Friday, November 29, 2002

It's back to square one for Rockaway Road after City Council turns down zoning

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

A rezoning proposal for a 124-home subdivision on the southern edge of Peachtree City on Ga. Highway 74 was denied unanimously by the City Council Thursday night.

Several council members said the 125-acre site should remain zoned for general industrial, particularly because members of the city and county development authorities were worried about losing that property from the industrial park.

The potential impact the subdivision might have on adding more children to the school system was also a factor since schools serving that area already house students in trailers.

"I'm very concerned about overcrowding schools," said councilman Dan Tennant.

"The people I know don't like to have their kids in trailers," said councilman Steve Rapson.

Developer Marvin Isenberg said the school board plans to build new schools in the area that would more than accommodate the students generated by the subdivision. He added that the school board has not protested the rezoning.

While the plan also included two commercial outparcels off the highway totalling over six acres, the developer also committed to realign Rockaway Road so it would intersect with Hwy. 74 at the current traffic light for Holly Grove Road.

The Planning Commission had recommended approving the rezoning, and city staff supported it also. City Planner David Rast said while the last land use plan update didn't have any recommendations for the property, it was previously planned for a single-family medium-density project.

But Rapson said the commercial outparcels were "in stark contrast to the land use plan recommendations."

"Part of the reason Peachtree City is still a wonderful place to live is because of following the land use plan," Rapson said.

Rapson pointed to the Wilshire Pavilion retail center across the highway and noted it has not been fully developed yet, with three outparcels not developed. The commercial parcels for the proposed subdivision would cause a lot of traffic to cross the highway, he added.

Tennant said he didn't support the rezoning because it allowed a higher density than Wilshire Estates, the subdivision directly across the highway from the proposed subdivision.


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