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PTC Council approves annexationsThu, 05/03/2007 - 11:14pm
By: John Munford
Environmental questions surround recent barrel discovery at nearby Peach Pit landfill The Peachtree City Council, after some tortuous haggling over density issues, approved two annexations to the city’s west side that would add more than 1,100 homes to the city. But it wasn’t until the 11th hour that a deal was struck as both developers were arm-twisted into reducing the overall density of both subdivisions by a total of 69 homes. The deciding vote was 3-2 with council members Steve Boone, Cyndi Plunkett and mayor Harold Logsdon for the Levitt and Sons annexation and rezoning and council members Stuart Kourajian and Judi-ann Rutherford against. The reason that was the deciding vote was because shortly before council approved the Wieland annexation and rezoning by a 4-1 vote with Rutherford recording the only nay vote. The action took place in front of a standing-room only crowd in the City Council chambers at City Hall, with the audience becoming more testy as the night went on; the audience weighed heavily towards the pro-annexation viewpoint. Opponents unsuccessfully argued that the subdivision was way too dense considering that the city land use plan requires larger sized lots on the edge of the city limits. There was also a call to put the matter on hold until more information could be received from the Fayette County Board of Education in terms of how the new students in the Wieland development would affect all schoolchildren in Peachtree City. It was revealed prior to the meeting that the Fayette County Board of Education is asking for a combined fifty-acre site to locate a new elementary school and a new middle school. The board has indicated it is willing to give up the current 17-acre site that Wieland had provided as part of its Centennial subdivision just to the south of the proposed Connector Village subdivision. Based on Wieland’s density, It is anticipated that Wieland’s development would add roughly 475 elementary school students and 118 students each at Fayette County’s public middle and high schools. Council was also put on notice of a potential environmental problem that was discovered two weeks ago on land immediately to the east of the Wieland tract. The deciding vote was struck literally several minutes before midnight. Kourajian said he’d rather see the Levitt subdivision reduced to 500 homes, and after insisting on that a second time he drew jeers from the pro-annexation crowd, who didn’t seemingly miss a chance to wave their green “vote yes” signs to try and sway council’s decision. Ultimately John Wieland Homes shrunk its density by 20 homes to 475 single-family homes on its 379-acre site just north of the Centennial subdivision; Levitt and Sons will build 650 homes limited just to “active adults” 55 and over, a reduction of 49 homes. Wieland reduced its plan by 20 homes after some council members initially balked over density. In the same light, Levitt was having similar problems at the outset when it initially offered to reduce its density by 20 units — but no more — as the project would become financially unworkable due to the cost of the bridge according to Levitt attorney Kathryn Zickert. Minutes later, Levitt shrunk its density further by 12 more lots when it became apparent the annexation would likely die on a 3-2 vote. Never mind that on top of all the drama added to the issue by both sides, council at times struggled with the interpretation of Roberts Rules of Order and several failed motions on the Levitt annexation and rezoning. Wieland plans to extend the build-out process over 10 years at 49 units a year, which would ultimately affect how many students would enter the system at one time. Because Levitt’s “Seasons at Peachtree City” will be restricted only to those 55 and up, it is not expected to have any impact on bringing additional students into the school system, although those homes will still pay school taxes, a Levitt representative has said. Levitt plans to build at the rate of 100 units a year. Local environmentalist Dennis Chase raised questions about the recent finding of a liquid-filled barrel at the Peach Pit landfill, which is located on land just east of the tract Wieland wants to annex. Chase said there was evidence the landfill had been re-opened but he didn’t think Wieland was responsible for the barrel, which was found two weeks ago. Chase said there was no information about what liquid was in that barrel but there may be other barrels underground which ultimately will leak into a nearby stream that would go past homes Wieland wants to build as part of the annexation. Chase suggested that the site should be cleaned up entirely as a requirement of the annexation. If not, Chase said, a less favorable option would be to cap the site with an impervious surface and make sure groundwater couldn’t move under the earth on the site to keep potential contamination from shifting off-site and into the nearby stream. Chase said he has sampled water in more than 60 areas of streams in Peachtree City and at nearly every one he saw evidence that children have played nearby. He suggested that kids in Wieland’s new subdivision might do the same. Dan Fields of John Wieland Homes said the site would be cleaned up “tomorrow” but it was later determined that no action could take place until the Georgia Environmental Protection Division could be notified. City Engineer David Borkowski said he had not yet been able to get ahold of anyone at EPD to report the problem. Fields said that more than two months ago he found that the lock and chain to the gate of the Peach Pit area had been broken, and he said he was disappointed about the barrel, the presence of household trash and vandalism that has occurred on the site. Fields also offered to have a task force established to study the 88-acre tract inside the city on which the Peach Pit is located. Previously Wieland sought a rezoning to have townhomes put on the site. Fields said if the task force was agreeable Wieland would commit to giving up to $250,000 towards adding sports fields on that site. Although the meeting was emotional at times, there was also laughter on several occasions as folks on both sides cracked wise. Wieland’s annexation plan includes a small “neighborhood” retail area on the northern edge of its tract; it had initially been in the center of its plan but there was a request to move it closer to the Levitt tract to make it easier for its residents to walk to the stores. Although the council approved both annexations and rezonings for both parcels, the land plans for both subdivisions must be formally approved by the Peachtree City Planning Commission at a later date. Fields said the extension of MacDuff would not be a cut-through for automobiles because traffic calming measures would be adopted to help slow down traffic. Opponents of the annexation have contended that many autos will use MacDuff as a shortcut to avoid the often-clogged intersection of Ga. highways 54 and 74. Based on an average value of each home being $350,000, city staff has calculated that each home would pay $758 a year in city property tax. At full-build out that adds up to $905,000 a year in city property taxes alone. login to post comments
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