The proposed southside master

plan for Fayetteville is back at the drawing board, and a whole new team

of artists is elbowing its way to the canvas.

After tabling an annexation

and rezoning request until December, the City Council has directed staff

to create a special task force made up of local residents, developers

and city officials to study the matter.

Urban Collage, an Atlanta consulting

firm, has been conducting interviews with various members of the task

force in preparation for the first meeting, set for next Wednesday, Oct.

16, at 5 p.m. at the Depot.

Recent actions leading up to

the formation of the task force have been motivated in no small part by

the enthusiastic participation of residents on the southern tip of Fayetteville,

many of whom came out in strong opposition to the proposed master plan

in fear that it would create a "Pavilion South," a mega-retail

complex similar to the Fayette Pavilion on the city's north side, only

this one would be at their back door.

The creators of the master

plan have proposed a multiuse development comprising as much as almost

400 acres, depending upon how many of the property owners are involved

at any given time. In addition to various retail, office and residential

components, the long-term plan called for designated open space and the

eventual extension of the Ga. Highway 92 connector from Jimmie Mayfield

Boulevard to Jeff Davis Drive, a move the developers said would greatly

reduce traffic through the Fayetteville square by allowing Jeff Davis

area residents better access to Fayetteville Towne Center and other retail

destinations.

An important portion of the

overall site is a tract of about 53 acres just off the northeast corner

of hwys. 85 and 92, behind GTO's and Walgreen's. That land is in unincorporated

Fayette County, although it is nearly an island surrounded by city property.

Developers have proposed putting a shopping center, anchored by a Publix

supermarket, and other office and residential uses on that site.

That proposal got many local

residents, specifically in the Kingswood and Chanticleer subdivisions

just outside the city limits on Hwy 92, on full alert. Charging that the

retail components of the master plan would lead to major traffic problems

and increased crime, among other problems, many of these residents let

their opposition to the plan be known at several City Council meetings.

The council voted last month to table the annexation and rezoning request

until Dec. 5.

Another tract of concern to

local residents is adjacent to Kingswood, on the south side of the Hwy.

92 connector. That land is currently zoned for townhomes, but proponents

of the southside master plan petitioned the city for rezoning to commercial.

A tract on the east side of Jimmie Mayfield, next to the path of the proposed

road extension, is also part of a commercial rezoning request.

The task force is an unusually

large group, consisting of members of a number of families with interests

in the land included in the master plan. Also involved are members of

the City Council and city staff, along with representatives of the Kingswood,

Chanticleer, Highland Park, Lakemont, Woodgate and Wyngate subdivisions.

The driving force behind the

proposed master plan, at least at the council meetings, has been a three-man

team consisting of local developer Bob Rolader, whose family is one of

the land owners, along with Kent Rose and Rich Dippilito of Concordia

Properties. All three are on the task force.

Rolader would not comment on

the upcoming proceedings and where they might lead. "I have no idea

where this is going," he said. Efforts to reach Rose and Dippolito

for comment were unsuccessful.

Mayor Kenneth Steele and Councilman

Bill Talley have been designated to represent the City Council on the

task force, and Talley is impressed by the way the group has taken shape.

"I'm very glad the community

is getting involved," he said. "Sometimes these kinds of things

can take a life of their own."

Talley said that he has gotten

a lot of positive feedback from Kingswood residents and others with regard

to the formation of the task force. He also believes that the consultants

will provide a great deal of help by showing all of the participants what

alternatives are available.

Since the master plan was first

proposed more than a year ago, some city officials have suggested that

having the entire area under a single plan would allow the city to better

control the level of development. That philosophy could figure into the

council's eventual decision whether to annex the unincorporated portion

of the plan, although Talley stressed that the need for annexation has

not yet been established.

"I think the city's development

standards are a little higher and tougher than the county's," said

Talley. "We could have a little more control [if annexed]. But I'm

not looking to expand the city. We've got plenty to say grace over right

now."

Some residents think that the

city has plenty to handle right now and should reject what they believe

is "gross overdevelopment." That phrase was at the top of a

flier circulated throughout the various neighborhoods and a key topic

of discussion at a residents' meeting last week at the library.

The first line of the flier

read, "South Fayetteville Pavilion coming?" Concerns about declining

property values, the lack of state action in widening the highways south

of Fayetteville, possible septic problems stemming from new development,

more density and further school crowding, noise, crime all of these topics

were mentioned as possible results of the proposed "Pavilion South"

plan, as some residents are calling it.

"There's a lot of emotion

involved," said task force member Gina Mosley, a Wyngate resident

who attended the library meeting. "Whenever there's change, there's

a lot of reluctance."

But Mosley added that she is

encouraged by the "tremendous" amount of citizen involvement

this issue has generated, and she is pleased with the City Council's current

approach. Residents are concerned about a traffic situation that is already

a problem on Hwy. 92, and the new jail/courthouse complex opening soon

is a concern as well, although no one is sure how it will affect the area.

But she thinks everyone can

work together and find a solution all can live with. "Not everybody

will be happy," she said. "There will have to be some compromi se

involved. All of the stakeholders should be open to that."

Steele sees the process simply

as a way to "come up with something better" than what is there

now. Most of the city zoning has been in place since the 1980s, and realignment

of the highways on the south side of town have impacted the zoning somewhat,

he said.

"There are no easy answers,"

said Steele. "It's going to take an open mind. But it's worth the

effort."

As for the unincorporated tract,

Steele said the current county zoning (A-R, or agricultural-residential)

is probably not appropriate, given what surrounds the property. But he

feels no compulsion to annex it, and determining that is part of the task

force process.

Steele is very encouraged by

the participation of the residents, and how they have already shown a

desire to learn as much as they can from city staff and other experts

about what is going on. He welcomes constructive ideas and possible solutions

from all comers.

As Talley pointed out, there

is plenty of work to be done, and a decision is far from being made.

"I am in no way, shape,

or form committed one way or the other," he said. "Let's see

how it turns out."

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