Land added to site for mosque

Less than an acre of land was added to the site of a future mosque planned in Martinez after the Columbia County Planning Commission decided to rezone the property at its Thursday meeting.

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The Islamic Society of Augusta was asking to rezone about a half acre of a 1.13-acre lot off Old Evans Road near Old Petersburg Road. Planning commissioners rezoned the property from single-family residential and townhouse residential to special use.

The Islamic Society owns about eight acres behind the rezoned parcel that is already zoned special use. The half acre will be combined with that property.

Proposed plans include construction of a 30,000-square-foot community center, which would incorporate a 3,000-square-foot prayer hall for daily services, a 7,200-square-foot multipurpose room for special events and 11 classrooms and housing administrative offices.

"It's a good use of the land," said Planning Commission Chairwoman Jean Garniewicz.

Another half-acre section of the 1.13-acre lot, located behind the Circle K on Old Evans Road, was rezoned from townhouse residential to general commercial and will be combined with the convenience store's parcel.

The remaining fraction of the property will remain townhouse residential.

Planning commissioners also approved final plat revisions for five lots in the Pinelands section and four lots in the Claremont section of Riverwood West on Duncan Road. Final plats for 60 lots on more than 13 acres in the Birchfield subdivision and 43 patio homes on nearly 11 acres in Willow Lake II at Jones Creek also were passed by the planning and zoning board.

The planning commission approved a preliminary plat for 58 lots on about 25 acres for Chamblin Ridge III-A, located on Chamblin Road.

Planning commissioners also approved a temporary permit for a travel trailer in the Iris Glen subdivision to be used by the contractor.