Developers

looking to turn the southern edge of Fayetteville into a single master-planned

community during the next decade or so have begun talking with the City

Council, and the results so far are positive, although the plans are very

preliminary and no official requests have been made to the city yet.

Without getting

too specific on the merits of the actual plan being presented right now,

council members agreed after discussions at last Wednesday's council workshop

that having the approximately 500 acres in question under a single plan

of some kind is definitely the route they want the city to take.

The property

being assembled for this project lies east of Ga. Highway 85 and on both

sides of Ga. Highway 92 south, surrounding such current landmarks as the

Ingles shopping center. The development would eventually stretch to South

Jeff Davis Drive, with a connector road being built from the current Hwy.

92/Jimmie Mayfield three-way intersection.

Reiterating

his comments to the Planning and Zoning Commission in March, developer

Bob Rolader pointed out to the council that the new road would help ease

traffic generated when residents as far south as the River's Edge community

have to come to the Courthouse Square before turning south toward the

Kroger retail center on the south end of town. He added that the road

would be built by developers and not cost the city anything.

Some annexation

would be required for the current master plan to come to fruition. One

parcel on the front burner is known as the Simpson property, a 50-acre

tract now in the county that is essentially an island, surrounded by city

property on all sides. It lies just east of Hwy. 85 behind a handful of

commercial parcels just north of Hwy. 92.

Developers

at Wednesday's meeting suggested that the Simpson property might be the

first tract developed once the project gets underway in whatever form

it ultimately takes. Rolader said development would likely begin near

Hwy. 85 and go east.

Rolader stressed

that he and his associates are well aware of the time this type of project

would take to be completed, saying that his family has owned some of this

property for 30 years and is prepared to wait a while longer. "You're

probably looking at a 15-year buildout here," he said.

The plan that

has been drawn up for these early discussions includes a variety of land

uses, with commercial, retail, single-family residential and town home

construction sprinkled throughout.

Mayor Ken Steele

commented that the master plan could actually decrease the amount of actual

commercial development from what the current zonings allow, which he feels

is a bit too much.

"I also

like this [the idea of a master plan] because it gives you some standards,"

he said.

Talks are underway

for a property owner to be added to the mix. Ted Meeks, who had requested

rezoning from C-3 to M-1 for his land behind Ingles, had his request tabled

would be receptive to the possibility of being included in the master

plan.

As for any

portion of the master plan itself, no official rezoning or annexation

requests have been made so far. Rolader said he felt showing city officials

an overview of his plans beforehand and inviting feedback in the earliest

stages would be more productive.

After two such

sessions, with the Planning and Zoning Commission as well as the City

Council, the response has been positive on all sides, and the developers

are continuing to work with city staff to mold the plan in greater detail.

This issue

will not be discussed at tomorrow night's regular council meeting, according

to City Manager Joe Morton, and any further talks with council are probably

a few months away.

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