By MONROE ROARK
mroark@thecitizennews.com

Peachtree City Councilwoman Carol Fritz is willing to reconsider her vote against lifting an annexation moratorium in the city, she said this week.

For that reason, the issue is back on City Council's agenda for the second time in six weeks at tomorrow night's regular meeting.

After Mayor Bob Lenox put the item on the agenda, Councilwoman Annie McMenamin said, she sent him a letter telling him that he could not do that because he was not one of the prevailing voters the last time the item came up for a vote. But Fritz stepped up and had it put on the agenda for this week.

A press release issued Friday afternoon by the city said that the annexation moratorium, which has been in effect since August 1997, would be on the agenda.

The land in question is about 900 landlocked acres on the northwest edge of the city, also bordered by Tyrone and Coweta County. An adjacent 240-acre tract is already in Peachtree City.

A group of property owners in the area presented a master plan for the site at the Jan. 20 council meeting, asking the city to lift the moratorium so that city staff could work with them and more information could be provided.

After two hours of discussion, McMenamin made a motion to continue the moratorium, and Fritz and Dan Tennant made it a 3-2 vote in favor of the moratorium. Lenox and Robert Brooks voted no.

“I have received several letters and heard from a number of residents who are concerned about how this property will develop if it remains in unincorporated Fayette County, especially with regard to multiple grade crossings of the railroad track,” Lenox said in Friday's written statement.

“Since we denied lifting the moratorium last month, two of the property owners have already approached the city and the county about commencing development,” Lenox continued. “We would be remiss to allow the development to proceed without looking at our options.”

The moratorium prohibits city staff from reviewing plans or meeting with any property owners regarding annexation without first obtaining council approval.

Lenox pointed out in a memo to his fellow council members that Fayette County has received a rezoning request for a 365-acre portion of the property, asking for rezoning to allow 172 single-family lots, probably on individual septic tanks. City development director Jim Williams informed the council that the city will need to respond to the county concerning this request by Friday.

Lifting the moratorium allows an exchange of information, said Lenox. “This is not a vote to annex, merely an effort to see what the property owners and developers have in mind for the area, and to see if their concept in any way matches ours.”

Among the three who voted last time to keep the moratorium, there is now a difference of opinion concerning what to do next.

For Tennant, the newest member of the council after his election in November, the issue is clear.

“I made a vow during my campaign that I would not vote for any new annexation, and I am keeping that vow,” he said Monday, adding that he has not seen anything new to make him change his mind.

McMenamin said Tuesday that her vote last time came after the representative making the presentation said there would be no room for negotiation on density, and she felt “the door was closed” on any type of compromise.

“I will go into this meeting with an open mind, just like any other meeting,” she said.

Fritz has a few problems with some of the issues relating to this property, and admitted Monday that she was not completely comfortable with her vote in January.

“I've done some homework on this,” she said. “I want to make an informed decision.”

No one on the council has come out in support of any specific annexation plan for the property, but all except Tennant have mentioned that they would be comfortable with at least some city staff involvement.

McMenamin said she would like to see some clear standards put in place for city staff to work on the latest proposal or any other deemed appropriate, which is not possible right now because of the moratorium.

Fritz also mentioned her desire to have staff more involved in the process so that all of the information she feels she needs to make a decision could be gathered.

Lenox forwarded to the council a letter he received from former mayor Frederick Brown Jr., who is in favor of annexing the property in question and urged the council to reconsider its vote.

Steve Black, president of Pathway Communities, also wrote Lenox and said that he is continuing to work on keeping the property owners united and also hopes the property will be annexed. Pathway owns a portion of the tract.

The meeting tomorrow will be at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The public is invited.