LEADING DEVELOPMENT & BUILDING THE FUTURE THE U.D.O., AN IMPROVED STRATEGY FOR CITY DEVELOPMENT LEARN MORE ON PAGE 4
CITY
NEWS JANUARY 2021
2 - January 2021
FAYETTEVILLE ANNOUNCES PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT AHEAD OF FEBRUARY DESIGN CHARRETTE The City of Fayetteville has launched a community-wide Photo Scavenger Hunt in advance of its February 11 and 12 Virtual Design Charrette to discuss the City’s aesthetics. The charrette will include a discussion of what people want to see more, and what they want to see less, in Fayetteville. Participants in the Photo Scavenger Hunt will take photos prior to the Virtual
Design Charrette and post them on social media with one of the following three hashtags: #MoreOfThisDowntown, #LessOfThisDowntown, or #MyFayettevilleFavorite. Participants may post multiple entries, which will each be counted as entries in a prize drawing. Winners will be announced during the Virtual Design Charrette. Photos may be posted to
Facebook and Instagram, or participants may e-mail them to LCI@fayetteville-ga.gov. The Photo Scavenger Hunt and the Virtual Design Charrette are part of Fayetteville’s new Livable Centers Initiative Study. More details will be announced soon. In the meantime, those interested may visit www. FayettevilleLCIStudy.com to learn more.
COUNCILMAN DARRYL LANGFORD TO SERVE AS MAYOR PRO-TEM FOR 2021
Councilman Darryl Langford has been chosen by the City Council to serve as Mayor Pro-Tem from January 2021 to January 2022. Pictured (l-r) Councilman Rich Hoffman, Mayor Pro-Tem Langford, Councilman Joe Clark, Mayor Ed Johnson, Councilman Scott Stacy, and Councilman Paul Oddo.
3 - January 2021
FAYETTEVILLE’S UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE NEARING FRUITION Fayetteville’s much-anticipated Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), which will help the City streamline development review, manage development patterns, and improve corridor aesthetics, has now entered the completeddraft phase and is on track for adoption and publication this spring. As the City in 2017 updated its Comprehensive Plan, leaders recognized that there was a need to unify the numerous ordinances and regulations into one cohesive document. The UDO is essentially that single document that addresses how property is developed, combining and replacing the current zoning ordinances and development regulations as well as any other applicable regulations. Not long after that Comprehensive Plan was adopted, the City Council appointed an advisory committee to guide the process of developing the UDO. An outside consultant was hired to get the work started, and then it was handed to the City’s Planning & Zoning Department to bring it to fruition. Director of Community and Economic Development David
Rast says the new document will be more understandable than current guiding documents, and he says it will reflect best practices in planning and development. Currently, the UDO document is being independently reviewed by elected officials, Planning & Zoning Commission members, and City personnel. Feedback will be incorporated into a final draft, which would then be presented to the City Council for adoption.
“Our intent is to have the UDO and the amended Zoning Map presented and adopted in March,” Rast said. “It has taken the City a couple of years to arrive at this point, but I think we’re going to see it was worth the effort. “This UDO will better position Fayetteville to develop and redevelop in smart ways that benefit the whole community,” Rast said.
DOWNTOWN ROAD DIET CONSTRUCTION UNDER WAY
Construction has begun on Fayetteville’s Courthouse Square to convert an underused highway lane into additional onstreet parking spaces and safer pedestrian access while resulting in better vehicle traffic movement through the area. City leaders say the results will benefit the public as well as businesses located immediately around the Historic Fayette County Courthouse. Crews recently began digging up the left lane of Stonewall Avenue (Highway 54 eastbound) adjacent to the Courthouse and Fayetteville First United Methodist Church. In its place, crews are installing a combination of angled and parallel parking spaces, upgraded sidewalks and crosswalks, and new landscaping.
“When the work is complete, we will gain 15 parking spaces in that area, which will improve customer access to the businesses across the street. They’ve been asking for this for over 10 years now,” said Economic Development Director Brian Wismer. “Construction should be complete in the spring.” The “Old Courthouse,” as it is often called, is the community’s most recognizable landmark, and the lawn has been used for decades as a site for public events that draw people to the historic downtown district. Buildings along the Square have been renovated over the last decade to accommodate boutique retail and restaurant uses. “This will be an exciting year
for our downtown,” Wismer said. “We’re looking forward to these improvements around our iconic Courthouse, and how they tie in nicely to the nearly completed Fayetteville City Hall & City Center Park project just down the street. “Whether people are passing through, or if they’re here to shop and dine, we hope they will find it easier and safer to navigate through our downtown,” Wismer continued. “And we’re really just getting started. As the Walton Communities and Meridian on the Square projects come online, Downtown Fayetteville will become more of that thriving, center of activity that our residents have said for years that they would love to have.”
