A rezoning request to accommodate a new commercial development, featuring a Kroger grocery store and fuel station, coffee shop, two drive-through restaurants, and other small commercial storefronts was granted approval by the Barrow County Board of Commissioners during its voting session last week.
The roughly 18-acre site is positioned between Hwy. 81 and Hoyt King Road, just south of SR 316, sits directly across from the new medical building and Dillard Heights subdivision and is part of the Accent Springs project.
The applicant’s request included a rezoning of approximately 18 acres to intensive commercial (C-3) from high-density residential (R-3) and community commercial (C-2) districts, along with five variances addressing various zoning regulations.
The approved variances grant permission for the development to install five monument signs, surpassing regulations allowing only two per street frontage, and also allows non-pitced roofs. Additionally, variances to permit tire stores, and to allow them within 300 feet of residentially zoned property or across from a residential zoning district, citing the proximity of the Dillard Heights subdivision, were also greenlit.
The board’s approval is subject to several conditions, including a mandated landscaping buffer along Hoyt King Road and a traffic signal warrant study at Hwy. 81, in front of the development’s main entrance. Should a traffic light be recommended, the developer will pay one-third of the installation cost.
Further coordination with GDOT and Barrow County will be needed for all entrances along Hwy. 81 and Hoyt King Road.
OTHER BUSINESS
• Proclamation that the week of April 14-20 be observed as National Public Safety Telecommunications Week
• Reappointment of Robert Lanham to the Board of Library Trustees for a term of July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2027.
• The board also approved the following items during its meeting on March 26:
• Revised travel reimbursement policy
• A new public information officer job description and position
• Emergency funding for the Barrow County Drug Court, Piedmont Circuit Wellness Court and Family Treatment Court for FY2025
• Replacement Cleveland steamer for the kitchen at the detention center
• Elevator maintenance agreement for ABEX Elevator, LLC.
• Sewer easements from MHB Lending, LLC, and Winder Multifamily Owner, LLC
• Agreements to purchase real estate easements for the Park 53 water main expansion project
• Construction services agreement with UWS, Inc., for the Pleasant Hill Church Road water improvements.
• Change order for the Dickerson Group for the Auburn-area sanitary sewer expansion project for a PVC MH to be installed to replace a very deteriorated existing MH just downstream and for a 120-day time extension.
• Decommission of a 2018 Dodge Charger and a 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe from the sheriff’s department and removal of vehicles from the general ledger and capital asset system
• Hiring of Wesley Geddings as the Deputy County Manager
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