The Fayette Citizen-News Page

Wednesday, October 16, 2002

Foes of F'ville rezoning seek allies; county sympathizes

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com

Jerry Shockey doesn't want to see another Fayette Pavilion shopping center on the southside of Fayetteville.

Shockey took his concerns last week to the Fayette County Commission, who sympathized with his position, but said there was not a whole lot they could do to help the situation.

Since the property that Shockey is worried about lies in the city limits of Fayetteville, the County Commission encouraged the concerned homeowner to make his case before the Fayetteville City Council.

Shockey told the County Commission that he does not want any more commercial development in the city, which could be a component of the city's southside master plan.

"We cannot accept this. It could greatly damage our way of life," he said.

He said a consultant said the city already had too much retail, and adding more would bring a "staggering traffic increase" to an already overburdened road system.

"I don't want [Fayetteville] to be the economic center of south Atlanta," he said.

Shockey obtained 911 records for calls at the Fayette Pavilion for the last three years. In 2000, 419 calls came from the center. The number dropped slightly in 2001 to 376, but this year, there have already been 338 calls.

He added the number is bound to increase since the busiest shopping season is just around the corner.

Commissioner Peter Pfeiffer told Shockey that he appreciated the information and told him to get other citizens involved and bring their issues to the city.