Wednesday, September 27, 2000

By DAVE HAMRICK
dhamrick@TheCitizenNews.com

Rezoning requests dominate the agenda for Thursday's Fayette County Commission meeting, and most of the requests are expected to have opposition.

High on the list is Starr's Mill LLC's plan for a shopping center on 80 acres south of Peachtree City. (related story, page 1A)

In addition to the rezoning requests, commissioners will have the second of three public hearings on proposed property tax rates and will discuss the county jail construction project.

The commission's latest plan for collecting impact fees for the jail was rejected last week by the Tyrone Town Council, while Fayetteville, Brooks and Woolsey plan to discuss the plan in their October meetings. Peachtree City has already approved it.

Commissioners Thursday will discuss whether to alter the impact fee plan to satisfy Tyrone council members' objection to a fee of more than $4,000 for retail businesses smaller than 10,000 square feet.

Rezoning requests:

Integrated Science and Engineering is seeking R-50 zoning, which allows one-acre lots with homes as small as 2,100 square feet, for 42.3 acres on New Hope Road. The county Planning Commission followed a staff recommendation and is recommending R-72 zoning instead, which requires minimum two-acre lots. The land is currently zoned A-R (agricultural-residential), which requires five-acre lots.

If the County Commission goes along with the planning panel's recommendation, the resulting subdivision will have about 20 lots instead of the 31 requested. As currently zoned (agricultural-residential), it could have only about seven or eight homes on five-acre lots.

Residents with property adjoining the proposed subdivision on all four sides expressed opposition to the R-50 request. Charley Reagan, who said he has no plans to ever sell his ten acres on the west side of the ISE property, argued for leaving the zoning at A-R.

But Joel Lindsey, who owns land to the south, said the two-acre lots allowed under R-72 "would be more suitable to what I think is going to develop in the future."

Starr's Mill LLC wants community commercial zoning for 80 acres at Ga. Highway 74 and Redwine Road. The request drew a unanimous "no" vote from the Planning Commission (see related story).

Curtis Burton is asking for R-45, which allows one-acre lots, for a 36-lot subdivision on 55 acres on Ga. Highway 279. The Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval, angering a group of about 20 neighbors who showed up to argue against it.

"It's really overpopulated as it is right now," said Don Mabry, who lives in nearby Lafayette Estates. "Traffic is really terrible there."

George Curreri, Brian Curreri and Beverly Koumoulas had requested that a 1.9-acre building lot be removed from Fayette Villa Estates, on Ga. Highway 54 at Brittany Way, and its zoning changed to O-I (office-institutional). But the owners have asked that the request be withdrawn after the Planning Commission unanimously recommended denial.

Owners W. R. Clifton and D. B. Scroggins Jr. are requesting R-45 zoning for a one-acre tract on Hewell Road. They said they want to put a single home on the land. The Planning Commission recommended approval.

The County Commission will meet at 7 p.m. at the County Administrative Complex.

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