Fayetteville City Council members Monday told staff to move forward with an ambitious proposed master plan for 110 acres in the heart of Fayetteville, but to tone it down a bit.

"I can live with some increased density if we get rid of the townhouses and have an overall density of about one-third of an acre per home," said Councilman Kenneth Steele after council was asked to give "some direction" on the plan. "The townhouse has not proved to be a viable market for Fayetteville," he added.

Townhouses are included in the proposed master plan for the McElwaney property, on Ga. Highway 54 between Tiger Trail and Sharon Drive, along with three different urban styles of single family homes, class A offices, smaller offices with living space above, a commercial square, a hotel/conference center, a park and community garden.

The plan calls for more than 300 homes in all on about 60 of the 110 acres, a density of five homes per acre. Other council members agreed with Steele that three homes per acre would be more realistic for Fayetteville. "I'd be happier with two or two and a half," said Councilman Walt White, "but I might be able to go with more depending on how it's spread out."

Density is always an issue in development-sensitive Fayette County, the group agreed, but in this case they also agreed that higher than normal density is called for, because the project is designed as an urban, downtown drawing card that may keep Fayetteville's historic district viable in the face of intense commercial development on the outskirts of the city.

"Fayetteville, to its great credit, has a square," said Rich Flierl, a consultant who helped design the master plan.

"But this is beginning to not work because of some patterns that are developing along north 85," he added.

Bringing a large number of people into a pedestrian-friendly community within walking distance of the square can help Fayetteville keep its sense of community, Flierl said.

But the density need not be as great as the plan currently calls for, he added. "These lots can grow," he said. "The only reason you need the density is to get people living downtown. This plan will be the same beautiful plan regardless," he said.

A committee composed of Mayor Mike Wheat, city staff, a representative from the county Board of Education and a developer interested in the property worked out the master plan over a three-month period under the direction of Flierl, community design consultant with Cooper Carry consulting firm.

During the process of revising the city land use plan last year, council decided to hire the company to develop master plans for the only two large, single-owner tracts left in the city, the McElwaney property and a 200-plus-acre tract near Ga. Highway 92 and Jimmie Mayfield Boulevard.