Planners adjust side-setback limit in Windmill Plantation

Columbia County Planning Commissioners agreed on Thursday to reduce the side setback of lots in Windmill Plantation so side-entry garages can be built on future homes.

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Developers asked the planning commission for a major revision to the planned unit development that could affect about 15 lots on 24 acres in a new section of Windmill Plantation on Windmill Place and Winding Trail.

"The aesthetics are much better for all the adjoining property owners and the homeowner if we can bring this garage to the side," said Aaron Sullivan, a developer of Windmill Plantation.

The planning and zoning board agreed to reduce the side setback from the county standard 10 feet to 5 feet.

"You're still leaving some greenspace, so it's not crowding any two homes together," he said. "You end up with the same greenspace."

Garages built on the side of homes are a common feature in the Evans neighborhood.

The lot sizes in newer areas of Windmill Plantation are smaller than previous sections, making it difficult to build side-entry garages with the original 10-foot side setback.

In other planning business, the board approved a request 4-1 to reduce the front setback requirement for a home inside the Courtyards at West Lake.

The homeowners, who wanted to reduce the setback by 8 feet, sought a variance to the minimum front building setback requirement of 55 feet to build an addition onto their home on Sawgrass Drive.

Also at the meeting, planning commissioners agreed to rezone 607 Furys Ferry Road to professional from single-family residential to convert a house on the property into an office.