P&Z: Bowling center, Hephzibah at odds

A proposed bowling center on Zebulon Road, which drew some opposition when pitched to zoning officials in July because of its plans to serve alcohol, will be back on the agenda Monday.

So will one of its main opponents.

The day after the July 26 zoning meeting, Hephzibah Children’s Home, which neighbors the proposed bowling center site, filed an application for a day care center with the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission.

The children’s home — and now its proposed day care center — raised questions about whether the bowling alley would violate a Bibb County ordinance prohibiting the sale of alcohol for consumption on premises within 600 feet of a church, school, college campus or public library.

According to zoning staff reports, the bowling center’s property line is about 450 feet from the children’s home. However, all zoning permits have classified the Hephzibah property as a “children’s home,” and not a church or school.

Residents of Lake Wildwood started an online petition in support of the bowling center plan, which calls for a 35,000-square-foot facility at 6389 Zebulon Road. The center would have 32 lanes, a kitchen and dining area, an arcade room, several rooms for private parties, locker rooms and a lounge.

By Friday night, 82 people had signed the online petition.

The children’s home at 6601 Zebulon Road is applying for a conditional use permit to turn an existing 7,500-square-foot building into a day care center. A day care center was approved for the home in 2004, but the plans never moved forward and the application expired, according to zoning staff reports.

The zoning meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. at Macon City Hall, 700 Poplar St.

Other items on the agenda are:

CONDITIONAL USES:

— 5233 Riverside Drive: Conditional use to allow a proposed office building, R-3 District. Hulsey McCormick & Wallace Inc., applicant.

— 5009 Harrison Road: Conditional use to allow used car sales, C-4 District. Goldstone Automotive, applicant.

— 745 Lackey Drive: Conditional use to allow automotive repair and detail service, C-2 District. Amarender Reddy, applicant.

— 3886 Mumford Road: Conditional use to allow an increase in capacity at an existing day care center, C-2 District. Victoria Howard, applicant.

CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS:

— 305 Buford Place: Certificate of Appropriateness to allow design approval of an accessory building, HR-1 District. Charles E. Greene, applicant.

— 770 Walnut St. and 754 Walnut St.: Certificate of Appropriateness to allow design approval of a building addition, CBD-2 District. Russell Claxton; First Choice Primary Care, Applicant.

— 598 D.T. Walton Senior Way: Certificate of Appropriateness to allow design approval of wall signage, CBD-1 District. Harold Crafter, applicant.

VARIANCES:

— 118 Idle Hour Drive: Variance in side yard setback requirements to allow a garage addition, PDR District. Halliburton Construction Co.; T.H. Halliburton, Applicant.

— 8289 Hamlin St.: Variance in setback requirements and height requirements to allow a fence, A-Agricultural District. Robert Brickle, applicant.

— 506 Hawthorne St.: Variance in distance between structures to allow a proposed building, C-2 District. Michael W. Johnson; Fulton Baptist Church, applicant. Ratification

SIGNS:

— 4921 Riverside Drive: Conditional use to allow a multiple message billboard, C-2 District. David Hollingsworth; Riverside Center LLC, applicant.

To contact writer Rodney Manley, call 744-4623.