Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission gave diners a new opportunity in north Macon, approved a new nightclub for downtown and wrangled with historic neighborhood property owners at Monday’s hearings.
P&Z granted Five Guys conditional use approval for a drive-thru restaurant at 4951 Riverside Drive, next to the recently approved Raising Cane’s chicken restaurant on the former State Farm Insurance property of 1.71 acres.
That old 15,345-square-foot office building at the corner of Gateway Drive will be replaced by the two restaurants, with Five Guys and two drive-thru lanes closest to the corner.
Five Guys’ plans 36 seats in an indoor dining area with restrooms that totals about 2,100 square feet, and 38 patio seats with four handicap seats. The eatery’s 39 parking spaces satisfy the minimum off-street parking requirements.
P&Z Assistant Executive Director Randi Doveton said the design maximizes the drive-thru lanes and kitchen space over the smaller dining area.
Fatty’s Pizza would like to add a drive-thru at 3955 Arkwright Road, but no one representing the restaurant showed up Monday, so commissioners deferred the application to Jan. 12.
The commission wants to discuss signage and maneuverability in the relatively narrow lane that circles the building which also includes Steve’s Steak and Seafood, Azul Salon and Spa, and Republic Finance.
Downtown ‘Nirvana,’ new living space
Pending a sound mitigation study and securing an acceptable trash receptacle location, Nirmal Kumar Das will be able to open a new ‘Nirvana’ bar and nightclub at 448 Second St., the most recent home of Comics Plus.
P&Z Executive Director Jeff Ruggieri was not sure another bar was the best use for downtown since it would be dormant through the day, but commissioners did not object.
The nightclub with a hookah lounge is expected to be open Tuesday through Saturday from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m.
Commissioners did call for the sound study after Ruggieri raised concerns about the planned live music through two 400-watt speakers.
“Most of the complaints we’ve gotten from nightclubs and bars are not about noise, but the bass and vibrations,” Ruggieri said.
The two-story club will have a VIP section upstairs with private pool rooms and lounges.
Commissioners also approved Kim French’s application to convert a two-story, nearly 2,400-square-foot building into a live-work space at 337 Third St.
French plans a commercial collections business on the first floor and a single-family, two bedroom apartment on the second floor.
Staff noted the building had inappropriately been painted some time between 2012 and 2016 without a required certificate of appropriateness application from the previous owner.
Historic District hangups
P&Z is again working to bring historic district renovations up to standards after homeowners began work without appropriate materials or approvals.
After multiple trips to the Design Review Board and P&Z, newlyweds Linda Jackson and Peter Ulrich left the hearing disappointed that they will have to redo some of their renovations at 192 Stonewall Place to come into compliance with historic district guidelines.
While they had review board approval for renovations to the rear of the house, they used unauthorized materials and methods on the front and sides of their home, were issued citations and violated cease and desist orders on the work, according to staff.
P&Z Chair Jeane Easom questioned why people would buy historic homes and not comply with regulations.
During their testimony, the couple said they asked the listing agent and were told the house was not in an historic district, although it is marked HR-1 on the qpublic website.
Although some commissioners mentioned the house looks great and thanked the owners for their efforts, they still must remove the batt and board siding on the front gables, restore the windows to the original design and shape, and apply a stucco-like material to the gables and brick foundation.
Lurline Newton hired contractors to repair her rotting porches at 331 Orange St. , but they streamlined the look at the facia boards and did not replace 5” crown molding.
P&Z issued a stop work order and Newton appeared before the Design Review Board in recent weeks.
Monday, she told P&Z her workers could not locate the 5” molding at mainstream building supply stores, but was directed to try Willingham Sash and Door and Seventh Street Salvage.
Newton has three months to secure the materials and bring the repairs up to standards and return to the commission.
P&Z also upheld the Design Review Board’s denial of William Rigdon’s application to paint the brick at ICB Construction Group’s office at 555 Fifth St.
Rigdon said there are several different types of brick used on building renovations over time, but the DRB determined that the unmatched bricks were significant to the old warehouse’s history.
Jeffrey Lawrence also made unauthorized improvements to homes at 266 Hillcrest Ave. and 2777 Napier Ave., which are also in historic districts.
The Design Review Board agreed to issue the certificate of appropriateness on Hillcrest if Lawrence agreed to replace front vinyl windows with either wood, or aluminum-clad wood windows, and put up a wood fence in place of chain link. They had no issue with the steel door or architectural shingles.
On Napier, Lawrence agreed to the review board’s stipulations that he work with P&Z staff to approve revised architectural designs for the front porch and rear stairs to make them consistent with historical photos of the house which was built in 1900.
Other agenda items
- 4580 N. Mumford Road — Wesley Glen Ministries was granted conditional use approval to build three new cottages with driveways and parking spaces in group living spaces for adults with developmental disabilities. Each new cottage will include four suites, a kitchen, dining room, group living area, front porch, laundry room, staff office and a front porch.
- 6461 Forsyth Rd. — Young Life Macon received conditional use approval for a community center and civic club on more than 18 acres across from Howard High School. The two homes, barns and pavilion on site will be used for offices, hosting weekly meetings of high school students and college-age staff, and for occasional fundraisers or other activities.
- 2686 Montpelier Ave. — After explaining plans for parking that won’t infringe on a residential property next door, Westside Auto Performance and Sales was granted conditional use approval to operate an automobile repair garage.
- 1433 Eisenhower Pkwy. — Fidelity Factors Inc. approved for outside storage and sales at the Great Furniture Mattress & Appliance store in the former JD Kinder space that sits on an 8.13-acre parcel near Pio Nono Avenue.
- 794 Maynard St. — The Sign Store tweaked its application for a variance to allow signage on New Pleasant Grove Baptist Church’s education annex. P&Z approved the variance after the scaled-down version of the sign only exceeded regulations by 2.22 square feet.
- 3902 Northside Drive — P&Z approved Avita Med Test’s application for conditional use for a clinic and laboratory in the Ashley Woods Professional Park. The company will convert a vacant suite into a diagnostic and specimen-collecting lab.
— 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.
