Wednesday, June 2, 2004

Council to decide on PTC bypass

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@thecitizennews.com

A proposal to lift Peachtree City’s annexation and multi-family housing moratoriums will be considered again by the city council Thursday night.

John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods wants to the city to consider annexing a 364-acre tract north of the Centennial subdivision off McDuff Parkway. The area lies west and south of the Comcast cable TV facility on Ga. Highway 74 North.

The items were tabled from the previous council meeting since city staff was preparing a new method for the city to handle annexation requests. Currently, city staff can’t work with developers seeking annexation or multi-family housing rezonings unless either moratorium is lifted for a specific piece of property.

This particular proposal was spurred by Mayor Steve Brown, who approached Wieland about annexing the property and extending McDuff Parkway so it will link with Ga. Highway 74 at its intersection with South Kedron Drive.

Brown says the road extension would relieve traffic at Ga. highways 54 and 74 by allowing vehicles to use McDuff Parkway as a cut-through.

Linking McDuff Parkway to Hwy. 74 will not be a simple project because it will require an at-grade crossing of the CSX railroad tracks. McDuff Parkway currently ends at the city limits about a mile north of Hwy. 54.

The parcel in question is zoned R-70 in the county, meaning it must be developed with lots having a minimum size of two acres. The Fayette County Commission last year withstood a lawsuit challenge to the two-acre zoning.

In addition to annexing the property into the city, Wieland is seeking to have townhomes and duplexes considered for senior housing. Such uses are considered multi-family in nature by Peachtree City and would require a rezoning.

At the last council meeting, several residents from the area said they were open to the annexation to gain some traffic relief from the often-clogged Hwy. 54, which is the only way for residents to drive into Peachtree City.

The parcel was once the subject of a lawsuit between Pathway Communities and Fayette County. Pathway sought a rezoning to reduce the minimum lot size to one acre, but the court sided with the county in upholding the R-70 zoning.

The land was sold to John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods in February

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