Alexandria Planning and Zoning heard plans this week regarding a new Dollar General store at the intersection of Ridgewood Drive and AA Highway.
After discussing concerns like the amount of outdoor and sales storage space and hearing public comments from residents who live behind the parcel, the planning commission tabled the conversation at the applicant’s request, Grandview Development LLC, for a future meeting.
The proposed plans are for a 10,000-square-foot store with 42 parking spaces on a 3.5-acre parcel. The location breakdown is roughly 8,000 square feet of sales floor and 2,000 square feet of storage area. The commission said they had concerns about ensuring the store had enough space inside and outside to accommodate stock, trash, and recycling.
“One of the biggest issues that I have seen with Dollar Generals in the past, and the one south in Alexandria, is cleanliness outside,” Alexandria Planning and Zoning Chair Nick Reitman said. “Product stacked up outside for extended periods. Shopping carts and cardboard are stacked up outside.”
The original plans call for a 30-foot by 20-foot outdoor dumpster containment area, but the commission asked for a 20% increase to hold outdoor clutter. The builder for Grandview Development said they could look at anything the commission recommended. Reitman said he would also want to see a shopping cart storage area implemented to control runaway carts.
Alexandria resident Kieth Hammann, who served as fire marshal at the Alexandria Fire District until January, said the other Dollar General location in the city had had similar issues brought up by the commission.
“We’ve had that same issue at the other Dollar General within the city limits,” Hammann said. “That Dollar General has had so many violations it has been closed 18 times in five years, from a one-day closure up to a 13-day closure, just due to violations—whether it be fire code, fire safety, or city ordinances.”
Hammann said that as fire marshal, he was the one who shut them down.
He said a lack of storage brought on those issues. Hammann said he thought 2,000 square feet of indoor storage was not big enough for two weekly shipments — one from a refrigerated truck and one from a tractor-trailer — if this location followed similar schedules to other Dollar Generals in the area.
Other issues Hammann mentioned were some sides of the façade having metal paneling instead of brick, like the 9809 US Highway 27 location. He also said the curbs should be 7-inch concrete due to high school bus traffic to help them last longer.
“I think it’s a bad idea letting another one of these stores come into the city,” Hammann said.
According to site plans, the peak store traffic is estimated to have three employees and 20 customers simultaneously. The proposal asks for a reduction in the number of required parking spaces from 54 to 42. Campbell County Planning and Zoning Director Cindy Minter said this was a common practice for businesses with people lingering at their company for only a short period.
Alexandria City Attorney Mike Duncan clarified that should a future business move into the space, they can add additional parking.
The commission asked the developer to consider multiple things brought up during the meeting before approving the plans, including pavement reinforcement in high-traffic areas at the entrance and by the dumpster, brick or stone façade around all sides of the structure, adding a cart corral, 20% of the store be dedicated to storage, and have the engineer ensure sidewalk curb safety.
The developer will return for more discussion at a future meeting.
