Carolyn

Ford's plans for expansion have run headlong into

Fayetteville's idea of what the Main Street

District should look like.

The

automobile dealer is hoping to build a large

addition at its present site on Ga. Highway 85

that would result in a considerable increase in

showroom space and parking, something its

management feels is necessary to compete in the

marketplace.

The

plan initially presented to the city, while not

much different from a typical auto dealer in

Union City or the Southlake area, is a far cry

from what the city wants along the highway

between Georgia Avenue and the Fayetteville

square since the creation of the Main Street

District.

The

development plan that was discussed last week by

the Planning and Zoning Commission calls for the

addition of four buildings totalling 26,325

square feet of space, including a new showroom,

parts department, customer service area and

vehicle service areas.

According

to city staff, the plan does not reflect the

architectural style necessary for the area, and

it includes corporate architecture, which is

prohibited in the Main Street District.

"Simply put, this building is a big box with

some columns stuck on the front of it because

people generally associate tall columns with old

architecture," according to a city staff

memo submitted to the Planning and Zoning

Commission. "In its current form, the

building is unacceptable for construction in the

Main Street District."

The

current Carolyn Ford facility was does not have

to meet Main Street District standards because it

was already in existence when those standards

were adopted.

Seven

items were listed in the new development plan as

in need of addressing, such as a redesign of the

buildings and elimination of corporate

architecture, as well as bringing the landscape

plan into compliance with highway corridor and

city landscaping requirements. None of these

issues were addressed before last week's meeting,

according the Planning and Zoning Commission

members, but Carolyn Ford representatives began

their presentation by emphasizing the need for

the city to grant their variance request before

any construction could proceed.

According

to its application, Carolyn Ford needs the

50-foot buffer and 30-foot setback along the

highway greatly reduced because of the shape of

the property, which is bordered in the rear by a

residential area with buffer and setback

requirements of its own. This makes the buildable

area too shallow, the applicant maintains.

"If

this were a non-developed site, a prospective

buyer could opt not to purchase if his or her

buildings could not comply with the

ordinance," said the application. "In

our case, the owner would be forced to either not

construct the job or purchase another location

that would comply. We consider this to be a great

hardship."

Project

engineer Brian Rainwater and Carolyn Ford general

manager Mike Pierce stressed these points again

at last week's meeting. Rainwater said that if

the variance could not be granted, then the

remaining issues are moot since the project

cannot be built.

Pierce

added that Carolyn Ford, which he said is the

largest business in the city, needs to be able to

go forward with this project to have enough

vehicle display space for economic success. If

the city does not allow it, he said, the dealer

might have to consider moving out of the area.

Commission

member Allan Feldman responded by saying that the

city should not consider the size of a business

when making this type of decision, but should

instead go "by the book" on its

ordinances. He added that he considered Pierce's

statement about possibly leaving Fayetteville

"a perceived threat" and said that if

Carolyn Ford decides to move, that would be the

company's choice.

"It's

a sea of asphalt right now. It's starting to look

like [Ga. Highway] 138 in Union City," said

Feldman, comparing it to what has become a

rapidly growing mecca for auto dealerships.

Pierce

told the commission that his company must answer

to corporate decision-makers at Ford on the

building's design and other considerations in

this plan. Commission member Segis "Al"

Lispcomb responded, "We have to answer to

the city of Fayetteville."

The

Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to

revisit the issue at next Tuesday's monthly

voting meeting. A tentative meeting between

project representatives and city staff is set for

today, Rainwater said.

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