The Fayette

County Commission wants to keep the southern part of the county as rural

as possible.

That's the

message they sent last Thursday when it turned down a request by developer

Rod Wright to rezone 158 acres on Goza Road and Old Greenville Road to

a higher density.

Wright wanted

the zoning changed from A-R, which requires five-acre lots, to R-80 that

allows three acre lots.

The vote was

split, with commissioners Linda Wells and A.G. VanLandingham voting against

it, while commissioners Peter Pfeifer and Chairman Greg Dunn supported

the request. Since Commissioner Herb Frady was absent from the meeting,

the zoning failed because of the tie vote.

Wright told

the County Commission that he has developed five-acre tracts for years,

but wanted the higher density zoning because many people liked his developments,

but didn't want the hassle of dealing with such a big piece of property.

But many of

the residents in the area said they wanted the area to stay as rural as

possible.

Walter Ivy

told the board that traffic was already becoming a concern in the area,

and water quality was eroding because of the development in the area.

"We want

to maintain the rural atmosphere," said resident Tim Toms.

Wells agreed

with the residents.

"We have

to be careful to look at every piece of property because of the ripple

down affect. We have to protect the south end of the county," she

said.

Commissioner

Peter Pfeifer was in favor of the zoning because he said the county's

land use map called for residential development of between two to five

acre tracts, and this request was "right in the middle."

Wright did

not say whether he would pursue building five acre tracts, which is allowed

in the current zoning.