County Commission Clears the Way for East County Cox Dealership

Trace said she had no issues with the compatibility or use, but that the shift from agricultural to commercial was too intense for the piece of land in question.

"A bad piece of land is a bad piece of land,“ said Trace, "and this is a low piece of land and this is much too intense for [it]."

Trace moved to deny the application, which was seconded by Baugh, but it failed by the same split.

Baugh praised the Cox family but said that she’d been inundated with opposition from constituents and couldn’t support an incompatible project.

"I do not understand how I can look and see a car dealership where you are talking about putting it, around all of the homes that are there, that are going to be affected by this car dealership," said Baugh, adding, "it's a lot of noise, and there's a lot of cars going in and out."

Benac called it an infill property that she described as a "leftover parcel," arguing that while there could very well be an argument to rezone it to commercial, she couldn’t see one for a project that would be classified as "community-serving" because of the intensity. The former planner also noted that appropriate parcels were for sale nearby, although at a much higher cost.

"We don’t have this intensity, in my opinion, out there," said Benac. "There are large parcels for sale in the urban service area. They’re very expensive. They’re very expensive properties, for sale, designated mixed-use at the interchange (of) I-75, but this is a little leftover parcel."

Commissioner Misty Servia called it a difficult decision and ultimately hung her hat on the idea that it would be a local family developing the property as opposed to a national chain. Commissioner Carol Whitmore joined her, also making the local family case while noting that she’d never had a complaint about a single car dealership in her 14 years on the board. Servia and Whitmore were joined by commissioners Stephen Jonsson and Reggie Bellamy in the majority vote.