By DAVE HAMRICK
Staff Writer

Applebee's restaurant has been replaced by O'Charley's in Fayette Pavilion developer Stan Thomas' hopes to develop a patch of land between the Pavilion and an equipment rental business on Ga. Highway 85.

"Applebee's got tired of waiting" for city approval of development plans, Thomas told the city Planning Commission last Tuesday.

The plan also includes steak house/salad bar Ryan's and a third restaurant he is keeping secret in accordance with the company's wishes, Thomas said.

But he is facing a catch-22 in developing the land, and he hopes the Planning Commission this month will help him solve the unsolvable, Thomas said last week.

In approving commercial zoning for the restaurants, City Council required that he build a road through the property, providing an additional access to the Pavilion from Hwy. 85. The problem, he said, is that there is a residence next door, and the road will use up a hefty portion of the 75-foot buffer required between commercial and residential properties.

Thomas is asking the Planning Commission for a variance, reducing the buffer requirement to 20 feet, and proposes to make up for the lost buffer by building a six-feet-high berm thickly planted with trees in the middle of the buffer area.

The Planning Commission will consider Thomas' request at its Aug. 11 workshop and Aug. 25 business meeting, but Thomas will be out of town those dates and said he wanted to make an early presentation last week.

One commissioner made it clear he will be hard to convince. "I have never seen either the city or a developer get a waiver of the buffer for a private residence," he said. "We have never made an exception."

Other commissioners expressed some willingness to consider the request, saying it was the city's requirement that created the difficulty.

In other business last week, the Planning Commission denied Valvoline Oil Company's request to put an oil change business at 110 Ga. Highway 314. Representatives from Valvoline said they will appeal that decision to City Council.

The firm is asking for a special exception to allow auto service in the C-3 commercial zoning district, plus approval of its development plans. City Council will consider Valvoline's appeal during its Aug. 17 meeting, 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, if city officials receive the company's appeal letter in time to include it on the agenda.

Merlin Muffler and Enterprise Rent-A-Car fared better. The commission approved a variance and development plan for Enterprise at 320 S. Glynn St., land formerly occupied by a used car lot. The approval is conditional, though. Owners must get an engineer's stamp certifying that there is adequate impervious surface in the development, and city staff must approve a landscaping plan before the business can be developed.

The commission also approved a special exception to allow Merlin Muffler to operate in a commercial district at 280 N. Glynn St., but tabled Merlin's development plan. Commissioners said they want more details.

The group also approved elevations for Joshua's Bookstore at Fayette Pavilion.