To say several Fayetteville

City Council members are skeptical of the truck activity at Haverty's

Furniture on Ga. Highway 85 north would be an understatement.

After grilling Rawson Haverty

- a senior vice-president of the company - at its meeting Thursday,

the council decided to table consideration of an outdoor storage plan

for furniture delivery trucks. The company is appealing an action of the

city's planning and zoning commission, which voted down the plan.

Haverty's explanation

of how the company's trucks come and go upset several council members.

"Basically you're operating

a transfer facility on a retail business," said councilman Larry

Dell, who said he wanted the city attorney to look into the matter before

he voted on the issue.

Councilman Walt White said

he wanted to see what the store defines as its service area for deliveries.

While White said Haverty was helpful in answering questions, he also noted

Haverty's answers were "a little bit vague."

Haverty said the adding of

trees and landscaping to the rear and side of the building along with

a brick wall would screen the trucks from view of adjacent residents and

the Johnny Carino's restaurant, which is next door.

Haverty said trucks that come

in the evening contained deliveries for the entire area south of Atlanta,

and the only other store on the south side is at Southlake Mall. The furniture

is stored in those trucks overnight before they are taken to area homes

the next day, Haverty said.

Those trucks do not have beepers

as they back up, Haverty said, noting that the Fayetteville store "is

the most isolated store geographically."

The company's delivery

system allows the company to hire local drivers, Haverty noted.

Haverty also said recent noise

complaints from residents about garbage trucks beeping early in the morning

have been addressed with the garbage company. He also said while some

of the Haverty's drivers have left before the 7 a.m. restriction

the city has placed on local businesses, that has also been addressed

and wouldn't happen again.

But one resident also complained

at the meeting about the smell from the diesel trucks, especially since

some of the drivers leave them running all evening.

"I drove a truck for 44

years," said Harry Turpin, who lives on New Hope Road behind the

store. "... A truck puts out a bad breath."

The local store only has about

2,000 sq. ft. of storage space indoors, company officials said.

"We're concerned

in every case with being good neighbors," Haverty said, adding later

that the "level of trucking" at the store is small for a big-box

retailer.

Haverty confirmed when the

store first opened it did not offer deliveries like it does currently.

The vote to table the matter

was 3-2, with councilman Al Hovey King and Bill Talley against.

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