C-store proposed outside of Lake Caroline

The man who developed Lake Caroline is now planning to build a convenience store near the main entrance, which has drawn the ire of some residents. 

Mark Jordan’s Lake Caroline Incorporated presented a site plan to the county Planning & Zoning Commission on June 8 seeking approval to build a convenience store on the corner of Stribling Road and Caroline Boulevard. 

Don McGraw, an attorney for Jordan’s LCI, said the convenience store would have a similar appearance to the one out at Livingston, with nice landscaping and green space. 

“They’ve spent almost a year designing this project,” he said. 

The zoning board ultimately approved the site plan conditional on the county determining whether or not a traffic study was necessary, among other things. 

Jeff Portwood, executive director of the Lake Caroline Owner’s Association, spoke at the P&Z meeting and presented concerns from the neighborhood, mainly with regards to traffic. 

“Mark Jordan is a friend of (LCOA),” Portwood said. “He’s been a good partner throughout the years. We would love to have a convenience store in the area, we’re just concerned about where it’s located.”

Portwood presented a letter to the board that focused on issues such as traffic flow, the aesthetic appearance of the store, hours of operation, and entry onto Caroline Boulevard. 

Concerns over traffic include ingress and egress to the convenience store, as well as into Lake Caroline. 

Portwood said this could increase stop-and-go traffic or create traffic jams, resulting in public safety issues. 

He asked the county to conduct a traffic study before the site plan was ultimately approved. 

At last Monday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, a couple of residents showed up holding up poster boards silently protesting the convenience store.

District 4 Supervisor Karl Banks asked P&Z Board Attorney Andy Clark when the matter would be brought before the Board of Supervisors. 

“I’ve gotten several phone calls about a site plan for a convenience, or country store, whatever you want to call it, at Lake Caroline,” he said. 

Although it was initially intended to be brought up at the July 3 board meeting, Clark said on Wednesday it would likely be delayed. 

Clark told Banks last week that the main concern of the LCOA was traffic and the request for a traffic study.

“The problem with a traffic study there at that point now is the traffic is not as heavy as it is during the school year,” Banks said. “That’s a concern that I would have. I’ve used that intersection myself and it takes a long time to get out.”

Banks said last week he wants to see a traffic study before the board makes any decision, which is likely why the matter won’t be taken up on Monday. 

The property has been zoned commercial for decades.