a gas canopy with eight fueling stations and a 1,500‑square‑foot drive‑through restaurant. Rachel Martin of Planning and Development noted the plan did not include a required loading zone and that traffic engineering requested an interior truck‑turning diagram.
James Trotter, representing the petitioner, said the site is already zoned B‑2 and that the new owner is seeking to develop a convenience store rather than the car wash shown on the earlier concept plan. Trotter told commissioners he and the developer are willing to revise the site plan to address truck‑turn concerns and said a liquor store is not part of the concept.
Staff recommended approval of the requested amendment with five conditions including sidewalks adjacent to Gordon Highway and Tubman Home Road, fully shielded downward‑directed lighting to avoid spillover onto nearby homes, a 40‑foot rear buffer with a double row of trees consistent with the Augusta tree ordinance, required site plan approval before construction, and compliance with applicable development standards.
A commissioner moved to accept staff’s conditions with an additional condition limiting the site to a convenience store (with the restaurant shown on the concept plan allowed). The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote; the petition will proceed to the full Augusta Commission, which holds final authority on the rezoning.
The planning commission’s action forwards the petition with the condition package; the full commission is scheduled to consider the rezoning on May 21.
