It

may be back to the drawing board or the legal

briefs for developer John Callaway in Tyrone.

Last

week's rebuff by the Tyrone Planning Commission

sent the message again that the town does not

want a large commercial development within its

borders.

Town

leaders had initially denied Callaway's request

to change the land use map for a 53-acre tract at

the intersection of Ga. Highway 74 and Tyrone

Road to reflect commercial activity as the

preferred future use instead of the current

residential-conservation category.

Callaway

had said the site would be ideal to create a

village-type development that would set new

standards for development in the area.

Included

in the development would be a 51,000-sq. ft.

grocery store, along with smaller shops such as

ice cream stores and cafes that would be built

along a heavily landscaped street to give the

impression of a typical village or small town.

There

would be five outparcels on the Hwy. 74 side of

the development that could possibly be used for

fast food restaurants or other small businesses,

but Callaway promised that he would listen to the

types of tenants the town wanted.

After

the town turned down his request earlier this

spring, the Town Council asked the Planning

Commission to see whether another land use

category might be suitable for the property.

While the Planning Commission has been looking at

the situation, Callaway filed suit against the

town, claiming the zoning category is not

correct.

Town

leaders have kept mum about the project until

last Thursday night when the commission

recommended keeping the land as residential

property after getting direction from Town

Attorney Brad Sears.

The

item appeared on the agenda as it previously had

when the Town Council had rejected it.

Planning

Commissioner Mary Ann Koerber said she was

confused, because she thought they were supposed

to be discussing other land map categories for

the property.

Sears

said Koerber was correct and said the commission

could recommend leaving the property as it is or

changing parts of the property to different

categories, such as office on the northern part

of the property.

Attorney

George Rosenzweig, who represented Callaway, said

his client still thought commercial was the best

use for the property.

"The

die was cast for development along 74 when it was

four-laned," he said.

Town

Manager Barry Amos disagreed with the attorney

and said that there is already residential

development in the town next to the busy state

highway.

The

commission agreed and voted to keep the property

as conservation-residential, which requires a

three-acre minimum lot size.

After

the unanimous vote, the commission then rejected

Callaway's second proposal to build a strip

shopping center on property across the street

from his original proposal.

Commissioner

Lee Wright, who was the lone supporter of

Callaway's initial proposal for a village square

development, said he couldn't support this one.

"I'm

very disappointed. There's no green space like

the first one," he said.

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