The land owner of 1.15 +/- acres at the southeast corner of Hampton-Locust Grove Road and Rocky Creek Road is requesting a rezoning from RA (residential agricultural) to C-2 (general commercial) after what he describes as “difficulty in attracting tenants” for its current residential use. The property has an existing single-family home constructed in 1950.
The proposed development consists of one 10,000 square foot building for retail use. An end-use tenant has not been identified in the zoning application.
The comprehensive land use plan designates the subject property for rural residential development supporting lot sizes of one acre or greater. There is a request for a comprehensive plan amendment running concurrent to the rezoning request.
According to HCDOT requirements, the commercial development does not meet standards to take access off Hampton-Locust Grove Road. Instead, the building would front Rocky Creek Road and the existing left-hand turn lane would be restriped to support a two-way left-turn lane.
Due to the size of the subject property, the proposed development cannot meet unified land development code (ULDC) requirements to provide separation between commercial and residential uses. The ULDC requires a minimum buffer of forty feet; the applicant has requested an administrative waiver to reduce the buffer to twenty feet with a six foot privacy fence.
The subject property is located within the Towaliga Watershed Protection District. A second administrative waiver would be required to increase the allowable impervious surface coverage from 25% to 55.72%.
After evaluating the application and with respect to the aforementioned buffer requirements and watershed protection ordinances, planning staff recommend denial of the comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning. The zoning advisory board will consider the requests on Thursday, January 9, at 6:30 pm before making recommendations to the board of commissioners.
The BOC will hear the requests at a later date before issuing a final decision.
