County approves PUD rezoning for convenience store, neighbors seek limits on undeveloped acreage

The Clay County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously June 9 to approve PUD 26‑04, a rezoning application that will allow an 8,000‑square‑foot convenience store with fuel pumps and a single‑bay car wash on approximately 8.36 acres at the northwest corner of Night Box Road and County Road 220 in Oakleaf/Brannon Ridge planning district (Commission District 5).

Staff and the agent, Jason Gabriel of Burr & Forman (speaker 29), told the board the application memorializes prior commitments made when the project previously sought a conventional commercial zoning. The PCD includes a written site plan, lighting limits (full cutoff fixtures and no greater than 0.5 foot‑candles at the property line), and an eight‑foot masonry wall along the residential edge; prohibited uses include adult entertainment, warehouses for land‑clearing debris, and other high‑impact uses. Planning Commission and the Oakleaf Brannon Ridge CAC recommended approval by unanimous votes.

Denise Robertson, president of the Boxwood Subdivision HOA (speaker 25), thanked staff and the applicant for changes but asked the board to clarify protections for the 5.826‑acre portion the site plan labels as open space or pond. Robertson said the presence of an access drive into that area on the site plan created uncertainty about whether the property could be developed later. “We respectfully request additional definition and clarification regarding the intended use of this parcel,” she said.

Staff responded that the PCD’s map shows that area as open space and that any future change to develop it would require the applicant to return to the board for amendment. Staff also said the PCD establishes a time period to present a final site plan and to develop the property; if a owner sells the land the PCD stays with the land and any changes would require an amendment.

The applicant’s agent reiterated there is no contemplated development on the western parcel at this time and that the site plan commits the convenience store, fueling area and car wash; the remaining acreage is intended to remain pond/open space unless the applicant seeks a formal amendment. Neighbors at the hearing asked for stronger language limiting future development and for sound‑buffering features in the masonry wall; staff noted Oakleaf CAC earlier suggested sound‑buffering fills for wall voids.

After discussion and questions about permitted uses (staff listed neighborhood‑scale commercial uses such as retail, bakery, bait and tackle and others that remain permitted), a commissioner moved approval; the motion passed 5‑0.

What happens next: the PCD commits design elements (lighting, wall, setback and use prohibitions) to the ordinance, and any change to the site plan or uses requires a return to the board. Staff said the applicant must present a final site plan within the time period specified by code; if the project does not progress it may remain dormant but the zoning would remain unless amended by the board.

Action: Motion to approve PUD 26‑04 passed 5‑0.