The Bainbridge zoning commission voted in a 2-1 decision on Tuesday to recommend that the city council deny the rezoning application, which would allow Dollar General to build a commercial lot at the intersection of Highway 84 and Randolph Court.

The decision came after an hour of public participation speaking out against the development. Residents from the surrounding area went before the commission to voice their concerns about traffic flow in the area and the safety concerns that accompany an increase in traffic.

Josh Upstetler spoke first representing the development and laid out diagrams that show traffic flow and a 158 foot buffer zone between the commercial location and the end of the property line. Traffic traveling east would turn right into the site from a driveway on Highway 84, and traffic traveling west would turn across the median onto Randolph Court for a minuscule distance before turning into the site.

The usage of Randolph Court was what brought the meeting to a head, when concerned members from the community spoke to the commission about their fears of the traffic.

When the commission opened the floor, resident and former zoning commission member John Cunningham spoke out against the development, citing the sites proximity to another Dollar General and traffic concern. Each public participant that followed cited the same traffic issues.

A turn lane that is apparent in the diagrams provided by the developer were called into question by public participation, as was the 158 foot buffer that was mentioned by the developer.

One public participant handed the commission a petition signed by members of the residential area, as well as a document containing all the litigation against Dollar General in an effort to speak to the company’s moral standards.

The zoning commissions vote is not the final decision, but the recommendation will be taken seriously by the Bainbridge City Council.