The Fayetteville City Council

voted Monday night to table a special exception request for a proposed

Big 10 Tires location on the west side of town, saying that a possible

legal challenge necessitates consultation with the city attorney before

making a ruling.

The request for a special exception to operate an automotive repair facility

in a C-3 zoning was recommended for denial by the Planning and Zoning

Commission last month.

The site in question is at the corner of Ga. Highway 54 and LeMans Drive.

Adjoining properties, zoned C-3 as this site is, include a Waffle House,

a convenience store and office complexes.

City staff recommended denial based on the proposed use's incompatibility

with the city's future land use plan.

The petitioners have maintained that the facility should be considered

mainly a tire retail outlet that also makes tire installation available,

but city officials are not buying that.

Nothing new was said about that Monday night, after two appearances before

the Planning and Zoning Commission and one visit to last week's City Council

workshop. Attorney George Rosenzweig, while going over the city's ordinance,

said that the request is proper for the zoning and other conditions on

the site and in the area, as he had said before.

A representative of Big 10 Tires was present, and in response to questions

from council, he said that the store would be company-owned, as all Big

10 stores in Georgia are. He said the 5,580-sq. ft. building would contain

about 1,000 square feet of showroom and waiting room space, with 1,500

square feet of storage space for

tires and the rest consisting of bays for tire installation.

Also included in the record was a letter from Rosenzweig's firm to the

city that stated the P&Z ruling was improper on constitutional grounds

and according to the standards of the zoning ordinance. That, combined

with the presence of a court reporter at Monday night's meeting, raised

the possibility of litigation in the minds of some council members.

The issue is expected to be revisited at the Oct. 2 council meeting.