The Greene County Board of Commissioners approved a conditional use request during its Feb. 11 meeting, which could lead to the opening of a new Wendy’s restaurant in the lake area.
City Manager Byron Lombard told the BOC that James T. Boswell of Associated Restaurant Ventures, Inc., the authorized agent for Oconee Plaza Properties, had requested the zoning measure for a 1-acre site off Salem Walk Drive near the recently opened Dunkin’ Donuts store.
Commissioner Angela Deering made the motion to approve the conditional use request with the following conditions:
• Plans must indicate the limits of the new Hwy. 44 easement as required by the Georgia Department of Transportation;
• Signage may only be externally lit, and the luminance levels must not exceed five footcandles;
• The retaining wall located along Salem Walk Drive must be screened with various evergreen shrubs and under-story trees (such as redbuds, crepe myrtles, and/or dogwoods) in a natural fashion, if allowed by Georgia Power within its utility easement;
• Overall parking lighting must be limited to concealed light sources and project a maximum of three footcandles over the parking areas and four footcandles for pedestrian hazard areas.
• The architectural style of the building must consist of stone and/or brick veneer with stucco accents, if necessary, only, avoiding any bright exterior colors;
• Parapet walls or mansard roofs must be tall enough to hide all mechanical equipment from public view;
• Building signage must be limited to the business name “Wendy’s” only and limited to two building facades;
• And if a monument sign compliant with the Greene County Code of Ordinances is desired, it must match the Wendy’s template in the plan and would limit the building facade signage to a maximum of 24 inches tall.
Earlier in the same meeting, the BOC approved an amendment to land use regulations, including Appendix B of the zoning code and Appendix A of the subdivision regulations, to allow fast-food restaurants in a B1 zoning district as a conditional use.
The amendment also established a cottage housing provision in the PUD, CPUD, and RM zoning districts. It clarified the requirements for lots that abut public streets or have perpetual access to public roads.
The BOC approved a third conditional use request for Discount Storage of GA Partners, LLC, for the operation of a self-storage facility to be located on a 3.07-acre parcel at 1051 Farmington Rd. with the following conditions:
• A type-C buffer compliant with the Greene County Code of Ordinances must be established along the north and northeast boundaries of the property adjacent to A1 zoning;
• The exterior fence must be changed to a material compliant with the Greene County Code of Ordinances;
• No proposed expansion can protrude further into the established setbacks than the existing buildings located on the parcel as of Jan. 27, 2025;
• The Greene County Code of Ordinances requires additional screening for any traditional outdoor storage that is not kept under a roof.
The BOC also approved a final plat for Pulte Home Company, LLC, for Parcel 18B of Del Webb at Lake Oconee, creating 62 lots from 27.69 acres.
In other business:
• The BOC appointed Judy Hodnett to the Greene County Board of Health to serve as the advocate for the needy, underprivileged, or elderly for a six-year term and appointed Lanier Rhodes to the Greene County Board of Health to serve as the advocate for consumers of health services for a six-year term.
• The BOC approved a resolution to create a public facilities authority.
“Given the county’s growth and known public facility needs, the option of creating a public facilities authority has emerged,” Lombard said. “The authority would exist to help obtain favorable financing and funding for public facilities, land, buildings, renovations, expansion, construction rehabilitation, equipment, furnishings, fixtures, roads, bridges and any other improvements that would be exempt from taxation at a very low interest rate. We know we are going to have to borrow money for a new jail in 12 to 15 years. We are considering water and sewer infrastructure on Hwy. 77. We know we have a recreation park that we want to expand.”
Lombard said the authority is a tool that the BOC or other elected bodies can use and can be disbanded if problems arise.
• The BOC approved the legal steps necessary to solicit input on the possibility of abandoning a 1.171-mile segment of Trimble Bridge Road.
• The BOC deferred action on a GDOT traffic signal application for Airabella Drive at Hwy.
44 until a meeting with the GDOT can be held.
• The BOC approved the necessary budget adjustments to reallocate funding in the EMA departmental budget to supplement insurance proceeds for the replacement of a totaled fire engine.