Second time’s the charm for Dollar General

Dollar General received a special zoning exception last night to allow the chain store to go into business in the Ebenezer Community near a four-way stop intersection.  Approval by the Oconee Board of Zoning Appeals is conditional, based on the developer making good on assurances that are to be spelled out in the official order.  Three acres, owned by Lewis McMahan next door to Yupper’s store and restaurant on the Ebenezer Road, are proposed for Dollar General’s nine thousand square foot store.  The property is within the county’s Lake Keowee overlay and reflects an alternate location to the one Dollar General applied for late last year.  The special exception was required because the traditional rural zoning in place there forbids any retail establishment of more than five thousand square feet.  The county’s planning and zoning staff had recommended approval, but most of those in the large audience left last night disappointed.  The opponents recited a long list of their concerns.  Among them:  increased traffic for the area’s two-lane roads and the potential for store robberies and the potential to de-value lake homes.  Applicant representative Greg Googer said Dollar General counts 13 thousand stores across the country.  But whether a Dollar General is needed in the Ebenezer Community depended last night on your viewpoint.  Nearby home owners such as Sue Dragoo and Thomas Smolen say there are enough stores of its type within a two-mile drive, but Keith Denny and property owner McMahan said the location would be convenient for those who live nearby, especially the elderly.