Friday, February 16, 2001
|
Friday, February 16, 2001 |
|
Senoia, county to debate annexation issues By JOHN
THOMPSON
Coweta County and the city of Senoia are getting ready for the second act of annexation questions. The city has submitted three annexation notices to the county that will be discussed at next Thursday's Coweta County Commission meeting. The first request is for the same 50 acres on Rockaway Road that led the county and Senoia to the Georgia Supreme Court last year.In a ruling that Coweta County Attorney Mitch Powell called a precedent, the Georgia Supreme Court sided with Coweta County in its zoning dispute with Senoia. The court overturned a decision by Coweta County Superior Court Judge William Lee, who said the city should be able to annex 50 acres into the city and zone the land as its council members please. The case turned into a battle over the recently enacted state House Bill 489, which requires cities and counties to work closer to prevent duplication of services. Part of the law also requires cities and counties to work through a long mediation process on annexation disputes. Lee declared those parts of the law unconstitutional and said the Georgia Constitution gives the local governments exclusive zoning power. Because Coweta County representatives can object to Senoia's zoning on the land in the ordinary course of public hearings, the judge deemed the law calling for further discussion between the two entities unconstitutional. But the Supreme Court ruled that the arbitration process is constitutional, so now the city and county head back to the arbitration process, Powell said. Senoia had wanted to annex the property into the city and allow one-acre lots, but the adjoining county property is zoned for five-acre tracts. But this time, city administrator Leonard Thompson said developer Steve Entrekin is seeking the city's new "greenspace" R-40 zoning. The zoning allows for a little bit higher density development, but stipulates that 25 percent of the land must be reserved for greenspace. Thompson estimates Entrekin could place 55 homes on the tract. Entrekin has also requested annexation for a 100-acre tract further up Rockaway Road. He's also requesting greenspace rezoning for that parcel. The final tract being considered for annexation is a 100-acre tract near Southern Mills. The city plans to use the area for a spray field for their newly developed sewer system. During Tuesday's County Commission meeting, Commissioner Vernon "Mutt" Hunter said the county's planner should be prepared to explain every point of his recommendations on the annexations. "There was a lot of misinformation last time. We don't need to go through that again," Hunter said. The county will discuss the annexations at 7 p.m. at the county's administrative building in Newnan next Thursday.
|
||