Wednesday, February 20, 2002
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Wednesday, February 20, 2002 |
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PTC Mayor: Moratorium was useful By JOHN MUNFORD
Although Peachtree City's development moratorium has been ruled invalid by a Superior Court Judge, it served part of its purpose, argues Mayor Steve Brown. The moratorium, which was overturned by Superior Court Judge Paschal English Thursday, bought time for two of four committees to nearly complete their most important work so recommendations could be forwarded to council, Brown said. The committees studying tree preservation and the city's stormwater ordinance are both close to having recommendations for changes to the city ordinances regarding those topics, he added. The stormwater ordinance changes were designed to keep the city from having to fund improvements to developments once they are completed, Brown said. One of the goals of the tree preservation committee is finding a way to insure trees remain viable in new developments after the first year. The moratorium was overturned after a lawsuit filed by the Home Builders Association of Midwest Georgia, which claimed it was unfair although it included an appeals process by which developers could seek to have their projects not upheld to the moratorium, which was scheduled to last 90 days. With the court's ruling Thursday, the moratorium ended after just 34 days in effect. The moratorium called for a ban on the planning commission approving any new concept plans, new landscape plans and new concept plats for subdivisions. Although local business leaders labelled the moratorium as "bad for business," Brown noted that Peachtree City's local option sales tax figures haven't dropped as much as seen in other municipalities. Brown attributed that to the city's level of quality controls on commercial growth.
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