A Fayette County

man seeking permission to build a house for his daughter on his land was

turned away last week by the Board of Commissioners.

Ronald Fincher

needed a rezoning for 2.66 acres of his Davis Road property to develop

a single-family lot for his daughter Melissa Mann. The land is currently

agricultural-residential, as is nearly all of the surrounding property.

Mann addressed

the board, saying that her family has lived on the land for 25 years and

she would like to move back near her parents and raise her daughter there.

Several neighbors spoke in favor of the request as well.

Only one person,

also a neighbor, spoke in opposition, saying that the rezoning would "open

up the gates" for other development changes in the area.

Commissioners

Herb Frady moved to approve the request, and Vice Chairman Greg Dunn seconded

it for discussion purposes.

But Commissioner

Linda Wells said that the board would be in effect rezoning an island

because of the surrounding property, and she was not in favor of that.

In addition to affecting the community, the move could backfire because

the family may not live there forever, and it would set a bad precedent

for the area, she said.

Frady countered

that the land use plan calls for lots of two to five acres there, and

many lots of various sizes are in the area, so he doesn't see where this

would be a spot zoning decision. But he was alone in that sentiment, as

his motion was defeated 4-1.

Chairman Harold

Bost said that while some lots are grandfathered in, a lot of this size

in that area would indeed be spot zoning.

In an unrelated

request, the commissioners approved a larger lot for rezoning on Rivers

Road. Guillermo Devarona asked to change 5.38 acres from R-45 Conditional,

which allows one-acre lots, to R-70, which requires two-acre lots, to

develop a single-family residential lot, and it was approved unanimously.

County staff and planning commissioners had recommended approval, saying

that it was in compliance with the land use plan and compatible with the

surrounding area.

In other business:

* Bob Lee of

Blairsville requested rezoning from R-45 Conditional to R-70 for 18.83

acres on Rivers Road for a single-family residential subdivision. This

also was recommended as compatible with the surrounding area and in compliance

with the land use plan.

There was no

opposition to the request from the audience. During the commissioners'

discussion period, there was some discussion of flag lots on the property,

and Fire Chief Jack Krakeel was consulted on it as well. There was some

concern about flag lots as far as their accessibility for emergency vehicles.

Among the conditions

on the rezoning handed down by staff and planning commissioners, it was

stipulated that property owners of proposed flag lots provide adequate

address identification, provide driveways a minimum of 14 feet in width,

and properly maintain the driveways so there is no difficulty getting

in and out during an emergency. This would ensure that vehicles such as

large fire tanker trucks can efficiently locate and gain quick access

to properties when needed.

Dunn move to

approve the rezoning with conditions, Bost seconded, and it passed 4-1

with Wells opposed.

* Dan Stinchcomb

requested rezoning from A-R to R-50 (one-acre lots) for a single-family

residential subdivision on 153 acres fronting on Lester Road and Old Norton

Road. The Planning Commission recommended approved of R-72 zoning subject

to a number of conditions.

The property

abuts the city limits of Fayetteville, where a representative of the applicant

said 56 lots are currently under development in the city on one-third

to one-half acre each.

Andrea Jones

of the Dillard and Galloway law firm spoke on behalf of the applicant,

saying that surrounding high-density tracts make this request a proper

one. She also pointed out a recent state Supreme Court decision in favor

of a local developer against Henry County to illustrate what she called

"constitutional issues" concerning her client's right to develop

the property.

That did not

sway the commissioners, however, as a motion was made to deny the request

and it passed unanimously.

* The county

is ready to begin construction of four fire stations, after approval of

a contract bid for nearly $2.6 million.

Six firms submitted

qualified bids for construction of stations 1, 5, 7 and 10. The low bid

from Holley Construction Company was accepted.

These projects

are slated to replace existing fire stations built years ago when the

department was comprised solely of volunteers. Now that full-time firefighters

man the stations around the clock, space has become tight and improvements

are necessary, according to county officials.

Station 1 is

expected to be completed by June 1 of next year, and all four should be

completed by the end of 2002.