STATE OF EMERGENCY EXTENDED THROUGH FEBRUARY 8 On Monday afternoon, January 11, Governor Brian Kemp signed an executive order extending Georgia’s State of Emergency through Monday, February 8, 2021.
All of Governor Kemp’s executive orders are available at www.gov.georgia.gov under the Executive Action tab. As the City of Fayetteville receives Governor Kemp’s 5 -January 2021
Executive Orders and Briefs relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are published on the City’s website and social media channels.
POLICE DEPARTMENT K-9 HANDLING IS A REWARDING 24/7 COMMITMENT
Officer Jason Scarbrough & Baco
Officer Joshua Collins & Gizmo
Fayetteville Police Department’s K-9s are the law enforcement professionals you don’t see very often, if ever, but when they’re needed, they do what nobody else can. They are indispensable members of the City’s police force. Fayetteville has three K-9s: Baco, Gizmo, and Max. Baco and Gizmo are both of the Belgian Malinois breed, and both were born in Holland before being trained in Louisiana at a special school for law enforcement dogs. Baco is five years old and has been serving with the Police Department for about two years. Gizmo is nearly four years old and has been serving here for just over a year. Max is a six-year-old German shepherd who has been with the department five years after being trained in Alabama. Assigned 24/7 to their police officer handlers, Baco, Gizmo, and Max are collectively used to track and apprehend offenders, detect narcotics, and perform article searches. Baco and Gizmo
are often dispatched to burglaries, robberies, and person-on-person crimes in the City of Fayetteville and in support of neighboring law enforcement jurisdictions. Max primarily works in narcotics interdiction. Max’s handler is Task Force Officer John McNair, a 21-year law enforcement veteran who has been with Fayetteville for four years. They are assigned to work with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and have helped seize around 6,000 pounds of methamphetamine from Georgia’s streets. Baco’s current handler is Officer Jason Scarbrough, who will begin his handler training this month in Louisiana. Scarbrough, an eight-year law enforcement veteran, has been with Fayetteville for two years. He previously worked with a German shepherd and a bloodhound at the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office. Prior to Scarbrough, Baco 6 - January 2021
Sgt. Lee Huddleston & Baco
was handled by Officer Lee Huddleston, who has since been promoted to sergeant within the Patrol Division. Gizmo is handled by Officer Jacob Collins, who has been in law enforcement for over 13 years, and the last two with Fayetteville. He started the K-9 program at the Tyrone Police Department before coming to Fayetteville. Sergeant Huddleston says being a K-9 handler was a highlight of his service so far with the City. “The bond between a K-9 and a handler is amazing and a great joy,” he said. However, he noted that K-9s are not pets. “They are a tool, and you have to treat them as one.” While Baco, Gizmo, and Max go home with their handlers every night and when off duty, they have special accommodation and are not treated like normal pets. Huddleston says the K-9s get joy from going to work and doing their jobs on top of the regular attention they get from their handlers.
NEW CITY HALL & CITY CENTER PARK TO BE COMPLETED BY SUMMERTIME
Construction on the new Fayetteville City Hall will wrap up in the next few months, and Project Manager Steve Mauro says they are anticipating an April Certificate of Occupancy. That’s when the move-in phase can begin followed by the relocation of City Hall personnel from their current work stations. “By the end of May, we will be focused on ‘the move,’ which will encompass taking existing files, documents, and equipment from the old building to the new building,” Mauro said. “While we still have not determined an exact date for the transfer of services to be complete, we will certainly look to communicate often with the community to let them know when the new building will be open for service.” Mauro said a June or July ribbon cutting and open house will be planned so the public can see the new City Hall. Down the hill at City Center
Pictured at the new City Hall site are (l-r) Mayor Ed Johnson with Council members Joe Clark, Rich Hoffman, Paul Oddo, and Scott Stacy along with City Manager Ray Gibson.
