Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the regular May 20th, 2026 meeting of the North Augusta Planning Commission. We are now gonna call to order. If my commissioners could please do roll call.

Aaron Slade.

Rhett Harbison. Bob Biggar.

And I'm your chair, Christine Crawford.

All right, can I please, were there any, if there were not any edits or changes to the minutes, then can I please get a motion to accept?

Motion to approve the minutes.

Second.

All right, it's been moved and seconded. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye.

Opposed? Thank you.

All right. Mr. Paradise, are there any changes to the agenda?

No, ma'am.

Okay.

All right.

So... First up, we have application SP25-001, Home to Suites. And before we do that, I'll go over how we kind of run things. So we'll go over the application with Mr. Paradise. Then there may be some questions from commissions at that point. We'll ask the applicant to come forward. share any information that they would like for us to know. Then we open it up to the public. We ask that the public be mindful of their neighbors, keep your comments to about two minutes, share new perspectives, new things. But everyone who steps to the microphone at the podium, please give us your name and an address so that the folks out in Facebook land will know who you are as well. And once we open it up for public questions, we allow the public to ask all of the questions at one time and then ask the applicants to come back to the podium to respond and answer. And then we'll have a discussion and vote if the commissioners so move. All right, Mr. Paradise, with the first application, SP25-001, home to suites, what would you like to share?

Yes, ma'am. This is, the applicant submitted a major site plan for a new four-story home to suites hotel building. It's on a 3.45-acre track right next to the True Hotel. The site's located at 2020 Austin Graybill Road in his own general commercial. The proposed use is compatible with the future land use classifications. And you can see the True Hotel right next to it there in the vacant parcel.

The applicant has received two variances from the Board of Zoning Appeals.

The first was to allow the building to exceed the maximum height of 40 feet or 45 feet in the general commercial to allow a 50 foot tall building or four stories. The second variance was to allow a planning area of 170 square feet and six feet wide instead of the required 260 square feet and minimum width of eight feet in some areas. This was to allow adequate traffic aisle width and traffic safety. I really looked at that variance hard, and for it to work and get the aisle width, you had to, yeah, that was the only way to get the width in there. staff recommends approval of the site plan with the following conditions, that any outstanding comments will be addressed to the satisfaction of city staff. And this gives you an idea here of the planning of the site plan. And you see the where they needed to tighten up the aisles at the end of the row so you would have enough width to get through there. There wasn't enough room to fit the other landscaping and everything in there if they didn't have that. As is the elevations, it's your typical home to suites, architectural. Any questions for me?

I just have a general question. Is the 45-foot height, was that something kind of before my time that was just sort of within our kind of code, or is that a fire thing, like the fire trucks can't get up to 50 feet?

That's in the development code. I think they could probably exceed 45 feet in height. I don't know what the max is on the aerial device. And of course, it may be able to go up 100 feet, but remember, it doesn't go straight up. It has to have an angle. 45 feet is what was in the previous code and it's in this code So we did not get any pushback from public safety as far as life safety This building my understanding will be fully sprinkled and so That will be helpful There being none if the applicant could please come forward I

Good evening. Excuse me.

My name's Chip Funderburk. I'm with Heiner Design Group and the civil engineer on the project.

Address 601 Lodge Drive, Greenwood, South Carolina, 29646. Really, the only thing I would add to the one change, if you noticed on the On the rear of the site, on this plan, there's a retaining wall proposed due to grade change between this site and the site to the north. Since then, the applicant also is the owner of the property to the north. And what's changed now, we'll grade a slope in between the two sites to avoid having to construct a wall. And that's already been addressed with planning and stormwater. And all comments that they've had have been addressed as well.

Are there any questions for the applicant at this time? All right. Let's see. Are there any comments or questions from the public? It appears not. Mr. Funderburg, you can have a seat, and we may call you back up.

Thank you.

All right. So Commissioner Elliott, we were just going over the first application. You're welcome.

Oh, you're fine. We appreciate you coming.

So are there any questions, discussion around this application? If not, entertain a motion.

I make the motion that we approve the major site plan development SP 25-001 home to suite. Subject, property located at 220 Austin Graybell Road, tax parcel number 0101810005, general commercial. We approve the major site plan development with the condition that all city staff comments will be addressed.

All right. Do I have a second, please? It has been moved and seconded. Any further? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? All right. Thank you, Mr. Funderburg. All right. So next up is Major Site Plan for Southeastern Freight Lines, SP 25-002. Mr. Paradise, what would you like for us to know about this app?

