MPC approves rezone for Dollar General on Old Post Road

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By Pamela Permar-Shierling

After a deferral from the Mainland Planning Commission’s (MPC) August 11 meeting and numerous concerns from residents in the area of Old Post Road and Highway 32, last night (Sept. 1) the MPC approved both the rezoning request and the site plan for a Dollar General store at the intersection of Old Post Road and Highway 32.

The rezone request was from Forest Agricultural (FA) to General Commercial (GC) to allow a retail store. The application will be on the Glynn County Board of Commissioners (BOC) September 19 meeting for approval or denial.

Residents made known their concerns about traffic including accidents and congestion especially during evacuation, stormwater runoff, lack of infrastructure to support the development, degradation of the community, increased property values, and endangered species specifically the gopher tortoise.

The three acre property is owned by Brantley Convenience LLC and being developed by Teramore Development, LLC.

Both Wilson Brown, agent for Teramore and Pete Schoenauer, Tidewater Engineering, Inc., spoke for the applicant.

Brown addressed the traffic concerns and said, “The store will capture the existing traffic in the area. It will not generate traffic.”

Two residents spoke against the rezoning request during the public hearing.

Jebediah Schwartz, who lives on Old Post Road, said he was not necessarily against developing the property but was against a Dollar General being built on the property.

“There are four Dollar General stores within a 12 mile radius,” he said. “Another one is no benefit to this community.”

He suggested a grocery store, a market or a restaurant instead of the Dollar General. “We don’t want our community downgraded,” he said. “And the infrastructure won’t support the store.”

Another resident, Yvonne Smith, said she takes care of the cemetery which is close by and that people party in the cemetery and leave their trash behind.

“I understand some Dollar General’s sell alcohol. I don’t want that, and I don’t want a Dollar General in the middle of what used to be my family’s land.”

She also said a number of accidents occur at that intersection – Old Post Road and Highway 32.

MPC Chair Kevin Higgins asked the owner to address the residents’ concerns.

Schoenauer pointed out that the store would not generate traffic.  “We are picking up traffic that is passing by; people going home for the day.”

He said only 2,450 trips per day are generated on Highway 32 based on Georgia Dept. of Transportation (GaDOT) records. “This is very low. If we had our driveway on a state highway the traffic numbers would not even require a deceleration lane. Our driveway is on Old Post Road.”

“The store won’t impact evacuation traffic. I don’t think it will be a source of congestion,” he said.

“We will follow all the regulations for stormwater management and water quality. This gets reviewed by the GaDOT as well as Glynn County,” he said.

“There will be no stress on water and sewer because there is no water and sewer out there. We will have a permitted well and a septic system approved by Glynn Environmental Health,” he said.

Concerning the gopher tortoises he said there are no Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) regulations regarding the tortoises. “We do keep an eye out, and if we do see a gopher tortoise then we get a DNR permit and relocate per their protocol.”

Brown addressed the number of Dollar Generals in the area. “The nearest one is six miles away,” he said. “The store (at Old Post Road) is a smaller prototype and there is a gas station across the street.”

Brown said he did not know if this particular Dollar General would sell alcohol; that would be up to the management.

When the development plan (formerly site plan) came up for discussion, MCP member Neal Boatright asked if the Old Post Road store could look like the Dollar General on Ratcliffe Road and Highway 82.

“The atmosphere in that store is different from the usual Dollar General and the clientele is different as well,” he said.

Brown said, “The two exposed sides sides will remind you of the Ratcliffe Rd. store.”

Boatright asked for at least a six foot privacy fence to protect the neighbors. MPC member Paige Edwards asked that the dumpster corral be large enough to handle all the garbage and that it be enclosed.

There was one more question from Mr. Schwartz who said there is an open sand mine close to the Dollar Store property. He was concerned that the mine would collapse. “It’s beginning to encroach on the Dollar General property.”

Schoenauer said, “There is zero concern with the surface mine. The store will be far away from the mine.”

The development plan approval motion included a six foot privacy fence on the eastern and southern property lines,  that the trash area include an opaque fence, that the commercial corridor sides of the structure be similar to the Ratcliffe store, and that development plan approval is contingent upon BOC approval of the rezoning request.

In other business the MPC approved:

• a rezoning request for 1.87 acres at 4305 Highway 82 from Highway Commercial (HC) to Forest Agricultural (FA) owned by Timothy Hicks. The property is located in a mix of commercial and residential zoned properties. Hicks wants to build a home on the property.

• a county-initiated zoning change  from One Family Residential (R6) to Limited Industrial (LI) for the purpose of commercial use. The property is located at 4150 Whitlock St.

• a development plan for the construction of a 3,420 SF convenience store, 3,600 SF liquor store, gas station, and related facilities at 25 Stafford Avenue. The property is zoned Highway Commercial (HC).