Wednesday, September 13, 2000

Fayette County and Fayetteville are again besieged by "Good Neighbors," or at least they say they are. In a county and city beset by the pressures of development and developers, a good neighbor would be a good thing. In a county that is rapidly loosing its rural qualities and witnessing the encroachment of asphalt, concrete, and the proliferation of subdivisions, the county needs good neighbors within its boundaries.

Enter the latest attempt to develop the land referred to as Deer Pointe. Instead of Deer Pointe, it should be called "Question Pointe." Once again colorful maps and diagrams presented to the local officials in attempt to convince them that this is the best way to develop the land and benefit the community are masking something that isn't what it seems.

Look beyond, below, and under the presentations and follow the money. Deer Pointe is currently at the center of a law suit, Mier vs Signa Development Corp., No 1:00-CV-1976.TWT (N.D.Ga. Aug. 2, 2000). Two Atlanta law firms are accused of helping clients hide assets to avoid an $18 million judgment, and then leapfrogging over other creditors to secure their legal fees.

The suit also names the First Citizens Bank of Georgia, and Fayette County developer Dan V. Stinchcomb.

What is at stake is who will own the property after the suit is finished. Mr. Stinchcomb bought the land only hours before Federal Judge Thomas W. Harsh handed down a judgment against Signa Development. The sale was made on the condition that it be completed quickly, according to the complaint in the suit.

With the property sold for millions below the market price, the sellers were obviously anxious to make the sale. Following the sale all but $3,648.51 was taken up by costs determined by the law firms.

And with the same haste that the sale was conducted, the developer made attempts to rush through the development of Deer Pointe through the planning and zoning bodies of Fayette County and Fayetteville. When the county was not warm to the development plan, the city of Fayetteville was approached. Why? Could it be that all the parties knew that there was certainly a lawsuit to follow once the sale was discovered? Are these good neighbors?

Not too long ago an owner of a house in a subdivision in one of the northern Atlanta counties discovered that he did not have clear title to his house. Seems that the developer bought the property from someone who passed themselves off as the "owner" of the property. He couldn't sell his house, and had to go to the legal system to determine what his future would be. This also applied to all the other homeowners. Are the citizens of Fayette County going to be exposed to this same legal morass?

Our local government has the opportunity to protect and serve those citizens that elected them in this matter. When one neighbor turns out not to be a good one, it's time for our elected officials to be good neighbors and not let the parties named in the suit proceed in the development of Deer Pointe until the suit is settled and the citizens of Fayette County are protected.

Norman Nolde

Fayetteville

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