Friday, December 14, 2001
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Friday, December 14, 2001 |
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Hearing on commercial rezoning for Wynnmeade postponed; city staff lists reasons to deny request By JOHN
MUNFORD A request for a commercial rezoning at the entrance to Wynnmeade subdivision off Ga. Highway 54 is temporarily on hold. The parcel in question, 3.16 acres to the eastern side of Wynnmeade Parkway, is currently zoned residential. But the property is undeveloped and Piedmont Properties wants the entire site rezoned for commercial use. When the city's land use plan was updated in 1995, it indicated that this parcel could be considered for "special limited commercial purposes that would not detract from the nearby residential subdivision." That concept included a 50-foot buffer from Wynnmeade Parkway and access to the parcel via a frontage road. Such a road is now planned to extend off MacDuff Parkway. A public hearing on the request was scheduled for Monday night's Planning Commission meeting. But the applicant asked for it to be postponed to the commission's first meeting in January. Jim Williams, the city's director of developmental services, recommended to the commission in a memo that the rezoning be denied. But some issues could be resolved if Wynnmeade residents can agree to a list of commercial uses that would be mutually acceptable. If such a compromise could be reached, Piedmont Properties could seek a limited use commercial rezoning instead of a general commercial designation. Williams also indicated the parcel should not be connected to Hwy. 54 or Wynnmeade Parkway. Piedmont Properties is also developing the subdivision adjacent to the northern boundary of Wynnmeade. When Piedmont officials began designing their plan, they approached the city about trading land for a city park at the northern edge of Wynnmeade so it could be developed as part of the new subdivision. The land Piedmont wants rezoned to commercial is part of that proposed trade transaction, along with the parcel on the other side of Wynnmeade Parkway. But Marvin Isenberg, president of Piedmont Properties, has told city officials that he wants the land rezoned first before the trade goes through. City Attorney Rick Lindsey has indicated the city cannot trade land for zoning, according to Williams's memo. Williams also contends that the portion of the property in question considered for the swap with the city should retain its residential zoning.
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