Yes, ma'am. This property was originally two parcels, and on the map it still shows as two parcels, but it has been combined. You may remember this one. We had a room full during the annexation process. It's on Twin Hills Road, which is parallel to I-20. It's basically a frontage road. at the tank farm and it was annexed in 2024 with a rezoning to thoroughfare commercial in in essence for this project the properties were combined with a combination plat in 2025 and it's currently vacant We're ordering a business park to the north, and the application is a warehouse distribution freight terminal with office space on the property. They basically have a site that's on Highway 25 now that they'll be relocating to this facility. Freight and truck terminals are permitted in the TC zoning district, and the subject property is about 38.43 acres in area with approximately 27.5 acres for the proposed use. It'll be a 75-door dock on the truck terminal in a 9,150-square-foot warehouse with about 4,100 square feet of single-story office. We recommend approval with the condition that any outstanding comments will be addressed to the satisfaction of staff. Kind of catch-all. And also, there is some traffic improvements that was recommended by the TIA in that those improvements be required to be installed before the certificate of occupancy be allowed. And those are basically a turn lane there and the light at Highway 25 adjusting the timing for the new traffic. Any questions for me?

That was sort of along the lines of my question. With the amount of bays that they have, what would be, because obviously that interchange is getting busier and busier. Is the traffic at night? Is it during the day? I mean, if they have X amount of bays, is it 10 trucks at a time? I've been paying attention now when I see these things. What's going on? Just for traffic reasons.

We can ask the applicant. Okay, that works. Gotcha.

All right.

Any other questions for Mr. Paradise? All right, and that eager applicant is, if you could come to the mic, please, and give us your name and address.

Good evening, Commissioners.

Cam Sessions, 835 Forest Drive, Charleston, South Carolina. I work for Hoyt Bruni. We're civil engineers, land development consultants for southeastern freight lines. We have the pleasure of working with them throughout the southeast on their site development and civil engineering projects. I guess first I want to say thanks, Tommy, for the introduction of the project. You did a great job. I don't have a ton to add there, but I think you did a great job of showing kind of what our project tends to do. I also want to thank the city staff. They've been very helpful throughout the process, right, reviewing the project. And I feel like the major site plan we're presenting tonight, you know, is in full compliance with the city of North Augusta ordinance. You know, like Tommy said, this site here, the intent, you know, once they build it is to transfer that existing facility off of Edgefield Road just south of Walnut Lane to the site, right? This facility and property gives them the ability to, you know, expand beyond what their current operations are some and then, you know, future growth as well. So yeah, that, and then just to provide a little information about Southeastern as a company, they're an industry leader in the LTL freight world. They definitely prioritize maintenance and they have a great pride in their facilities. They also, these trucks that we utilize on site, they're owned and operated by them they're uh southeastern employees that drive the trucks as well um and you know they aim to hire locally and you know they're excited about you know this facility staying in the city of north augusta um so i guess you know to answer your question um mislaid uh in regards to the traffic and the um the doors so the way these facilities operate the um The dock employees will come in in the early hours of the morning, so they're coming in off peak hours. They'll be there to load the freight onto the trailers. The trucks, they want to dispatch those off peak hours as well, so they're not trying to send those out whenever we're going to work from 7 to 8 a.m. In regards to the signal there, the phasing study that we're going to do with the SCDOT will determine if they need to adjust the timing. to reduce any stacking at that light leaving the site. Hopefully that answered your question. If you all have any other questions, happy to answer those as well.

About how many employees will be there full-time, not drivers?

That initial bill, around 75 employees.

So will most of those be moving from the other facility, and is that one shutting down?

The current facility is around, I think it's around 50 doors. So there will be employee transfer, obviously, over here. And I think, you know, about an increase of maybe, you know, 20, 30 employees or so. Exact numbers, you know, I think it's in that ballpark, right?

But as far as the existing facility and its, you know, future use, I'm not totally certain, you know, what might happen there.

So I can't really say for certain.

Any other questions for Mr. Sessions? If there be none, are there any public questions or comments?

I forgot, Madam Chairman, I forgot to add that they did get a variance for this site plan from the maximum setback requirement to allow it to be set back further than what's normally allowed in T.C.

Thank you.

I do have one question while you're still here. I forgot. The property looks like it's got some topographical challenges to it. Is that going to be any environmental concerns, or how much work is it going to be to flatten this place out to make it functional as a truck?

No, environmentally, I feel like we'll you know, be able to maintain, you know, slip compliance, right, whenever we're doing the construction. You know, the city of North Augusta has a good part of their ordinance that requires no greater than 20 acres of disturbance at one time, right? So the slips and multi-phase slip plan that we, you know, maintain under that 20 acres of disturbance in the initial phase, right, they'll need to, establish a ground cover, you know, beyond that, and then the remainder of the land can be disturbed after that. So that is a good, you know, I think that's a very good, you know, thing that City of North Augusta has. But, yeah, the topographical challenges, there are some retaining walls on site that kind of go around the side of the pond. But, yeah, no concerns with, you know. Thank you.

