The county’s only radio station is headed to Tyrone.

On Thursday night, the Tyrone Town Council vote unanimously to allow radio broadcasting studios in the C-2-Downtown Commercial zoning district. The vote clears the way for the station to move into the Legacy Theatre building, just off Ga. Highway 74.

Wayne Wilkins, who owns the Legacy building, told the Town Council the radio station would employ 15 full-time and 15 part-time employees and would be a good fit for the town.

In February, J93.3 station manager Rick Davidson explained that there would be no unsightly towers located in the town. The studio actually transmits from a location in Meriwether County,and is currently in the Publix shopping center on Ga. Highway 54, just outside the city limits of Peachtree City.

Davidson explained the station was Christian, and offered a positive alternative to much of pop culture.

The station hopes to complete the move by July.

In other news, the town:

•Settled a dispute that had been simmering for more than a year by rejecting resident Richard Shelley’s request for a text amendment to the town’s zoning ordinance. Shelley wanted several uses, including auto repair, lawnmower repair consumer repair shops to be placed back in the C-2 zoning district.

“You’re all familiar with this. Ordinance 454 was a big campaign issue,” he said.

In fact, both Councilman Tracey Young and Mayor Don Rehwaldt said that Shelley had contributed $100 to their campaigns, but did not feel the need to recuse themselves from the discussion.

Shelley also wanted better notification if a non-conforming use was removed from a zoning classification, but town attorney Dennis Davenport said the town was currently doing what most municipalities did around the state.

“If you quit using the non-conforming use, you have six months. If you don’t put another similar business in there during that time frame, the use is lost,” he explained.

The town also rejected Shelley’s request for better notification.

•Approved a rezoning request from Russell Jones to rezone two acres at 632 Dogwood Trail from R-44 Residential to OI-Office Institutional.

Jones has attempted to get the property rezoned for two years, and the issue is currently involved in a lawsuit. Several residents spoke against the rezoning, including John Watkins.

“Dogwood Trail was not meant to handle the traffic,” he said.

The rezoning passed 3-1 with Councilman Tracey Young voting against it.

login to post comments