Columbus, Georgia

Subject: (EXCP 12-11-3459) Special Exception Use request for a place of worship

exceeding 250 seats located at 6650 Buena Vista Road.

Gateway Church, Inc / Larry Mitchell has submitted an application for the

Special Exception Use cited above. The property is located in an SFR2

(Single-family Residential 2) zoning district. The site for the proposed place

of worship is approximately 15.23 acres. The applicant has submitted a site

plan, which is attached. Places of worship in excess of 250 seats are

permitted in an SFR2 zoning district only on a site-specific basis upon

approval of the Council based upon the following criteria and conditions:

1. Access. - Is or will the type of street providing access to the use be adequate to serve the proposed special exception use?
   Buena Vista Road is classified as a major arterial (divided 4-lane). Moye Road
   
   is a local street that connects to Buena Vista Road. Ingress/egress of the
   
   site may need to be improved 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 at Buena Vista Road and Moye Road, which should
   
   maintain adequate flow of traffic to and from the subject property.
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?
   Parking and loading areas shall be set forth per the UDO requirements.
   
   Off-street parking will be utilized on-site. No buffer requirement exists for
   
   SFR2 property abutting SFR2 property. External dumpsters/compactors and
   
   lighting are addressed in the UDO. Noise impacts are addressed in the City
   
   Code.
   
   
   
   Proximity to Fort Benning?s firing ranges may have an impact on use of the
   
   property as a place of worship. Fort Benning requests to include smoke and
   
   noise disclosure statements in closing information on real estate business or
   
   leases. Also, in accordance with Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act, Fort
   
   Benning requires that future constructions must meet the requirements of
   
   General Storm Water Permit, including compliance with the National Pollutant
   
   Discharge and Elimination System (NPDES) permitting and implementation of best
   
   management practices.
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.
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 4 (Turner-Pugh)





Twenty five (25) 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 two neutral comments regarding the ingress/egress and

location of the proposed church.



Fort Benning Recommendation: Conditional approval.



The Planning Advisory Commission recommended approval at the January 4, 2012

meeting.





The Planning Department recommends that the Council conditionally approves the

use because the application for a Special Exception use meets the criteria for

approval. The recommended conditions are: 1) Smoke and noise disclosure

statements shall be included in any real estate documents. 2) The Tree Density

Unit (TDU) requirement shall be met for the proposed project in the area shown

under the enclosed site plan. Existing trees elsewhere on the site shall be

excluded in the calculation of TDUs.

• EXCP 12-11-3459_Traffic Analysis.pdf
• Site Plan w parking_2-09-12.pdf
• Land Use Map.pdf

cc: Gateway Church, Inc./Larry Mitchell, Loyd Johnson

• EXCP 12-11-3459_Traffic Analysis.pdf 
• Site Plan w parking_2-09-12.pdf 
• Land Use Map.pdf