By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Levy County government officials are objecting to Family Dollar Tree building a store that empties into Court Street at the Levy County Courthouse.
Levy County Road Department Administrative Field Manager Casey DuQuette sent Bronson Town Manager Susan Beaudet a letter on May 18 saying Court Street is a county road and granting a driveway permit is out of the question.
“There will be no driveway connection permit issued for Court Street to be constructed because it does not meet the 120 feet setback requirements between Picnic Street to Garner Street,” Duquette wrote.
DuQuette said the county also owns Picnic Street and site plans would have to be reviewed by county staff to ensure compliance with driveway access requirements, asphalt thickness, and culvert requirements.
A large staff meeting of county and town officials took place on May 19 attended by Duquette, Beaudet, County Coordinator Wilbur Dean, Family Dollar Tree representative Jamey Flegal, the town’s building official and others to discuss the driveway requirements.
The Family Dollar Tree site plan would place driveways on both Court Street and Picnic Street. It would be a tight fit especially on Court Street when traffic volumes are high and people are parking along both sides of the street to use court facilities.
On Wednesday, town and county officials discussed whether Flegal could apply for a variance to the Court Street requirements.
“The county attorney is researching that,” Dean said Monday. The Levy County Commission and its staff ultimately will control whether Family Dollar Tree can build a driveway on Court Street.
Beaudet said the town and county are continuing to discuss ownership of Picnic Street, but the biggest problem for Flegal is Court Street. “It doesn’t even matter if he can’t get what he needs on Court.”
“His original plan had them coming in on Court and Picnic, so he’s saying if he can’t get in on Court Street the whole thing is dead,” Beaudet said. “It’s definitely not good for him. We haven’t had any conversation since then.”
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Board of County Commission and Town of Bronson Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt May 24, 2021
