Now that the possibility of annexing the proposed West Village is back on the table, Peachtree City officials are working on the next step — a citizen committee.

The City Council voted last week to lift the moratorium on annexation with regard to that 1,100-acre site, and land owners and developers are now free to work with city staff on the possibilities for the land.

A group of about 17 or 18 members will be brought together to form this group, said Mayor Bob Lenox, who will make the appointments.

A list of prospective members has been circulating this week among City Council members for their input, and a final list could be ready by today, he said. After that, those who make the final cut will be sent letters asking them if they would be willing to serve on the committee.

This group could meet as often as weekly, Lenox said, and there will be no more than two weeks between meetings.

“Obviously, with a group that large, not everybody can be there every time,” said Lenox, who added that he is certain everyone will make a concerted effort to attend all of the meetings.

The first meeting will largely dictate what the committee does the rest of the way, as it pursues various options for shaping the West Village in a way that is appealing to everyone — current Peachtree City residents, West Village land owners and developers.

Lenox said he is not sure if the committee will start with a blank sheet of paper or with some kind of plan already in place.

The mayor likes the idea of starting from scratch, which was done with some success with the corner of Ga. Highway 54 and Walt Banks Road, but that is a 73-acre site. The West Village is just over 1,100 acres.

While the committee is doing its work, city staff will be working with land owners and developers to see where they are heading.

City development director Jim Williams said that the process could essentially go in one of two directions — with an initial annexation application, which would go through his office, or by first working with the committee and other parties on a number of issues and then deciding whether to apply for annexation or not. He expects the latter, because of two recent rezoning applications.

Since the annexation moratorium was upheld by a council vote in January, Peachtree City Holdings, a division of Pathway Communities, has applied for rezoning of 365 acres in unincorporated Fayette County, with plans for 172 homes. Also, John Wieland Homes has applied for rezoning of some of the West Village property that is already in the city limits.

Pathway CEO Steve Black said in a Feb. 24 letter to Lenox that he would prefer annexation of the property, but he told the City Council last week that while he and his company are ready to work with the city to find an agreeable plan, Pathway will go forward with its county rezoning request.

The county asked the city for an opinion on the Pathway rezoning, Lenox said, and the city is forwarding its comments in the next few days. “We will object to the rezoning, for several reasons, said Lenox.

Williams said that the city will recommend to the county that the item be continuing until annexation can be considered. If that is not possible, then the city recommends denial of the rezoning because of its impact on county services and the environmental impacts of a large number of septic tanks that would likely be placed in the area.

As for the Wieland rezoning in the city, Lenox said he is personally not in favor of the number of homes being proposed for that site — about 400 on 112 acres.

Although both of these requests are already in the works, Lenox said he does not feel any time constraint or additional pressure to get the committee or city staff to hammer out a plan of some kind.

He has asked that Pathway and Wieland each place a representative on the committee that would collectively represent the land owners affected by those two pieces of property. Also in the works is an attempt to organize a meeting with all of the land owners, even though some of them have said the won't go along with any master plan.

“Of course, there will be some property owners who have the family farm and don't want to get involved,” said Lenox. “We understand and respect that. What we're looking at is several years down the road when those folks want to sell the family farm.”

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