North Macon’s Academy for Classical Education plans to build a new gymnasium and playground, but it’s the expanded parking lot access from Preston Court that drew opposition at Monday’s hearing of the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission. 

In the current student parking lot at 5665 New Forsyth Road, the charter school is constructing a 25,000-square-foot gym with a basketball court, multi-purpose room for wrestling and cheerleading, classrooms, physical therapy station, weight room, offices, lockers and concessions.

P&Z approved ACE’s application after two Preston Court businesses objected to the school’s plans to create access to a new 90-space parking lot at 113 Preston Court. The lot would replace parking spaces taken up by the new gym.

Representatives of Triangle Chemical Company at 117 Preston Court and Dr. Rana Munna’s office at 107 Preston Court argued against school traffic coming up and down their street. 

Don Carter, engineer for the ACE project, said 90 student cars will arrive weekdays between 7 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. 

“That’s before most of the businesses on Preston Court are in business, based on a survey the school did,” Carter said. 

He expects most of the student traffic to clear out before 3:45 p.m. each school day. If other types of businesses open on nearby vacant parcels on the street, they likely would bring in much more traffic, Carter said. 

William Farrell, a retired Bibb County sheriff’s lieutenant who now leads the ACE Campus Police Department, said officers currently are stationed daily at school entrances. They already monitor traffic flow on Preston Court so neighbors won’t have to wait too long, he said. 

The school officers are deputized under a memorandum of understanding with Sheriff David Davis to police those streets and handle accidents, if necessary, he explained. 

Farrell tried to reassure the neighboring businesses that students are not allowed to congregate in the lot, or play loud music. Violations of the policy result in loss of campus driving privileges at the second offense, he said. 

“Our traffic flow begins before they open business, and most of our students are gone when that batch of their employees are leaving in the afternoon,” Farrell said.

The chairman of the ACE Board of Directors, Witt Gaither, verified that the school has no immediate plans to expand the student body, saying: “We are not examining at this time any expansion in the head count at the Academy for Classical Education.”

ACE had an enrollment of 1,807 students as of March, according to the Georgia Department of Education. 

Triangle’s attorney Matt Shoemaker doubts increased traffic will be limited to 160 trips during arrival and dismissal times, but instead scattered throughout the afternoon for after-school activities.

The small, dead end street with no through traffic would be affected no matter how many cars were added on the road that closely parallels one of the ACE driveways, Shoemaker said. 

“I think it makes complete sense to let them build a parking lot, but to just have the same traffic flow they’ve always had,” Shoemaker said. “Eventually, if they want to figure out some other way to manage the traffic, you know, hopefully they can, but to burden the businesses on Preston core, I don’t think is reasonable.”

Lisa Harvard, a nurse from Dr. Munna’s office said their employees arrive when the school’s morning traffic is at its height at 7:30 a.m. so they can be ready to begin seeing patients at 8 a.m. 

“We just hope that you will consider another alternative for this,” Harvard said. “We just feel like it is a poor idea. We think that it is not going to be good for our patients and as well as employees and the safety of students getting to and from where they need to go.”

ACE does not provide bus transportation so all its students arrive in private vehicles. 

P&Z’s Tim Jones asked if ACE’s traffic was any different from other Bibb County schools, and Officer Farrell said traffic is a common problem at other local schools, but he believes the Preston Court access and the presence of the safety officers will speed up arrivals and departures.    

P&Z’s Keisha Stafford said the school traffic congestion is unavoidable until more lanes can be created. Widening of Bass Road is still in the preliminary field plan study review stage. 

“I truly understand the concern, but as growth takes place, we’re going to find ourselves encountering this type of issue all over the place,” Stafford said. “It’s not something I like saying to anyone, but it’s truth. It’s coming.”

After some discussion, P&Z unanimously approved the application with the stipulation that an adequate landscape buffer separate the parking lot from the businesses, and that the gate to Preston Court be locked outside of arrival and departure times. 

Six-tenths of a mile from Mount de Sales Academy’s Cavalier Fields, commissioners also approved Moore Civil Consulting’s application to build four warehouse buildings totalling 35,000 square feet at 4450 Cavalier Drive.

Turner Construction Management and Tru Line Flooring Contractors are moving into two of the buildings, but the other tenants have not been identified on the nearly 6-acre parcel that is on the other side of the street from the sports complex.

For a planned development at  5280 Sardis Church Road, the Foresite Group was back to tweak its proposal for 31 acres to be developed in three stages across from Love’s truck stop.

Plans in 2021 initially called for a Travel America truck stop, but last fall changed to a 7-Eleven fueling center in Phase 1 with truck parking in Phase 2. 

P&Z approved rezoning the property from a single-use planned development to a mixed use district which will allow a variety of commercial and industrial uses that do not require additional approval. 

Foresite eventually plans industrial buildings near the rear of the property, which is about 700 feet from the intersection of Frank C. Amerson Jr. Parkway and Sardis Church Road. 

Coppas Branch and nearby wetlands will prevent development on about 11 acres on the site. 

Other agenda items

1048 Tattnall St. — P&Z approved a new fence in the front yard of Roger Redding’s property, as long as it is in the same line as the existing fence along the side retaining wall.

857 New St. — The Design Review Board and P&Z approved construction of a new single-family, two-story home on a vacant lot next to the Atrium Health Navicent parking deck at 824 Hemlock St. 

940 New St. — Planning & Zoning approved new siding and insulation for Billy Baldwin’s house.  

990 Ross St. — In Beall’s Hill, P&Z accepted the Design Review Board’s recommendation to approve modifications to the back porch and front door of Kathy Criswell’s home. The review board stipulated that the front door must be wood, but fiberglas can be used for the rear door. 

6112 Houston Road — P&Z approved rezoning Nick Cameron’s acre of land from multi-family residential to agricultural. Cameron plans to by 2.2 acres of adjacent agricultural land and combine the parcels. Staff concluded the zoning change complements the existing uses.

— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached t fabian_lj@mercer.edu or 478-301-2976.

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