By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM— After tabling approval to rezone a property off Oak Mountain State Park Road at its March meeting, the Pelham Planning Commission voted to recommend the request at an April 14 meeting.

James B. Kovakas, who owns a home on Oak Mountain State Park Road, applied to have another plot on the road rezoned from an O & I Office and Institutional District to a B-2 General Business District on Jan. 28.

An initial lack of information from Kovakas related to right-of-way acquisition and other issues led the commission to postpone the vote at its March 10 meeting.

While there were still concerns from some commission members, the approval passed with a 3-2 vote.

“I’ve been in the business 45 years now,” commission member Bob Sinclair said. “Something’s not right about this Mayor. I don’t feel good about it. That’s just my personal feeling.”

Pelham Mayor Gary Waters and Commission Chairperson Mildred Lanier voted to approve the change, and Waters also made a statement in favor of the decision.

“To me it seems like a reasonable request because it is right across the road from currently B-2,” Mayor Gary Waters said during the work session. “I don’t see anything unusual about the request.”

At the March 10 meeting, Kovakas said he wanted to use the space for a real estate company with the possibility of using the space for additional ventures in the future, such as a juicing or baklava shop.

Kovakas was not available to address his plans for the right-of-way acquisition at the April 14 meeting, but said at the March 10 meeting that the city’s road improvement project near Oak Mountain State Park would address the issues.

Currently, there is not a timeline for the road improvement project at this time, according to Waters and city engineer Jesse Jowers.

Official approval will go before the Pelham City Council at an upcoming meeting.