Planning commission recommends Dollar General on Blythe Island after design concessions, neighbors cite traffic and drainage concerns

The Glynn County Mainland Planning Commission on April 14 recommended that the Glynn County Board of Commissioners approve a site plan for a 9,100-square-foot Dollar General at 124 Crossway Road on Blythe Island, after the developer agreed to architectural and buffering concessions intended to address neighbor concerns.

Christopher Carey, the county’s senior planner, told the commission the property is zoned highway commercial and has been since at least 1966. The plan shows one 9,100-square-foot retail building served by well and septic, required Type A buffering against residential properties and a Type D planting around the dumpster. Staff noted one written public comment had been submitted before the hearing.

The developer offered several on-the-record design commitments during the public meeting. Tyler Grable of Terra Nova Development said the project team would add shutters and a brick wainscot and Hardie siding on the two front-facing elevations and install an 8-foot privacy fence along the residential border. "I'll do an 8-ft fence on the along the residential border. I'll add shutters along the parking lot side," Grable said during the meeting.

Neighbors voiced strong opposition at the public hearing, focusing on safety, traffic circulation, and long-standing drainage problems. "That's going to dump hundreds of cars per day into that residential neighborhood," said Jimmy Brummett, who lives directly across Crossway Road, describing concerns about sight lines and vehicles circling through local streets to reach the nearest traffic signal. Resident Conrad Smith raised broader safety and accessibility concerns tied to local road geometry and urged that any entrance be moved to State Road 303 with turning lanes rather than onto the narrower Crossway Road.

The applicant described engineering measures intended to avoid increasing downstream flooding. The project team said a detention pond sized to county standards will be part of the design and that post-development runoff rates will be no greater than pre-development levels; engineers said designs are typically sized for a 50- or 100-year storm depending on final plans. The applicant also agreed to meet with impacted residents and county engineering staff to review drainage detail and explore mitigations.

Commissioners pressed the applicant about minimizing the development’s visual impact on neighbors and about circulation at the driveway. Staff recommended any additional signage intended to encourage right-turn exits be reviewed by the county engineer for traffic compliance; the applicant noted that a full-access driveway could limit the county’s ability to require a legal right-turn-only movement and said corporate lease terms could constrain forced access changes.

After discussion, the commission made a motion that conditions include an 8-foot privacy fence along the residential boundary, shutters and a brick/Hardie façade on the two front-facing elevations, and that any additional traffic signage be reviewed by the county engineer. The commission voted to recommend approval with those conditions; the recommendation will be forwarded to the Glynn County Board of Commissioners for final action.

What happens next

The planning commission’s action is a recommendation; final approval rests with the Glynn County Board of Commissioners. The developer and county engineering will work on final civil plans, drainage design and any discretionary signage language during permitting.

Key details

- Project: SP26-7, Dollar General site plan at 124 Crossway Road. - Size: 9,100 sq ft retail building. - Developer commitments: 8-ft privacy fence along residential border; shutters; brick wainscot and Hardie siding on two front-facing elevations; meet with county engineer on drainage. - Staff notes: property zoned highway commercial (zoned since at least 1966); one written public comment filed.