F'ville postpones annex decision

By MONROE ROARK
mroark@thecitizennews.com

In the midst of a major annexation and rezoning request, Fayetteville city officials took some time Thursday afternoon and braved scorching temperatures to get a firsthand look at the property in question and, perhaps, some insight into the pros and cons of making it a part of the city.

While the visit gave them some added information with which to consider the request, neither the City Council nor the Planning and Zoning Commission will act on the application concerning the proposed Deer Pointe development until at least late September.

Developer Bob Rolader has petitioned the city to allow 873 acres on the south side of Ga. Highway 54 west of Fayetteville to be annexed for his 454-lot residential development, and he has offered to donate 215 acres at the rear of the property for permanent open space, along with two large lakes at the site for a future water source.

Rolader escorted members of the City Council, Planning and Zoning Commission and city staff to the site Thursday afternoon, beginning with a drive to the property boundary on Lester Road, across from Heritage Church. The tour then wound down Huiet Road past the Fayette Family YMCA to the site of a large dam that separates the two lakes.

Huiet Road continues, unpaved, across the dam, and some local residents have voiced concerns that it might not be strong enough to support a regular residential street. But after inspecting the base of the dam, including a walk through the three 72-inch pipes that allow water to spill from one lake to the other, city officials for the most part expressed confidence in the dam’s structure.

“The dam was impressive,” said Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Myron Coxe, who added that the city would have experts examine the dam and give an opinion as well.

Thursday’s field trip was the only major action taken concerning Deer Pointe this week. The City Council voted Monday night to table the annexation and rezoning public hearings until October, as Mayor Kenneth Steele noted that the development plan was still before the Planning and Zoning Commission, and that body was almost certain to table it at last night’s regular meeting (held after this edition of The Citizen went to press).

The city is still looking at a number of issues, including the appropriate way to dispose of the 215 acres of open space, should the annexation occur. Some city officials have suggested immediately turning it over to a nonprofit group such as the Southern Conservation Trust, so that future city governing bodies cannot undo the permanent open space designation.
A plan for the city concerning the disposition of the open space could be done within a couple of weeks, Coxe said, although he could not say whether it would be something the applicant approves of.

“We heard a lot,” said Coxe of the site tour. “We’ll be better prepared to make an intelligent decision when the time comes to vote.”

Unlike a standard rezoning request for a tract already in the city, Fayetteville officials do not have to even consider an annexation request and are not required to give a reason for not considering or approving it.