Despite opposition from nearby business owners, the Gainesville Planning and Appeals Board agreed to grant a variance to the minimum number of parking spaces needed for the developers of a new Golden Corral restaurant at their meeting Tuesday evening.
Bryan Day, who presented the request to the board, said the developers could only create about 25 spaces with the 0.69 acre tract of land at the corner of Browns Bridge Road and Pearl Nix Parkway, which is lower than the 88 the city would have required. Day said the developers would be able to share parking with the rest of the nearby Gainesville Towne Shopping Center to fulfill their parking needs.
Several owners in that center expressed concerns over that proposal, saying it would overflow the available parking and draw business away from the restaurants and stores in the center.
Scott Hunter, who represents the LLC that owns the shopping center, said the existing ingress and egress easement agreement between the center and the property in question that would allow the buffet to use the parking is outdated and wasn't meant to accommodate a business of Golden Corral's size.
"You're talking about a 1970s easement agreement that was created when this property had an existing building of 5,200 square feet," Hunter said. "When you're increasing that and doubling it, we're not going to have sufficient parking for our tenants."
Owners of Stevie B's Pizza and the Hibachi Buffet also raised concerns about potential damage to their sales, since Golden Corral is also a buffet-style restaurant. Councilman Eddie Martin, Sr. asked if a popular restaurant would actually draw in more customers to the center, but Hunter said the property's distance from the rest of the stores makes that unlikely.
"The Hibachi Buffet restaurant and Stevie B's, they actually draw attendants in. They've got to get out of their car and walk past the other tenant stores, so they do see what the other tenants have to offer," Hunter said. "If you have to go around the corner, you're more than likely not going to have a lot of attendants driving back to the shopping center."
Day said he felt the center had parking to spare, and could accommodate Golden Corral's needs.
"I know on many occasions I drive by there and there is plenty of parking," Day said. "I've never seen the parking lot just completely packed full."
The board voted to approve the variance, with an additional condition that the developers needed to spruce up the backside of the building, which would face Pearl Nix Parkway.
Planning and Appeals Board grants variance to stream buffer for new hotel
The board also granted a variance to the city's stream buffer requirement for a new Marriot hotel that will be developed on Browns Bridge Road near the often-polluted Flat Creek.
The creek sits on the southeast side of the development and, according to the developers, the normal 75 foot buffer would not allow enough room for the project. The request was to move the buffer to 25 feet to allow for further. Brian Kimsey, an engineering consultant for the project, said developers had to make cutbacks to even allow for the 25 foot buffer.
"Due to the size constraints, and it is a very difficult site to work with to get this done, this is a compromise that we could live with," Kimsey said. "The footprint of the hotel itself was reduced from 14,000 square feet to 12,000 square feet."
Concerns were raised about the impact of the hotel on Flat Creek, which has had multiple problems with pollution over the last two years, however Kimsey said several flowering plants and trees would be planted on the backside of the hotel to reduce runoff.
The variance was approved with a condition that the developers meet recycling standards throughout the development process.
