Friday, June 10, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Car wash clears first hurdle in Senoia By JOHN THOMPSON A proposed car wash in Senoia got a preliminary OK from the City Council Monday night, but not before several residents decried the plans for the site. Business owner Greg Crook appeared before the City Council and asked the council to clear up a zoning issue for the property located at the intersection of Ga. Highway 16 and Bridge Street. Crook said the entire tract should be zoned commercial, which it was in 1979. But somehow, in 1999, it appeared as two parcels on the citys zoning map. The tract fronting Hwy. 16 was zoned General Commercial, while a smaller tract with a home was zoned R-40. I want to make it clear that I dont want to do anything with that home. I just need the whole tract zoned commercial to make the car wash work, he said. Crook asked the council to either correct the error made in 1999 or rezone the entire property commercial. He also asked for a 20-foot setback variance to build the car wash. But residents in the neighborhood were dead set against the proposal. Ive looked and I cant find where that property was ever zoned commercial, said next-door neighbor Butch Reese. Most of the residents decried the need for any commercial development to further encroach on Bridge Street. We dont need a commercial entrance on Bridge Street, said J.C. Chappell. The City Council seemed to sense the frustration of the residents and Mayor Bob Hannah looked for a compromise. Is there anyway we can give you the variances and not the commercial zoning? he asked. Crook said that was a possibility, but the variance would then encroach on the residential portion of the tract. The City Council finally agreed to OK the variances, but stipulated that a privacy fence must be built between the car wash and the residence. Crook also agreed to plant a 10-ft landscaped buffer on the residential side of the fence. Crook maintains that the car wash will be of a historic nature and said it would contribute to the community. Hannah reminded Crook that the situation was still not fully resolved. Youve still got to submit your site plan, and there may be other issues that arise, he said. |
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