Two new car dealerships are proposed for Newnan Crossing Bypass near Lower Fayetteville Road, and Newnan council members are concerned about the developing auto row.
Mills Automotive Group proposed a new car dealership at 701 Newnan Crossing Bypass. Tracy Dunnavant, Planning and Zoning Director, said the plans have already been approved.
Right next door, VW of Newnan has proposed a Volkswagen dealership. Dunnavant said by email that plans for that dealership are still under review.
She said those developments are required to be vetted only by the department.
“Since new car dealerships are a permitted use in that zoning designation, they only have to go through the site and building plan review process before getting permits,” Dunnavant said.
New car dealerships are currently allowed by right to build in the zoning classifications CCS, shopping centers; ILT, light industrial; CGN, general commercial; CHV, heavy commercial; and IHV, heavy industrial, said Hasco Craver, Newnan assistant city manager.
However, the city council members are discussing changing that.
Newnan’s Planning Commission suggested removing new car dealerships as an allowable use in ILT and CCS zonings.
In addition, the council is considering making new car dealerships apply for a special exception in the CGN, CHV and IHV zonings rather than just having the right to build in that zoning.
The change would mandate a public hearing as part of the approval process and would give council members some flexibility to decide if the property is the right place for that business.
“If you leave car dealerships as a permitted use, then you can add layers,” attorney Brad Sears told the council members at their all-day work session in October. “They could come in for a public hearing or a special use permit.”
Mayor Keith Brady was concerned that changing the allowable uses within zonings would take away rights that property owners currently have. But he, like some other council members had some reservations about the sheer number of new car dealerships that are setting up along Newnan Crossing Boulevard.
“I’m almost resigning myself, as much as I hate it, to the possibility of this being nothing but dealerships all the way out to the Honda dealership,” said Councilmember Paul Guillaume. “To me for the city, I think there’s a far better use of land.”
He was also concerned about what would happen to the properties if a dealership moved out.
“If a dealership goes under, there’s only one thing it can be repurposed for, and that’s another dealership,” Guillaume said. “We saw that in Atlanta Motors, how long that Chrysler dealership sat empty – for years – until another dealership, a used car dealership came in.”
Councilman Rhodes Shell said he believes those closures could happen sooner than later.
“Over time, the car dealership business will change,” Shell said. “It’s going to be more specific ordering.”
Shell said self-driving cars will also change the dynamics, and dealerships will not need the space they do now.
Guillaume said he would like to know what draws all the dealerships to Newnan.
“They’re certainly not coming into this area to lose money,” he said.