The Aiken City Council is expected to consider the proposal to build a 47,270 square foot specialty grocery store near the Village at Woodside for the second time.
On the agenda for the meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday in the city council chambers of the municipal building, located at 111 Chesterfield St. SW, is the second and final reading of an ordinance annexing 4.72 acres of land on the corner of Silver Bluff Road and Village Green Boulevard, zoning that land as planned residential and amending the concept plan of the Village at Woodside.
City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh said the ordinance will allow for the construction of a 47,270 square foot specialty store with seven smaller 1,400 square foot outparcels.
It was not disclosed what the specialty grocery store will be.
Two of the seven outparcels will border Village Green Boulevard.
The new area will have three points of entrance and exit: a full access on Silver Bluff Road, a right-in and out only also on Silver Bluff Road and a full access off of Village Green Boulevard.
Bedenbaugh said the developer, Silver Bluff Development Company, has been working with city staff including the Department of Public Safety regarding improvements to the access area near Public Safety Station 4.
The concept plan for the Village at Woodside was approved by the City Council on Feb. 14. It allows for 229,000 square feet of commercial development. The proposed changes to the plan request 20,000 square feet of the commercial allowance assigned to the assisted living common area and 14,000 square feet assigned to the future Village Inn be assigned to the residential unit allowance with a maximum of 318 units.
“If these revisions are approved with an additional 26,530 commercial square foot allotment, this will accommodate the new specialty store, shops and outparcels,” Bedenbaugh said. “It will also allow a 20,000 square foot expansion of the Village Medical offices, and potential expansion of existing commercial shops.”
The city council considered and approved the first reading of the ordinance on Sept. 26.
Before approving the ordinance, multiple council members requested the ordinance not return to the council until the developer met with residents concerned with the impact of the grocery store.
Several residents of Woodside and the Village at Woodside attended and spoke at the meeting. People with homes along Magnolia Lake Circle were particularly concerned about light and noise pollution impacting them.
Bedenbaugh said the developer met with residents on Monday, Oct. 17 and held a follow-up meeting during the week of Nov. 14. He said those meetings resulted in the developer agreeing to move the specialty grocery store closer to Village Green Boulevard and to install sound barriers between the grocery store and Magnolia Lake Circle.
Also on the agenda are the second and final readings of ordinances accepting the city’s 2021-2022 fiscal year external audit report and adopting changes to the city’s building code recommended by the South Carolina Building Council.
Up for first reading are ordinances annexing and zoning two properties on Silver Bluff Road to allow for the development of a Tidal Wave Auto Spa, annexing and zoning three properties near the intersection of Laurens Street and Rutland Drive to allow for the development of a 330 unit townhome rental community, the rezoning of the former Whiskey Road Pizza Hut to allow it to become a Sleep Number store and the annexation and zoning of a home on Russellwood Court.
There is also a resolution to appoint Kelly Zier to hear an appeal by Councilman Ed Woltz, his wife, Holly, and S&C Properties regarding a business license assessment.
The council will also consider the appointment of Charles Cummings to the Recreation Commission and a proclamation to mark the end of the city’s COVID-19 emergency loan program with zero defaulted loans.
Sleep Number mattress store to replace former Whiskey Road Pizza Hut
There is also a 5 p.m. worksession scheduled for the council to receive information from Phinizy Center for Water Sciences about its efforts to measure the quality of the water in the Savannah River and to begin discussing and receiving public input on what to do with the city’s plutonium settlement funds.
Aiken City Council could schedule public input sessions to spend plutonium settlement funds
An executive session for the council to receive legal advice regarding redistricting is scheduled to take place after the worksession.
