Special architectural rules for Ga. Highway 85 north will get one more look by Fayette's Planning Commission before the County Commission acts on it.

County commissioners last week voted 4-1 to table the item until their Jan. 28 meeting and send the rules back to the Planning Commission to consider three questionable sections.

That's good news to Julian Lee, owner of commercial acreage along the corridor who has attended several meetings to push for changes in the proposed ordinance.

"The state Highway 85 overlay zone as written has one problem," Lee told the County Commission last week. "It is too limiting."

He objected to a provision that 50 percent of parking be along the side or in the rear of commercial properties, and asked for two curb cuts instead of the limit of one if the property has at least 1,000 feet of road frontage.

It's the second time commissioners have sent the proposed restrictions back to the Planning Commission following that group's approval.

The planning board approved the overlay zone in June, but commissioners returned the document in July, asking for more public hearings. Planners approved the document again last month following a series of public hearings and revisions to the ordinance.

Restrictions in the ordinance are designed to create a visually pleasant entrance to Fayette County.

Lee said a restriction to one curb cut per commercial development is fine for smaller developments, but for a large shopping center it would create a bottleneck.

Requiring parking behind buildings will be a security problem, he said.

\"Are you willing to furnish me full-time police protection on premises because of the ordinance?" he asked.

He also suggested that a provision requiring that rooftop equipment be screened might be an example of overkill if there are already natural buffers that restrict the view from adjoining properties.

Bob Ballard, a lawyer representing Lee, also addressed the commission and complained that restrictions that call for facing businesses away from the road might make it difficult for those stores to make a profit.

"Why hide those buildings behind a bushel, so to speak," he said. "I don't see how you can expect a commercial enterprise to hide itself and expect to make a profit."

Lee showed a drawing of a typical "L" shaped shopping center to emphasize his arguments.