Planning board denies request to rezone

Columbia County Planning Commission on Thursday denied a request proposed by county staffers to rezone an acre at 1353 Furys Ferry Road from commercial to single-family residential.

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Owner Jim Danilovich said at the meeting that he intends to construct a showroom for his furniture-making business on the property, which prompted nearby residents worried about a decrease in their property values to complain to zoning officials.

Reverting the zoning to residential would have protected neighboring homes, but it would have decreased the value of Danilovich's land, according to planning officials. Attorney Bill Trotter told the zoning board that the proposed rezoning would have devalued Danilovich's property by $230,000.

The property first was rezoned from residential to commercial in 1983, Trotter said.

New county ordinances prohibit manufacturing businesses in a commercial zone. Because Danilovich started the business before the passage of the ordinance, however, he has been allowed to continue building furniture.

The commissioners warned him that if he builds a showroom, the ordinance will then become applicable and he will have to manufacture furniture elsewhere.

Also at the meeting, the commission approved three final plats for new phases of the Riverwood West neighborhood.

All situated on General Wood Parkway, the second phases of Bedford, Pinelands and Claremont subdivisions will add 20 lots on about 10 acres near the Greenbrier schools, according to county documents.

All the lots were initially included in the first construction phases, but developers had to wait until they could resolve floodplain issues on the properties with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Those issues have been settled, according to county records.

The planning commission approved a preliminary plat for a third phase of the Summerlin subdivision on William Few Parkway. The new phase includes 42 lots.

Developers must first address stormwater and hydrology issues before the county's planning staff releases the plans for construction.