Wednesday, October 24, 2001
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Wednesday, October 24, 2001 |
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Commission to consider special highway rules By DAVE
HAMRICK
If you own property along any of Fayette County's state highways, you might want to attend Thursday's County Commission meeting. Commissioners will consider a spate of new architectural and development regulations for commercial and industrial development along the major thoroughfares. Special standards already are in effect for Ga. highways 85 north, 54 west, 314 north and 74 north. Commissioners will now consider the county Planning Commission's recommendation that special rules, called overlays, be placed on the remaining highway corridors. "I have a real problem with this," said Planning Commission member Al Gilbert before casting the lone vote against the recommendation earlier this month. "I think government sometimes steps beyond a role it should be involved in. The people we're hurting are the small business people in our community." In previous discussions, other members of the commission have argued that the new rules are aimed at balancing the rights of property owners with the need for good planning. Following some recent controversial rezoning decisions on Hwy. 85 south, the Planning Commission began to discuss the idea of imposing special standards there. Out of that discussion came the idea of applying special standards for all state highways. Gilbert said he is mainly concerned with small businesses along Hwy. 85, who would have to rebuild in accordance with the new standards in the case of a fire or other disaster. "Some of those people have been there a lot longer than some of us," he said. The County Commission will consider the new rules at 7 p.m. at the County Administrative Complex. The new overlays are among a host of amendments to county ordinances proposed by the Planning Commission. Included are changes in regulations for communications towers, allowing administrative approval for increasing the height of existing towers under some circumstances. Also, commissioners will consider doing away with a cap on parking spaces for nonresidential developments, since new limits on the percentage of developments that can be paved accomplish the same purpose. Commissioners also will deal with six agenda items that involve required updates to the county's compliance with the Atlanta Regional Commission's Regional Development Plan. Two rezoning requests on the agenda include Donald J. and Donald Glen Davis' plan for a repair facility for large trucks on Ga. Highway 85 north, and a request for residential zoning to allow a single home on 3.99 acres on South Kite Lake Road. The Planning Commission is recommending approval of both requests.
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