New design restrictions for businesses along Ga. Highway 85 north of Fayetteville appear to be on their way back to the Fayette County Commission.

The county Planning Commission will vote on the standards again at its Nov. 5 business meeting, sending them to the County Commission for a vote Dec. 10.

Planning commissioners had approved the restrictions, designed to create a visually pleasant entrance into Fayette County, in June, but the Board of Commissioners sent the proposed ordinance back to the Planning Commission in July after land owners complained that they hadn't had a chance to comment.

After a second round of public hearings, planning commissioners will send the rules back to the commission with a few changes:

The area controlled by the new rules will be on 500 feet on either side of the highway, instead of the original proposal of 700 feet.

Side yard setbacks will be 25 feet instead of 50 feet, as originally proposed.

In addition to the requirement for a 50-foot landscaped buffer along Hwy. 85, the ordinance requires a 10-foot landscaped strip along side yards. Alternative use of native vegetation in lieu of the landscape strip also will be encouraged, under new provisions of the ordinance.

A section restricting signs has been stricken from the proposed Hwy. 85 overlay ordinance and placed in the county's sign ordinance to prevent confusion.

A provision requiring that existing businesses be rebuilt if they are destroyed has been toned down. Under new proposed rules, a business would have to be replaced if fire or natural disaster damaged it in an amount equal to or greater than 60 percent of its replacement value. Previously, the figure was 50 percent of its assessed value.

Julian Lee, owner of property along the highway, attended last week's workshop hoping to argue for still more changes in the proposed ordinance. At previous hearings, Lee argued that the rules are too restrictive. "As this is written," he said, "it's too limiting."

"I realize it's not going to be easy to design [businesses under the new rules] but I think in the overall context it's going to be something that's accomplishable," said Planning Commission Chairman Bob Harbison.

The standards are intended to go hand-in-glove with a recently adopted land use plan for that area, which in turn is expected to work with zoning of property along the corridor to "establish and maintain a scenic gateway into Fayette County," according to planning officials.

A similar set of special requirements along Ga. Highway 54 between Fayetteville and Peachtree City is working well, officials say, and they want the same thing for 85 north.

Among restrictions are limits on the number of driveways allowed, architectural standards for buildings aimed at an office park appearance, plus rules stating that buildings front on interior roads or driveways rather than facing 85.

Numerous zoning changes on planning panel agenda

The Fayette County Planning Commission's Nov. 5 meeting promises to be a barn burner.

Commissioners will consider 16 agenda items (in addition to routine approval of minutes), including three requests that will also be heard by the county Board of Commissioners NOV. 12, and 12 that will go to the board Dec. 10.

Among issues to be heard Nov. 5, and by the commission Nov. 12 are:

* A request for a 180-foot communications tower on 201.44 acres on Arnold Road.

* A request for a 180-foot tower on 26.16 acres at Old Greenville and McBride roads.

* A third 180-foot tower on 127 acres on Morgan Road.

To be heard Nov. 5 and on the commission's Dec. 10 agenda are:

* James Randal Holt's request to take a home lot out of Lakeview Estates subdivision and rezone it for offices.

* Rezoning for 12.21 acres on Padgett Town Road at Lone Oak Drive for a six-home subdivision.

* Rezoning of 173.5 acres on Lone Oak Drive from a subdivision category to A-R (agricultural-residential). The owners want to use the land for agricultural purposes.

* Rezoning of six acres on Harp Road to develop two homes.

* Rezoning to allow a 20-home subdivision on 33.89 acres on Antebellum Way.

* Rezoning to allow a 53-home subdivision on 135.52 acres on Antioch Road.

* Rezoning of 3.77 acres from industrial to commercial for a multi-tenant development on Bethea Road at Ga. Highway 314.

* Rezoning for a "country store" on Ga. Highway 85 at the 85 Connector, on 2.49 acres.

* Rezoning of 4.58 acres as part of the same shopping center at 314 and Bethea Road.

* A change to the Ga. Highway 54 west overlay zone. Owners currently can develop office-institutional uses if they have frontage on Hwy. 54. The change would require access as well as frontage, and would require that the principal structure also face 54, not a residential street.

* New architectural and design restrictions for Hwy. 85 north (see related story).