Main Street Districk regulations clash with auto dealer's design

By MONROE ROARK
mroark@thecitizennews.com

Carolyn Ford's plans for expansion have run headlong into Fayetteville's idea of what the Main Street District should look like.

The automobile dealer is hoping to build a large addition at its present site on Ga. Highway 85 that would result in a considerable increase in showroom space and parking, something its management feels is necessary to compete in the marketplace.

The plan initially presented to the city, while not much different from a typical auto dealer in Union City or the Southlake area, is a far cry from what the city wants along the highway between Georgia Avenue and the Fayetteville square since the creation of the Main Street District.

The development plan that was discussed last week by the Planning and Zoning Commission calls for the addition of four buildings totalling 26,325 square feet of space, including a new showroom, parts department, customer service area and vehicle service areas.

According to city staff, the plan does not reflect the architectural style necessary for the area, and it includes corporate architecture, which is prohibited in the Main Street District. “Simply put, this building is a big box with some columns stuck on the front of it because people generally associate tall columns with old architecture,” according to a city staff memo submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission. “In its current form, the building is unacceptable for construction in the Main Street District.”

The current Carolyn Ford facility was does not have to meet Main Street District standards because it was already in existence when those standards were adopted.

Seven items were listed in the new development plan as in need of addressing, such as a redesign of the buildings and elimination of corporate architecture, as well as bringing the landscape plan into compliance with highway corridor and city landscaping requirements. None of these issues were addressed before last week's meeting, according the Planning and Zoning Commission members, but Carolyn Ford representatives began their presentation by emphasizing the need for the city to grant their variance request before any construction could proceed.

According to its application, Carolyn Ford needs the 50-foot buffer and 30-foot setback along the highway greatly reduced because of the shape of the property, which is bordered in the rear by a residential area with buffer and setback requirements of its own. This makes the buildable area too shallow, the applicant maintains.

“If this were a non-developed site, a prospective buyer could opt not to purchase if his or her buildings could not comply with the ordinance,” said the application. “In our case, the owner would be forced to either not construct the job or purchase another location that would comply. We consider this to be a great hardship.”

Project engineer Brian Rainwater and Carolyn Ford general manager Mike Pierce stressed these points again at last week's meeting. Rainwater said that if the variance could not be granted, then the remaining issues are moot since the project cannot be built.

Pierce added that Carolyn Ford, which he said is the largest business in the city, needs to be able to go forward with this project to have enough vehicle display space for economic success. If the city does not allow it, he said, the dealer might have to consider moving out of the area.

Commission member Allan Feldman responded by saying that the city should not consider the size of a business when making this type of decision, but should instead go “by the book” on its ordinances. He added that he considered Pierce's statement about possibly leaving Fayetteville “a perceived threat” and said that if Carolyn Ford decides to move, that would be the company's choice.

“It's a sea of asphalt right now. It's starting to look like [Ga. Highway] 138 in Union City,” said Feldman, comparing it to what has become a rapidly growing mecca for auto dealerships.

Pierce told the commission that his company must answer to corporate decision-makers at Ford on the building's design and other considerations in this plan. Commission member Segis “Al” Lispcomb responded, “We have to answer to the city of Fayetteville.”

The Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to revisit the issue at next Tuesday's monthly voting meeting. A tentative meeting between project representatives and city staff is set for today, Rainwater said.