Friday, Jan. 21, 2005

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Land swap proposed to correct cart
path error

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Because Peachtree City jumped the gun on paving a section of cart path before the city had a signed easement for the property, a land swap is being proposed to bring the property — off Huddleston Drive — into the city’s possession, city officials said.

Clyde Stricklin, the city’s director of development services, said the previous owner of the site had agreed in principle to granting an easement free of charge for the cart path. But a city crew built the path before the easement could be finalized, and the owner then had a change of heart about asking for compensation for the path easement, Stricklin noted.

The property where the cart path is located is currently undeveloped and owned by John Proffit, Jr. The city is planning to swap a parcel it owns adjacent to Proffit’s site, approximately 4,800 sq. ft. of a city-owned greenbelt, in exchange for the property occupied by the golf cart path, which is approximately 4,679 sq. ft.

The value of the property the city would give Proffit is less than the value of the property the city would receive in the swap, according to the land appraisals, Strickland noted. The city-owned property proposed in the swap is adjacent to Proffit’s parcel, the city’s tennis center and another greenbelt owned by the Planterra Ridge Homeowner’s Association, said City Manager Bernie McMullen.

The closing on the real estate transaction is set for some time between Feb. 7 and Feb. 11, but that could be complicated if another person steps in and wants to purchase the city-owned property offered in the swap, officials said.