The Fayette

County Commission sent a strong message Thuesday to developers of smaller

lots.

vote, the County Commission denied a request by Frank Flanders to rezone

10.19 acres on Coastline road from R-70 (two-acre minimum) to R-45, (one-acre

minimum).

The public

hearing on the property started out in a strange way. Flanders' agent,

David Hovey, asked the County Commission to table the matter, since Flanders

was out of town.

But the county

tabled it last month, and told Hovey it would be unfair to table it again

when there were people in the audience who had showed up to discuss the

rezoning.

So Hovey presented

Flanders' case and said nine homesites were planned for the tract.

Hovey said

when the original tract was zoned R-45, Flanders was asked to leave this

parcel out of the rezoning request because the county was in the process

of acquiring right of way for Coastline Road.

Now, Hovey

said, Flanders is ready to develop the land. If the county approved the

rezoning, Flanders would have 74 homes in the Ellen Ridge subdivision,

which would be six lower than the county originally approved for the site.

The only resident

who spoke on the issue was a familar face to many in the crowd. County

solicitor Steve Harris said he lived about a half-mile from the site and

did not want to see smaller lots.

"This

section is zoned two acres and sits over an area that is the headlands

of Whitewater Creek. He can still build four homes. Where do we stop?"

he said.

The commissioners

agreed with Harris.

Commissioner

Linda Wells said more homes would bring more pressure to the school system

and was afraid of the precedent the zoning would set.

"I think

the domino effect would begin," she said.

Commission

chairman Greg Dunn said he agreed with Wells and said Flanders had an

additional 150-200 acres near the site of this rezoning that could be

asked to be rezoned if this property was allowed to have smaller lots.