A letter to the Peachtree City Council, staff, and residents:

On Thursday, Aug. 13, 1998, the City Council conducted a hearing to receive comments from the citizens and investigate the potential development of another village in Peachtree City.

This potential village would include the existing commercial developments along Ga.Highway 54 west of the railroad, Planterra Ridge, Wynnmeade, Cedarcroft, and whatever develops from the Resser/Cline project. This village could include 1,166 acres, 246 acres of which are within the city limits, bounded on the north by Tyrone, on the east by the railroad, on the south by Cedarcroft, and on the west by Line Creek, if and when the remaining 920 acres are annexed by Peachtree City.

I spoke at this open meeting to voice support for annexation of the acreage identified above. I also expressed concern that owners of five parcels of land included in the 1,166 acres are well along towards developing those five parcels. And, in my humble opinion, these parcels will be developed regardless of whose zoning laws apply, Fayette County, Tyrone, or Peachtree City.

The developers of the five parcels of land, identified above, emphasized that the 1,166 acres would include 1.8 residential units per acre, or approximately 2,100 units, with an expected population increase of 6,300 persons. This is a misleading conclusion.

180 acres lie in a flood plain, 10 percent or about 120 acres would be a greenbelt area along existing streams, another 10 to 12 percent will be devoted streets and rights-of-ways, and probably another 100 acres alongside the railroad will have to be dedicated to industrial use.

The 2,100 units on the remaining 646 acres results in 3.1 units per acre.

I recognize that the city measures density as presented by the developers, but, the lot size that results is really equivalent to the 3.1 units per acre.

I believe that Peachtree City should annex the property, and establish zoning ordinances to control the development, in advance, not after development. I believe that this remaining area should be developed at a standard equal to or better than Planterra Ridge. I, and I would estimate that a majority of Peachtree City citizens, suggest that the zoning should be restricted to single family residential with a minimum zoning of R-22.

The city has repeatedly been upstaged on the development of fringe areas. The commercial development anchored by Publix and SteinMart to the east and residential developments to the south are examples.

It is hard to understand why our city limits differ depending on whether you are traveling east out of town on Hwy. 54 or traveling west entering town on the same highway. Regardless of where the boundaries are, our police and fire protection facilities do, and by all human rights must, respond to emergencies in these areas.

I close with a request to the city council and staff to move quickly toward annexation and proper zoning of this last phase of the city's growth potential.