The Peachtree City Council will decide Thursday night whether to approve two annexations that would add nearly 1,200 homes to the city’s northwest quadrant.

The developers of the two proposed subdivisions have pledged to build an extension of MacDuff Parkway that would end its current dead-end status and bring it all the way to Old Senoia Road and Ga. Highway 74. City staff is recommending approval of both annexations and the subsequent rezonings.

Some residents previously have expressed concerns about overburdening the school system. It is anticipated that one of the proposed developments — Connector Village by John Wieland Homes — will add roughly 495 elementary school students and about 124 students each at both the middle school and high school levels. Those estimates were derived using the formula utilized by the Fayette County School System to evaluate the educational impact of proposed subdivisions.

Wieland wants to build 495 single-family homes on the 379 acres that comprises its Connector Village proposal just north of the current terminus of MacDuff Parkway.

The other subdivision, Seasons at Peachtree City by Levitt and Sons, would be a 699-unit “active adult” community that restricts residents to being 55 and over, so it likely won’t send any students to the school system. Levitt’s tract is 403 acres in size and is south of Senoia Road.

The town of Tyrone has opposed the annexation, saying the road connection will add more traffic through its downtown area. Other residents have stated worries about increasing traffic and the extension of MacDuff Parkway becoming a shortcut for motorists looking to avoid the often-clogged intersection of Ga. highways 54 and 74.

A petition with more than 650 signatures supporting the annexation has been submitted to the city, and a number of residents in homes along MacDuff have said they want the annexations approved mainly to allow the extension of MacDuff Parkway. The road extension will require a bridge to be built over the CSX railroad tracks, at a projected cost of more than $1 million.

Some residents have opposed the annexation based on the increased density compared to how the land must be developed under the county’s zoning, where both tracts currently sit.

The county has zoned the Wieland property for lots no smaller than two acres each, and it won a lawsuit defending that zoning from previous landowner Pathway Communities, which sought to have the designation shrunk to minimum lot sizes of one acre each.

Wieland wants the city to annex its 379-acre parcel which is south of the Levitt tract and north of Wieland’s Centennial subdivision which is located in the city limits at the current terminus of MacDuff Parkway.

Levitt and Sons is seeking approval for annexing 403 acres south of Old Senoia Road for a 699-unit “active adult” subdivision in which residents would be limited only to those ages 55 and up.

In Levitt’s request, there would be 539 single-family homes and another 160 courtyard homes. The courtyard homes would feature four homes sharing a driveway and common parking lot.

Levitt officials have touted that in doing so the subdivision will not have any impact on sending more students to the school system although its residents will continue to pay school taxes.

Under the current county zoning for the Levitt parcel, the minimum lot size is five acres per lot. The tract is in an area of the county’s land use plan that would allow lot sizes between one and two acres. But it’s likely that if the county commission decided to rezone it, it might not allow lots smaller than two acres each since that’s what was approved for the Wieland tract to the south, which is closer to Peachtree City.

As part of its recommendation to approve the annexations, city staff has proposed a number of conditions on both developments including:

• Building MacDuff Parkway with two lanes divided by a center median; parallel parking proposed by Wieland for its small commercial area would be axed from the plan because the road is considered a “community collector” road.

• Installing of traffic calming devices and designs on MacDuff Parkway at no cost to the city;

• Possibly placing a golf cart path tunnel under MacDuff Parkway;

• Finding a new location for a fire station at no cost to the city; previously Wieland donated another site in its Centennial subdivision for a fire station;

• All park and landscaping maintenance will be the responsibility of the homeowners association; and

• No more than 20 percent of the homes can be used at one time as rental units, and the developer shall devise a method of “strict enforcement” to handle such situations.

Levitt is preserving 228 of its 403 acres as open space, and of that figure 108 acres of the open space could actually be developed since it is not in the floodplain, wetlands or buffer areas, according to city staff.

Similarly, Wieland is preserving 161 acres of its 379-acre tract as open space, and 41 of those acres could actually be developed since it is not in the floodplain, wetlands or buffer areas, according to city staff.

Both proposed subdivisions border Line Creek and offer some extended buffer along the creek beyond what is required by law. Also both subdivisions will be on sewer service instead of septic tanks.

The annexation proposal marks the third attempt in the past eight years to annex a West Village. Former mayors Bob Lenox and Steve Brown also sought to build support for bringing the unincorporated island into the city, but both previous attempts were declined by the council.