When I read many months ago that the City Council of Peachtree City was asked to annex a new Group VI development on Ga. Highway 74 South and Redwine Road, I assumed the proposal would be voted down. Instead, the City Council, much to everyone’s dismay, voted 4-1 to approve the annexation even though the data showed it to be a net loss to the city with municipal service costs significantly more than the tax revenue generated.

Councilwoman Rutherford made sure the city staff confirmed the project was a net loss for the city, and yet she was the only member of council to vote in opposition. Many asked what motivated the council to vote for such a measure. God only knows.

Last week the City Council approved another annexation request for Wieland Homes and Levitt and Sons. Like the previous Group VI annexation, this approval has left a lot of people scratching their heads trying to figure out what the council is doing.

The Peachtree City Civic Association (PTCCA), a collective body of local homeowners associations, created a committee to express some areas of concern to the City Council related to the annexation request. The PTCCA approved a paper with 10 points of concern. Unfortunately, the council, instead of addressing the concerns, appeared to have looked the other way.

You have to take into account that the PTCCA did not say to go forward with the annexation or to deny it. They simply asked the council to take a serious look at some important issues prior to casting a vote.

First, since the bridge in the North Kedron area was the stated culprit for driving the requested housing densities upward, the PTCCA asked the council to look at alternative funding methods for the bridge. They also asked for new talks with the “new majority” on the Fayette County Board of Commissioners to look at some alternatives for making the bridge happen under a lower unit density. Unfortunately, this did not happen in serious form and the steamroller kept moving.

The PTCCA made a very reasonable request that the entire West Village area (between Line Creek and Hwy. 74) be master-planned. Obviously, our city is heralded as a master-planned community, so you would expect such a request to be the status quo.

It was Mayor Logsdon who demanded to focus on all of the unincorporated land. However, in a startling move, the council left 89 acres (the property is in the city limits and adjacent to the unincorporated land) owned by Wieland Homes out of the mix and left it marked as “future development” to worry about another day.

Because of the rail spur built in 2006, the land looks to be suitable for only residential purposes (more homes, more students and more traffic). By turning a blind eye and not tying all the parcels together in the planning process, the council abdicated its responsibility for the sake of expedience.

PTCCA asked the council to make sure the annexation complied with the standards within the Comprehensive Plan. Surely, the Levitt and Sons development broke the bank on this one, and even the town of Tyrone voiced their opposition. The mayor and council did not address the concerns of the PTCCA or the Tyrone Council.

Since Levitt and Sons would be adding thousands of senior citizens to our already aging population, the PTCCA requested “the presence of a public access senior facility within the Levitt tract at developer expense.” This would appear a fair request since they would be creating a significant burden on our senior related infrastructure. However, the council only got a meager $150,000 from the developer. You cannot build a single Levitt and Sons house for $150,000.

The PTCCA also asked that the council, “Encourage communication with the FCBOE to lessen the impact of displacing students. Take into consideration the number of homes yet to be built/sold in Centennial and Cedar Croft subdivisions when calculating student population.”

The only communication from the Board of Education came the day of the council meeting with the board requesting 50 acres for an elementary and middle school. Unfortunately, the council did not honor the request and choose not to demand the site from the developers to accommodate the significant growth in students. I guess we will be asked to cover that cost in our annual school taxes.

The PTCCA asked the council, “Address what will become of the land fill known as the ‘Peach Pit’ and who is responsible for guaranteeing the safety of this site.”

The mayor and council found out the night of the meeting that city staff had alerted the Georgia Environmental Protection Division two weeks prior regarding the land fill site, but no action had yet been taken. The mayor and council bypassed the matter and went on with the approval.

The PTCCA also asked the council to address moving the hazardous CSX rail spur constructed in 2006. The requests for annexation could have been used as leverage to move the rail spur to another, non-residential location. The mayor and council declined to pursue the matter.

