In Georgia, certain pieces of real estate are set aside for specific purposes. For example, in Macon, there is a parcel of land that is zoned for distributing warehouses. A company is interested in said property, but even with the zoning correct for its purpose, the company has to seek approval from the zoning board before it can move forward with building on the property.
According to a recent report, the company — only known as Project Unicorn — filed a request to build a warehouse on a recently rezoned hay field in Bibb County. The request is to build a 1-million-square-foot warehouse that will be used as a distribution center. It is expected to take up 97 acres of land, stand at 50 feet high and include over 1,000 parking spaces.
As for who is behind this request, many believe it is Amazon, though this will not be confirmed unless the project receives approval. Why would approval be needed if the zoning is already correct for the business’ purpose? There is a need to make sure that the area is equipped to handle such a change; for example, this building will bring a lot of traffic to the area. To help with traffic flow, the company supplied plans to install a traffic signal, which would help keep vehicles moving at the nearby intersections.
Zoning committees, even though they approve land for specific purposes, do still have a say regarding what goes on the property. Gaining approval is not always an easy feat, and sometimes it requires companies to go back to the drawing board multiple times before their plans achieve approval. An experienced attorney can assist business owners in Georgia as they work to obtain the land that they need to build and operate their companies.
Source: macon.com, “P&Z to discuss proposed Macon, GA, distribution center”, Linda S. Morris, Oct. 7, 2017