Immediately after a lengthy discussion July 28 about whether to consider a zoning moratorium (see related story in this edition), the Fayette County Board of Commissioners rejected two residential rezoning requests totaling 251 acres in the middle of the county between Peachtree City and Fayetteville.
The first was a request for a PUD (planned unit development) zoning of almost 213 acres for a 91-lot subdivision on Ebenezer Church Road and the unpaved Davis Road. The Planning Commission had approved a less dense zoning of R-80, 3-acre minimum lot size (albeit by a 3-2 vote), while county staff recommended what was requested.
An attorney representing the applicant said the property has been in play for 11 years and two previous rezoning requests were denied. She said the request is consistent with the land use plan as it is now and is also consistent with surrounding property.
Retired Army Col. Jack F. Smith, representing some of those in opposition to the request, said that 70 of the proposed lots violate the land use plan by being less than two acres. Other speakers talked about traffic and safety, with one mentioning the possible impact on the school system.
The subdivision as presented contained mostly one-acre lots with a few larger lots, devised so as to make the average lot size slightly over two acres.
Commissioner Steve Brown, when making a motion to deny the request, said one of the speakers made the case for the zoning moratorium he had championed earlier in the meeting.
Citing the unpaved Davis Road bearing an unplanned-for brunt of traffic from many dozens of new homes, Brown said, “We have called out previous boards for not taking care of infrastructure. I am not about to take the rap for not taking of future road and stormwater infrastructure. If we pass this, we are putting future boards in the exact same spot we have complained about being in,” said Brown, who made the case once again for the moratorium.
“We are not responsible for developers’ profits. We are responsible for our citizens’ safety, transportation infrastructure and ensuring you can get where you need to go safely.”
Commissioner Charles Rousseau urged those who came out to oppose this particular request to do the same at other times, especially if the moratorium discussion comes to pass.
“Don’t just show up when it affects your neighborhood,” he said. “This decision, and just about every decision we make, is about the effect on the entire county.”
Chairman Charles Oddo said he was not in favor of the request as is but would have supported R-80 zoning. Brown’s motion to deny passed 4-1, with Oddo voting against.
Another request was to rezone nearly 39 acres from A-R to R-70 for a 17-lot subdivision in the same area. That proposal was also resisted by some in the audience who supported keeping the A-R zoning in that area and its rural atmosphere.
Oddo moved to approve the R-70 zoning request, saying that it was within what the county allows now for that area. There was some discussion about the lack of a second entrance to the site, but county Manager Steve Rapson said staff only considers that if there are more than 75 lots.
“Staff follows the guidelines that the board establishes,” said Rapson. “We can’t really go beyond that on our own.”
Oddo’s motion had Rousseau’s support but no one else’s and it failed by a 3-2 vote.
In other business, the board approved three separate agenda items pertaining to the proposed Starr’s Mill Historic Overlay District and Overlay Zone. The first regarding proposed amendments to the county’s zoning ordinance, and in his motion Brown stipulated that formal correspondence be sent to the Georgia Department of Transportation regarding placement of property markers along the highway. That motion was approved unanimously, as was the second item which addressed the proposed color and brick palette for the district.
A resolution amending the comprehensive plan was proposed allowing only a limited-commercial district that does not permit convenience commercial establishments and gasoline sales. That passed 4-1, with Oddo saying he felt gas stations would be appropriate at this location.
A notice of possible annexation into Fayetteville, and subsequent rezoning from A-R to C-2, was presented to the commissioners and they voted not to object to it. Staff had reviewed the application and found no ground for land use objection.
