A Napier Avenue Hookah Lounge won’t be able to upgrade to an alcohol-serving bar with amplified music after Monday’s ruling of the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission.
Verna Wilcox needed a P&Z permit to obtain a county alcohol license for Hi Frequency Events, Retail & More at 3430 Napier Ave., but learned at the hearing that she does not qualify.
P&Z staff determined the 2,754-square-foot space in a circa 1920 commercial building near Log Cabin Drive was too close to homes and a church to meet distance requirements for an alcohol license.
“Even if we approved it, I don’t know that the city would,” P&Z Chair Jeane Easom said.
“I don’t think they can,” P&Z Executive Director Jeff Ruggieri responded.
Since the Hookah Lounge was permitted in 2022, Wilcox said the business has been using shared parking around the building, but she has no formal agreement with property owners.
“It does not have adequate parking, and it’s really close to the others. They cannot meet the distance requirements as far as the barrier, the buffers that need to be installed,” P&Z Asst. Executive Director Randi Doveton said.
Licensed nightclubs that serve alcohol and play amplified music have stricter standards that the current lounge does not meet.
P&Z Commissioner Tim Jones worried the lack of designated parking on the property would have patrons parking in the adjacent convenience store.
“She doesn’t have any land legally to put parking on,” P&Z Chair Jeane Easom said.
By a unanimous vote, P&Z denied the conditional use of the building as a club with entertainment.
More homes for Moseley Dixon, old industry sites
A planned subdivision at 5986, 5898 Moseley Dixon Road can reduce lot size and add more houses under Rowland Engineering’s third plan for the subdivision that leaves the overall infrastructure mainly intact.
Three Oaks Construction and Development’s Villas at Moseley Dixon will now consist of 60 home sites, up from an original 39 lots in 2022 that was expanded to 45 home sites in 2024.
“The change from the previously approved site plan is we’ve reduced the lot width,” Stephen Rowland told P&Z. “There seems to be a demand for a smaller product from builders that are coming into the area and starting to build. So we’ve gone from a 60-foot-wide residential lot down to a 40-foot-wide residential lot.”
A builder for the new development has not been identified, so home designs were not included in the application.
P&Z staff presented their own application before the commission to rezone multiple parcels from M-1 wholesale or light industrial to single-family residential at 522 Rutherford Ave. 3075, 3091 Antioch Road, and 3125, 3137, 3157, 3161, 3175, 3185 Antioch Road.
In the 1950s, a light industrial use was thought to be optimal for these areas, but they remained primarily residential with “little to no viability for M-1 uses,” the application stated.
The late 2024 revision of the zoning code now prohibits residential uses in M-1, so P&Z is identifying these existing parcels and initiating rezoning themselves.
“Original M-1 zoning districts that are now not usable as residential and they’re so small and are next to residential that they really have no practical use for M-1 uses either,” Doveton said.
Katherine Robinson grew up in the house she inherited at 3125 Antioch Road and attended Monday’s hearing to find out why the zoning was being changed.
Robinson remembers her father having to come to P&Z for permission to add on to the house, but now understands that this rezoning could actually save her money.
Before the change, if the house burned down and she wanted to rebuild, she would have had to apply for rezoning herself, at a minimum cost of $1,875.
“So, I’m glad you’re changing it to residential so that if I wanted to do something to the property, I won’t have to come down like my father had to do every time you want to do something,” Robinson said.
“Well, you still have to get permits,” Ruggieri quickly noted.
P&Z unanimously approved the rezoning.
Other agenda items
331 Orange St. — P&Z approved modifications to Lurline Newton’s front porch after she acquired the appropriate five-inch crown molding to replicate the original materials on the historic home.
1025 Bond St. — Certificate of appropriateness granted for a four-foot-tall wrought iron fence with a gate in the front yard of the 1897 home.
895, 891 Elm St. — P&Z granted Matthew Moroz permission to replace the stucco foundation with a Cherokee brick veneer and use mitered corners instead of corner boards on a new house in Beall’s Hill.
277 Pierce Ave. — Exterior improvements to the driveway and garage were approved, but the Design Review Board suggested Hunter Godsey use a mixture of concrete and pea gravel or crushed slate for the driveway. They also recommended applying a pattern to the concrete parking pad and using board-and-batten style cementitious siding on the front of the garage.
2000 Northside Crossing — Mayur Patel was granted conditional use approval for an outpatient orthopedic physical therapy clinic in the existing commercial building. The clinic will operate weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and employ five people.
3726 Overlook Ave. — P&Z approved the construction of a new accessory dwelling in a detached garage on the McNeills’ property.
4800, 4815 Holley Road — Commissioners granted a variance to permit a lot not fronting a public right-of-way, but the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department must sign off on the plan to ensure there is access to emergency services.
— 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.
