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Carolyn Ford working
with city on how to expand
By MONROE ROARK
mroark@TheCitizenNews.com
Negotiations continue between Carolyn Ford and Fayetteville city officials
in an attempt to find a development plan that both parties can agree on.
The auto dealer, which has been in the center of town for more than 30
years, is addressing what its representatives say is a desperate need
to expand, while the city wants any and all expansion plans for its property
on Ga. Highway 85 to comply with regular city guidelines as well as special
rules for the Main Street district.
The development plan now under consideration includes requests for exceptions
to highway buffer requirements as well as area, yard and height requirements.
A Carolyn Ford representative addressed the Planning and Zoning Commission
last week and prefaced his remarks by apologizing for previous misunderstandings
that may have occurred from a remark about the dealership possibly moving
out of the city.
He stressed that no one should construe that as a threat or a bullying
tactic, but whatever decision Carolyn Ford makes regarding future improvements
or relocation would be “strictly a business decision.”
The success of the business, he went on to say, is based on the dealership’s
ability to display cars. A “tremendous amount of business” is
generated from people driving by and being able to instantly see what
is in stock, especially with regard to used cars, he said.
“This is like asking Macy’s or Rich’s to come to town without
a window display,” he said of the city’s strict requirements
on expanding within the property.
City staff recommended tabling the development plans and variance requests,
and commissioners quickly agreed. Commissioner Al Lipscomb asked if city
staff had gotten an opportunity to study the most recent submitted plans,
and planning director Maurice Ungaro said only a “cursory review”
had been conducted.
Ungaro said that some outstanding issues still exist with regard to landscaping,
and commissioner Sarah Murphy concurred, saying that she wants to see
more trees on the site.
Commissioner Allen Feldman added that some of the building materials being
suggested are not acceptable, and the city cannot let corporate policy
dictate codes and ordinances. The last Carolyn Ford expansion, which Feldman
said took place several years ago, included landscaping regulations set
forth by the Planning and Zoning Commission that were subsequently overturned
on appeal, and the result showed very little in the way of proper landscaping,
he said.
“You don’t need to have a vast wasteland of impervious surface
just to have a display area,” said Feldman.
Chairman Myron Coxe, while commending the applicants on some of the progress
they have made, pointed out that he and his contemporaries were seeing
these changes for the first time and could not possibly vote on them at
the meeting. He assured them that he would study the plan and have his
own recommendations back to city staff by the end of the week.
Saying that the issue of materials can be worked out with city staff,
the Carolyn Ford representative asked the commission to consider the type
of business and the awkward shape of the property when making its decisions.
“Carolyn [Hurst, owner of the dealership] will have to decide if
we can afford to do this,” he said. “She’s been here since
1968. This is an emotional decision for her.”
Mike Pierce, general manager of Carolyn Ford, spoke briefly at the end
of the presentation, saying that the dealership needs to increase from
its current average of 175 cars sold per month up to 250, to make its
expansion a fiscally sound one.
On the issue of parking spaces, which he said Carolyn Ford severely lacks,
Pierce noted that with about 100 employees on the lot and a service department
taking 150 parking spaces each day, that doesn’t leave much extra.
Dealerships in the area with the kinds of landscaping and trees throughout
their lots that the commission is looking for usually have 800-1,200 spaces
to start with, Pierce said, which is far more than Carolyn Ford has room
for. Furthermore, trees cannot hang over parking spaces because they cause
sap and other substances to drip onto the cars, he added.
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