By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@thecitizennews.com

If Peachtree City decides to annex 900 acres on its western border as the West Village, Tyrone officials want to make sure the parcels stay at their current low-density county zoning.

During last week's Tyrone Town Council meeting, Councilman Ronnie Cannon said it's time for Tyrone to let Peachtree City know how it feels.

“This would impact the quality of our life, especially if it's zoned under Peachtree City's four homes to an acre,” he said.

Town manager Barry Amos said the property is currently zoned in the county for one- to three-acre lot sizes. Cannon would like to see that zoning stick, and said the quality of life issues could become even bigger if Peachtree City decided to zone it for apartments.

“That would be 12 units to an acre. That's a lot of cars on [Ga.] Highway 74,” he said.

Cannon recalled two years ago when Peachtree City Mayor Bob Lenox had questions about a development in Tyrone because the town was at “Peachtree City's front door.”

“I'm concerned because Peachtree City is at our back door. It's time to take a more proactive stand and aim for high standards,” he said.

If higher density was allowed on the property, Cannon said more cars would create more congestion on Hwy. 74 and add to the region's bad air quality.

The entire Town Council agreed with Cannon.

“You've hit the nail on the head,” said Councilman Ray Bogenschutz.

The council members asked Amos to draft a letter to Peachtree City voicing their concerns and asking for the city to consider the impact any future higher density zoning would have on Tyrone.

In other news, the town approved a drug dog to aid the town's police force. The drug dog will be used strictly according to state regulations, said police Chief Roger Spencer, and will be the responsibility of the department.

The measure to approve a contract for the drug dog passed 4-1 with Cannon voting against it.