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PTC makes annexation easier

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@thecitizennews.com

Peachtree City’s roadblock to annexation requests has been reduced to a mere speed-bump.

At Thursday’s meeting, the city council voted to replace its moratorium on annexation proposals with a new two-step process — the first step of which depends heavily on receiving detailed information from the developer who makes the proposal.

The second step, which involves city planning staff to a larger degree, can’t take place without a vote of approval from the city council that allows the matter to be investigated further.

“All of the burden in the first phase is on the applicant,” said City Planner David Rast.

Rast indicated the new process allows council to evaluate the proposal based on how it fits with the city’s established land use plan before it could go forward. If it’s not a match, the council could nip the effort in the bud before too much staff time is involved.

Rast said he didn’t believe city staff would be “inundated” with annexation proposals if the moratorium were lifted. He added, however, that several developers have indicated some interest in the new process.

City Attorney Ted Meeker noted that if the council approved one proposal to continue past the first step, it would not legally commit council to approving the final proposal.

The requirements of the moratorium were far more stringent. City staff were forbidden from even speaking to a developer about a possible annexation before the moratorium was lifted for that given proposal by the city council.

Most recently, Mayor Steve Brown has urged John Wieland Homes and Neighborhood to present an annexation proposal for a 364-acre tract it owns north of McDuff Parkway in west Peachtree City.

Brown wants the annexation so McDuff can connect with Ga. Highway 74, allowing traffic to use McDuff as a shortcut to avoid the often-clogged intersection of hwys. 54 and 74, including an at-grade railroad crossing, likely lining up with the intersection of the southern end of Kedron Drive.