It’s going to be awhile before there is any resolution to the ongoing dispute between Coweta County and Sharpsburg over Pathway Communities’ plan to annex 480 acres of land for a huge development.

At a called meeting Tuesday afternoon, the Coweta County Commission voted unanimously to ask for a mediator in the dispute. For the last few weeks, officials from Sharpsburg and the county have been trying to hammer out an agreement that would prevent the hiring of a costly mediator.

But when the county received the latest agreement from Sharpsburg, officials noted that many of the county’s requests had been stricken. Specifically, the town struck through a provision calling for the protection of Keg Creek and did not want to pay for costs of fire protection provided by the county.

Sharpsburg officials also struck through the entire section concerning impact fees.

County attorney Jerry Conner said the sides had seven days to agree on a mediator, and then would have 28 days to start the mediation. She added that negotiations could still continue until the mediation started.

“Of course, we can go through this mediation, and they could disagree with it and do exactly what they want to do,” said Commissioner Leigh Schlumper.

Schlumper added she just hated to see taxpayers’ dollars wasted, but the county was backed into a corner. The only decision the board could make was either accept the agreement sent from Shaprpsburg or call for mediation.

If mediation fails, Conner said a panel would be picked to further study the case.

Pathway plans to build a residential and commercial community with approximately 760 single-family homes and 80 townhomes, along with 100 units for assisted living. He said homes will range in style from turn-of-the-century to traditional and priced from the high $100s to over $300,000.

Other features of the development include a 22-acre commercial center. The commercial area will front on Ga. Highway 54 and may feature a grocery store, drug store, day care center and restaurant to serve the Sharpsburg area.

The development includes more than 15,000 feet of multiuse paths for residents to use to get to the commercial area and the various pocket parks and amenities scattered throughout the property.

Pathway is the former Peachtree City Development Corp., which planned and oversaw the development of most of Peachtree City’s 15,000 acres.

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