The task force created by the

Fayetteville city officials to study the southside and its potential development

will meet next week for the third, and possibly last, time.

After a proposal for a large

mixed-use development east of Ga. Highway 85 and bordering on Ga. Highway

92 met with a great deal of opposition from residents in the area, the

City Council decided to put together a group to study the area and see

what was in everyone's best interests.

About 25-30 people were identified

as stakeholders and interviewed by a consulting firm prior to the task

force's first meeting. This allowed everyone to know what the issues were

before the meeting, according to City Manager Joe Morton.

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 first meeting was

mostly educational what's there now, what can be developed," he said.

"Then, it was on to the issues."

Some of the primary concerns

of area residents have been regarding the transition areas from commercial

to residential property, the overall amount of commercial property, the

types of residential land uses, the amount of open space, and traffic

and transportation issues.

Additionally, some environmental

issues came out of the first meeting, Morton said, such as stormwater

management and water-sewer capacity. Protecting Perry Creek, the main

creek running through the site, is being looked at, he said.

Potential impact on the county's

school has been a major concern of some residents, but the school system

has said that it shouldn't be. The school system already has plans for

a future elementary school somewhere between the southside of Fayetteville

and Sara Harp Minter Elementary, which just opened this fall about five

miles south of town, Morton said, although the exact location of that

school has yet to be determined.

At the second meeting, the

consultants presented the task force with three concepts for the southside.

One of those was eliminated by everyone, Morton said, but the other two

have various features that appeal to different people, and the main task

now is to incorporate the best ideas from each plan into something that

works for everyone.

"We're really pleased

with the interactive process," said Morton. "Some good ideas

have come out of it."

While not committing to any

particular plan, city officials have maintained throughout the process

that they believe the area in question would be better served if developed

in the city under a single master plan rather than under current zonings

and with some land in unincorporated Fayette County.

The creators of the previous

southside master plan 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.

Many of the residents who opposed

this plan feared 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.

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