Planning commission OKs changes to shopping center

Developers of a proposed shopping center on Furys Ferry Road have won approval to make changes to the project.

//

Developers for The Village at Furys Ferry property between Blackstone Camp and Evans to Locks roads increased some buffer sizes and showed drawings of a neo-classical design for the shops, as county officials had wanted when the group first proposed changes in May.

Columbia County Planning Commission approved the changes Thursday.

Blanchard and Calhoun Commercial tried to win approval for their new plan in May, but planning commissioners opposed it. The initial plan was withdrawn before it could appear before the Columbia County Commission, which is the final authority for site changes in planned-unit developments.

Blanchard and Calhoun executives had wanted to shrink the project from 14 acres to about 12.

However, the owner of the two acres in question objected to changing his property's zoning back to residential, which would greatly devalue the property, said Martinez lawyer Bill Williams, who represented landowner Jimmie Powell at the May meeting.

Planning staff had also objected to the changes because developers didn't provide artist renderings of buildings.

Those renderings were available before Thursday's meeting.