What had been a 2-2 split vote last month on the question of Tyrone’s approval of Fayette County’s Land Use Study for the Ga. Highway 74 North Corridor saw the issue presented again Thursday, with the council this time voting 3-2 in  favor of the proposal. Mayor Don Rehwaldt cast the deciding vote.

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.

The county’s proposal was presented again this month by Planning & Zoning Director Pete Frisina. As he had stated at the previous council meeting in late February, 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.

Frisina 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.

Included in the goals for the Hwy 74 study was the efficient flow of traffic, the enhancement of the area that serves as a gateway to Fayette County and the hope having Fayette’s highly educated workforce find employment opportunities in the technology park.

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. 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. The proposed zoning is similar to that already in place in Tyrone, a condition noted by Frisina in both meetings.

The Land Use Study calls for 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. The east side development would also include a service road and multi-use trails. Frisina said the study included no new median cuts.

Council member Gloria Furr asked about the study’s consideration for stormwater runoff in the BTP district. Frisina said the area would be served by retention ponds per state regulations. Responding to a question by Furr on the absence of a wetlands study prior to presenting the proposal, Frisina said county ordinances preclude development in wetlands areas, adding that the county’s watershed ordinance is stricter than state regulations require. The county requires that development be a minimum of 150 feet from the floodplain as opposed to the state’s requirement that setbacks be measured from a waterway.

As she had done at the earlier meeting, Councilwoman Grace Caldwell asked if the proposal was geared to helping balance the tax base. Frisina said that was the case, adding that, “We won’t be producing school kids in a non-residential development.”

Prior to the 3-2 vote, Line Creek Association representative Dennis Chase recommended that Tyrone oppose the Land Use Study, citing concerns such as the disturbance of wetlands areas on the property and suggesting that it is the business of cities, not the county, to oversee the development of property.    

Those voting in favor of endorsing the Land Use Study included council members Eric Dial, Grace Caldwell and Mayor Don Rehwaldt. Council members Gloria Furr and Tracy Young were opposed.