LaFAYETTE, Ga. - In Bebe Heiskell's last meeting as Walker County commissioner, she gave the go-ahead for development of a laundromat on James Street in Rossville that opponents said would create safety concerns in their neighborhood.
More than 30 people packed into the commission room for the rezoning hearing, some even sitting at the commissioner's table when ranks of chairs along the walls filled up.
First, Heiskell asked whether property owner Dennis M. King wanted her to decide or to wait until new commissioner Shannon Whitfield takes office. Whitfield, who defeated Heiskell in the November election and takes office Jan. 1, was present but didn't speak.
King said he'd like a decision, since the issue has dragged on for months.
Roden and other opponents said they felt King had been deceitful from the start, first applying for a residential permit in the neighborhood, then requesting commercial zoning.
They said some neighboring property owners hadn't been notified of the proposed rezoning, as required by law. Roden said that of the 10 properties immediately surrounding the site, nine were residential. Allowing a commercial development would amount to "spot zoning," Roden said.
King's attorney, Larry Stagg, countered that there are more than two dozen businesses within a half mile, and cited a Georgia Supreme Court case supporting an owner's "unfettered right" to use his property as he sees fit.
Moreover, he said, the laundromat will serve the community. King said he'll have 16 surveillance cameras inside and out to keep tabs on the property.
But Roden said others are worried about safety and crime. He said the Walker County Sheriff's Office has made 800 visits to six neighborhoods near the James Street site in 15 months. They fear the laundromat will draw a bad element.
Several other opponents noted there are no sidewalks or streetlights nearby, and they reported several close calls between drivers and people walking in the road.
Heiskell snapped back at that.
"Walker County can't possibly put streetlights and sidewalks on 700 miles of road," she said.
Riposted resident Debbie Blackwell: "If you can't put in streetlights and make it safe, you shouldn't put a business there where it's totally unsafe."
Other opponents said King should have researched the zoning before he bought the property, but Stagg said it was once zoned commercial and Heiskell said King believed from the buyer that the zoning was in place. Plus, she said, King has already spent $250,000 on the business.
Given all that, Heiskell said, she was giving him the rezoning. The opponents, if they don't like it, can take it up with the next commissioner, she said.
Contact staff writer Judy Walton at jwalton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416.