A new nonprofit, private cemetery can be built across from Macon’s Downtown Airport following Monday’s hearings of the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission.
P&Z agreed to rezone from residential to agricultural nearly 63 acres in two parcels at 3450 Ocmulgee East Boulevard and 2708 Herbert Smart Airport Road to approve the conditional use of the property as a burial ground.
Applicant Ubaid Saiyed said Peace Garden Cemetery initially plans only five acres of burial sites, but will reserve 30 acres for future use and maintain more than 27 acres as protected greenspace.
“This particular property was the only property that checkmarks all the requirements by the state and the city,” Saiyed told commissioners.
Although the required buffer from other properties is 25 feet, the cemetery plans a 50-foot buffer from the property line and will leave 150 feet of undisturbed land from bodies of water.
P&Z Chair Jeane Easom asked about expansion plans, but Saiyed did not anticipate his small community would need much more room.
“This cemetery is intended to serve the long-term needs of our community in a respectful, well-maintained, and environmentally responsible manner,” Saiyed wrote in the application.
The proposed owner of a new nightclub at 350 Cherry St. did not show for Monday’s hearing, so P&Z deferred until Feb, 23 that application for live music and operating hours until 2 a.m.
Georgette Drafts wants a conditional use permit to relocate her Niche Lounge from Second Street to about 2,000 square feet in a 1950 commercial building next to the Tubman Museum.
At 931 Walnut St., commissioners sided 4-1 with the Design Review Board in approving a proposed fix for a leaning retaining wall. The applicant blamed the compromised wall on a tree the city planted in an easement that serves as the homeowner’s driveway, but Commissioner Kesia Stafford warned that unresolved water drainage issues could compromise the repairs.
The historic 1860 “Slate Row” building that was constructed by the slaves who built the Hay House is on the National Register of Historic Places and falls under historic district guidelines.
The original contractor did not apply for the necessary permit and work was halted after two cinderblock columns were added to stabilize the stucco wall.
P&Z staff deemed the fix inappropriate, but the Design Review Board accepted the submitted design from new contractor Stucco Brothers that calls for evenly-spaced, stucco columns painted to match the wall.
P&Z also ratified the Design Review Board’s approval of a new house design for 819 Edgewood Ave.
Property owner Johnika Green must meet design guidelines for the Beall’s Hill neighborhood including 9-foot ceilings on the first level, smooth-finished siding, a gabled roof, and regulation porch railings and windows.
P&Z also accepted the Design Review Board’s recommendation for an accessory building at 267 Buford Place in the Vineville Historic District.
Homeowner Steve Colon failed to get the necessary approvals before adding walls and a roof onto a compost bin in the back of his property to create a storage building.
The review board approved the construction as long as smooth-finished siding is used and a four-inch casing is put up around the door and on the corners of the building.
P&Z commissioners also approved a variance for a parking lot for an automobile service shop at 4700 Sheraton Drive.
To meet floodplain encroachment regulations and sewer easements, Joseph Reeves requested and received an exception from the required parking stall size of 9 feet by 20 feet to 9 feet by 18 feet.
Commissioners also granted a variance to Laura Fussell to plat two properties at 4632 and 4628 Dykes Road into three parcels, per the last will and testament of the late Samuel C. Dykes.
— 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.
