The Piedmont Fayette Hospital is headed toward approval for a rezoning and annexation request on 17.85 acres that has been winding its way through the city process for the past two months.

The Fayetteville City Council will also consider an amendment to the alcohol beverage ordinance, a temporary exemption to the impact and sewer proportionate fees and a Recreational Trail Program grant at the Nov. 6 meeting.

The undeveloped property totaling 17.85 acres is situated behind the hospital and abuts Sandy Creek Road on the east.

Plans for the undeveloped acreage include future use as a day care center on the west side of the annexed area and future expansion of the number of parking spaces directly behind the hospital. Stormwater detention would be located on the east side of the annexed property near Sandy Creek Road.

The council will also hear the first reading on an amendment to the Alcohol Beverage Ordinance. As currently written, the ordinance has a distance requirement of 200 yards between businesses selling alcohol and residences situated outside the Main Street District. City staff are proposing to reduce that distance to 100 yards.

Such a reduction would be consistent with the state law requiring a distance of 100 yards between such businesses and the nearest church. The state has a 200-yard requirement for schools.

“We do have one area that this would potentially affect, and that is the small commercial center adjacent to the Autumn Glynn Subdivision on Ga. Highway 54 East,” City Manager Joe Morton said in an October memo.

He said a restaurant located in this planned center has applied for beer and wine and under the current distance requirements they would not be permitted a license because of the proximity to the nearest residence. They would be permitted a license under the 100-yard requirement, Morton said.

The amendment change would also allow for annual license fees to be prorated for those businesses licensed after Jan. 1 and for the annual license fee to be billed on an annual or semi-annual basis.

“The city’s billing software does allow for billing on a semi-annual basis and we feel that this will help our businesses without adversely impacting the city’s cash flow,” Morton said.

Council members Nov. 6 will hear the second reading on a temporary exemption to the impact fee and sewer proportionate share fee as a way of stimulating redevelopment and re-use of existing retail space that would result in higher usage requirements. The council will consider a 50 percent exemption for one year.

Also at the meeting, the council will consider the application of a $100,000 Recreational Trail Program grant through the city’s Greenspace Program. The program has a goal of setting aside and permanently protecting a minimum of 20 percent of the land within the city as greenspace.

If approved, the Dept. of Natural Resources grant would reimburse 80 percent of the $100,000 price tag. Funds would be used to construct a recreation/nature trail on the former P.K. Dixon property, a 308-acre tract at the end of Burch Road and highlighted by Whitewater Creek and Gingercake Creek.

Planning and Zoning Director Eldridge Gunn said that though the city has several pocket parks and small greenspace areas, there are no large greenway corridors or recreation parks. This grant will allow the city to continue to set aside significant greenspace and recreation space. The construction of a recreation/nature trail will help to establish a major greenway corridor and recreational destination point that can be utilized by the immediate community, the entire city and county.

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