Another one? Macon zoning board makes decision on controversial Dollar General proposal

Macon’s zoning commission unanimously decided Monday to deny an application by Dollar General to rezone property in west Bibb County to build a store for the second time in three years.

The decision came two weeks after the application was considered by the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission at its Feb. 11 meeting, when the commission heard more than two hours of testimony for and against plans to build a 9,000-square-foot store on about 3 acres at the roundabout at 6855 Thomaston Road at Lamar Road.

The commission said no testimony would be allowed at Monday’s meeting.

About 150 people attended that meeting, and most residents said they opposed the rezoning from an agricultural district to a planned development commercial district. About 50 people left immediately after the commission voted against the rezoning.

The 2015 plan, which was denied, included a Dollar General, a convenience store, mini-warehouses and a small strip shopping center.

Several area residents said during the earlier February meeting they opposed the project because it would increase traffic, cause crime and create litter. Some mentioned that another Dollar General was about 3 miles away.

“We’ve heard a lot of testimony,” Chairwoman Jeane Easom said Feb. 11. “Some of it is based on evidence and some on emotion ... This is a complicated and emotional issue.”

At Monday’s meeting, the commissioners went over the Georgia constitutional standard for considering rezoning requests, including existing uses and zoning of nearby property, the suitability of the subject property for the zoned purposes and the extent to which the destruction of property values of the plaintiffs promotes the health, safety, morality, or general welfare of the public.

“I want to remind you that the burden of proof is on the applicant,” Easom said. “They have to meet this criteria.”

Commissioner Bryan Scott commented that there were mostly single-family homes in the agricultural area.

“There is no commercial property from this parcel west, all the way to the county line,” said commissioner Josh Rogers, adding that the closest commercial was about a mile to the east.

“People move out there because it’s more rural,” Scott said. “I can see how (the store) could affect property values.”

This story was originally published February 25, 2019 at 3:15 PM.