Orange Hill residents voice concerns over Dollar General

Tensions between residents around the intersection of Orange Hill and Corbin Road and the Washington County Planning Commission have been rising. Many residents have made their opinion very clear: they do not want a Dollar General in their area.

During the meeting on August 5, the commission reviewed the proposal by Teramore Development LLC on behalf of their clients, Marilyn and Wallace Nelson who own the property. The 5.99-acre lot is zoned for commercial use and has been for years according to county records. Teramore proposed a split of the property into a 2.83-acre lot and a 2.17-acre lot due to them only needing access to 2.83 acres for the project.

Braun presented revised site plans that were adjusted to help community concerns over traffic safety. Teramore made an additional entryway on Orange Hill Road and added a turn lane to the entryway on Corbin Road to alleviate traffic backup.

Resident Donna Kent, who lives across from the property voiced her concerns in the meeting. “I am against the split because that opens the door for another business to come in, I don’t want the dollar store, so I definitely don’t want another store coming too,” said Kent.

Chairman John Gay made a motion to approve the division of the lot into two parcels. A discussion led by Richard Kunde, representative of District 4, followed the motion. “If we deny the split, that creates a larger area for the development to have more parking and allowance for the correct buffers and setbacks,” said Kunde. The motion for division of parcels failed, with only Chairman Gay and School Board Representative Kyle Newsom voting in favor of the motion.

Chairman Gay addressed the council and the public after the failed motion and made his feelings clear. “You just shot yourself in the foot…you can kiss that [entryway updates] goodbye,” said Gay.

Teramore will have 60 days to present an updated site plan on the entire lot of 5 acres. The proposal will be addressed at the Planning Commission meeting on November 4.