Finally, the PTCCA requested that the council, “Ensure a large, central recreational space is provided that will have citywide draw, as other villages provide.” Instead, the mayor and council did not secure any recreational land and collected a meager $250,000 (not enough for a single ball field) from Wieland Homes.

This entire effort was totally lacking direction. The communication was inadequate with the local citizens, the Fayette County Commission, the town of Tyrone and the Fayette Board of Education. The council approval left many questions unanswered and pulled the leverage for resolving some of the problems right out of our hands.

Nearly everyone agrees there needs to be a connection between Hwy. 74 and MacDuff Parkway. However, we must use every resource at our disposal to create the opportunity for the infrastructure without abandoning our principles.

Here again, Mayor Logsdon’s absolute resistance to creating public committees of varying opinions to ensure that all concerns are taken into account is yielding a poor return. Being surrounded with pro-development “yes men and women” means we are expected to surrender everything we value.

Former Mayor Lenox and I formed committees frequently. Yes, there were disagreements and heated debate, but all sides were heard. For an elected official to totally disregard the voice of his constituents is to throw liberty in the trash pail.

For the record, Councilwoman Rutherford voted against both the Wieland and Levitt and Sons annexation requests and was the only council member to do so.

Steve Brown

stevebrownptc@ureach.com

Peachtree City, Ga

Note: A copy of the Peachtree City Civic Association annexation paper to the City Council follows this letter.

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Consensus and Areas of Concern With Regard to the Proposed West Village Annexation Plan

The Peachtree City Civic Association (PTCCA) recognizes the need for an access point between the existing (and proposed) West Village and Georgia State Route 74. The primary consensus is that whether the land remains in unincorporated Fayette County or is annexed into Peachtree City, we regard a direct connection to Georgia State Route 74 as essential before any further development occurs in this area. PTCCA encourages City Council to work with the Fayette County Board of Commissioners and the prospective developers to develop alternative funding for the West Village bridge at North Kedron.

In addition, PTCCA strongly urges the City Council to examine the following factors with respect to the proposed annexation and rezoning:

1. The entire proposed West Village area should be master planned. So to take on the challenge of a possible annexation without having an approved use for the 89 acres of property to the east along the rail line would not be in the best interest of the city. The land is zoned industrial – now deemed a non-suitable use – and the only land use offering, thus far, has been multifamily housing which was rejected. With housing density being a major issue for the annexation, the citizens deserve a rational explanation of how that property will be used and the property should be rezoned to that use in conjunction with the annexation.

2. Compliance with the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Plan, specifically in relation to density at the city’s outer edge.

3. Ensure traffic calming methods are implemented along MacDuff Parkway at developer expense for the protection of pedestrians, golf carts, etc. and minimize the impact on the level of service on our roads to prevent further “drive time” traffic congestion and air pollution.

4. Ensure the presence of a public access senior facility within the Levitt tract at developer expense.

5. Encourage communication with the FCBOE to lessen the impact of displacing students. Take into consideration the number of homes yet to be built/sold in Centennial and Cedar Croft subdivisions when calculating student population.

6. Address what will become of the land fill known as the Peach Pit and who is responsible for guaranteeing the safety of this site.

7. Encourage Wieland to consider including a percentage of senior housing in his plan. This could assist in reducing student displacement within our schools.

8. The city should engage in talks with CSX to move the rail spur away from the West Village area. This could involve amending the Capital Improvement Program and allow for the use of impact fees to accomplish the task. Moving the rail spur will increase public safety, allow for another access point to Georgia State Route 74 and non-residential uses on the eastern portion of Wieland land as well as improve aesthetics.

9. Ensure a large, central recreational space is provided that will have citywide draw, as other villages provide (i.e., Kedron, Glenloch, Braelinn, etc.) possibly on the 89 acres adjacent to the rail tracks.

The PTCCA respectfully requests that City Council carefully review and consider our points above prior to voting on the proposed annexation and rezoning on May 3, 2007. We would also like to participate in any further discussions with respect to the above issues.