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Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009

Byron council approves rezoning for industrial park

BYRON — City Council unanimously approved rezoning Monday evening for nearly 537 acres to be designated for an industrial park.

A covenant also was added to the motion, guaranteeing that none of the land would be used as a landfill.

The vote was an approval for rezoning for 496.64 acres between Boy Scout and Chapman roads and 40.15 acres located off Chapman Road. The smaller lot had been zoned for commercial use. The larger lot was designated residential use.

The original idea for the land was to create a golf course community, to be named SaddleRidge, but the developer said he felt industrial use would be more beneficial to the city.

“There are so many residential developments out there right now,” said David Aldridge, president of Peach Hill Properties, which is handling the industrial park. “We changed directions because of the economy. This kind of industry brings jobs to the area that will fill these (residential) developments.”

The council vote came after unanimous approval of the plan by the city’s planning and zoning committee. When finished, the park will encompass about 670 acres, with some commercial businesses.

Aldridge said work already has begun on the park. It began with the paving of the 1.2 mile Peach-Crawford Parkway, which aims to reduce congestion through the city as Crawford County traffic can take the new parkway straight to Interstate 75. The city appropriated $850,000 in special purpose local option sales tax revenues for the multilane parkway, which Aldridge said is scheduled to be finished by the end of the year.

While no businesses have signed on to be part of the industrial park, Aldridge said he envisions part of the park’s future as an inland port for trucks being able to unload hauls brought in from Savannah.

The council also held off on lifting an optional training restriction, deferred approval of a memo discussing various matters of the fire department, re-appointed three members of the Byron Development Authority and appropriated $6,590.55 to purchase a 2010 Ford Taurus for police Chief Wesley Cannon, whose vehicle received water damage and was deemed a total loss in September.

To contact writer Marlon A. Walker, call 256-9685.