Aiken City Council continues consideration of Whiskey Road Parker's Kitchen plan

Matthew Christian, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·3 min read

Apr. 25—The Aiken City Council has delayed considering a plan to build a Parker's Kitchen at the intersection of Whiskey Road and Stratford Drive for the second time.

The Aiken City Council voted 5-0 — Mayor Pro Tempore Ed Woltz and Andrea Gregory did not attend the meeting — Monday evening to continue consideration of an ordinance approving the plan until May 8 to allow City Attorney Gary Smith to prepare information on the history of the property and its zoning.

Lessie Price made the motion to continue consideration. Ed Girardeau seconded her motion.

Her motion came after 12 residents, mostly from Stratford Hall and Spring Stone which are located further west along Stratford Drive, spoke in opposition to the plan.

One of the residents, Kelly Cornelius, referenced a 2003 city ordinance changing the zoning of the property from limited professional to planned commercial.

Cornelius said the 2003 ordinance included conditions limiting the type of businesses that could operate on the property. She said the ordinance prohibited 24-hour businesses, fueling stations and carwashes. And it was her understanding that the conditions on that property still apply.

However, a 2020 court case, Greenwald v. Aiken, made a similar argument for a property located immediately south where a Lulu's Car Wash is being built and that case was dismissed by Judge Clifton Newman on May 4, 2021.

The Aiken City Council also delayed consideration of the Parker's Kitchen plan approval Feb. 13 to allow the developer, Drayton Parker Group, to obtain a traffic study.

Daniel Ben-Yisrael, real estate development manager for the Drayton Parker Companies and Parker's Kitchen, spoke at the March 27 city council meeting and asked for the item to return to the April 24 agenda. He said the traffic study had been provided to the city March 27.

City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh said the traffic study was provided to the city April 17 with comments from Jennifer Bihl, the city's traffic consultant, but added comments have not yet been received from the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

The council also voted to approve the first reading of ordinances:

—Rezoning property located at 791 York St. from light industrial to general business to allow for a healthcare business to move into the site;

—Rezoning property located at 206 Edgefield Ave. N.E. from limited professional to residential multifamily to allow for the construction of a single-family home on the property;

—Granting an easement across city-owned property in Verenes Industrial Park to Bear Mountain for use as a driveway; and

—Annexing and zoning a single-family home on Two Notch Road.

The council also voted to approve requests to provide water and sewer service to a 7-Eleven to be constructed near the intersection of Interstate 20 and Columbia Highway (U.S. Route 1) and a warehouse to be constructed near Verenes Industrial Park and a memorandum of understanding with Security Federal Bank for the EQUIP program.

The council issued a proclamation recognizing the 50th anniversary of Helping Hands and approved the reappointments of Cody Anderson to the Arts Commission and Kenna Black to the Accommodations Tax Committee and the appointment of Cathy Health to the Senior Commission.