North Augusta Planning Commission approved site plans Thursday for a new Kroger store and the future headquarters of SRP Federal Credit Union.
The 70,720-square-foot supermarket will be part of the Shops at River Commons along Knox Avenue near Lowe's. Plans for the site include a Kroger gas station and space for an additional 14,000 square feet of retail space to be divided into small shops, according to the site plan.
The store is expected to have 77 more parking spaces than previously approved development plans allowed. The commission included provisions that developers comply with stormwater abatement measures by paying a fee for the extra spaces, using pervious pavement or doing away with the extra spaces.
The site plan was approved by a 5-1 vote, with Commissioner Timothy Key opposing it.
The commission unanimously approved the plans for the credit union offices at U.S. Highway 25 and Walnut Lane. The SRP facility will be a two-story headquarters building with out-parcels reserved for about four acres of additional development, according to a site plan.
The planning board also received information from Tanya Strickland, of North Augusta Stormwater Management. She implored the commission to consider the condition of area water basins and the effect of development on wetlands when taking up zoning actions.
Many of the 16 water basins in North Augusta are in poor condition, she said. According to her presentation, a negative correlation appears to exist between the amount of development and the condition of streams.
The healthiest stream, Mims Branch, has little surrounding development. Pretty Run, a threatened waterway monitored by state order, is bordered by heavy development, according to her presentation.
Planning Commission Chairman Woods "Chip" Burnett asked Strickland to return with periodic updates, and asked city planners to include information about which basin a development would affect in future planning reports.
In other business, the planning commissioners honored fellow member Cindy Bolton, who is retiring after 13 years on the commission.
She joined it in 1995, and the city's physical boundaries and population have increased dramatically during her time as a member.
"I've enjoyed every minute of it," she said.
Reach J. Scott Trubey at scott.trubey@northaugustatoday.com.
