By JOHN THOMPSON
Staff Writer

Tyrone residents hoping to find out if developer Joel Cowan will be able to build a 169-home subdivision in the northern part of town will probably have to wait until the first part of next year.

That's the word from town manager Barry Amos, who explained that the proposal will not be discussed at this Thursday's Planning Commission meeting.

A quorum of Planning Commission members able to discuss the matter will not be present at this week's meeting, he said.

Commissioners Lyn Redwood and Dan Flaherty have already confirmed they will not be at the meeting, leaving only three members.

While three members does constitute a quorum, commission Chairman Tom Williams has removed himself from discussing the matter since he lives near Cowan's proposed development.

The issue will now be discussed at the November Planning Commission meeting and sent to the City Council sometime around the first of the year, Amos said.

The issue that has drawn the residents out in force is Cowan's request to build Lake Windsong subdivision on property bordering the Windsong and Magnolia Farms subdivisions.

Cowan owns 282 acres and wants nearly 200 of the acres rezoned from R-70 and AR, which calls for two- and three-acre lots, to R-48, which allows one-acre lots. The remaining 80 acres are already zoned R-48.

Cowan's father, Joel, was one of the original developers of Peachtree City and is the current head of the powerful new Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. The younger Cowan wants to create an upscale subdivision that features homes priced in the mid-$200s to $300,000, built around an existing lake.

The subdivision would feature such amenities as a clubhouse, tennis courts, a pool overlooking the lake and possible high-speed Internet connection.

Cowan emphasized that 23 percent of the acreage would be left as open space, and he said he would make sure that many of the older trees on the property would be saved. If the rezonings are approved, he expects to start building homes by next spring.

After hearing Cowan's presentation, numerous residents have circulated petitions and attended meetings to stop the development.

The biggest problems many of the residents saw were traffic and overburdening existing services.

“The traffic will triple in our area. It's too high a density. This subdivision would be built on the backs of Magnolia Farms and Windsong (subdivisions),” said Scott Davis.

Many of the residents were outraged that the only paved entrance into the subdivision would be down Ashland Trail.

The proposed subdivision is virtually two subdivisions, because the lake cuts the property nearly in half. The entrance to the subdivision on the southern side of the lake would be from either Crestwood Road or Dogwood Trail, which are currently unpaved.

Another problems residents had with the proposal was 169 more septic tanks added to the city. But Cowan's engineer, Mukut Gupta, assured the residents that Cowan would meet and probably exceed county health department standards for the development.

Perhaps the biggest concern of the residents was routing all the traffic of the new subdivision through existing subdivisions.

During a workshop meeting last week with the Planning Commission, Cowan outlined several options for additional solutions to the traffic problem.

One option is to build a road across the dam, but Amos is not sure the dam is strong enough to withold auto traffic.

Cowan is currently conducting a traffic study of the area and Amos said that will be a key piece of information that both the Planning Commission and City Council will need in making their final decisions.