Despite resident protest, rezoning for Parker's Kitchen site passes Augusta commission
A proposal to rezone property at 3645 Wheeler Road was approved by the Augusta Commission on Tuesday despite the protests of a number of residents.
The zoning change is the first step in building a Parker's Kitchen convenience store, and had been approved by the Augusta Planning Commission. The Augusta Commission was set to give it their approval as well on the consent agenda, but during a routine question about public opposition 30 people raised their hands, many with small pink cards with the word "no" on them.
"Today we're going to be discussing some very sensitive data, information regarding our community," Mayor Garnett Johnson said before the conversation began. "I ask that everyone be respectful."
The property was previously a Wells Fargo bank and would need to be changed to a B-2 business zoning to allow for a 24-hour gas station and convenience store. The site plan would have to be approved separately.
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Sharon Kaminer, who spoke for the concerned residents, brought a petition she said had over 400 people who expressed concern about the proposal based on a number of concerns — an overabundance of gas stations near the location, additional environmental risks from the gas station, potential for crime and additional traffic.
"The area is already severely congested," Kaminer said, and there are new apartments and single-family homes being built that will provide additional traffic to Wheeler Road.
Representatives of Parker's also spoke to commissioners. Chris Maddox, a traffic engineer with Southeastern Engineering, Inc who assisted with Parker's traffic study said that the plan did account for increasing traffic.
John Ussery, the assistant director for the Augusta Traffic Engineering division, said that he had reviewed the traffic study and hand-checked some of the calculations, which all seemed accurate. There will be impacts to the intersection, Ussery said, but the largest impact will fall on Doctors Hospital; and engineering was planning on making improvements on the intersection in the future.
"I want to let you know that I love each of you," Commissioner Bobby Williams said with a chuckle. "Sometimes we have to make hard decisions."
Williams made a motion to approve the rezoning. Catherine Smith McKnight, who represents the area around the rezoning, introduced a substitute motion to disapprove the rezoning; she did not get a second. The motion to approve the rezoning passed 6-1, with McKnight the only vote against.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta Commission approves Parker's Kitchen site rezoning request
