Wednesday, September 4, 2002
|
Wednesday, September 4, 2002 |
|
F'ville's new annexation plans worry residents outside city By MONROE ROARK
Peggy Pitt has a dilemma. She and her neighbors in the Kingswood subdivision on Ga. Highway 92 south of Fayetteville are looking at the possibility of two retail developments to their immediate north, inside the Fayetteville city limits. But because they live in unincorporated Fayette County, she fears that the City Council may only be "half-listening" to her group's protests. Pitt has been calling her neighbors, circulating a petition and telling whoever will listen what has her worried that development of the proposed southside master plan will bring unbearable traffic, increased crime and other threats to the quality of life in the area. "We can't get out of our subdivision now," she said. "The way things are going, it will eventually take 30 minutes to get to downtown Fayetteville." The southside master plan, which has been in the planning stages for nearly two years, now consists of about 267 acres near the southern split of Ga. highways 85 and 92. It features a variety of uses, including townhomes, retail, office and single-family residential sites. The plan is divided into about 20 separate parcels some of which require annexation and rezoning, and others that only need rezoning. Some of each are currently before the City Council, which meets tomorrow night at 7:30 in the council chambers at City Hall. Last week's work session drew about 20 Kingswood residents, according to Pitt, who called everyone in the neighborhood to make sure they knew about it. A similar crowd is expected tomorrow night, she said. The council is conducting a second reading and public hearing tomorrow on the possible annexation and rezoning three parcels along the eastern right-of-way of Hwy. 85 and the northern right-of-way of Hwy. 92, behind GTO's and Walgreen's. Two public hearings at council meetings are required for such actions, and a vote can be taken at the second meeting, which is tomorrow. Pitt and her group are protesting the proposed development of that property, which is slated to have a Publix shopping center. Although developer Bob Rolader has said that the overall southside master plan could be a 20-year project, "once this gets annexed in, I think the ball will be rolling," said Pitt. One of the reasons residents are concerned about having retail sites located right next to them is public safety. A woman was killed in the area a few years ago, Pitt said, and new commercial development will further tax police and fire departments that already have a heavy burden. "This will affect East Fayette [Elementary School] and Fayette Middle," she added, referring to the influx of new students from new residential development. She suggested that those influences would be felt on all sides of Fayetteville and throughout the school system. "I don't think people actually know what's going on there," she said. A traffic light is needed in front of Kingswood and Chanticleer, the subdivision directly across Hwy. 92, especially if this type of development continues, according to Pitt. She said that she has collected signatures about 175 in all so far from a number of neighborhoods to the south whose residents share these concerns. A number of residents were allowed to speak out about their concerns at last week's work session, and the council listened to them all, Pitt said. They continually told her that the development is not a done deal and they may not even be ready to vote on it at the Sept. 19 meeting, which is when the second reading is scheduled. But the fact that Kingswood is not actually in the city limits is "a strike against us," she said. "We can't even vote for those guys [council members]." But many residents in the area plan to continue getting the word out. Several homemade signs have been posted at the entrance to Kingswood telling motorists about the issues currently before the City Council and encouraging people to get involved. "I started this because I can't even get out of my subdivision," said Pitt. "I know a lot of older people in our neighborhood who don't even go out at certain times of the day because they know they'll get killed [in traffic]." But that number could decrease if this goes through, she added. "People are talking about moving if this happens," she said. "What's the point of staying if you can't get in and out?"
|
||