More retail is headed to Fischer Road

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The Coweta County Commission on June 28 approved the development agreement and amended conditions for establishing medical office and retail space on a portion of a 29-acre parcel at the Fischer Crossing retail development on Fischer Road and Ga. Highway 34 in east Coweta.

As presented and continued on June 14, the 28.96-acre parcel located on the southwest corner of Fischer Road and Hwy. 34, the former home of Rare Plants, is being proposed by SouthTree and Parkside Development to include 60,000 sq. ft. of medical office space and four, 10,000 sq. ft. retail buildings, all to be situated on approximately 10 acres along the north side of the property facing Hwy. 34.

There were no public comments on the amendment request at the June 28 meeting.

The commission approved the request with several conditions on a vote 4-0 vote. Commissioner Bob Blackburn recused himself due to affiliations in the area.

The proposal asked for the amendment to several of the conditions approved several years ago when the entire Fischer Crossing was approved as a Development of Regional Impact (DRI) by the Three Rivers Regional Commission and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA).

The proposal does not include the portion of the 29-acre property nearest to the traffic signal at Fischer Road and Hwy. 34. Staff added that there would be no access to the property from Lower Fayetteville Road.

County staff and county attorney Jerry Ann Conner previously answered questions from commissioners relating to aspects of the project such as potential signalization, cost allocation for future roadway improvements, the cost share and allocation for future roadway improvements and conditions of the DRI.

Project representative Chuck Ogletree in his comments on June 14 said the proposal is less intense than the original site development plan approved in 2006.

Ogletree said he is agreeable to paying his share of any future roadway improvements, but expressed reservations about an “open-ended” cost.

Ogletree said he was receptive to working with adjacent property owners to provide interconnectivity between parcels to help alleviate some of the traffic flow.

Commissioners continued the proposal until June 28 to give staff time to review the existing development agreement.