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F’ville OKs Pye Lake development

By BEN NELMS
bnelms@TheCitizen.com

There was little fanfare and even less public attendance Oct. 6 when the Fayetteville City Council approved the rezoning request that will lead to the long-considered development of Pye Lake Estates on Hood Avenue.

The rezoning request to change the property from R-22 to an R-22 PUD designation paves the way for the development of 12 homes bordering the newly acquired city-owned Pye Lake.

The rezoning was approved by a 4-0 vote. Councilman Al Hovey-King did not participate in the presentation, discussion or vote because he owns property along the current Pye Road, adjacent to the west side of the property. Pye Road will be reconfigured by the developer to become Pye Lake Drive.

The April agreement between the city and property trustee Harriet Pye Parham and Scarbrough & Rolader Development, LLC calls for development of 6.2 acres for 12 lots with a minimum lot width of 70-feet with a minimum house size of 2,300 square feet, including at least 1,200 square feet on the first floor.

“R-22 zoning corresponds to medium density, but the applicant’s proposed R-22 PUD zoning allows him to make adjustments that align the overall development and house sizes with low-density, single family development,” City Planner Eldridge Gunn said at an earlier meeting. “The applicant’s proposed minimum house size of 2,300 square feet corresponds with low-density development and not medium-density.”

Also included in the agreement was the donation to the city of the 14.46-acre Pye Lake and a 3.16-acre tract of land on the southeast side of the lake for use by the city as greenspace.

One aspect of the development agreement indicates, “The access easement as shown on the plat is only for the owners of the development property and their licensees and invitees. The building or placing of any structure, excluding floating docks, on the access easement property is explicitly prohibited. The use of any motorized vehicle or device, including but not limited to motor boats, jet skis, motorized dirt bikes or four-wheel motorized ATVs, is strictly prohibited. Boats powered by electric trolling motors are permitted. No boat, device or vehicle may ever be left unattended, nor shall any boat or vehicle ever be tethered or anchored in any way to or within the access easement.”

Responding to questions about public access to the city-owned lake, Mayor Kenneth Steele said that issue could not be fully addressed until work on storm drainage and Pye Lake dam is completed.

A significant issue involving the property is the lake’s designation as a Category I dam by the state Safe Dams program. Problems with the 39-year-old dam and the threat to life and property downstream surfaced several years ago.

Studies showed that the Pye Lake dam had several structural problems. Several homes were damaged in June 2003 and problems identified that year by the state Safe Dams program revealed that a breach during a heavy rain event could endanger nearby residents.

The dam is categorized as a Category 1 dam, meaning that its failure has the potential to endanger at least one life. Fayetteville maintenance crews installed a siphon in late 2003 to lower the water level to prevent further weakening. The city is currently awaiting confirmation of a federal grant to upgrade the dam.