Tyrone Town Council was split 2-2 Thursday night on a decision to endorse Fayette County’s Land Use Study for the Ga. Highway 74 North Corridor. Fayette County Planning & Zoning Director Pete Frisina will return for the March 5 council meeting when all members are expected to be present.

Areas in the study include a mix of parcels totaling 480 acres on both sides of the highway north of Sandy Creek Road situated, often alternately, in the town and county. The study recommended establishing a Business Technology Park (BTP) zoning district on the west side of the highway and a Special Development District (SDD) on the east side.

Frisina said the county, in concert with the town, wanted to have similar goals, objectives, regulations and standards for the corridor area. With Tyrone’s endorsement, the study would be sent to Atlanta Regional Commission for review, a process that takes 60-120 days, Frisina said. He cited similar efforts by the county earlier this decade with the city of Fayetteville and Piedmont Fayette Hospital in developing the Highway 54 Corridor study in the area north of Hwy. 54 between Sandy Creek Road and Tyrone Road. Frisina cited other goals for the Hwy 74 study such as the efficient flow of traffic and the enhancement of the area that serves as a gateway to Fayette County. He added that the study included no new median cuts.

The BTP zoning district situated on tracts north of Kirkley Road would encourage development consisting of high-tech scientific research and development, light manufacturing, and professional offices with a limited amount of commercial space. Frisina said a proposed inter-parcel service road beginning at Kirkley Road and linking with Hwy. 74 near Fairburn city limits could be extended to intersect with Landrum Road a short distance away inside Fairburn. The area would also be required to have multi-use trails installed, said Frisina.

Office development in the SDD on the immediate east side of Hwy. 74 includes narrow parcels approximately 800 feet deep that extend along approximately three-fourths of the frontage between Sandy Creek Road and Fairburn city limits. Incentives would be provided to assemble properties of a minimum of 10 acres with 600 feet of highway frontage, Frisina said. The east side development would also include a service road and multi-use trails, he said.

Questions by the council covered a range of issues pertaining to the study. Answering an initial question by council member Tracy Young, Frisina said the county was attempting to go forward with the land use study and was not considering any issues of imminent domain. Young said he had concerns about further traffic congestion along the Hwy. 74 corridor. Frisina responded, saying that, unfortunately, businesses want to locate on busy roads.

Councilwoman Grace Caldwell said she thought the technology park idea was a good one, adding that Office/Institutional businesses would help the tax base.

“If it was residential it would mean more schools to build and less taxes paid,” Caldwell said.

Also posing a question relating to wastewater disposal, Councilwoman Gloria Furr asked if the study included sewer. Frisina said it did not, adding that the area would have to be fitted with septic systems or community sewer services. That reality, Frisina said, would limit development to those businesses that did not generate large quantities of wastewater.

Noting that he would prefer not to see the area developed commercially, Councilman Eric Dial said, “You don’t need our approval. You’re asking for our endorsement.” Frisina agreed, adding that the county study was proposing essentially the same development plans the town already had in place.

“I’d rather have a seat at the table,” Dial said. “And if we don’t endorse it we won’t have a seat. That’s my concern.”

Weighing in on the topic during public comments, Planning Commission Chairman Gordon Shenkle said from a planning perspective it would be better to engage in a cooperative spirit with the county to plan together and share the management of the area.

“So tonight we need to set a mechanism to cooperate,” Shenkle said. His comment was buffered by statements made minutes earlier by Environmental Institute of Georgia (EIOG) Chairman Connie Thomas Biemiller who had outlined plans for the 310-acre nature preserve adjacent to Kirkley and Bohannon roads just inside Fairburn city limits. EIOG was made the trustee of the site in January.

Near the end of the discussion Frisina said the county wanted Tyrone to be involved with the plan for the area. The town’s participation would add consistency to any development that would impact the corridor.

At the end of the discussion Dial made a motion to endorse the study. The 2-2 split vote had Dial and Caldwell voting in favor of the motion and Young and Furr voting in opposition. Frisina said he would return for the March 5 council meeting when Mayor Don Rehwaldt would be in attendance.

Also at the meeting, the council voted 3-0 to accept a $1,000 donation from Fayette County School Board for the town library for the purchase of books and other educational materials for use by students during the evenings and summer.

Prior to the vote, Caldwell said she appreciated the donation but could not vote to accept it with teachers about to be replaced due to school system budget shortfalls. The money, Caldwell said, would be better spent by offsetting the salary of a teacher or a parapro.

Also commenting on the issue, Young said he had spoken with a school board member and with library head Julie Digby and had been told the funds came from a state grant. The school system was not using general fund money that could go to teachers or parapros, he said.

Contacted after the meeting, school board member Janet Smola said the funds came through the state’s Media Books Account line item.  Smola said the annual funding to school systems goes to libraries and media centers to purchase required reading materials.

Smola said that for the past 10-12 years each school system receives funds from the account. Each of Fayette’s libraries receive funding for the same amount, Smola said, adding that she did not know if other entities accepted the funds publically.