A private ‘garden school’ is planned in a north Macon subdivision

A resident of Springdale Woods subdivision in north Macon is seeking permission to operate a “garden school” at her home.

Brittany Meir y Teran has applied for a conditional-use permit with the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission to allow the children’s center at 697 Springdale Woods Drive in a single-family residential district just off Rivoli Drive. The proposal, which is on the agenda for Monday’s meeting, most closely resembles a private school, similar to one approved on Forsyth Road for a music school, according to the commission’s staff report.

The Springdale Garden School will feature “a secluded and sustainable green space where children and their parents can learn, explore, and enjoy the outdoors without distractions,” according to the applicant’s statement submitted to P&Z. “Our outdoor school is akin to a secret garden. ... Our sensory garden will stimulate the senses and inspire play, innovation and learning. ... We will also offer a carefully curated, exploration safe & STEM inspired, forest learning space on the walking path, as well as teach permaculture basics in the outdoor classroom.”

Classes would enroll eight to 10 students and be available one to two times a day, three to five days a week, the statement said. Various classes are suited for toddlers and their caregivers, as well as for children 6-12 years old.

The applicant plans to put a sign on the property, the staff report said.

“The proposed use will introduce additional vehicles coming and going that otherwise wouldn’t be present in the neighborhood,” the report said. “The Commission should consider if this would be too much of a detriment to the existing residents in the area. ... The frequency of the classes ... may lead to momentary traffic congestion in the vicinity of this site.”

Package store plans to move across Zebulon

In another matter, a package store is expected at 6374 Zebulon Road, near the entrance to the Lake Wildwood subdivision, pending approval of a conditional-use application.

Plans are to build a 7,000-square-foot commercial building and 27 parking spaces on the 1-acre site, which is near the entrance ramp to I-475. The store is expected to be open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 12:30-7 p.m. Sunday, according to the staff report.

The proposed business is relocating from 6351 Zebulon Road, basically across the street, but the new store would back up to Lake Wildwood residences.

“No landscaped or undisturbed buffer is proposed adjacent to the residential property,” according to the staff report.

The commission meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. in the third-floor conference room at Terminal Station on Fifth Street at the end of Cherry Street.

Other items on the agenda are:

206 Oberon Place: Variance to allow fence closer than 10 feet to right-of-way, R-1AA District. RDG Ventures, applicant.

323 Buford Place: Certificate of Appropriateness to allow design approval of exterior modification with variance in fence height and orientation requirements, HR-1 District. Susan Long, James Bodell, applicant.

517/527 D.T. Walton Sr. Way: Certificate of Appropriateness to allow design approval of exterior modifications, CBD-1 District. Bryan Nichols, applicant.

894 College St.: Certificate of Appropriateness to allow design approval to allow a wood privacy fence on three separate parcels, HR-3 District. Old Post Real Estate LLC., applicant.

976 Georgia Ave.: Conditional use to allow an eight-unit multi-family dwellings with variance in parking, HR-3 District. Otis Ingram, applicant.

2195 Pio Nono Ave.: Conditional use to allow canopy addition and light auto repair outside at an existing business, C-1 District. JC Tire Inc, Shijony Dong, applicant.

This story was originally published September 7, 2018 at 5:30 PM.