Tuesday night’s City Council meeting started out festive enough. Several members of the council were wearing purple in honor of the Fayetteville Bulldogs Congratulation Resolution, which recognized the FHS men’s and women’s basketball teams for winning dual state championships.
The mayor even issued a proclamation, naming Tuesday, April 6, 2009 as FHS Bulldog and Lady Bulldog basketball day.
Then, approval of the Amberwood Place development, which is set along Double Springs and Dot Tipton Road, easily passed through the council, earning praise from aldermen for the innovative design and use of green space.
But the meeting hit a kerfuffle when the Fayette Junction Master Plan was brought before the council. Members of the public who approached the microphone spoke vehemently against the master plan, saying it will take away land from private owners, among other complaints.
Fayette Junction is in southwest Fayetteville and the new plan for the area will serve to link the existing developments in the area, according to the Planning Commission’s website. The design for the 640-acre neighborhood is set for dense population in the area, enough to support a light rail system.
Back in September of 2008, more than 100 citizens participated in a “charrette” to provide input from the public on what they wanted the space to look like. However, it is clear that some stakeholders in the area are not happy with the proposal.
“This is a way that government eventually takes property away from private citizens,” Nathan Ogden said. His family owns land in the area, which is zoned as C-2 commercial. With the new plan, the area will be characterized as “urban zoning district.”
Another citizen dismissed the plans altogether, calling the sketches for the area “cartoons” and “phony-baloney zoning.”
After a couple rounds of public comment, the council decided to table the issue until the next meeting so that members of the public could meet with the Planning Commission to assuage concerns.
