Friday, September 7, 2001

Plans in Tyrone include Florida-style subdivision

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com

Could Tyrone soon be compared to Seaside and Celebration, Fla.?

It's possible if the Tyrone Town Council approves a proposal by Bob Mooney of Cobblestone Development to build 65 homes on a 77-acre site near the Pendleton subdivision.

Mooney originally asked the Tyrone Planning Commission last Thursday to approve a rezoning from AR, which requires three-acre lots to R48, which allows one-acre lots.

But Mooney said the development would work better if the commission would allow a clustering development on half-acre sites that would mimic the pastel-colored homes of Seaside in the Florida panhandle. The homes would be tightly packed together and the development would feature six pocket parks.

But because Tyrone currently does not have a zoning category that allows half-acre lots, the commission decided to approve the rezoning to R-48 and said the Town Council would have to decide if it wants to create an ordinance allowing smaller lots.

Mooney said the development would feature homes a minimum of 2,600 square feet in size and priced between $350,000 and $500,00.

Planning commission members liked the style of the development, but said the smaller lots could create problems, including sewer disposal.

But Mooney said he proposed having the drainfields for all the homes in an eight-acre tract on the site.

Planning Commission Chairman Lyn Redwood said the soil map that she examined showed that 16 lots would be unbuildable and wondered if the development would still be feasible with a smaller number of lots.

Mooney said the map was merely a guide, and a detailed soil analysis would have to be completed before he knew exactly how many lots he could develop.

With the Planning Commission approving the development for one-acre lots, he added that a lot of the green space would be eaten up by the bigger lots and that the parks would probably not be in the plan. The Town Council will give the development a final yay or nay Sept. 20.

In other news, the Planning Commission:

Recommended approval of Braelinn Baptist Church's request to rezone a 69.8-acre tract on Ga. Highway 74 to Educational Institutional. The church will build a new sanctuary at the site.

Tabled an annexation request by J.O. Jennings to annex 32 acres on Trickum Creek Road into the town. Jennings wanted to annex the tract into Tyrone because it's bordered on two sides by the city.

But the commission decided to table the issue until more information is available on what Jennings plans to do with the tract. The property is currently zoned AR in the county.

Town Manager Barry Amos said he expects the council to discuss the annexation at its Sept. 20 meeting.


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