Ga.

Highway 85 is simply too congested to withstand

the additional traffic that would come from The

Village, a proposed mixed use development in the

heart of Fayetteville, according to the city

Planning Commission.

The

group last week voted unanimously, with one

abstention, to recommend that City Council throw

away a year of planning and deny Argonne

Properties' request for planned community

development zoning to allow the 110-acre

development. The City Council Monday voted to

begin its discussions of the plan again in April,

with first reading April 3 and action expected

April 17.

Discussions

also will be conducted at work sessions March 29

and April 12.

Council

is expected to vote on the rezoning request April

3 after discussing it again at a Wednesday, March

29 work session.

"Great

project, wrong place," said Planning

Commission member Allan Feldman as the group

discussed the project last week.

Using

a plan drawn last spring by a city-paid

consultant, the company proposes to build 203

homes, plus 117,900 square feet of offices, a

neighborhood shopping area, a hotel and several

parks. The retail portion would include a

150-child day care facility, 25,100 square feet

of restaurants, 135,400 square feet of

neighborhood shopping and a 5,400-sq. ft. bank.

Some

city leaders have touted the plan as a way to

give the city's downtown revitalization efforts a

shot in the arm. "The survival of downtown

Fayetteville is to bring people to live in

downtown Fayetteville," said commission

Chairman Myron Coxe, who can vote only in case of

a tie.

The

plan, said developer Bob Rolader, is designed to

create an environment where people can live, work

and shop without having to drive anywhere, or

short distances at worst.

variety of home sizes and styles are included,

with tree-lined streets and garages facing onto

back alleys, all aimed at encouraging walking,

according to its designers, Atlanta-based

architects Cooper Carry. Upwardly mobile

professionals could live in the homes and have

their offices in the complex on-site, proponents

say.

But

no one is promising that there won't be

additional traffic.

At

the insistence of the Planning Commission in

previous meetings, Rolader brought a traffic

study to last week's meeting, prepared by

transportation consultant Martin Bretherton. The

study predicted that cars would enter and exit

buildings in the development 624 times during

peak morning drive times, and 1,672 times during

evening peak times. Total daily trips in and out

of locations in The Village would be 16,761, the

study predicts, averaging about 700 per hour.

But

many of those trips would be internal, said

Bretherton. After adjusting for internal trips,

the development would generate 9,368 new trips

per day in the city, the study said, divided

between Ga. highways 54 and 85 as well as Tiger

Trail and Hood Avenue.

That's

too much, said Planning Commission member Segis

"Al" Lipscomb. "I've got real

concerns," said Lipscomb, adding that

traffic on 85 already is at levels that a 1993

study projected for 2010.

Commission

member Feldman said city leaders have hoped for

years to see a bypass built around Fayetteville,

but it hasn't happened.

Walter

Rekuc of Eagle Real Estate Advisors, working with

the developers, pointed out that the city charges

impact fees to developers for road improvements.

"The purpose of the impact fee is to take

that money and spend it at the sites that may

have an impact," he said.

He

also cautioned the city that putting in a bypass

may not be the best solution to traffic problems.

"A lot of cities asked for these bypasses

and ended up a dry gulch after the project was

done," he said.

Lipscomb

said her problem is with the existing traffic on

Hwy. 85. Commissioners said Hwy. 54 is not nearly

as much of a problem.

She

made her motion to recommend denial "based

solely on the existing traffic."

Commission

member Sarah Murphy abstained, saying The Village

has been under discussion for a year and she only

joined the commission last week.

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