A professional consultant on "new urbanism" would be too expensive and the process too slow to move toward a "combined use plan" for Ga. Highway 54 and Walt Banks Road in Peachtree City, a special task force agreed Tuesday.

The 20-member task force held its second meeting to discuss the controversial corner, agreeing that pressures on landholders to sell or develop their sites are such that a months-long process of meetings and ideas on the property is not practical. In addition, City Manager Jim Basinger reported that new urbanism designer Victor Dover, contacted about possibilities, would cost about $10,000 for two days of tours, consultations and ideas, and up to $200,000 for a public-input process and master plan design.

"Well, look, we've already saved the city $200,000 by not doing this," Mayor Bob Lenox joked.

The process described by Dover involves a "charet," originally used by the French to describe a lot of people working on a project at the same time, Basinger said. Dover or another expert would facilitate the process, extract ideas from small groups composed of any interested citizens, and combine the ideas into a recommended plan, he added.

"I think we are already doing that," said Chuck Lehman, who with developers John Callaway and Bob Adams and several others will offer a draft plan next week, he said. The 73-acre tract, owned by several different people, is already zoned for residential, office and commercial uses.

The task force had a lot of fun with the "charet" discussion before deciding that professional consultants would not be practical. Cele Eifert said it may be a "short step from charet to charade."

Lenox says the task force is free to "draw out your own ideas ... I know I have a hazy concept." With some possible designs, the task force then could discuss "what the realities are" related to traffic, access, financial considerations, and other factors in a planned development, said Willis Granger.

Task force members will also try to obtain more hard data on actual traffic numbers that might be generated by different kinds of developments. If "lofts" or apartments are incorporated into the design, the area would have to "make a statement so that people would want to live there," Adams said. Sally Bender agreed, noting that an area with shops and services, green spaces and well-designed living space would "make people want to be there."