Cemetery Blocks 122-Acre Mixed-Use Project

ATLANTA-A 95-year-old abandoned cemetery is blocking the estimated $100-development plans of Brookhaven, GA partners Mike Byce and Wayne Godfrey in Clayton County, just south of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.The developers are asking the county’s zoning advisory group for the second time in two years for permission to move the graves at the Rivers Cemetery to the rear of their 122-acre property along West Fayetteville Road near Interstate 285. The zoning group rejected the developers’ first request last summer.Byce and Godfrey have told the county they plan to build their River Station subdivision around the graves if their request is turned down a second time. The developers’ preliminary plans filed with the company show the project would have 20 acres of commercial, 417 apartment units, 260 townhomes and 200 single-family residences.