My parents, an 82 years old couple who have been citizens and taxpayers in the city of Fayetteville since 1979, were recently surprised when big trucks with heavy equipment pulled up next door to start construction.
The City of Fayetteville apparently thought it was a good idea to approve 63 new cottage homes to be built by clearing 11 acres of land between my parents’ home and the Montessori school on Ga. Highway 54 East. The 11-acre property had been vacant for nearly 20 years. Very peaceful and quiet place to live, considering they are inside the city limits.
There had been a for sale sign on the property for at least 10 years. No “sold” sign was ever placed on the property, no public notice was ever posted on the property. None ever approached my parents about the project. It was a complete surprise to my parents.
Now with the construction going on from 7 a.m.-7 p.m., there is no peace and no quiet.
Heavy equipment , within just a few feet of their home, makes the whole house shake. There is a big mess of dirt and dust all over our house, and cars. The dust and smell are coming into our home. The smell is horrible, it smells like sewage. They have blocked our driveway several times and I had to ask them to move.
They have cut power to our storage building. They have an armed security guard who positions himself directly access from our living room all weekend 24/7. I am sure with a pair of binoculars he can see right into our home, taking away our sense of privacy.
I called code enforcement to check if there are any limits on noise from residential construction. I had to leave a voicemail with them. They never returned my call.
I called David Rast, Community and Economic Development Directory for the city of Fayetteville. I left him a voicemail, he did not call me back. Instead he texted me to say that the smell is a normal part of construction.
I find that an unacceptable answer. My parents should not have to suffer anything at the hands of this construction company and the poor planning on the city’s part.
Is the smell safe? Will it negatively affect the health of my parents? My dad suffers from Alzheimer’s and dementia. Will it negatively affect the children attending the school?
So now there is no sense of privacy. No quiet enjoyment, no use of our yard. Just a big loud mess with an armed guard.
The city of Fayetteville and the city officials have shown just how little they care about the long-term citizens of this city. Money is more important to them.
Cathy S. Morris
Fayetteville, Ga.
Small consolation but these cheap builders these days will have them stuck up on no time
When Mr. Rast was in PTC I found him to be a good communicator. Try to make an appointment to meet with him and maybe you can find out more about the process that let up to construction.
Unfortunately, home building is a noisy messy business…as hundreds of homeowners endured it for years on McDuff Pkwy in PTC.