By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

The Peachtree City Planning Commission has recommended that the City Council deny a rezoning request for the Katz property on the northwest end of Peachtree City.

John Wieland Homes had asked that the zoning of the 101-acre tract be changed to general residential from general industrial. The company recently reduced the number of homes proposed for the property from 400 to 300.

City staff had recommended the rezoning be approved with 10 different conditions, one of which would have provided a 20-acre school site to the Board of Education on adjacent property that's in the county.

But in the end, the school issue helped cinch the Planning Commission's recommendation to deny the rezoning. Jerry Whitaker, the director of facilities planning and land acquisition for the Board of Education, said the relief of overcrowding at local schools hinges on the passage of a $65 million bond referendum in November.

“If the bond issue doesn't pass, we're looking at double sessions,” Whitaker said.

Whitaker explained that the portable classrooms used to handle the county's growth won't be a viable solution for much longer because the students still use indoor school facilities such as the cafeteria and restrooms.

He added that the school system could use the 20-acre school site, and there are plans to add another school north of Peachtree City.

But when the Planning Commission began to discuss the rezoning proposal, several commission members expressed hesitancy about whether the rezoning would hurt the school system even though a school site was included.

“I just feel like our city and county are not ready to service it,” said commission member Robert Ames.

Rich Schumacher said he, too, hesitated to compound the city and county's current problems by approving an additional 300 homes in the city.

Commission Chairman Wes Saunders was the only member to vote in favor of the rezoning, which failed 3-1. The matter will be taken up by the City Council at its Sept. 20 meeting.

Dan Fields of John Wieland Homes said the subdivision would be marketed to empty nesters, young professionals and some families with a starting price range around $200,000 per unit. He also said the proposed density of three units per acre is consistent with the city's land use plan.

The lengthy list of conditions recommended by the city's Planning Department included allowing a maximum of 350 homes to be placed on the 101-acre tract and the additional 80-acre tract that lies just outside the city limits. Attorney Doug Dillard questioned whether the city could actually enforce that guideline since the 80-acre site is not under the city's jurisdiction.

Another condition added at the meeting Monday night was for banks to be constructed at the railroad tracks to contain a potential derailment.

The city also wanted the MacDuff Parkway to be extended all the way through to the property's northern end so later on the area could be easily reached by emergency personnel once the land north of the Katz property is developed.

The city also would have required a traffic study and a sound and vibration study to be performed, with extra measures taken to reduce the sound and vibration coming from the railroad tracks that border the Katz property to the east.