Starr’s Mill district remains unchanged; Dogwood Trail rezoning for 68 homes rejected by commission
A motion to approved recommended ordinance amendments concerning the proposed Starr’s Mill Historic Overlay District and Overlay Zone failed at the June 23 regular meeting of the Fayette County Board of Commissioners.
Two other public hearings scheduled for subsequent agenda items related to the same issue — a proposed color and brick palette resolution and amending the future land use map and comprehensive plan — were deemed moot and not heard.
The board also denied a higher density rezoning on 101 acres off Dogwood Trail adjacent to north Peachtree City.
One sticking point on the Starr’s Mill district was whether gas stations would be allowed in the district while keeping with its historic character. The proposed land-use plan change would have created two separate limited-commercial zoning classifications for the district, one of which would allow such development, but some commissioners were not comfortable with allowing it.
Chairman Charles Oddo made the motion to adopt the staff recommendations and Vice Chairman Randy Ognio seconded the motion for discussion purposes, but the vote failed by a 3-1 vote. Commissioner Charles Rousseau abstained without giving any reason for doing so.
This request was originally presented at the May 26, 2016 board meeting. The project was initiated in response to a request from property owners at the intersection of Hwy. 74, Hwy. 85 and Padgett Road, and was restarted by the Planning Commission and county staff after the widening of Hwy. 74 was finished.
Several audience members addressed the issue with various concerns. One said several problems should be solved before the board moves forward, such as a 100-foot setback requirement when some properties are barely 100 feet deep. There were also concerns raised about berms and square footage minimums.
A few property owners said they would welcome a convenience store and gas station at that location so they wouldn’t have to go to Senoia or Peachtree City for gas. One resident said going down into Coweta County and spending tax dollars there because of a lack of options at this corner is “ludicrous.”
“Economics must dictate what happens at this corner,” said one property owner. “But the property needs to be rezoned.”
Commissioner Steve Brown remained adamant about not allowing gas stations there, reiterating his comments from the May meeting about the potential impact on the historic character of the area, which zoning director Pete Frisina called “the gateway to the county from the south.”
Ognio echoed that sentiment, while Oddo thought it was not a problem since the county could make developers conform to whatever specific style it wanted.
After Oddo’s motion failed, Ognio suggested adopting the proposed changes with the exception of gas stations. Frisina responded that such a move can be accomplished by altering the land-use plan to eliminate one of the two limited-commercial zoning subcategories.
For now, however, those classifications — LC1 and LC2 — do not exist. County attorney Dennis Davenport advised the board that it was not necessary to even consider the other two agenda items since the first measure failed to pass.
In other business, two unrelated public hearings were on the board’s agenda during this meeting.
Ron Zappendorf requested a rezoning from C-H to M-1 for 2.45 acres on Hwy. 85 North for an auto repair, paint and body shop. Staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval with one condition.
Zappendorf told the board that his property is surrounded by M-1 zoning and would be coming in line with that. Brown expressed concerns about a possible precedent and about some of the surrounding land being a conservation area. He cast the lone dissenting vote for the request, which was approved.
A rezoning request from several applicants for 101 acres fronting on Dogwood Trail was denied unanimously. The request was for R-50 instead of the current A-R so that 68 residential lots could be developed.
The property had been the subject of a similar request last year for even more density and to be brought into Peachtree City. That request had been for 99 lots, according to the agent for the owners, two ladies who he said have owned the property for more than 50 years.
Several audience members spoke in opposition to the request, with one saying that changing from five acres per lot to about one acre per lot would alter the density dramatically and the infrastructure might not be there to support it. They requested that the board follow the recommendation of the Planning Commission, which was denial.
That is what Brown moved to do, and Ognio seconded. Brown said he would vote in favor of R-70 zoning in this case, but he has seen often in other counties where he has lived how one property after another is rezoned for higher density until the entire landscape is changed, leading to overcrowded schools and traffic that cannot be managed.
Rousseau agreed with that reasoning but also called for the county to clear up its land-use plan so that the board doesn’t have to keep hearing these requests over and over.
Ognio noted that the requested density is not in line with what is typically in the unincorporated county, and Oddo also said that R-70 would be a better fit in this situation.
