By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

The Peachtree City Planning Commission had to make an about-face on a recent decision during its meeting Monday night.

Previously, the commission had denied a concept plan submitted for the Kedron Commons (also known as Kedron Estates) subdivision.

But after being informed by the city attorney that its vote was “illegal,” the commission approved the concept plan 3-1, with Jim Finney, Rich Schumacher and Wes Saunders in favor and Willis Granger against.

City Attorney Rick Lindsey had advised the Planning Commission that its vote to reject the plan because the subdivision would not be connected to city sewerage was illegal. In a letter, Lindsey said the commission doesn’t have the authority to require all new developments to be connected to the sewer system.

That’s because the city codes and ordinances don’t have such a requirement, Lindsey said in the letter. Therefore, the vote shall be considered as if it did not occur, Lindsey wrote.

The plan from Hyland Developers calls for 24 homes to be built, each on its own septic tank. The subdivision is already under construction on an extension of Astoria Lane.

The subdivision has been the subject of some controversy regarding the plan to use septic tanks instead of hooking the homes up to city sewer service. The original plans were for septic tanks, but earlier this year a sewer manhole was discovered near the property.

Since the sewer manhole was within 500 feet of the proposed 28-lot subdivision, the Fayette County Health Department ruled that a Georgia law required the homes to be hooked up to sewer service.

At first, developer Jimmy Halligan appealed to the Water and Sewer Authority, asking for a letter to the Health Department saying sewer service was “unavailable” to the subdivision, because the cost would be prohibitive.

WASA declined, however, and Hyland Developers submitted a new plan that left out four previously planned lots. That revision put the 24 remaining lots about 700 feet away from the manhole and in compliance with the Georgia law regarding sewer service for subdivisions.

WASA also recently adopted a similar regulation that dictated sewer service would be considered “available” if the property in question is within 500 feet of a sewer manhole.

At Monday’s commission meeting, Halligan was asked several times if the new plan was designed to skirt the intent of the law. He didn’t reply directly to the question, only stating that several local governmental agencies have hindered the process of developing the property.

“I’m going by the law: the state law,” Halligan said.
Halligan also was questioned about his plans for the four previous lots that he decided to leave out of the subdivision. He said he would not leave that land undeveloped, but he might ask for a rezoning of that land later or simply build a four-home subdivision on the four lots and connect them to sewer service.
“I will be coming back to do something on that property,” Halligan said.

Doug Dillard, an attorney representing Hyland Developers, said the Health Department still has to “sign off” on each lot’s ability to use a septic system.

Jim Williams, the city’s director of developmental services, told the Planning Commission that the city’s “policy” is to have subdivisions hooked up to sewer service. But sometimes the cost to do that is high, he added.

Williams said that from the beginning, all parties involved assumed it would be okay to use septic tanks instead of a sewer system for the subdivision.

City staff had recommended that the Planning Commission approve the new concept plan.