by Denise Etheridge
White County News
White County resident Andrea Irvin, who lives in the area known as Leaf, has lived on property owned by her husband’s family for the past 40 years. Irvin said she isn’t opposed to having another small business like a hardware store move in nearby, but the thought of a large gas station that could bring in noisy semi trucks and increased traffic has her concerned.
So she started an online petition at change.org when she learned that a site plan for an 8,500-foot gas station and convenience store located at the intersection of Duncan Bridge Road and Highway 115 was being reviewed by the White County Planning Department.
According to the site plan, the convenience store would occupy 4,500 feet of the proposed building and two 2,000-square foot spaces would accommodate a restaurant and retail space. The gas station portion would have six fuel bays and several EV charging stations. The project would provide 45 parking spaces.
Irvin said the C-1 zoning allows developments of up to 20,000 square feet.
“I think our ordinances need to be more clear... if you’re still going to be in a residential area, then maybe the gas station only needs to be about 5,000 square feet,” Irvin told the News.
A tire store currently sits atop the property. Chattahoochee Baptist Church is directly across the road and Leaf Grocery and Deli is diagonally across from the proposed new convenience store.
“Our community is characterized by the locals that live in houses all around Leaf, but the addition of a convenience store will compromise privacy, increase noise, and generate unwanted trash,” Irvin’s online petition summary reads. “The small town environment that our residents have enjoyed for decades would be tarnished.”
She added that because her household gets water from a well, she is also concerned that the commercial septic system the proposed new business plans to install could impact her clean water source.
As of Wednesday, Irvin’s petition had garnered just over 800 signatures.
“Our fear in our little neighborhood is we’ll never see another dark night,” Irvin said. “We need to pay attention when we pass these zoning laws in White County. It’s (proposed convenience store) listed in the same zoning as antique stores and barber shops.”
“The property is zoned C-1 and a convenience store is a permitted use in that Land Use District,” confirmed John Sell, White County Director of Community and Economic Development. “The planning department can approve the application. We have already had a plan review committee meeting (on May 7) with the applicants where they received feedback from planning, building, environmental health, public safety, (the) water authority and the road department.”
Sell said the project does not have to come before the county Planning Commission or Board of Commissioners since it meets county zoning requirements.
Local businessman John Howard, who owned the property, said he had sold the 4.27-acre parcel through a broker to RK Developer, LLC of Duluth. Howard told the News on Tuesday that he initially hadn’t known what the property would be used for and that the sale was supposed to close that day. He declined to comment on the sale price of the property.
“I wasn’t trying to be in the middle of any unrest,” Howard said. He explained that he had bought the property solely as a real estate investment. Howard said he had not been in a hurry to sell the property, but the buyer’s offer was too good to refuse.
“My grandaddy used to say change brings reluctance,” he said.
Chaz Sosebee, who just bought Leaf Grocery and Deli in mid-May, said he is concerned that the new convenience store could impact area mom and pop businesses. Both Sosebee and Irvin pointed out that there are already several convenience stores and a Dollar General just a few miles away.
Sosesbee said that Leaf - which is popular with locals for its homemade biscuits - has been around since the 1990s. The building was built in the early 1970s, and a school once occupied the property back in the 1930s.
“Leaf is just a special place,” he said, adding that the longstanding grocery and deli has a “country-store feel.” Leaf Grocery, which sits across Duncan Bridge Road from Chattahoochee Baptist Church, does not sell beer or wine.
The proposed new convenience store could apply for an alcohol license, according to Sell. An alcohol license would have to be approved by the Alcohol Beverage Commission, he said. The ABC would determine if the proposed convenience store meets the county alcohol ordinance, such as being the required distance from a church or school.