Planning commission backs modification to allow medical offices and larger development at AAC Land Partners site

The Oconee County Planning Commission on June 16 forwarded a modification to rezoning P26-0115 that would allow medical office use in place of a previously approved hotel and increase the development to as much as 113,620 square feet. The commission voted to recommend approval with the conditions staff outlined, sending the matter to the Oconee County Board of Commissioners for final action.

Staff told commissioners the site, parcel C01050 in the regional center character area and currently zoned B-2, seeks to change an earlier rezoning (P24-0115) by permitting medical offices instead of the hotel, increasing the number of buildings from three to four and raising the maximum total building area to 113,620 square feet (58,870 sq ft designated as fitness/club use and 54,750 sq ft for medical office use). Staff recommended conditional approval and reiterated prior conditions that remain in effect, including requirements for exterior materials, screening of service areas and dumpsters, and transportation improvements tied to a traffic-impact analysis dated April 2026.

"This is a pretty simple modification this evening," said Justin Greer, of Pitman and Greer Engineering, who represented the applicant and said the fitness-club footprint had gotten smaller and there was interest in a multi-story medical office on the corner. Greer said the applicant and staff had provided a recorded plat and a concept plan showing the proposed layout.

Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on the scale change. When one commissioner asked what the previous maximum square footage had been, staff replied with the figures captured in the record. Commissioners also asked whether the change in use would alter parking needs; staff and the applicant said parking would be shared between uses and handled through the development-review process.

The commission’s approval was conditioned on the planning department’s standard conditions and specific requirements tied to the prior rezoning, including exterior material standards (brick, stone or glass), screening of service areas with a masonry wall and metal doors, transportation improvements per the Kimberly Horn and Associates traffic-impact analysis, and access limited to Plaza Parkway with a no-access easement on other frontages. The commission’s motion was seconded and approved; the transcript does not record a detailed roll-call tally.

The commission’s recommendation now goes to the Oconee County Board of Commissioners, which will take the final vote on the rezoning modification.