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Published Saturday, September 04, 2010 in Local

Fischer Crossing could get daycare, ball fields

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Newnan Times-Herald

Following nearly three hours of a public hearing, the Coweta Board of Zoning Appeals recommended approval of several zoning requests made by Fischer Crossing Development Group -- with extensive conditions.

The zoning appeals board heard four requests from Fischer Crossing Development Group, requests that are in conjunction with a rezoning request that will come before the Coweta County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 16. The commissioners will also consider the zoning board's recommendations.

The requests involve a tract of property on Fischer Road, located north of Wynn's Pond Road at the Coweta/Fayette county line. Several years ago, the property, a grassy field, was approved as the site for a decentralized wastewater treatment system to serve the Fischer Crossing development. However, the development will now be served by public sewer.

Fayette County-based developer Scott Seymour is requesting a rezoning of some of the property to C7-Commercial Major Shopping District. With that rezoning, a portion of Wynn's Pond Road will have to be abandoned, and Seymour will need to pave a new leg of the road.

A condition that Wynn's Pond Road not be disturbed had been placed on one of the earlier rezonings.

The original Fischer Crossing rezoning was made in summer 2006. About a year later, Seymour requested commercial zoning of part of the field property, and the zoning for the wastewater system. That request was later scaled back to include only the zoning for the wastewater system.

The zoning board does not consider rezonings or road abandonment.

Instead, it considered conditional use permits for a day-care center and football fields, a buffer variance and a setback variance.

The day-care center permit was addressed at the meeting first. There was no opposition from Wynn's Pond property owners.

"They day-care center seems to be a reasonable transitional use," said Joe Powell, a member of the board of the Featherston Fishing Club, which owns Wynn's Pond. However, he asked if the owners of the day-care center, as well as parents, would be concerned about gunshots during waterfowl and dove hunting seasons. "We have hunting and fishing. So shotguns will be going off in the morning and stuff like that," Powell said. "What is going to happen when we are hunting there and people are dropping off kids? I think that is a genuine concern."

There was major opposition, however, to the other conditional use permit request for three football fields, parking, and restrooms. The current site plan does not include restrooms and must be redrawn to include them.

"We felt like, when you have ball fields and you have children, you need restrooms," said Zoning Administrator Angela White.

Attorney Mark Forsling, representing Fischer Crossing, said,"We think this proposal is a tremendous opportunity for the county. It is a private developer proposing recreation fields."

Board Chairman Jimmy McGuffey asked how the fields would be used.

Seymour said the plan is to work with the Sharpsburg Stallions football league, which currently has no home field, as well as with "some elite teams out of the Peachtree City area" and "the Southern Youth Football League."

The fields could probably be used for soccer in the spring, he added.

Wynn's Pond residents are concerned about the light and noise from the football games, but their biggest worry is pesticide and fertilizer-laden runoff from the fields getting into the pond.

White read a letter from Wendall and Elva Whitlock, who said they worry the runoff would "add to the aquatic loading" in the pond and worsen the problem with aquatic plants and weeds. They don't believe traditional stormwater management will take care of the fertilizer and pesticides.

"The Featherston Fishing Club is keenly and passionately interested in protecting the peace, tranquility and watershed of Wynn's Pond," Powell said. "The Featherston Fishing Club will take such position as may be necessary to achieve such protection."

"They're going to have lights, all sorts of noise, and I don't think it is fair to do that to us," Powell said. "What are they going to do when we have an algae bloom?" he asked. Powell also said he feels the request for ball fields is a "smokescreen."

"Down the road, Fischer Crossing Development is going to go for a higher use of that and this is to appease y'all," he said.

"This whole thing is a sham," said Howard Glover Boone.

Powell said there are erosion and runoff problems at the development now. "I have to call the county twice a month because we have all this dirt running off," Powell said.

"We haven't had any violations, Joe," Seymour said.

"That's bull. There have been plenty of violations," said Powell.

According to Times-Herald news archives, a citation was issued for stormwater violations in September 2008.

Robert Massenburg said he's concerned about the impact on wetlands.

With grading for the fields, "we're going to have a heck of a siltation problem down the hill," said Boone. "I know there are regulations, I know you have to put up silt fence," he said. But the fact is, "those things don't work always. And if we lose 2 or 3 inches of the bottom of the lake, it's there."

The lake has already suffered from the construction of the Wal-Mart and Home Depot in Peachtree City, he said.

Having football games nearby "would destroy our use of this facility," Boone said.

Preston Fuller urged the zoning appeals board members to visit the site before making a decision. "There is just no way to verbalize what Wynn's Pond is all about," he said.

The football fields will require a "tremendous amount" of fertilization, Fuller said. "All kinds of things will have to be applied to keep these fields up for that kind of use."

Engineer Nick Sawka said there will be stormwater retention ponds and there will be vegetation inside them to "take out the nutrients." They are also going to use only organic fertilizers, he said.

Sawka was asked about having the state Environmental Protection Division do a study on the lake. Such studies can be very time-consuming and expensive, he said. He doesn't feel such a study is really necessary.

"We're agreeing to use organic fertilizer, with approved state models. I don't understand what the problem is," he said. "We can get a letter from the EPD, from the Army Corps, whatever agency you want and work with them so that they are happy," Sawka said.

There will also be a "treatment train" the water will go through before it leaves the property, to remove the fertilizers.

The board voted 3-0 to recommend approval of the conditional use permit, with conditions. Conditions include using organic fertilizer, setting up the water treatment train, putting together an annual study of the water coming off the property and its possible impact on the pond, and ensuring the fields are staffed year-round.

The other two requests were for a reduction in the buffer between the day-care center and the proposed commercial property, which was approved, and a reduction in the required 200-foot setback for the ball fields.

The county planning department recommended requiring a 100-foot, planted buffer instead of the 200-foot setback, which wouldn't have to be planted. The setback area can also be used for parking or stormwater management, a buffer can't.

Board member James Weldon make a motion to recommend approval with a 125-foot planted buffer. The vote was unanimous.

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9/10/2010