One problem with it, it's in Peachtree City. So the County Commission can't take credit for it, or spend money buying someone's property to convert to Industrial.

You said the following...

"If he and his ilk (for the past 30+ years) had not rubber stamped every high density rezoning request that came up, we wouldn't have this problem."

Exactly where are the High Density developments you speak of in Fayette County? I want to know over the last 30 years what high density has been approved in the County..., they maybe out there, but I'm not sure where to start looking. You may be considering 1 acre per lot high density, but I would bet if you had 200 acres for sale, you would think differently. You can't speak of the Cities, that's a different animal altogether. Although, I live in Peachtree City on a 3/4 acre lot and enjoy my home/area very much.

In my less than humble opinion, every sub-division is high density. I can remember when Ga hwy 85 was 2-lane and Fayette County had only one high school. Fayette County used to be a nice, quiet, friendly community. Now we are becoming just another over-crowded, crime-infested, over-taxed suburb of Atlanta.

If a person is willing to sacrifice a little freedom to gain a little security, they deserve neither - Ben Franklin

Your fellow “life long residents”, the one’s that owned the farms and other large plots of land, wanted out and they wanted out with the most money they could possible get.

A prime example is Massive senior complex proposed: 3,000 homes planned for former farm land in the heart of Fayette”.

Now I don’t begrudge these folks or their children for wanting to get the most for what they have. But when a single chunk of land comes on the market, 700+ acres, HUGE money gets interested real fast.

Most often the people with that kind of land have been in Fayette County for several generations and are personal friends with everyone who ever ‘was’, ‘is’ or ‘will be’ a local politician. Heck, they’ve probably known each other since they were both 5 years old.

It’s no big deal to help out a friend or a friends family when is comes to changing a few little land use planes or with a little rezoning. That’s what friends do for each other.

It wasn’t all that long ago that the only thing on the corner of 34 and 154 was an old plywood vegetable stand. I’m not sure but I think it had a stop sign there too. Now look at it.

Lifelong, you want to turn back the clock? I remember no air conditioning, no seat belts, no cell phones, no electricity and no indoor plumbing. I also remember when open heart surgery had a very small chance of success, polio killed and crippled millions and simple ailments became fatal because there were no antibiotics.

I do not want to go back there. Do you really? Or do you want to pick and choose those things you would like to have and eliminate the rest? You and I both know that it does not work that way. Your tilting at windmills if you are trying to stop ALL progress.

You have two choices, change your attitude toward progress or move to whereever you can that has all the things you miss about the old Fayette County. Good luck with that.

I find it interesting how political commentary can be turned into a personal attack. That is what liberals do when they have no foundation for their arguements.
I realize that progress is inevitable, but I also believe that it could be managed better. The land use plan could (and should, in my opinion) have been much more conservative with slower growth planned. Developments could have been limited to larger parcels (less DENSITY). I did not want to live in the city, but the city has come to me. Now I have to pay higher taxes, endure more traffic jams, and face higher crime for the incompetence of government.
I will continue to argue for what I think is right - even if it is unattainable. At least it might steer things in a better direction.
You are free to express your opinion as well, but leave out the personal attacks.

If a person is willing to sacrifice a little freedom to gain a little security, they deserve neither - Ben Franklin

I apologize if you thought it was a personal attack. I simply meant that neither you or I can halt progress.

The county has had, for many many years, a minimum two to five acre requirement for lots.
Surely you do not consider that high density development. That is the land use plan and up until recently it was considered inviolate. Two weeks ago, in this same paper, there was an article that showed how Fayette County was the second SLOWEST growing county in the metro area. That is true, because the county stuck to a land use plan that was upheld in court, time after time, as valid.

You said the city came to you. It did, in the form of annexation by the cities, who then increased density. They county is powerless, by state law, to prevent such actions. The county land use plan has been the basis for protecting the Fayette County that you knew, to the extent that it was possible.

The destruction of the land use plan has come at the hands of the city fathers of Peachtree City, Fayetteville and Tyrone when they approve smaller home lots, shopping centers and office spaces. If that is what gives you heartburn then be sure to let them know about it. Just realize that the county could do very little to stop the encroachment by the cities.

I do agee that the incompetence of the city governments far exceeds that of the county. Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for planting trees and shrubs in the highway medians and the countless $$$ it takes to maintain these "flower beds". I personally saw a fire truck being used to water them when they were first planted in Fayetteville - glad there wasn't a fire. And then there are the antique looking street lights? And then the density issue with multi-family developments. But wasn't the county guilty of putting up those ridiculous billboard sized street signs like "Ebeneezer Road next left"?

I have not surveyed the lot size (county vs. city) but the houses seem to be right on top of each other everywhere. If the lots are 2-5 acres then why not develop them at their previous zoning of AR instead of rezoning to R45 or whatever leagal-ese is used for the 2 acre lots? Also, the land use plan is (I think) a 20 year plan. The developers try to make it immediate and the county seems to go right along with it instead waiting until there is infrastructure in place to support the increase in population.

As far as the city "fathers" go, I can get nowhere with them because I am not a resident of the city. I was told as much at a city council meeting years ago. I had a business in the city, but I wasn't a resident. My business is now in the county.

I am fully aware that what I am doing here will change little, but I enjoy the opportunity to vent. I also don't want things to get any worse. I vote, I write my representatives and I rant to anyone unfortunate to be near me. In the process I learn and maybe influence a politician or maybe I just irritate people. Hooray for freedom of speech.

If a person is willing to sacrifice a little freedom to gain a little security, they deserve neither - Ben Franklin

We disagree on the definition. I too remember when Fayette was VERY rural. But I also realized that it wouldn't stay that way. The citizens wouldn't have stood for it. Money talks, and be thankful that the County was managed in the way it was for all those 30+ years. To deny new zoning altogether, well, that would have been one lost lawsuit after another. The County adopted a land use plan, and stuck to it. All one has to do is ride to ANY other County in Atlanta and see what a mess they have become.

I'm not a native Fayette County resident, but I am a native Southside resident, so I feel your pain, but nothing stays the same.

Just like Clayton, Cobb, Gwinnett, etc. We are getting more crowded, more crime, overcrowded schools, more taxes, strained infrastructure, and NOW we are being accused of being racist because we don't like what is happening to our HOME. I traced the ownership of the property I live on to when my great-great grandfather deeded the land to my great grandmother in 1897 as a wedding gift. If I had wanted to live in a subdivision, I would have moved to Clayton county. Now subdivisions are moving in on me.

If a person is willing to sacrifice a little freedom to gain a little security, they deserve neither - Ben Franklin

yapping about Fayette County folks being racist.

But I disagree that Fayette is becoming just like other Counties. It is developing, that is without doubt. But it is being controlled MUCH better than other areas. I know, I travel the city (ATL) almost daily. I guess the best thing to say is that your Great-Great Grandfather would be amazed at what his Wedding Gift was worth today, and he would be proud you still live there and enjoy it.

My Family owns a farm in Moultrie, Georgia. The same thing is happening there, except the new subdivisions are junky trailers. They have no zoning laws, and furthermore, do not want zoning laws. Not sure where you can go and things will stay the same. If you find such a place, my advice is to not tell anyone if you want it to stay that way.