Wednesday, July 25, 2001
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Wednesday, July 25, 2001 |
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New Hope Road rezoning to get scrutiny By DAVE
HAMRICK
Developer Mukut Gupta will try to convince county commissioners Thursday night that his 40.5 acres on Old Senoia Road at Harp Road should have more homes than the current zoning allows. The County Planning Commission is unanimous in recommending approval of rezoning that would allow 18 homes on the property, just off Ga. Highway 85. Gupta is requesting a change from A-R (agricultural-residential) zoning, which requires minimum five-acre lots, to R-72, which allows lots as small as two acres. The group also recommended approval of Gupta's request for R-40 zoning, which allows one-acre lots, eight months ago. But the county Board of Commissioners denied that request. At that time, the county's zoning staff recommended R-72 zoning for the land instead of the R-40 requested, but this time, the staff has recommended denial of the request, leaving the land to be developed in five-acre lots. "In my mind," said planning commissioner Jim Graw, "this is a better proposal than the one we had at that time." But Terry Durant, who lives next door, held up a jug filled with brown water and said she drew the water from her tap just before driving to the Planning Commission meeting. The area is served by wells. "It will not help to add all these families and all their waste to the water table," said Durant. Gupta said if the subdivision is approved, he'll bring county water to the neighborhood and residents in the area can tap on. But Durant said that's no solution. It would cost too much to tap on, she said, and she would never be able to afford to use county water to sprinkle her lawn and garden. She's content to keep buying her drinking water, but she doesn't want the water table further polluted, she said. Durant was one of four residents who spoke in opposition to the rezoning, citing traffic concerns and the fact that most of the homes surrounding the proposed subdivision are on lots of five acres or more. But some of those lots are zoned for one-acre lots, Gupta argued. "The criterion, in my opinion, has to be what is zoned and not what is there," he said. Commission member Al Gilbert said the plan is in keeping with the county's land use plan for the area, and admonished home buyers to look at the land use plan before buying in an area. The County Commission originally was scheduled to hear the proposal April 26, but delayed action at Gupta's request to give time for a new commissioner to be elected, so his request would be heard by a full board. Commissioners also will hear Sarah Banister's controversial request to allow two-acre home sites on her 42.3 acres on New Hope Road. When Banister asked the County Commission to approve one-acre subdivision zoning for the property, near Kite Lake Road, last December, the Planning Commission recommended two-acre zoning instead. But county commissioners denied the zoning request outright. Now Banister is back, asking for two-acre zoning, and the Planning Commission has recommended approval. The land is surrounded by properties zoned A-R, which requires a minimum of five acres per home, and neighbor Charley Regan said he would just as soon the Banister property stays A-R as well. "I moved from a subdivision in order to take advantage of a rural area," he said, adding he has lived on New Hope since 1965. "I would like to see it remain agricultural." Billy Brundage, agent for Banister, said the R-75 zoning being requested is in keeping with the county's land use plan. Both requests will go to the county Board of Commissioners for a final decision Thursday at 7 p.m. at the County Administrative Complex. Commissioners also will consider a request from Aston Peart to change the zoning of a portion of the Fayette Youth Protection Home's land to allow for a day care center. If the request is approved by county commissioners, Peart plans to buy the 5.1 acres and build a commercial day care center on it. The zoning granted to the Youth Protection Home in 1987 conditioned the zoning on its use as a children's home. Peart's request is to change that condition, allowing for the day care center. The land is on Twiggs Way, just off Ga. Highway 279. Also on the agenda are new street design standards and specifications along with off-street parking and service requirements. The changes match recent changes in state and federal standards, and are needed to ensure that in the case of disaster, county streets would be restored using the newer standards, according to county engineer Ron Salmons.
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