Commission recommends annexation against protest of county residents

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Despite a big crowd opposing Fayetteville’s proposed annexation of a 108-acre tract on Redwine Road, the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted Tuesday to recommend approval of the annexation to the City Council.

But just because the residents lost this round doesn’t mean the battle is over, planning commissioner Allan Feldman told the crowd at Tuesday night’s meeting.

He encouraged the citizens to work with developer Bob Rolader to discuss details of the plan for the Bellemeade subdivision “and don’t let your input be lost.”

The planning commission’s action is a recommendation only; land can only be annexed by a vote of the city council. The matter is tentatively scheduled to be discussed for the first time at the June 17 council meeting.

Commissioner Derryll Anderson was the only person voting against the recommendation to annex the property. Commission chairman Myron Coxe was not present.

The commission listened for over an hour to residents who asked the city to leave the land in unincorporated Fayette County. The land is currently zoned for five-acre lots but the county’s land use plan recommends it be developed in the future with homes between one and two acres in size.

Although several residents said they preferred the five-acre lot size, several commissioners contend that the property will be developed with roughly the same density as the proposed 94 homes regardless of whether the annexation occurs or not.

Feldman noted that the county sent a letter to the city stating it would drop its opposition of the annexation if the subdivision was limited to 88 lots with a minimum lot size of one acre each. That shows the county commission realizes the current zoning for five-acre lots won’t stand.

City Planning and Zoning Director Jahnee Prince said the county’s density number was based on rough calculations while Rolader has done more exact calculations. If it is determined there are more wetlands on the site than originally thought, that would lower the amount of homes that could be built on the property, she added.

The minimum home size for the proposed city zoning district, R-40, is 2,300 square feet, Prince noted.

The difference between developing the site in the city instead of the county, commissioners said, is that city sewer is needed to shrink the lot sizes to less than one acre, which will allow more greenspace to be preserved on the site. Roughly 30 acres of greenspace will be saved.

Because the county does not have access to a sewerage system, lots must be a minimum of one acre to accommodate sanitary sewer systems.

“If you get 1-acre lots, you lose the green,” Feldman said, adding that the property would be developed “more stringently” in the city.

“I’d rather see 1-acre lots with trees on it,” said Karen Powell, who lives on Old Senoia Road near the proposed subdivision. “... One thing that bothers me is, what will stop the city from expanding further than that?”

Mary Lynn Thomason, who lives on Redspire Lane in the county, said she didn’t want lots of trees removed from the land for the subdivision. She also said she was concerned about the affect the development would have on wildlife.

“I do think people who live around there, their opinion should be considered very strongly,” Thomason said.

Another resident shared concern about emergency response times. Prince said the city’s fire department is already the first responder to this area of the county and the police department drives by the area while patrolling other subdivisions.

Several other residents said the proposed eight-acre city park included in the plan isn’t necessary. Rolader wants to equip the park with walking trails and exercise stations. The park would also link to the multi-use path on Redwine Road, officials said.

Feldman said because the site requires an annexation, the city can be more particular about the subdivision’s plan. Commissioner Kevin Bittinger said the subdivision will not have “cluster homes” as alleged by one citizen.

Rolader said he has submitted a vision plan book to the city that shows the types of homes that will be built He also noted the price of the homes could range from $375,000 to $600,000 and have an “upscale” type of architecture.

The vision plan will be recorded as part of the annexation and will “run with the land” meaning that any person who builds on the property will have to meet those guidelines, Rolader said.

“We’re not going to go in there and tear down all the trees,” Rolader said.

Barbara Leoni, who lives on Zelkova Drive, said she was concerned about the buffers for the proposed subdivision. She also said she was worried about the proposed park attracting crime.

Anderson said she felt confident Rolader would work with residents in the area about their concerns. She also urged residents who were upset with traffic problems to approach the county commission about possible solutions.