The regularly scheduled meeting of the
Pooler Planning and Zoning Commission
was held on Monday, August 25, 2008 at
6:00 p.m. Members present were, Larry
Olliff, Robert Byard, Charles Archer,
Nannette Ringham, James Reardon, Scotty
Fletcher and Mary Louis Lanier.
Councilwoman Rebecca Benton, Councilman
Bruce Allen, Zoning Assistant Kimberly
Classen and Zoning Administrator Jackie
Carver were also in attendance.
Co-Chairman Larry Olliff called the
meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Charles Archer gave the invocation and
Larry Olliff led the Pledge of
Allegiance.
The minutes of the previous meeting were
approved as printed upon a motion made
by Scotty Fletcher. Motion was seconded
by Charles Archer and passed without
opposition.
PUBLIC HEARING
1. Rosa Campbell on behalf of
Ercole Gaglio, has petitioned the City
of Pooler to rezone 708 West Highway 80
from C-1, Light Commercial to C-2, Heavy
Commercial: Rosa Campbell
on behalf of Ercole Gaglio presented the
rezoning petition to the board for their
review and recommendation. Ms. Campbell
stated that she is asking for the
property to be re-zoned to allow beer
and wine sales in order to generate more
business. Further, she stated without a
beer and wine license, this will place a
bigger hardship on the business. Ms.
Campbell also stated that the restaurant
has actually received over 1,000
signatures from existing customers
supporting the request to sell beer and
wine. Wendy Jones, L.I.P.S. (Little
Italy Pizza and Subs) expressed concerns
to the board regarding approximately
four (4) years ago, all of the
restaurants on this side of I-95 were
informed that no more beer and wine
license would be issued, but all of the
new restaurants have a beer and wine
license. During the Planning & Zoning
meeting, there was discussion
concerning, recent re-zoning petitions
in the area, spot zoning, traffic on
Durden Drive, adequate buffers, adjacent
zoning ,and the number of parking spaces
currently available, and the option
of a proposed text amendment to allow a
restaurant with beer & wine sales as a
conditional use within the C-1 zoning
district. Co-Chairman Olliff also
reminded the board to review Section 10.
“Standards for Zoning Ordinance or Map
Amendments” numbers 1, 2, 3 , and 7:
· One (1) ~ Is this request a logical
extension of a zoning boundary which
would improve the pattern of uses in the
general area?
· Two (2) ~ Is this spot zoning and
generally unrelated to either existing
zoning or the pattern of development of
the area?
· Three (3) ~ Could traffic created by
the proposed use or other uses
permissible under the zoning sought
traverse established single-family
neighborhoods on minor streets, leading
to congestion, noise and traffic
hazards?
· Seven (7) ~ Would the proposed use
precipitate similar requests which would
generate or accelerate adverse land use
changes in the zone or neighborhood?
Public Comments:
Mrs. Sandra Glick, adjacent property
owner stated that she does not have a
problem with the property being rezoned
from C-1 (Light-Commercial) to C-2
(Heavy Commercial.)
Petitioner’s Response: In
response, Ms. Campbell stated that she
was not aware of recent rezoning
petitions in the area of the business.
Further, that the traffic on Durden has
never been an issue since the access is
from U.S, Highway 80 and exits onto
Durden drive, due to the fact of the
access from U.S. Highway 80 can not be
widened anymore per the Department of
Transportation. Ms. Campbell also stated
that the buffer is more than adequate
from the rear of the property to the
property line of the adjacent residence.
Following further discussion regarding
whether the petitioner should withdraw
the rezoning request and propose a text
amendment, Councilwoman Benton reminded
the applicant that if the request was
denied by Council, the 12-month
limitation would apply. With no
further comments, a motion was made by
Commissioner Archer to recommend denial
based on numbers 1, 2, 3, and 7 of
Section 10 “Standards for Zoning
Ordinance or Map Amendment.” motion died
for lack of a second. Following further
discussion concerning the petition, a
motion was made by Commissioner Fletcher
to approve the rezoning of 708 West
Highway 80, from C-1 (Light-Industrial)
to C-2 (Heavy –Commercial), based on the
hours of operations being limited to the
hours discussed during the Planning &
Zoning meeting, which are closing at
9:00 p.m. Monday thru Thursday, closing
at 10:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday
nights, with no Sunday sales. Motion was
seconded my Commissioner Ringham, and
passed with Commissioner Reardon and
Commissioner Archer
opposing.iwHiHiHWith
2. North Point Industrial,
LLC has petitioned the City of Pooler
for an overhead utility variance to
allow for overhead power supply to
provide street lighting fixtures to be
mounted on the utility poles along
Distribution Drive: James
Reardon stepped down to excuse himself
from any discussion of this item. Terry
Coleman with Kern-Coleman & Company on
behalf of North Point Industrial, LLC
presented the petition for an overhead
utility variance to the board for their
review and recommendation. Mr. Coleman
stated that this was an oversight by the
engineering firm and based on the
substantial cost involved to have the
utilities run underground at this point,
the petitioner is asking for the City of
Pooler to allow the overhead power
supply to remain in place running along
Distribution Drive, as well as allow
street lights to be placed on the
existing utility poles. Mr. Coleman
further stated that during the
pre-construction meeting, there was no
representative from Georgia Power, and
throughout the entire process, the
utilities were never questioned until
the final inspection. According to the
Appendix B, Article VI, Section 604.01
of the Subdivision Regulations,
all utilities shall be run underground.
Further, all of the warehouses have been
completed, certificate of occupancy’s
have been issued, and tenants are
presently operating their business
within the warehouses. During the
Planning and Zoning meeting there was
some discussion concerning the utilities
going to the existing warehouses, the
extension of Distribution Road, the
location of the lighting fixtures, if
the road is public or private, the
length of Distribution Drive, the cost
difference between underground utilities
and overhead utilities, who would be
responsible for maintaining the road,
and the fact if the board recommends
approval of this variance will this set
precedence for other developers. In
response, Mr. Coleman stated that all of
the power supply going to the existing
warehouses is underground, the location
of the lighting fixtures will be placed
on the existing utility poles, the
length of Distribution Drive is
approximately 5,000’, the road has been
platted as a public road, the cost
difference of the overhead verses the
underground power supply is
approximately over one-million dollars,
and there is not anything put into place
as to who will maintain this public
road. With no further comments, a motion
was made by Commissioner Ringham to
recommend approval of the overhead
utility variance to allow for overhead
power supply to provide street lighting
fixtures to be mounted on the utility
poles along the existing
portion of Distribution Drive based on
the request meeting variance standards 1
and 3. Motion was seconded by
Commissioner Lanier and passed without
opposition. James Reardon returned to
his seat on the board.
OLD BUSINESS:
3. Review of proposed
amendments to Article IV – Fence
Ordinance: The following
items should be addressed in the
proposed fence revision:
· Specify gauge of fence, and
· Specify barbed wire will be of vinyl
coated to match the existing fence
framework system (i.e. color).
With no further discussion, the fence
ordinance will be revised to reflect the
aforementioned changes and presented for
approval at the next Planning and Zoning
Meeting prior to being adopted by Mayor
& Council.
There being no further business to
discuss, Commissioner Archer made a
motion to adjourn at approximately 7:30
p.m. Motion was seconded by Commissioner
Ringham and passed without opposition.