Wednesday, June 6, 2001
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Wednesday, June 6, 2001 |
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Tree law changes ready for vote By DAVE
HAMRICK
That pesky tree protection ordinance is back on the Fayette County Planning Commission's agenda this week. The group will consider recommending that the county Board of Commissioners add a section to regulate timber harvesting operations. The ordinance took about a year to develop, and the changes have been the subject of work sessions for several months. Local land owners and organizations that represent the timbering industry have voiced objections to parts of the proposed regulations that require buffers, saying the rules would result in a "taking" of an owner's saleable timber. But after reducing the proposed buffers from 50 to 25 feet, and after expressing some misgivings, the planning panel decided to stick by the concept of buffers as a protection to adjacent land owners. "It's just causing me a lot of problems," said commission member Bob Harbison during last month's work session. "I don't think that just because I like to look at something I can cause that person not to be able to earn a profit from their property." But Chairman Fred Bowen said it's not that simple. "Clearly, a treed community improves the property values in that area," he said. "Whether it's 50 feet or 25 feet, I feel we have to provide some protection from what clearly is an eyesore. Fayette County is not a farming county, so I think we have to balance all this." In the end, the group decided to leave the buffers in the proposed ordinance and reduce them to 25 feet. If approved, the new law will require the buffers, but allow up to half the trees in the buffer old or diseased ones to be removed in a thinning process. A minimum number of trees in the area harvested also will have to be left standing, and there will be requirements for a graveled entrance to keep mud from timbered sites off the highway. Commissioners are expected to vote on the changes Thursday at 7 p.m. at the County Administrative Complex. If they approve, they'll pass the document on to the County Commission for its consideration June 28 at 7 p.m. Also on the agenda Thursday will be SprintCom Inc.'s request for permission to increase the height of its cell phone tower on Morgan Road from 180 to 190 feet. The request constitutes a rezoning, to change the conditions of its A-R (agricultural-residential) conditional zoning. Commissioners also will consider a number of changes to development regulations and zoning ordinances. Among the changes, the group will consider setting a 60 percent limit on the portion of a commercial or office site that can be covered by buildings and pavement. Another amendment would make mini-storage facilities a conditional use in the C-H (commercial-highway) zoning district. The facilities currently are a permitted use in the C-H district. For the complete agenda, visit admin.co.fayette.ga.us.
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