The Fayette County Commission chambers is expected to be packed tomorrow night when a group of north Fayette residents hope to convince the commissioners to draw a line in the sand against future commercial development.

On the agenda are two rezoning proposals for property located at the intersection of Ga. highways 279 and 314 north of Fayetteville.

The first request is from Rendley Norris, who wants a 4.11-acre site rezoned from R-40 to OI to develop a real estate broker’s office. The staff and Planning Commission have recommended denial.

The second request is from Elizabeth and Walter Brown for a 2.75-acre site at the same intersection to be rezoned from R-40 to CC to build a gas station. The staff and Planning Commission recommended a rezoning of OI.

But residents who live in the area are adamant about any change of zoning in the area.

David Brill, who sent a letter to the County Commissioners, along with several other homeowners, suggests the county re-examine the entire area before allowing any rezonings.

“Given this landslide of support, we request your no vote on both of these rezoning applications. Our purpose is to remain a purely residential community,” Brill said in the letter.

Brill dismisses the assumption that land near state highways equals non-residential zoning.

“We are frightfully aware that a single commission decision can render a permanent change to a community; in this case, that change would be a disaster. However, a simple no vote, for both of these applications, will permit the continuity of the residential neighborhood and the assumed ‘inevitable’ chain of commercial-leaning intersections,” said Brill.

Brill said during the last 24 months, 83 accidents have occurred at the intersection and more business would lead to more traffic.

Brill also said that another gas station is not needed in the area.

“We did a survey of gas stations within two miles of the intersection. There are nine gas stations, five different brands represented with 100 pumps. We think we have sufficient local availability of gas, and we have enough choice in price and brands. We do not need the additional 18 pumps RaceTrac wishes to install in the middle of our residential area,” he added.

More non-residential zoning could bring more problems to the area, he said.

“We see every day how non-residential zones spring up with their ugly repetition of signs in regular intervals: ‘Grand Opening,’ ‘Going Out of Business,’ ‘For Rent.’ The traffic gets heavier while newspapers announce the break-ins and drug arrests after-hours on the premises of these businesses. This is not what we want to create in our community.“

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Fayette County Administrative Complex on Stonewall Avenue in Fayetteville.