Park, construction has continued into the winter months, and an opening is expected to coincide with the City Hall opening. The former gym and bus barn are being renovated and reimagined into an event center and brewery, and those are expected to open in the summer. “Lots of exciting things are coming to Downtown Fayetteville
7 - January 2021
in the summer of 2021,” Mauro said. “We look forward to sharing it with the community when it’s ready.”
CONSTRUCTION IN THE COMMUNITY Development updates from around Fayetteville
Construction locations within the City
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CONSTRUCTION OVERVIEW: The Phase 1 final plat for Fayette Meadows on Highway 92 at Jimmie Mayfield is under review; the Trilith Spotlight Theater project is on hold; development plans are being prepared for Springhill Suites on North Glynn Street, Oceanic Data Center on Highway 54 West at Veterans Parkway, and Fayette Discount Gas and Tobacco on North Glynn Street; development plans are under review for Satterfield Townhomes, Trilith Studios Phase 4A, and The Shoppes at New Hope; construction plans are under review for Trilith Phase 3 residential; a minor subdivision (2 lots) plat is under review for Marquis Drive; redevelopment plans for Epic Car Wash on Highway 85 North will be on the January 27 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting agenda, as will conceptual site plans for Jersey Mike’s, Take 5 Oil Change and Andy’s Frozen Custard. 8 -January 2021
1. The new City Hall & City Center Park are expected to open this spring
2. Trilith Studios (formerly Pinewood Atlanta Studios) continues to add sound stages to its campus on Veterans Parkway.
3. Progress on the Capstone and Central Park buildings at Trilith (formerly Pinewood Forest) continues.
4. Work on the new Town Stage at Trilith has been placed on hold.
5. Construction of the Navy Federal Credit Union on Highway 85 North is nearly completed.
6. Marksmen Properties is building five more office/warehouse facilities along North 85 Parkway.
7. The Life Storage building is under construction along Highway 314 next to Lowe’s.
9 - January 2021
WELCOME NEW FAYETTEVILLE BUSINESSES STARTED IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER
11th Hour Call Ministry
144 East Georgia Avenue
DRB Group Georgia, LLC
160 Whitney Street
Alicia Kee Photography
175 Landing Drive
EB Gallery
125 Hunters Lane, Apartment C
Anthony’s Services
310 Williamsburg Way
Heidi Becker & Associates, Inc.
135 North Glynn Street
Arch Global Automobiles, LLC
115 Commerce Drive, Suite E43
Infinite Auto Sales and Services
135 Habersham Drive, Suite B1
Bisol Homecare Services
500 West Lanier Avenue, Suite 909
KJS Cars, LLC
125 Commerce Drive, Suite B4
Bristol Management Group d/b/a/ K&C Logistics
223 Otter Circle
Lux Auto Sales
692 North Glynn Street, Suite N3
C.A.V.S. Auto Sales, LLC
500 West Lanier Avenue, Suite 204
Overdrive Autos
135 Habersham Drive, B3
Cas’J Service
140 Highway 314
Pinnacle Homecare and Staffing Agency
2208 Cobblestone Boulevard
Crisp Cleaning, LLC
230 Doe Hollow Trace
Platinum Healthcare Services
935 West Lanier Avenue, Suite 1008
Drama and Art Academy
286 Highway 314, Suite B
Supreme Mobile, LLC d/b/a Cellairis
125 Pavilion Parkway
City representatives participated in the ribbon cutting at Gocha’s Breakfast Bar. 10 - January 2021
FAYETTEVILLE TEAMWORKS TRAINING SESSION A team of City personnel led by City Manager Ray Gibson and Human Resources Director Nella Cooper have been training the rest of the City employees on the new Fayetteville Teamworks performance management system. The new system recognizes individual employee contributions to the City’s overarching mission while also encouraging professional development throughout the City government.
GFL OFFERS MORE CUSTOMER SERVICE CONTACT OPTIONS FOR FAYETTEVILLE SOLID WASTE PICKUP CUSTOMERS GFL, which provides solid waste pickup services for the City of Fayetteville, is offering more ways for customers to reach them with service requests and concerns. The primary contact for GFL is their phone number, 770-474-9273. You may also e-mail them: cshelp.fairburn@ gflenv.com. They also have a website contact page: https://wasteindustries. com/contactus. If problems persist, or if you need additional assistance, contact the City of Fayetteville at 770-460-4237. 11 - January 2021