Friday, March 2, 2001
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Friday, March 2, 2001 |
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City, county agree on annexation disputes By JOHN
THOMPSON
So far, it looks like Coweta County and the city of Senoia may not have to head to the Georgia Supreme Court to handle new annexation disputes. The city and county have compromised on two of the three three annexation notices the city submitted to the county. The first request that the two groups compromised on 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 the 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 "green space" 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 also has requested annexation for a 100-acre tract further up Rockaway Road. He is also requesting green space rezoning for that parcel. The county and city agreed that Entrekin would have to place 1.6-acre lots on the perimeter of the property that adjoins county property, but would be allowed to have half-acre lots on the inside part of the property 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 its newly developed sewer system. The county wants the city to be more restrictive on spray field applications and will head to mitigation efforts later this month.
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