Albany Commission taps brakes on decision on east Albany rezoning for truck stop maintenance center

ALBANY – A proposed maintenance shop on Don Cutler Sr. Drive that would complement a planned truck stop on the street has drawn opposition from residents who do not want either of the facilities in their east Albany neighborhood.

That opposition came during a Tuesday Albany City Commission public hearing on the application to rezone 11.13 acres from C-R community residential multiple dwelling to the C-3 commercial district designation, which allows for retail and storage. The application comes from Aman Kaur with BYD Builders.

The Albany-Dougherty County Planning Commission recommended approval for the zoning change by a 5-0 vote on Sept. 3. The planned truck stop in the area, located south of the Blaylock Street exit on the Liberty Expressway, would not require approval.

Residents in the neighborhood do not want the facilities, Ivy Pace, who has lived in the neighborhood for 45 years and whose residence on Andover Lane intersects with Don Cutler, told commissioners.

“They are indifferent to our neighborhood,” Pace said. “Speaking for the residents in our neighborhood, we believe a truck stop will bring in noise pollution, air pollution.”

After seeing deer at a nearby holding pond recently, the area resident said that she also has concerns for them and other animals.

“It will not only affect us but the animals and their habitat,” she said. “We believe this will bring traffic congestion. It is a safety risk for our neighborhood. We have children playing in our neighborhood. We have a school nearby. We have a church nearby, and a truck stop would interfere with those.”

Pace said she has concerns that a truck stop could cause an increase in crime and that truckers would cut through the neighborhood to get to Clark Avenue. Ultimately it could have a negative impact on the property values in the neighborhoods.

“A truck stop brings in crime, people coming in and out of the truck stop … prostitution, and I’m sure alcohol will be as well, so we have those coming as well. Air pollution … the fumes from the trucks, the noise from the trucks. We strongly oppose the approval of this application.”

Residents in the area were surprised to hear about the potential of the truck stop and maintenance shop, the Rev. Donny Green, pastor at the 1200 E. Fourth Ave. Bible Way Missionary Baptist Church that is near the proposed location, said.

The activity that the facility would bring would mean more traffic, litter and noise, he said.

“I’m not against development, but I’m against the hazard of this development,” he said. “The location is right in the middle of a residential (area). To build right in the middle of a neighborhood, that’s a problem.”

The area is already congested, and the church has had issues with truckers parking in the church parking lot already in the past, the minister said during an interview outside the meeting room.

“People aren’t going to come to these meetings because they’re working, but most of the people don’t want it, not right there,” Green said. “If you’re going to bring something to east Albany, bring something that’s going to bring jobs.”

Following the remarks from the audience, the commission agreed to postpone revisiting the issue until its first work session in October and decided not to take a vote on the request at its meeting next week.

“I think we need to see a site plan because some of my colleagues are going to oppose it because it’s a commercial operation that’s going to be next to a neighborhood,” Commissioner Chad Warbington said. 

The developer, who participated via telephone during the discussion, agreed to provide site plans and provide answers to other questions raised during the commission’s discussion.

Principles of a convenience store development at the intersection of Dawson Road and Westgate Drive presented a similar situation several years ago that the commission was able to work out with the developer through changes that were more acceptable to area residents, Warbington said.

“You can make (revisions) to it that would make it more palatable,” Warbington said of the plans. “The truck stop, in my opinion, is going to affect the neighborhood more than the maintenance center. I think there’s a lot of information to be considered, so maybe we should consider tabling this.”