In light of the potential annexation of 1,239 homes in Peachtree City’s West Village, city staff is recommending that the area’s impact fees be reviewed to determine if they need to be adjusted.

Impact fees are assessed on a per-lot basis to fund specific city projects, some of which may serve the area specifically and some of which are used more often by residents throughout the city such as the library and the Kedron Aquatic Center and Fieldhouse.

At Thursday night’s City Council meeting, council will consider creating a special committee to evaluate those impact fees. According to state law, 40 percent of the committee must consist of representatives of the development, building or real estate industries, according to a memo from city staff.

Although the committee would make a recommendation, the final decision on any changes in the West Village impact fee rests with council.

Another item on Thursday’s agenda impacts the West Village. The city will consider an agreement with the Georgia Department of Transportation to extend the completion date of the “gateway” cart path bridge that will cross over Ga. Highway 54 near the city limits.

The state is expected to chip in $480,000 for the bridge, with the city’s $138,000 share coming from the countywide transportation special purpose local option sales tax revenues, city officials have said.

The initial agreement for the project was entered in 2005, while construction continued on the widening of Hwy. 54 West. The new agreement allows the city to complete the project by Dec. 31, 2007.

Council is also expected to consider:

• Lifting the multi-family housing moratorium to consider a proposal from John Wieland Homes to add 350 townhomes to an 88-acre parcel it owns within the city limits and adjacent to the property it wants to annex for its proposed “Connector Village.”

City staff could find no record of council previously lifting the moratorium for the project, although Wieland had initially sought the townhomes to be located in the unincorporated land proposed for the annexation, officials said.

Lifting the moratorium only allows city staff to work on the project, but it does not constitute approval of the concept. A rezoning will also be required for the parcel, which is zoned for light industrial use.

• Approving a bid to construct a traffic signal on Hwy. 54 at Stevens Entry. The state DOT has issued permits for the project, and two companies bid for the work. The low bidder was R.J. Haynie of Lake City with a bid of $133,780. The only other bidder was Atcheson Electrical of Douglasville at a bid of $167,564.

• Approving renovations to the restaurant space at the Tennis Center as requested by a businesswoman who wants to locate a Fox’s Pizza franchise there. Kathy Nestlehut wants to tile the floor, modify the bar, add three plasma televisions and repaint the facility. She would pay for the renovations, estimated at $15,000. The city’s benefit would be the income from leasing the restaurant, a matter handled by the city’s tourism association. The building is owned by the city.

• A citizen’s request to revise the fence ordinance. Randy Horn, who lives in The Coventry subdivision, has been put on notice by city staff that a fence built on his property doesn’t conform to city ordinance because the structural fence supports were built on the exterior of the fence. Also, the exterior is unfinished while the interior of the fence, facing the inside of Mr. Horn’s property, is finished, according to Building Official Tom Carty. The fence was installed without a permit initially until the code enforcement department discovered the issue, Carty said.

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