Four

homes are the sticking point as the Odom family

and the Fayetteville City Council struggle to

hammer out an agreement on the family's plan for

54 homes on 20 acres just south of downtown.

On

the brink of denying zoning for the plan, council

last week decided instead to table the matter and

take one more run at working out an agreement.

Council

members said they like the plans for Apple

Orchard, a "neotraditional"

neighborhood offered by Charles and Mary Alice

Odom on the southeast corner of Grady Avenue and

Beauregard Boulevard, but 50 homes is the most

they'll approve.

The

city's planning staff also is pushing for a

requirement that the Odoms include two entrances,

but council members seem less concerned about

that.

"I

don't have a heartburn about the second

street," said Councilman Kenneth Steele in

discussing the rezoning request last week, but i

do have concerns with the density we stated we

were looking for a month or so ago. Fifty lots is

what we asked for and I'm afraid that's what I'm

going to have to stick to."

Dan

Odom, son of the applicants, said the family has

made numerous changes in the plan in response to

comments from staff and council, but they need 54

lots to make the subdivision work.

"Four

homes would have a very minimal effect on the

city," said Odom, "but it would have a

major impact on this plan. If y'all really want

this to be the subdivision that we've all agreed

would be an asset to the community, the 54 lots

is really as far down as we can go," he

added.

The

Odoms approached the city several months ago with

plans for 100 empty-nester homes to be built by

Bob Adams Homes, well known for quality senior

neighborhoods. But council balked at the density,

and the family withdrew its request and promised

to come back with a more acceptable plan.

This

time, Odom said he hopes to acquire the services

of well-respected builder Bob Dixon to offer an

urban styled development with garages hidden from

the street (facing alleys behind the houses),

sidewalks, small lots and a variety of exterior

styles. But, he said, Dixon's doesn't come cheap,

and the family needs more homes to make enough

profit to make the project worthwhile.

Under

its current zoning, the property could have about

30 homes, but Odom said he would have to do away

with a planned 3.5-acre park at the center of the

neighborhood, and the homes probably would be of

lower quality.

Neighbors

of the proposed development have mixed views.

"The quality of [Dixon's] homes is really

outstanding," said neighbor Joyce Lester,

who visited a Dixon subdivision in Coweta County.

"I personally will be absolutely sick if you

allow this development to [be lost]."

Lester's

husband, Bob, added, "This is exactly what

we want to see in the neighborhood. "To be

picking over four lots for a development that

could really enhance the city is beyond me."

But

Carl Davis of the Lakemont Homeowners Association

said residents of his neighborhood are concerned

about the additional traffic from such a high

density development.

The

Odoms will present their plan again at a work

session tonight and council meeting Monday, but

council members said unless the family can bend

on the number of lots, they will vote to deny the

zoning.

If

the plan is approved, homes will be an average of

2,100 square feet and prices will start at

$170,000.

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