Sunday, April 29, 2001
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Sunday, April 29, 2001 |
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Master plan gets favorable response By MONROE ROARK
Developers looking to turn the southern edge of Fayetteville into a single master-planned community during the next decade or so have begun talking with the City Council, and the results so far are positive, although the plans are very preliminary and no official requests have been made to the city yet. Without getting too specific on the merits of the actual plan being presented right now, council members agreed after discussions at last Wednesday's council workshop that having the approximately 500 acres in question under a single plan of some kind is definitely the route they want the city to take. The property being assembled for this project lies east of Ga. Highway 85 and on both sides of Ga. Highway 92 south, surrounding such current landmarks as the Ingles shopping center. The development would eventually stretch to South Jeff Davis Drive, with a connector road being built from the current Hwy. 92/Jimmie Mayfield three-way intersection. Reiterating his comments to the Planning and Zoning Commission in March, developer Bob Rolader pointed out to the council that the new road would help ease traffic generated when residents as far south as the River's Edge community have to come to the Courthouse Square before turning south toward the Kroger retail center on the south end of town. He added that the road would be built by developers and not cost the city anything. Some annexation would be required for the current master plan to come to fruition. One parcel on the front burner is known as the Simpson property, a 50-acre tract now in the county that is essentially an island, surrounded by city property on all sides. It lies just east of Hwy. 85 behind a handful of commercial parcels just north of Hwy. 92. Developers at Wednesday's meeting suggested that the Simpson property might be the first tract developed once the project gets underway in whatever form it ultimately takes. Rolader said development would likely begin near Hwy. 85 and go east. Rolader stressed that he and his associates are well aware of the time this type of project would take to be completed, saying that his family has owned some of this property for 30 years and is prepared to wait a while longer. "You're probably looking at a 15-year buildout here," he said. The plan that has been drawn up for these early discussions includes a variety of land uses, with commercial, retail, single-family residential and town home construction sprinkled throughout. Mayor Ken Steele commented that the master plan could actually decrease the amount of actual commercial development from what the current zonings allow, which he feels is a bit too much. "I also like this [the idea of a master plan] because it gives you some standards," he said. Talks are underway for a property owner to be added to the mix. Ted Meeks, who had requested rezoning from C-3 to M-1 for his land behind Ingles, had his request tabled by the Planning and Zoning Commission early last week after he said he would be receptive to the possibility of being included in the master plan. As for any portion of the master plan itself, no official rezoning or annexation requests have been made so far. Rolader said he felt showing city officials an overview of his plans beforehand and inviting feedback in the earliest stages would be more productive. After two such sessions, with the Planning and Zoning Commission as well as the City Council, the response has been positive on all sides, and the developers are continuing to work with city staff to mold the plan in greater detail. This issue will not be discussed at tomorrow night's regular council meeting, according to City Manager Joe Morton, and any further talks with council are probably a few months away.
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