An explosion of professional office development around Fayette Community Hospital, long predicted but slow in coming, is suddenly bearing down on city of Fayetteville officials like an oncoming freight train.

And in one area in particular a triangle nestled between Ga. Highway 54, the hospital and Sandy Creek Road a master plan is needed to make sure that concerns about environment, traffic and architectural standards are taken into account, said city manager Mike Bryant.

"This is a strong incubator," Bryant told City Council during a work session last week. "This is a job creator and will determine what the character of the community is going to be," he added.

"It's something that supports the hospital and creates the appropriate environment for the hospital," he told The Citizen. "We should not let it grow haphazardly."

Another factor that makes a master plan desirable, said Bryant, is that the area seems to be in a groundwater recharge area as defined by the state Environmental Protection Division. Such areas require extra attention to environmental effects of development.

City officials are checking with EPD to find out more precisely where the borders of the recharge area are. Current state maps show a nebulous, ill-defined border, but in any case the area is crucial to Fayetteville's future, said Bryant.

"We want to set up the baseline for that district now, in our ordinances. If we don't get it now, we'll get picked apart a parcel at a time," he said.

Putting together a master plan could take three or four months, Bryant said.

That's bad news for Hayes Development Corp., which has been working for months to get city approval for a medical office building and bank in the area, and for Mr. and Mrs. H.E. Holbrook, owners of a home next to the hospital property.

John DeLash, owner of Fayette Dental Aesthetics, has agreed to buy the Holbrooks' home on 1.44 acres, and use it for a dental lab so the couple can move away from the noise of emergency sirens at the hospital.

But the sale is contingent on the land being annexed into Fayetteville and zoned for offices, and City Council appears likely to delay the annexation and rezoning request until after a master plan is in place.

A vote on the matter is scheduled for June 7, but council is expected to table any action for now.

Meanwhile, the Holbrooks have already closed on a new home and are bearing expenses for both homes.

During last week's work session and Monday's business meeting, City Council members looked for ways to approve the dental lab ahead of time, at least in principle, so the sale could be finalized, but did not find an answer.

"Professional is what we want in that area. I think that's very clear," said Councilman Larry Dell. Consensus of the group was that the request will be granted.

But financing for the purchase is contingent upon the annexation and rezoning, and DeLash said lenders don't finance such a deal based on a consensus.