Wednesday, November 19, 2003
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Wednesday, November 19, 2003 |
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County OKs 1st ‘conservation subdivision’ By JOHN THOMPSON Which would you rather have, smaller lots and a huge park, or bigger lots and far less greenspace? That’s the thorny question the Fayette County Commission tackled last Thursday. In the end, the County Commission decided unanimously to give approval to the county’s first C-S conservation subdivision, which allows homes to be developed on lots as small as an acre, but preserves a large amount of greenspace. “This is the prototype for this type of development in the county,” said Commissioner Linda Wells. The tract of land in question was a 185-acre site on Flat Creel Trail, between Tyrone Road and Sandy Creek Road, about midway between Peachtree City and Fayetteville. Since 1941, the land has been in the hands of the Kirby family. For the last few years, the Kirbys have been looking for the right developer to sell the property to, and settled on John Ryckeley. Ryckeley explained that he could currently develop 76 homes on the site under the R-70 zoning, without asking for a rezoning request. But he decided to seek the C-S zoning to try a new type of development. Under the C-S zoning, Ryckeley will still build the same number of homes, but they will be grouped on a smaller fraction of the total parcel. With some lots as small as an acre, Ryckeley will be able to leave 82 acres as permanent greenspace, in addition to preserving a pecan grove on the property that will be used as a picnic area. “I’m also going to build sidewalks and walking paths throughout the subdivision,” Ryckeley said. The homes in the development, dubbed Annelise Park, will be between 2,500 and 2,800 square feet and retail for $425,000-$750,000. “I’ve looked at the property and C-S is a better way, and there will only be 20 one-acre lots,” said Commissioner A.G. VanLandingham. But the new way of developing did have its detractors. Nearly 20 people stood in opposition to the development. Many of the arguments leveled against the proposed subdivision included increased traffic on Flat Creek Trail, and a 117 percent increase in housing units in the area. But Commission Chairman Greg Dunn disagreed. “There’s going to be the exact same number of homes no matter how it’s developed,” he said. Commissioner Herb Frady agreed, and said this was a way of allowing development, but still preserving property. The commission also said this did not set a precedent for one-acre developments in the county, since there was a stringent set of guidelines for developing a conservation subdivision. “We will be monitoring
closely how this is developed,” Dunn said.
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