All right, Mr. Sessions, thank you. You can have a seat.

Thank you.

Any discussion? Do I have a motion?

Yeah, I'll make a motion to recommend.

Sorry, I got the wrong page.

SP25-002, Southeastern Freight Lines, North Augusta. To be approved, would the conditions of any outstanding comments be addressed to the staff satisfaction? Any outstanding traffic impact analysis comments need to be addressed before approval of major site plan and installation improvements prior to certificate of occupancy? Second.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. Any further comments or discussion?

All right.

There being none, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed?

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Sessions.

All right. Up next is an annexation request. Annexation 26-002 on East Point of Vista Avenue. And Mr. Paradise, what would you like for us to know about this application?

Yes, ma'am. This is the parcel here. It is partially already in the city.

It's on East Buena Vista Avenue.

That's parcel 007-1610-016. In your report, it says it's .40 acres. That was a typo. There's actually three parcels there that have been combined. and it's actually 2.48 acres. The parcels proposed for annexation is currently vacant. Subject parcel has road access and a driveway off East Buena Vista, and the applicant is requesting general commercial zoning at the time of annexation. The Planning Commission is being asked to make a recommendation regarding the compatibility of the zoning classification of this property prior to the

annexation.

And you'll see that it's contiguous. General commercial. And it also has general commercial across the street while there is the donut hole aspect. It's on the edge. This is what I would consider as an infield project. It is my understanding that, and the applicant can speak to it in greater detail than me, but the intent is to build a office space for a general contractor's office and storage of equipment there.

Are there any questions for Mr. Paradise? And I have a question since you mentioned it. On general commercial or storage of equipment, what are the requirements? Is it going to be like a garage? Is it a warehouse type? I guess, are there building types that are allowed but not allowed?

There is, I believe, some architectural features required in the General Commercial District. And we'll go through that with the site plan, as well as how they screen any equipment. As far as the size of buildings and stuff, you might ask the applicant, because I'm not privy to it at this point.

Okay, all right. All right, thank you. Any other questions for Mr. Paradise? All right, if the applicant could please come forward.

I'm Brett McNeil, 209 Woodridge Road, Edgefield, South Carolina. And I am one of the owners of the property and the construction company that will be building an office there.

Ms. McNeil, what would you like for us to know about that?

So I think Mr Paradise covered it mostly. It's going to be about a 3500 square foot building. It'll be mostly office space for myself, my business partner in one or two other employees, office personnel, the rest of our employees work out on site. We're primarily an industrial and commercial general contractor, so most of our work and our employees will be, like I say, out on sites. As far as storage goes, the only thing that will be stored there will be, you know, we will have on the back part of the building, there will be some shop slash warehouse space, so there could be a truck, you know, an excavator, you know, something like that parked inside the shop overnight or if we've got to work on it, do some maintenance or repairs to it. The building will be on kind of the back side of the property is the plan right now, with a long driveway coming in there on that far right side of the property. But other than that, I'd be glad to ask any questions, but pretty much just a simple office space.

Any questions, commissioners and applicants? Thank you. Thank you. Are there any other comments, questions from the public? All right. There being none, any discussion or a motion? Or the recommendation for GC zoning for this property? My turn? Yeah.

I'd like to make a motion for recommendation for approval of ANX 26-002 for the request by SEC Contracting for annexation of the 2.48 acres located on East Buena Vista Avenue. TPN is noted in the in the package with the right consideration and recommendation for approval to city council.

Second. Second for the discussion? All right, if not, call for a vote. All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye. Opposed?

Thank you. All right. So next on the agenda is the election of our vice chairman. And I want to thank Commissioner Bob Baker for his service in this role and his dedication and thoughtfulness around both stepping into that role initially and covering for me when I was absent.

So I appreciate you. Thank you very much.

And so Commissioner Baker will no longer be serving as vice chair, so opening it up for nominations of vice chair. And that includes self-nominations.

You don't got to look at me like that.

No, I'm just looking this way. I'm not, you know, I don't have any.

I'll nominate Rhett.

I'll gladly second that.

Okay. Do you accept? Okay, great. That helps. Since Rhett has accepted the nomination and has been seconded, any further discussion? Any other nominations? There being none, all those in favor of Rhett serving as vice chair, please say aye. Aye. All opposed? Welcome, Vice Chair Rhett. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Staff report. Mr. Paradise.

I actually have sort of one for you tonight.

Oh, okay. All right.

We've done one major subdivision and signed that and got it out. Two minor subdivision flats, 22 single family home permits, five signed. sign permits, and the BZA granted two special exceptions this month to allow for two home occupations.

And as always, we appreciate all that you and your team do to move North Augusta forward and to make our community better. So with that being said, if there's no other business, take a motion for adjournment. Alright.