On Wednesday evening, Nov. 15, I attended a Town Hall meeting with the Fayetteville mayor and City Council to discuss concerns that Fayette residents have with the high density housing project proposed by Bob Rolader and Sheffield Fayette Ventures.
This project, in its amended forms, seeks to develop 233 cluster homes on 62 acres just between the Fayetteville Ingles and the Royal Ridge subdivision. The current plan calls for home density to be developed at six homes per acre.
There is fierce opposition to this development from the area residents on several fronts, one of which is traffic. The traffic infrastructure moving people from south Fayette north through the town center is already inadequate to handle commuter traffic at multiple times during the day. This project adds an additional 450-500 cars to the daily commute (since most of the target residents are projected to work north of Fayetteville) without addressing the needed infrastructure improvements or capacity issues.
These issues (as well as concerns about crime and law enforcement, effects on school zoning, the aesthetics of 62 acres of cluster homes and loss of the “rural feel” that has distinguished south Fayette from the north side) were raised at the meeting. Most of us left there, however, convinced that the issues were not taken seriously by the officials.
Several local residents left feeling that they had been “scolded” for disagreeing with the developers. The mayor has made clear that he is in favor of the development. To paraphrase, the city believes that if we have a higher density of population, we can attract bigger national retail to downtown Fayette.
While this works for the tax base of the city, it is not what the local population desires. We have seen the crowding, congestion and crime that arrived with the Fayette Pavilion. We have seen the dense housing that has been developed in surrounding counties and its effect on the lifestyles and the property values of those who built under less dense zoning.
Speaking as a south Fayette resident of over 30 years, the attraction of our area is the less dense, rural atmosphere that we have been able to preserve all these years through responsible, planned development.
As development continues on the north, east and west sides of Fayetteville at unprecedented pace and density, the south has remained an attraction to people moving from other areas, both in Georgia and from out of state (which was evidenced last night).
The people of Fayette need to know that the developer and, it would seem, the city are pushing to expand the city limits south and install a 62-acre sea of roof tops on what is currently green space and forest around Perry Creek.
The city needs to know that the voices of the people of Fayette County should not be ignored. City officials were elected to represent the people and not just the land developers. However attractive the individual homes may be, the proposed density will result in a traffic nightmare for both new residents and old. I am sure it will be profitable for the developer and for the city coffers but the ultimate cost will be borne by the citizens of Fayette.
There are two more meetings to discuss and vote on this development as the developer needs the city to annex part of the property from the county and to change the zoning to high density housing from its existing zoning. I encourage all residents to be present for those city council meetings on Dec. 1 and Dec. 15.
Make the politicians hear you. If you don’t, you will have plenty of time to contemplate your mistake, sitting in traffic trying to get through downtown.
Lauren Pritchett
Fayetteville, Ga.
