Macon real estate developer Tim Thornton jokingly said he delivered on his promise to bring new lodging downtown as Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning approved Wagsworth Hotel at Monday’s meeting.
Thornton anticipates the long-awaited Central City Commons project to break ground on the apartments in 2025, with a Poplar Street hotel to eventually follow, but that wasn’t what he was talking about.
His new real estate deal at 538 First St. allows Wagsworth Hotel’s proprietor Terri Marion to fulfill her dream of opening a pet shop with kennels to serve up to 60 dogs and a dozen cats in downtown. Her first location is on Hawkinsville Road.
Marion’s award-winning proposal for the store includes pet babysitting, daycare, grooming and boarding. The idea secured a $5,000 grant in the 2023 Downtown Diversity Initiative but would not have been possible without changes to the zoning code that allow kennels as a conditional use in the Central Business District.
Conditional uses require additional P&Z scrutiny, but Marion’s proposal received unanimous approval as long as she follows Georgia Department of Agriculture regulations for kennels.
Minutes before reviewing Marion’s application, the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission approved a new Comprehensive Land Development Resolution during its Monday meeting.
Over nearly two years, P&Z’s attorney and consultants pored over every line of the document that governs zoning. They updated the rules, defined common terminology more precisely and consolidated information in a more user-friendly way.
P&Z Executive Director Jeff Ruggieri said the previous version was extremely disjointed and could confuse applicants who are trying to determine what are permitted uses for their property. They might find a nugget of information that makes them think their project is acceptable, but miss other pertinent rules in another section.
“You may get excited and go, ‘Oh wow, so I can do this in this district,’ but not even know that there’s a whole ‘nother section of rules that say you need to do more stuff. You can easily miss it,” Ruggieri said.
A chart now displays the permitted uses in all of the county’s 29 zoning districts to make it easier for applicants to follow the process.
“So, now it’s all in one chart that says, ‘OK, here’s my use, here’s my zoning, here’s – I can do the use I want to do – and here’s the standards that I need to abide by, all in one place, instead of for 15 pages and flipping back and forth,” Ruggieri said.
A digital Geographic Information System, GIS, zoning map also will be permanently maintained and accessible on the P&Z website.
Rewriting the rules was one of Ruggieri’s primary goals when joining P&Z nearly three years ago.
Some of the revisions arose from societal changes such as the housing shortage and popularity of accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, that can be used for traditional or short-term rentals such as Airbnb, Vrbo or bed-and-breakfast options.
In 2023, a couple seeking to turn College Street’s old Crisco house into a bed and breakfast inn ran into zoning issues and a restrictive covenant on the property that broke the deal.
The revisions enact new regulations only for the InTown Historic District, HR-3, to allow for up to 10 guest quarters in a property owner’s residence as long as they live there, the building passes fire department inspection and has adequate parking.
Any accessory dwelling unit built on a residential lot must be behind the existing house and of the same architectural style and can’t be more than 50% the size of the primary residence.
The property must be owner-occupied before another dwelling could be built.
“The initial investment can’t be any kind of speculators or real estate investment people or companies buying up houses knowing that, ‘OK, I can’t put an ADU on it too, so I can get more.’ So, you have to be an owner of the property, live there, in order to even apply to get it the first time,” Ruggieri said.
Chickens, new regs and no more ‘cluster’
For the first time, the county has regulations governing hen houses in some residential zones, but roosters, ducks, geese, turkeys, peafowl and other poultry are not allowed.
A ventilated coop with a fence is required and must be behind the house and not closer than 15 feet to a property line. Chickens must have adequate protection from predators and can’t be left out of the enclosure at night. They can’t stink, be noisy or otherwise be a nuisance to nearby neighbors.
Horses with a shelter at least 100 feet from the house are allowed in residential districts for private riding uses, but need at least an acre per animal and an enclosure at least 35 feet from the property line.
The guidelines also set new standards for commercial lighting to reduce glare, specify different requirements for landscape buffers and set new guidelines for planned developments.
Childcare facilities must have a minimum lot of 43,560 square feet, safe vehicle circulation patterns and might be required to have screening or buffers between adjacent properties.
Commercial district drive-thrus also must be designed for pedestrian safety, have adequate space for vehicles to stack up and cannot have lights shining into nearby residences or have speakers that can be heard at the property line. Those issues surfaced with commercial development several years ago on Zebulon Road.
Retail establishments that display merchandise outside can’t obstruct parking, drainage or handicapped accessibility. The items must be brought in overnight unless an additional permit is secured.
Self-storage units cannot hold auctions or commercial sales on the property and access hours are limited to 7a.m. to 10 p.m.
RV parks and campgrounds must have a minimum of three acres and flea markets need a least five acres.
The resolution confirms that fuel pumps, storage tanks and vents must be at least 500 feet from homes or residential zoning districts and gas pumps have to be 25 feet away from rights of way.
High-density neighborhoods will now be considered “planned developments” that will be scrutinized by P&Z staff and commissioners. Current rules have generated “cookie-cutter” development plans that might have met the regulations, but not the spirit of rules that set out to make sure smaller lots would be offset by greater amenities.
“You can get even smaller lots, but hey, maybe we get more open space and more recreation, more recreational facilities for the community, which was the idea of the ‘cluster subdivision’ when Ian McHarg designed it back in the 80s,” Ruggieri said.
Pending changes to the regulations for Historic Districts are expected to be complete in the spring.
Other agenda items
- 251 Buford Place — P&Z granted a certificate of appropriateness for new gutters in a historic district.
- 828 Riverside Drive — P&Z approved a certificate of appropriateness for the design of a fence and gate.
- 971 Washington Ave. — Signs approved for law office.
- 991 Walnut St. — Exterior modifications approved for the front porch in this historic district.
- 5221 Dixon Road — Conditional use approved to permit a manufactured home on the property. 516 Bluewater Bay Drive — Variance granted in rear yard setback requirements for a single-family home.
- 1448 Bass Road — Jeremiah’s Italian Ice approved to have a drive-thru restaurant as long as landscape requirements are met.
- 1448 Bass Road — P&Z approved Hays Fyke’s Providence Animal Care Center veterinarian clinic.
- 4420 Forsyth Road — Matt Hughes of The Lookshop is approved to run a medical clinic
- specializing in non-surgical aesthetic treatments, weight loss and wellness services.
- 3056 Riverside Drive — Revisions to original plan approved for Five Star Mazda auto sales lot.
- 3935 River Place Drive — Conditional Use granted to allow an addition to the existing Kia automotive service building designed by BTBB Architects.
- 3931 River Place Drive — BTBB Architects received permission to tear down the old Kia dealership and build a new showroom building.
- 3962 River Place Drive — Conditional Use granted to allow private overflow commercial parking for the Hutchinson auto dealerships.
- 3555 Mercer University Drive — Carlandra Slappy approved to operate a bar and event center. 7050 Houston Road — Jaymin Patel granted conditional us approval for a new fueling center and convenience store.
- 7998 NE Industrial Blvd. — Commercial truck parking lot approved for Widner & Associates.
- 4091 Riggins Mill Road — Isobelth Saborio granted conditional use to park up to 9 trucks belonging to her MC Enterprise Company.
- 2126 Barnes Ferry Road — Conditional Use granted to allow a ready-mix concrete plant on land recently rezoned for the proposal.
- 2168 Jeffersonville Road — P&Z rezoned DeShaydia Pope’s property to allow for a recreational facility primarily for her family with possible future use for the community.
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
