Wednesday, December 18, 2002
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Wednesday, December 18, 2002 |
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Southside 'big boxes' spark rift
By MONROE
ROARK
Providing for "big box" retail development south of Fayetteville sparked a rift in the final Southside Task Force meeting last week. The sheer size of the commercial aspects of the plan nearly 125 acres also caused concern throughout the task force at the final meeting among residents and developers. A consulting firm's report suggests the commercial zoning not allow for any "big box," with a proposed 35,000-square-foot maximum for any single tenant and a total of 100,000 square feet for any single commercial parcel. Developer Bob Rolader, who is also one of the primary land owners, said that he would have a problem with that. Rolader added that he did not believe the task force's mission was to mainly address zoning and land use, and not get into specific square footage yet. Kent Rose of Concordia Properties also expressed reservations, saying that he supported the plan in general but would have to go back and calculate how much revenue would be lost from such changes as reduced lots and increased buffers. Urban Collage, an Atlanta consulting firm retained by the city, unveiled its report last Wednesday to the Southside task force and will present that same plan to the City Council at tomorrow night's regular meeting. There will be no vote, but Mayor Kenneth Steele said Friday that he is looking for a consensus from the council to move forward based on that plan and formulate the necessary development agreements to lock desirable development guidelines into place. A number of rezoning and annexation requests relating to the Southside plan, along with the development agreements, are on the council's Jan. 16 agenda. Realizing that there is absolutely no way to make everyone happy, Fayetteville officials interviewed said they believe that they have a plan for the city's Southside that will do the most good for the city and surrounding residents in the long run. Steele said he is excited about the plan. He believes that the city has gone to great lengths to protect its residents, and that this plan is the best way they have found to do that. The Southside master plan, in the works for about two years, now consists of 267.2 acres of land on the south edge of Fayetteville, encompassing portions of Ga. Highway 85, the Ga. Highway 92 connector, Jimmie Mayfield Boulevard and Bradley Drive. With the exception of a few residences and the Ingles supermarket on Hwy. 92, this land is still mostly undeveloped. The site currently includes 97 acres of commercially zoned land and 170.2 acres of residential zoning, with 21.3 acres of that zoned for townhomes and the rest for single-family houses. The 53.2-acre Simpson tract is in unincorporated Fayette County, zoned residential-agricultural. Urban Collage identified several specific goals during the task force process, such as: Minimizing the impact of commercial zoning on residential areas, and providing a "step-down" approach toward county residential areas. Limiting high-density housing and locating it closer to town. Developing a meaningful open space. Encouraging development north and south of the Hwy. 92 connector to be self-contained with interconnected streets and paths, in addition to maximizing bikeways and greenways. Mitigating the impact of increased traffic on the surrounding area. The task force was formed early in the fall after a large number of residents in the area came to the City Council with concerns about proposed development in the area, specifically from previous Southside master plan proposals. The council tabled all action relating to the master plan for 60 days, then for an additional month when last week's final task force meeting became necessary. The final master plan includes a land use plan, a conceptual site plan displaying potential development patterns and a development agreement between the city and the relevant property owners and developers. It calls for 124.5 total commercial acres, 19 total office and institutional acres, 109.2 total residential acres, and 14.5 acres of open space. Commercial property under the plan is consolidated along Hwy. 85 and at the corner of Hwy. 92 and Jimmie Mayfield (long-term plans include extending the connector from Jimmie Mayfield to Jeff Davis Drive), and a small office-institutional node is suggested at the corner of Jimmie Mayfield and Bradley Drive. The rest is residential land, bisected by a 300-foot greenway along Perry Creek north of the Hwy. 92 connector. The plan includes three significant open spaces: a 4.8-acre parcel on the northwest corner of Bradley and Jimmie Mayfield; a parcel of 3-plus acres to the west of Jimmie Mayfield at the city limits; and 2-plus acres on either side of Perry Creek north of the Hwy. 92 connector. According to the report, 97 acres of commercial land currently exist within the city with the ability to accommodate about 550,000 square feet of commercial space. Also, the Fayetteville Towne Center shopping center across Hwy. 85 has set a precedent that forced the task force to assume the probable county rezoning and commercial development of the Simpson tract, which would bring the entire commercial area to about 120 acres and some 650,000 square feet of total building area, the report stated. The master plan does not decrease the total acreage of commercially zoned land, but it relocates commercial zones to create a node at Jimmie Mayfield and Hwy. 92, "rather than a sprawling mass of commercial buildings along Jimmie Mayfield and Bradley Drive," the report said, and the master plan and accompanying development agreement would allow the city to regulate the size, type and character of commercial buildings "to create more of a neighborhood/village-oriented commercial node rather than a regional marketplace." A representative of the Chanticleer subdivision said that his neighbors were not in favor of locating commercial sites on all four corners of Jimmie Mayfield and the Hwy. 92 connector. He asked why the commercial lots on the east side of Jimmie Mayfield couldn't be moved over to the site near Hwy. 85 that would contain the proposed Publix shopping center. A representative of Urban Collage replied that such a major shift would affect several different property owners, all of whom the consultants have to consider when drawing up any plan. Under the proposed master plan, Chanticleer would be separated from the commercial node by a tract that John Wieland Homes is now proposing for half-acre residential lots. That plan is currently before the city's Planning and Zoning Commission. Residents of Chanticleer and Wyngate would have several hundred feet between themselves and the commercial site, which they would not be able to see from their homes, but would have access to via a pedestrian path through the Wieland development, Steele pointed out Friday. The proposed pedestrian paths literally wrap around the entire Southside master plan, running through the large greenway along Perry Creek and along the southern edge of the site, as well as north across Bradley Drive where a portion of the proposed townhomes would sit. At the westernmost portion of the tract, the proposed Publix shopping center, which would have an access point on Hwy. 85, is also accessible via a series of interconnected streets from elsewhere in the section north of Hwy. 92, giving accessibility between various residential and commercial sites without venturing onto the highway. Steele compared the proposed commercial sites with the current Kroger shopping center across Hwy. 85, which he said was initially rejected by the city and rezoned in the county before its construction. The site was later annexed into the city under a number of specific stipulations, including the city's 75-percent maximum ratio of impervious surface. Updated city ordinances now place the maximum at 60 percent, meaning future commercial developments such as those on the master plan will be even less intrusive, Steele said. The townhome zoning is split into three smaller developments on the current master plan, and a variety of other housing types is included, such as single-family detached homes and cluster homes. A spokesperson for Urban Collage said that the improved street connectivity of the master plan could reduce 7,000 trips per day, depending upon location of traffic lights and other specifics not yet determined. A traffic count is now underway and could be completed by the end of the week. The report noted that the city is already making plans to expand its wastewater treatment plan, which at its current capacity is expected to meet the city's needs through 2007-2010. "The entire southside area would be better served on a public sewerage system from an environmental standpoint according to consulting engineers, reducing septic use in the area," the report stated. Analysis of population figures show that a new school would not be warranted based solely upon new development in the Southside area, since the proposed residential acreage and number of housing units are significantly less than what would likely develop under the current zoning, according to the report.
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