Jeff Whitten, correspondent

A proposed liquor store on Toni Branch Road at Highway 204 and a beauty salon in the Cove neighborhood were just two of a number of items on a lengthy agenda at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Bryan County Commission, but they highlighted some of the growing pains accompanying the county’s continuing growth.

Both measures faced opposition from residents, several of whom spoke out during the public hearing portion of the meeting, which began to turn heated when a pair of neighbors in the Cove neighborhood argued with one another. That forced District 2 County Commissioner Wade Price, acting as chairman, to use his gavel to quieten things down.

In the end, commissioners approved one request and denied another.

The liquor store and restaurant on less than an acre of land off Toni Branch Road can move ahead after a request to rezone it was approved with a condition that the property developer be responsible for costs if road improvements are necessary to handle increased traffic. This despite neighbors who told commissioners they were worried about increased traffic, light and noise pollution and more.

“I tried to call my county commissioner 31 times but he won’t answer his phone so here I am,” said Bob Hastings, who lives “catty corner” from the proposed liquor store and was one of several people to oppose the rezoning.

He told commissioners that wrecks at the intersection tend to end up in his yard, later adding, “we don’t need people standing around here begging for change like they do a mile down the road. We don’t need the traffic. We don’t need the crime. We don’t need it.”

The request for a conditional use permit to operate a beauty salon in an accessory building in the Cove was denied, after opponents cited neighborhood covenants against operating home businesses and concerns that allowing the salon would open the door to the county having to permit other businesses.

The applicant, Jerrod Anderson, apparently a relatively new resident to the subdivision, tried to allay those concerns, noting his wife’s salon would be limited in scope and wouldn’t impact neighbors, and two residents, including a member of the neighborhood’s homeowner’s association spoke in favor of the application. But a majority of those attending the meeting who spoke to commissioners were against the measure.

Among them was Lisa Wallace, who told commissioners “ordinarily I am all for people providing for their families … but when it comes to inviting more people and more traffic into the neighborhood, that’s where I draw the line.”

Another public hearing, this one on rezoning some 25 acres in the Buckhead East development from planned development to agricultural for two single family homes and some “light agricultural uses,” including small farm animals, drew no opposition. It was approved with a handful of conditions.

Also Tuesday, commissioners heard the first reading of a request to rezone land at Highway 144 and Belfast River Road for a Parker’s convenience store and gas station. A public hearing will be held June 17 before the Planning and Zoning Commission on the request, which would rezone more than 3.8 acres of a 126 acre tract on the southwestern corner of 144 and Belfast River Road from agricultural to general commercial. No action was taken.