Friday, Nov. 26, 2004

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By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@theCitizenNews.com

After almost three hous of debate, the Senoia City Council gave the go-ahead for more than 600 homes at the Twin Lakes development on Rockaway Road.

The deal, between the city and Scarbrough and Rolader Development, clears the way for development of nearly 750 acres on the already-crowded road between Senoia and Peachtree City.

“The property has got a checkered past and I think this deal will accomplish many things we want,’ said Councilman Bill Wood.

The property has been through many developers’ hands during the last decade, and the City Council is hopeful the agreement reached Monday night will prevent any future lawsuits or other development snafus.

Under the agreement, the city gets $467,000 for a water tank site and the developers will be able to place their logo on the water tank site for marketing purposes.

The developers will also donate $52,000 to the city for well site exploration.

in return, the developers get a guarantee of 167,750 gallons of sewer capacity for phase one of their project. The first phase of the development consists of 381 homes, while phase two features 282 homes.

The splitting of the development caused some consternation because a Development of regional impact study is only required for developments featuring more than 400 homes. But the developer agreed to do thes tudy by next June.

Still, the agreement did not sit well with one long-time Twin Lakes resident.

“The city and the residents of the original Twin Lakes have had to suffer with and pay for a faulty sewer system, empty lots not completed for years and neglect of communal property. Do not let another developer take advantage of a small city,” sid Mary Provost.

Thea greement passed unanimously, but City Councilman Robert Belisle made it known that he still had reservations from the last developer who tried to build on the project.