Zoning commission approves industrial park, restaurant and office

Several proposed projects got the green light to move forward Monday from the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission.

The commission approved the rezoning of several tracts of land off Skipper Road in south Bibb County to allow an industrial park.

The commission agreed to rezone 6601 and 6805 Skipper Road and part of 4995 Sardis Church Road, now zoned as planned development and agricultural districts, to a wholesale and light industrial district to allow an industrial park. The combined tracts, which are east of Interstate 75 just north of Sardis Church Road along Skipper Road, would total about 108 acres. The property is owned by the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority.

“At present, the applicant is proposing to construct a facility for Heavy Equipment Sales and Service on (one of the tracts) that will be accessed by a new driveway aligned with Jones Road,” the commission’s staff report said. The tract has about 9.5 acres.

The conceptual site plan shows a total of 43 parking spaces. The project would include equipment display areas, off-loading ramps and a stormwater treatment pond, the report said.

The property hasn’t attracted anything else to the site, said attorney Wayne Crowley, representing the authority. It would help the industrial authority’s efforts to have the property rezoned, he said.

The remaining 98 acres would be marketed to attract industrial prospects who want interstate frontage and accessibility provided by the Sardis Church Road interchange on I-75.

Even though the site is surrounded by mixed uses, including single-family homes on Skipper Road, no one attended the meeting in opposition to the rezoning.

Don Carter, president of Carter & Sloope consulting engineers, said the building for the heavy equipment company would be near I-75, “so it will be a good ways from Skipper Road.” Neither he nor Crowley disclosed the name of the company.

Zoning Chairman Kamal Azar said the general consensus of the commission was that it was appropriate, and that the staff would work with the authority on the buffering for future projects that might go on the property.

The commission voted 4-0 to approve the rezoning. Commissioner Brian Scott was absent.

‘Blighted’ residence to be demolished, office built

In another rezoning matter, the commission approved plans to demolish a “vacant, blighted residential structure” at 2350 Riverside Drive and construct a 4,000-square-foot office building with 25 parking spaces. An application has been filed by Ronald Bland and Matt Gilbert to rezone the nearly 3-acre site from a single-family residential district to a general commercial district.

Steven Rowland with Rowland Engineering Inc. said the new building would be closer to Riverside Drive and that sufficient buffers would be maintained all around the site.

He said New Atlantic Realty Group Inc., which is currently located in a former bank building on Riverside Drive, plans to build a new real estate office at 2350 Riverside Drive. It is currently marketing the bank building to be use again by a bank since the drive thru was maintained.

Metro Diner planned on Northside Drive

In addition, a conditional-use application was approved to allow a restaurant in a different bank building.

Jacksonville, Florida-based Metro Diner plans to renovate the Capital City Bank building at 3710 Northside Drive into a restaurant. The renovations would include removal of the existing drive-thru lanes and the addition of a patio with outdoor seating, according to the staff report. The 1-acre site is at the intersection of Northside Drive and Tom Hill Sr. Boulevard.

When the building is renovated, “it won’t look like a bank,” said Crowley, also representing the applicant for this project. “It fits into the area and is needed in the area.”

The restaurant, with about 125 seats, plans to be open 6:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. daily and would employ at least 12 people. The restaurant serves items such as fried chicken with waffles and meatloaf, gravy and potatoes, according to the company’s website.

Other items on the agenda were:

ITEMS DEFERRED FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS:

156 Madison St.: Conditional use to allow a professional office building, HPD-District. Star Choices Inc., applicant. Approved.

CONDITIONAL USES:

5009 Harrison Road: Conditional use to allow Phase I of previously approved Veteran Housing Facility, C-4 District. American Aviation Group, George Brown, applicant. Approved.

1053 Pio Nono Ave.: Conditional use to allow a place of worship, HC District. Deeper Life Bible Church, applicant. Approved.

CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATNESS:

545 Third St.: Certificate of Appropriateness to allow design approval of a gated parking lot and landscaping, CBD-1 District. Quantum Dynamics, applicant. Deferred.

830-840 High St.: Certificate of Appropriateness to allow design approval of building addition and rooftop patio, HR-3 District. W. Treadwell Development, applicant. Approved.

VARIANCES:

1371 Glendale Ave.: Variance in sign height requirements to allow an off-premise sign, R-2 District. Ron Burger, applicant. Approved.

4304 Pio Nono Ave.: Variance in setback requirements to allow a canopy, C-4 District. Marcos Luna, applicant. Approved.

1053 Pio Nono Ave.: Variance in in setback requirements to allow a church, HC District. Deeper Life Bible Church, applicant. Approved.

545 Third St.: Variance in setback requirements for a fence, CBD-1 District. Quantum Dynamics, applicant. Deferred.

RATIFICATION:

325 Mill Meadow Road: Variance to allow fence within 8 feet of the right of way, R-1AAA District. John Jones, applicant. Approved.

This story was originally published October 24, 2016 at 4:25 PM with the headline "Zoning commission approves industrial park, restaurant and office."