The planning commission voted in favor of a large-scale development and driveway waiver for a new fire station at the corner of Glasgow Road and Edinburgh Road.
The station is a replacement for Fire Station 3, which is expected to be demolished and is one of two fire department projects approved by voters earlier this year to be paid for with municipal bonds that are to be paid off with a 1% city sales tax. That tax will also cover bonds used to pay for a proposed public safety building that will house police, dispatch and the city's court facility.
The development will have three vehicle bays and two driveways, one exit on Glasgow Road and one entrance on Edinburgh Road, to provide access to the three-acre parcel at 212 Glasgow Road.
The waiver was required for the Edinburgh Road driveway, which is typically required to be 250 feet or more from the intersection because of the road's designation, though the plan calls for a drive roughly 140 feet from the intersection.
Senior planner Derek Linn explained that the waiver is necessary because, while there is space on the property to move the drive further from the intersection, this would put the drive on a slope -- roughly 12% -- which would complicate access, particularly during inclement weather.
Linn explained that the construction plans are also designed to minimize disturbance to the existing trees.
"They will maintain a limit of disturbance through the construction process," he said.
The commission also approved a property line adjustment in the city's planning area on Miller Church Road.