Plans to replace Long John Silvers on Turner Mccall require zoning variances

The Rome/ Floyd Board of Adjustments is scheduled to decide Thursday on a series of zoning variances that would clear the way for a new restaurant on the corner of Turner Mccall Boulevard at East Seventh Street.

The application from R.H. Ledbetter Properties indicates the existing Long John Silvers would be razed and replaced with another, unnamed, fast food outlet.

The citizen board meets at 2:30 p.m. in the Sam King Room of City Hall, 601 Broad St. Its decisions are essentially final.

Plans call for combining three parcels, with the rear parcel bordering East Seventh Street and Holmes Road remaining as a buffer for the Old East Rome neighborhood. The two facing Turner Mccall Boulevard are already zoned for commercial use.

A report from the planning staff indicates variances would be needed for any redevelopment of the property.

A site plan submitted to the board shows a restaurant a little larger than the Long John Silvers, with 46 indoor seats and a drivethrough window. The intent, according to the application, is to add landscaping and parking in a way that funnels traffic more smoothly through the lot. Entrances would be from East Seventh or Holmes, with Turner Mccall used for exits only.

Ledbetter is also developing the East Bend shopping center at Turner Mccall and Hicks Drive. The first restaurant, Chipotle Mexican Grill, opened Monday with limited dining room seating and a drive-through pickup lane.

The Board of Adjustments also has three other items scheduled for action this month.

The owners of Riverside Professional Park, Larry Maxey and Mark Brewster, want to put up a monument sign close to Veterans Memorial Highway at JL Todd Boulevard that lists the businesses in the complex.

The other two applications are from homeowners seeking to add to their building footprints, at 6 Limon Place and 2210 Calhoun Highway.