Warner Robins City Council tables rezoning, talks road work on Corder

WARNER ROBINS — “There’s limited access now as it is, there’s intense traffic on Houston Lake Road. Is this not getting out of hand a little bit?”

These were words from Councilman Keith Lauritsen, showing concern over a proposed rezoning for new apartments on Corder Road. The Warner Robins City Council discussed this rezoning at length during its most recent meeting on Sept. 2, ultimately tabling the agenda item.

The 24-acre property, located near the intersection of Corder and S. Houston Lake Road, is currently zoned General Commercial, but was proposed to change to Multi-Family Residential.

According to Planning and Zoning Manager Darin Curtis, the property is already adjacent to an apartment complex. It has two points of access, a main entrance and a possible emergency access point.

“This would be considered somewhat of a down-zoning as far as the use of the property goes and staff did recommend approval of the request to rezone,” Curtis said.

Councilman Clifford Holmes and Councilman Derek Mack expressed concern about increased traffic.

Mayor LaRhonda Patrick asked if Curtis had information on traffic patterns along Corder Road.

Curtis said Planning and Zoning has a traffic count for peak hours from a previous rezoning.  He also said the city has worked to reserve space for widening the road.

Lauritsen expressed concern about density. 

“If we fill it up with apartments and condominiums, I just think it’s unwise. I know it’s personal property that people own, and they have a right to develop their property. I understand that. I’m just very concerned about the density of residential properties. 

“This zone, this area, is zoned commercial. I know you also have traffic with commercial properties, but I’m still concerned about the volume that we’re continuing to add to this probably most highly-stressed area in the city right now,” Lauritsen said.

Curtis responded, saying much of Corder Road is zoned commercially and an apartment complex could be less intensive than developing a commercial business. At most, the complex would have 288 apartments, given the land size, he calculated.

Lauritsen asked if Planning and Zoning had concerns. Curtis said Planning and Zoning recommended approval unanimously and said the main concern was the property’s access point, saying the developer should ensure the primary driveway aligns with the apartments across the street, and ensure vegetation does not hinder sight distance.

Patrick said the area will eventually be developed, so the real issue facing the area will be improving traffic flow. Planning and Engineering Interim Director Vic Savage said the city has brought up widening Corder Road to Houston County as a SPLOST Project. He also mentioned a traffic study as a short-term action.

Patrick later added if the property stays the same, the developer is free to build within the guidelines of commercial zoning.

“Let’s think about how we want to proceed. Think about the entire area that’s going to have rezoning petitions or development requests, and how we’re going to work through that, when we know the real issue is traffic patterns. That’s what we’re tasked with figuring out for our city,” Patrick said.

To provide perspective, City Administrator James Drinkard delved into zoning processes, noting that the current code allows for “speculative rezoning,” meaning rezoning requests can move forward without requiring site plans. He also said current traffic study guidelines are a challenge, but changes regarding the process may be brought to council.

In the meantime, he said council may also consider conditionally approving the rezoning with a future site plan or traffic study, or tabling the rezoning. A representative of the developer suggested tabling the rezoning.

Council approved all other items on the agenda.

Supporting documents may be found on the city’s website. A livestream of the meeting can be found on the city’s Facebook page.

The next Warner Robins City Council meeting will take place Monday, Sept. 15, at City Hall, located at 700 Watson Boulevard, starting at 4:30 p.m.