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Tweaked annex bid gets PTC kudosTue, 01/23/2007 - 5:02pm
By: John Munford
The latest vision for a 379-acre tract John Wieland Homes wants annexed into Peachtree City was met with praise from the Peachtree City Planning Commission Monday night. Wieland has reduced the number of homes proposed from 540 to 495 by making some of the lots wider, and the company has added more greenspace to the project that would otherwise be developable land, explained Wieland Vice President Dan Fields. The company has conducted a tree survey to show where significant trees can be saved, including 70- to 80-foot-wide swaths of trees between some lots to provide backyard buffers, Fields explained. Some of those trees will provide shading for golf cart paths that will lead from the homes to the proposed central park area, which would be located across MacDuff from a small retail center for neighborhood-type stores, Fields explained. The company will also develop an individual grading plan for each lot in an effort to save other trees, a company official said. The discussion took place during the commission’s workshop session, which means the item was not up for a formal vote. The commission can only make a recommendation to the City Council, which has the final say on whether or not the property is ultimately annexed. Missing from Wieland’s plan is the development of an adjacent 89-acre tract that Wieland owns and had proposed to build 335 townhomes. But the townhome proposal was rejected by the City Council recently when it voted to deny lifting the city’s multi-family housing moratorium. The parcel is currently zoned for light industrial use. The annexation plan has 166 acres of open space and parks, Fields said, noting that maintaining the trees “adds value” to the individual lots. Wieland plans prices to run all the way up to the $600,000 range for homes on the larger lots, Fields said. Wieland will also look into creating a median with trees along portions of MacDuff Parkway and the company wants to put parallel parking spaces along the road to slow down traffic and provide guest parking for the homes that will be lined along MacDuff. Those homes will be accessed by a back alley instead of MacDuff, but while the commission praised the parallel parking, it was noted that the concept will be a tough sell, particularly to the city engineer. Commissioner Marty Mullin noted that if the parallel parking is “done right,” it could be a traffic calming asset, but only if the road is designed specifically to accommodate the parking spaces. Peachtree City resident Linda Wojcik suggested that the MacDuff Parkway extension be carved around trees to look like Aberdeen Parkway, which is arguably one of the most picturesque roadways in Peachtree City. Fields said the area where MacDuff is planned doesn’t have many significant trees to save. “We can find some trees and put them in the middle,” he said. Fields said the subdivision’s density is now 1.30 units per acre, which is less than Centennial (2.21), Ardenlee (2.05) and Planterra Ridge (1.42) but bigger than Kedron Hills (0.91). Fields said that is in keeping with the city’s comprehensive plan to have development of higher density near the city center of the intersection of Ga. highways 54 and 74, with the development becoming less dense further away from the intersection. Wojcik said she’d like to see the property be a little less dense, and the city has enough leverage to get more out of Wieland because without the annexation, the land would remain in the county where the company could only build lots with a minimum size of two acres, which likely would be far less profitable. Planning Commissioner Patrick Staples said it was important to him for the plan to preserve as many trees as possible. Planning Commissioner Theo Scott said the plan’s golf cart access looked solid. “I for one applaud you for what you’ve done,” Mullin said. “It’s far better than what you had here.” login to post comments
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