
A proposed car wash on Jonesboro Road is appealing the county’s buffer requirements for new locations. The commissioners will consider the appeal on Tuesday, April 9.
At question is whether the county’s buffer requirement calls for a one or two-mile buffer. The county ordinance stipulates one mile of separation; however, staff are using a two-mile buffer by combining the distance circles.
Jonesboro Road New Car Wash
Shops at Walnut Creek, LLC of Rome, GA is appealing the county staff’s decision to deny a zoning verification letter. The staff denied the letter for a new car wash citing the county’s buffer requirement. The proposed car wash, Tidal Wave Auto Spa, would be at the corner of Jonesboro Road and Riggs Drive. The location is part of the new Publix shopping center. The property is 1.967 miles from the next-closest existing car wash. This is Take 5 Car Wash on the east side of I-75.
In April 2023, the county adopted a car wash buffer requirement. At the time, county staff proposed a one-mile buffer. Commissioners requested a larger buffer. To facilitate this, staff inserted into the ordinance ”it shall be prohibited for any such minimum separation distance measurements to overlap.” It is under this clause which staff are interpreting a two-mile buffer requirement.
The applicant’s attorney, Smith Gambrell Russell of Atlanta, is contending such interpretation as incorrect. They stipulate the ordinance calls for a one-mile buffer between locations. They further contend the required radius between locations is only one half-mile:
Since the Ordinance specifically states that uses are “separated” by a “minimum distance” of one-mile, this provision can only reasonably be construed to mean that the required radius between each use is one-half mile.
Appeal letter to Henry County, dated March 1, 2024, by Smith Gambrell Russell
Planning staff are recommending the board confirm their interpretation and deny the applicant’s appeal. The BOC will hold a public hearing during their Tuesday, April 9, meeting. The board meeting starts at 9 am. Afterwards, they will decide whether to uphold staff’s decision or grant the applicant their appeal.
Featured image shows Jonesboro Road at Riggs Drive. Henry County photo.
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