The latest annexation request

for the Deer Pointe development west of Fayetteville is no more.

City Manager Joe Morton confirmed Friday morning that developer Bob Rolader,

who does not own the property, had faxed a letter Thursday to City Hall

requesting his petition be "withdrawn without prejudice."

The 873-acre property on Ga. Highway 54 at Lester and Huiet roads continues

to be mired in controversy, as a federal lawsuit against the former owners

of the site leaves its future ownership in question. Current land owner

Dan Stinchcomb has been accused of conspiring with Amir Virani of Signa

Investments Inc. to buy the land from Virani in a 1999 "fire sale"

to avoid having the land seized to satisfy an $18.9 million civil judgment

from a previous suit, according to court records.

Morton said he spoke with Rolader Wednesday after requesting an update

on the legal proceedings and how long they might take. Rolader, who said

he only found out about the lawsuit a couple of weeks ago, agreed that

it might be best to take the current request off the City Council's agenda

for the time being, Morton said.

Rolader can resubmit his request after the litigation is settled.

He paid $18,000 in application fees, and if he submits the request again

within a specified time frame, the city will likely not require him to

pay those fees again, Morton said. The time frame under which that would

apply has not yet been determined.

This is the third anneaxation request concerning this property since 1987.