F’ville’s amended zoning to accommodate student housing

When it comes to zoning the stage should be set on June 20 to have the Fayetteville City Council amend development standards for the Planned Community District (PCD) zoning category that will accommodate both the new Pinewood Atlanta development on Sandy Creek Road and other properties expected to develop on the northwest side of the city.

PCD zoning currently allows for the creation of an individual site-specific zoning district on a particular parcel that is distinct in scope and purpose. But with the upcoming annexation of the 288-acre Pinewood Atlanta site on Sandy Creek Road, along with nearly 1,000 acres to the south, east and west of that location, city staff are proposing a number of changes that would best accommodate both upcoming and future development plans.

“This is an opportunity to identify other areas (in the zoning district) that need to be amended,” said Fayetteville Community Development Director Brian Wismer.

Wismer told council members June 6 the PCD zoning category needed to be updated due to the timelines on the upcoming annexation of properties on the city’s northwest side and the expected development of other properties such as the Knotty Pine residential proposal on Grady Avenue. The amendment notes that single-use projects that would best benefit the city under the PCD classification will be considered for approval. The current ordinance maintains that PCD projects should consist of more than one land use.

The proposed amendment would also permit universities under the conditional use provision where before the only educational facilities noted in the ordinance pertained public, parochial and private schools.

“We’ve added student housing (to the ordinance) due to the current talk about an educational component to Pinewood,” said Wismer, adding that the amendment would also pertain to elder care facilities.

One provision to the proposed amendment includes the addition of “film production facilities and related services” under the approved PCD commercial uses.

Another proposed addition to the PCD zoning deals with transportation access to a PCD development. The current provision that a PCD development must be located only on a collector or major street will be changed to the development having ingress and egress to the existing street network where appropriate.

The amendment is likely to be approved as there were no questions by council members at the first reading on June 6.