Columbus, Georgia

Georgia's First Consolidated Government

Post Office Box 1340
Columbus, Georgia, 31902-1340
(706) 653-4013
fax (706) 653-4016

Website: www.columbusga.gov/planning


6/21/2012
Honorable Mayor and Councilors
City Manager
City Attorney
Clerk of Council

Subject: (EXCP- 5-12-2044) Special Exception Use request to operate a day care, Type

III, as an associated use to a church located at 7170 and 7176 Beaver Run Road.

Columbus Christian Preschool / Tammy Watts have submitted an application for

the Special Exception Use cited above. The property is located in a SFR3

(Single Family Residential 3) zoning district. The site for the proposed day

care is approximately 4.95 acres. The applicant has submitted a site plan,

which is attached. The purpose of the Special Exception Use is to allow for

the operation of day care, Type III (more than 18 clients), as an associated

use to an existing church located in a residential zoning district:

  1. Access. - Is or will the type of street providing access to the use be adequate to serve the proposed special exception use?
    Beaver Run Road is classified as a four (4) lanes divided arterial that will

    provide adequate access for the proposed use. The driveway/access entering the

    site meets the access requirements in order to accommodate the flow of traffic

    during the hours of service for the use.
  2. Traffic and Pedestrian Safety. - Is or will access into and out of the property be adequate to provide for traffic and pedestrian safety, the anticipated volume of traffic flow, and access by emergency vehicles?
    The site allows ingress/egress to an arterial road, which maintains adequate

    flow of traffic to and from the subject property. The proposed use will utilize

    the existing off-street parking for the church since they will not be operating

    at the same time. Also, the proposed use shall provide a pick-up and drop-off

    facility consistent with City standards, which will contribute to pedestrian

    safety and adequate traffic flow.
  3. Adequacy of Public Facilities. - Are or will public facilities such as schools, water or sewer utilities, and police or fire protection be adequate to serve the special exception use?
    Services such as water, sewer, utilities, police, and fire protection will be

    adequate and serve the proposed use at this location. Furthermore, there will

    be no impact on neighboring schools in the immediate area.
  4. Protection from Adverse Affects. - Are or will refuse, service, parking and loading areas on the property be located or screened to protect other properties in the area from such adverse effects as noise, light, glare or odor?
    Off-street parking will be utilized on-site. No buffer requirement exists

    since the applicant is not planning on adding any new buildings, expanding or

    remodeling the existing building. External dumpsters/compactors and lighting

    are addressed in the UDO. Noise impacts are addressed in the City Code.
  5. Hours of Operation. - Will the hours and manner of operation of the special exception use have no adverse effects on other properties in the area?
    The hours of operation for this use will not have an adverse impact on the

    neighboring properties in the area. The applicant stated that the proposed day

    care will be operating from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm from Monday through Friday.
  6. Compatibility. - Will the height, size or location of the buildings or structures on the property be compatible with the height, size, character or location of buildings or other structures on neighboring properties?
    The height, size and location of the proposed structure will be compatible with

    other structures on neighboring properties.

Council District: District 6 (Allen)





Forty two (42) property owners within 300 feet of the property have been

notified by mail of the proposed Special Exception Use. To date, the Planning

Department has received three neutral comments regarding this request. The

comments were related to a possible day care at the Vinings Subdivision which

the callers expressed their objection. Once the Planning staff explained the

location and that this project will be associated with an existing church, they

were content.



Additional Information: The applicant stated that the proposed use will provide

service for 50 clients. Also, a traffic analysis report was not generated for

this special exception request due that there will not be any expansions or

construction on the property; therefore, we don?t anticipate having any change

on traffic patterns. A study may need to be completed if additional land is

purchased or if there are any major modifications to the existing building.



A Type III day care shall only be operated in association with a church, etc.,

as established in section 3.2.25 of the Unified Development Ordinance.



The Planning Advisory Commission recommended approval at the June 20, 2012

meeting.



The Planning Department recommends that the Council approves the use because

the application for a Special Exception use meets the criteria for approval.

Respectfully,

Rick Jones, AICP
Director, Planning Department


Enclosure / Attachment


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