In what appeared to be a reluctant move last week, the Fayetteville City Council approved a controversial rezoning that allows a 311-unit senior citizen complex near The Villages at LaFayette.
The 4-1 decision came after Mayor Greg Clifton asked council members to envision a scenario where the senior complex is not approved, but nearby apartments become “wildly successful” and developers ask to expand apartments on to the site chosen for the senior citizen complex.
“I don’t want to chase off a $45 million project in our city,” Clifton said of the senior complex.
The senior complex is set to include 24 quad-unit villas (96 units), 125 additional independent living units in a multi-story structure, and a separate building for 60 assisted living suites and 30 memory-care units. When the project is completed, it is expected to generate about $300,000 in city taxes per year.
City Councilman Mickey Edwards, a resident of The Villages, cast the lone opposing vote.
Edwards said later that the project has merit and he believes it will be an asset to the city, but he cast the opposing vote because most of his supporters were opposed to the project. “Some thought it would cause their property values to go down,” he added. “They might not go up, but I don’t think they will go down.”
The council vote allows the rezoning of a 13.73-acre parcel located at the intersection of West Lanier Avenue (Ga. Highway 54) and Meeting Place Drive. The property previously had been designated for a mix of retail stores and restaurants with residential units allowed on the second floor of the retail buildings.
Neighbors and the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission urged the council to vote against the proposed rezoning and make no changes until the nearby apartment complex is constructed. They hoped an increase in apartment residents would spark the promised commercial growth of small shops and restaurants.
Councilman Paul C. Oddo Jr. said he understood both sides of the issue and thought the original concept of small retail shops and restaurants was a good plan for Fayetteville. But he believes the senior complex is also a good project for the city. “Overall, I believe the project is beneficial,” he said. “Nothing is perfect.”
In other action at the Sept. 18 City Council meeting, officials approved a change to the city’s alcohol laws that will allow malt beverages like beer at nonprofit fundraisers and also creates a new license for manufacturing those drinks.
The change allows drinks of up to 14 percent alcohol instead of the 6 percent limit mandated by the previous law that only allowed wine tasting at nonprofit fundraisers.
The change was initiated by a request from the Kiwanis Club, which plans to have a community Main Street event with beer tasting as a fundraiser.
Other changes in the law bring the city’s regulations into line with the state’s rules and create the beer-manufacturing license, according to city documents. The license will cost $1,000 each year.
