The county’s longest running zoning drama will not be settled until at least July 7.
The Fayetteville City Council voted Thursday night to table the controversial proposal by Rea Ventures Group to build apartments in Fayetteville’s historic downtown.
The proposal would establish an apartment complex called Abbington Square to house 60 apartments along with limited retail on the first floor facing North Glynn Street. The property is situated on 4.6 acres downtown, between Lafayette Avenue to the south, the 100-block of North Glynn Street to the east and a short distance from Lanier Avenue to the north.
The request for the property would have it rezoned from C-1 (commercial) to PCD (planned community development). Plans call for 93 percent of the apartments to be one or two bedroom units. Rents will run from $640 per month to $1,200 per month. Amenties would include an art/studio space, business center, fitness center, a community garden, Energy Star appliances and washer-dryer hookups.
Access to the development would be by way of Lafayette Avenue only, according to city planning staff.
The proposal has come under fire because of its plan to provide affordable housing in Fayetteville through the use of federal tax credits.
On Thursday, Mayor Ed Johnson said the property is not the correct size for a PCD and exceeds the maximum density. But with the threat of a lawsuit looming from Rea, Johnson said the city would talk again with the developers to see if a compromise is available before the July 7 meeting.
In other news, the City Council:
• Heard the first read of the city’s budget. Finance Director Mike Bush stressed that the numbers were preliminary and the final numbers would be brought back to the City Council for a final vote July 21. The general fund budget is projected to drop from $13.7 million in 2016 to $12.1 in fiscal year 2016. The reason for the big drop, Bush said, is the city used more than $1 million to help fund the Hood Avenue road project now under completion. Bush said the city is working on getting grants to fund additional police officers, so the numbers could change by mid-July.
• Approved a $67,766 payment to the Fayette County Development Authority to help the group promote the city and lure industrial projects to the area.
• Approved the elevations for the Holiday Inn Express that will be adjacent to Piedmont Fayette Hospital. While the developer changed the exterior materials to more closely reflect the hospital, Councilman Jim Williams was still not happy.
“I’m deeply offended by it,” Williams said.
Williams expected the site to be moved further from the highway and warned the council they would regret approving the elevations.
