Some current members elected in wake of Signa annexation, recall

By MONROE ROARK
mroark@TheCitizenNews.com

As the city of Fayetteville considers an annexation request in the next few months, a significant piece of city history will be on the minds of many residents and the entire City Council.

That's because four current council members came on board within a couple of years after a controversial 1987 annexation decision that resulted in one council member being recalled, one resigning and three others losing their seats in subsequent elections.

The land that developer Bob Rolader is now trying to get into the city, on the west side of town and on the south side of Ga. Highway 54, is part of a larger tract that was annexed and then deannexed by the Georgia General Assembly during its 1988 session.

Rolader is seeking to annex 873 acres and develop about 454 homes on the site. He also has proposed a donation of 215 acres to the city for permanent open space, and would give two lakes on the property to the city for a water source.

For sheer density, the new proposal pales in comparison to the one in 1987.

Signa Investments Inc. sought to annex 910 acres into Fayetteville in 1987, with plans for about 2,500 residential units of all shapes and sizes, single-family and multifamily, on the site. A large number of residents fought the move, but the City Council at that time — J.A. Huddleston, Hugh Jordan, Ann Mitchell, Ray Nichols,J.B. Slaughter and Mayor Jack Dettmering — approved the request.

Council's action was reversed by House Bill 1866, which passed in spring 1988. The council wrote a letter, signed by all six members, to then Gov. Joe Frank Harris asking him to veto the legislation, but that did not happen.

One year later the entire council was gone. By the fall of 1989, Roger Marietta was mayor, and he was joined by Rick Eastin, Mike Wheat and three current members — Larry Dell, Al Hovey-King and Walt White.

Dell and Hovey-King filled two unexpired terms in fall 1988, and both won reelection a year later. White defeated Mitchell in that same election to begin his service on the council.

Current Mayor Kenneth Steele was appointed to the Planning and Zoning Commission in 1989, and he joined the City Council in 1994 before succeeding Wheat as mayor in January. Glenn Brewer filled Eastin's seat on the council in the early 1990s and remains there, while the junior member of the council, Bill Talley, came on board this year.

Another Signa proposal for the same site, with about 1,800 residential units and a golf course, was presented in 1993, but it was eventually withdrawn by the applicant in January of 1994.

The only property still in the city from the original Signa request is a small portion that includes the current Lakemont subdivision, according to Steele. John Wieland Homes, who developed Lakemont, tried to annex the entire site a few years ago, but the city was not interested.

Steele acknowledged that he was opposed to the Signa request for a number of reasons, among them the fact that the developer wanting to tackle the huge project had no track record of building anything in Fayette County or anywhere else. Many people in Fayette County also were against the plan, Steele added.

While a municipal governing body must give a reason for denying a rezoning request or similar measure, it can refuse to even consider an annexation request for any reason, or no reason at all. Rolader's proposal is the first one worth considering, according to some council members.

“This is the first proposal worthy of a full airing,” Steele said of the Rolader plan. “It has the potential of being a winning situation for everyone — not just the city, but the county and the school system as well.”

Dell said that he ran for a council seat for “several reasons,” but the Signa controversy was one of them. He said the Signa plan and Rolader's plan are not apples and oranges, but more like grapefruits and grapes.”

Aside from the disparity in size of each request, Dell noted that the city was quite different in 1988 than it is today.

Fayetteville public safety resources were not adequate at that time to service the plan, Dell said, adding that the city had a total of two fire trucks at the time. The fire and police departments are strong now with state-of-the-art equipment, he added.

The sewer system also was inadequate at that time for the huge Signa proposal, but a wastewater treatment plant has been built by the city since then.

Another big change is the fact that Hwy. 54 is now a four-lane road, compared with only two lanes 12 years ago, according to Dell.

He says he has not seen the Rolader plan up close, since it is still in the Planning and Zoning Commission stage, but he sees some opportunities that might exist, such as “tremendous open space” in the 215 acres Rolader proposes to give to the city.

The two lakes also are potentially important. Dell says protecting that water is “critical.”

Various ordinances put in place since 1988 would protect water sources, Dell said, better than if the Signa plan had been developed, when there were no such provisions.

Dell raised the issue of what could be done if the property remains in unincorporated Fayette County. Rolader said the property, as currently zoned, could yield some 518 homes on individual septic tanks, and although he would not be involved in it as such, he assured city officials the land will be developed one way or another.

Hovey-King added that it is important to keep an overview of the site and the current proposal in perspective, and consider all of the options for the property, whether it is developed in the city or not.

He opposed the Signa proposal because he said there was no plan and the size and density simply were not right for the city or the county. The land use plan now in effect came about at least partly as a result of that issue, he said.

The Rolader proposal is “definitely something worthy of further investigation,” he said, pointing out the possibility of less density than what would be in unincorporated Fayette County as well as the use of the city's sewer system, which he said would be better environmentally than 500 or more septic tanks.

As for the open space, Hovey-King said that if the 200-plus-acre proposal remained intact, it would be the largest tract of its kind that close to one of Fayette County's cities, and that merits some consideration.

One thing everyone involved at the city level has agreed upon so far is the fact that regardless of the outcome, this will not be a quick process. Dell said he expects the amount of time spent on the recent Village project to be a decent barometer of what could transpire here.

“It's a big piece of property,” said Hovey-King. “There's absolutely no reason to move at breakneck speed. You've got to look at what's best for the county and the city.”