Senoia's first new subdivision could be under construction by the beginning of the year after the council agreed Monday night to allow the developer to start the permitting process.

For the last 10 months, the city has had a moratorium on new commercial and residential development. The moratorium was established to allow the city's planning commission time to rework the future land use map and zoning ordinances.

Developer Gene King approached city officials early in the summer and proposed building an upscale subdivision on a 23-acre site on Rockhouse Road. King said the subdivision would feature a large commons area and homes priced in the $120's.

In the commons area, King said he plans either a tennis court or basketball court, along with a play area for smaller children. He estimated he would spend nearly $15,000 just on the play area.

The rest of the development would feature 18 homes on one-acre tracts.

King thought the city's moratorium was going to expire in July, but the planning commission extended the ban until October and have now extended it until the first of the year.

During an earlier planning commission meeting, King said he planned to build the houses with a modern motif, instead of a history-based architecture, since the property is not in the city's historic downtown.

At Monday night's council meeting, King told the council he was paying $1,200 a month in interest on the property and would like to at least start preliminary work on getting the subdivision approved.

Planning commission chairman Jack Merrick, who was at the meeting, suggested that King file a hardship variance.

But city attorney Kemp Wright said that King was aware of the moratorium when he purchased the property and in fact, created his own hardship.

King countered by saying that he didn't want to start building houses, but merely start the process to give him a head start for when the moratorium is lifted.