-->
Search the ArchivesNavigationContact InformationThe Citizen Newspapers For Advertising Information Email us your news! For technical difficulties |
PTC man challenges West Village annexationsMon, 06/04/2007 - 3:22pm
By: John Munford
‘No’ vote should have halted discussion for 6 months, Worley says A Peachtree City man has filed a lawsuit against the city, asking the court to nullify a vote taken May 3 to annex two large parcels of land that would house 1,075 homes on 782 acres in the city’s West Village area. As a result, the city has canceled Thursday public hearings on development fees for the new annexation. The suit contends that the City Council initially voted down the annexation proposed by Levitt and Sons, and since the annexation for John Wieland and Homes was contingent upon Levitt’s annexation succeeding, neither should have been successful. Although council at one time voted down the Levitt annexation at the meeting, it reconsidered the motion minutes later and approved the rezoning 3-2 with council members Steve Boone, Cyndi Plunkett and Harold Logsdon in favor. The suit alleges that both city ordinance and Georgia law require that a six-month waiting period should take place for both properties based on the Levitt annexation being voted down. It also claims that the city violated Georgia law by allowing Levitt and Wieland to change their annexation applications at the meeting “without providing notice or a hearing after the applications had been changed...”. This refers to the reduction in density that was made at the meeting as Wieland dropped its total number of homes from 495 to 475 and Levitt reduced its homes from 679 to 650. The lawsuit was filed by David Worley, an attorney who lives in The Point on Lake Kedron subdivision. In 1990 Worley ran as a Democrat for Congress against then-Rep. Newt Gingrich; he is also a former chairman of the Georgia Democratic Party. Worley is represented on the case by attorney Richard N. Hubert. The suit is asking for the council’s vote to be overturned and Worley is also seeking attorney’s fees. The suit was filed in Fayette County Superior Court and is currently assigned to Judge Christopher C. Edwards. "The city of Peachtree City has revised the June 7 City Council agenda to remove the first of two public hearings to establish the Development Impact Fees for the recently annexed West Village area," according to a news release from Betsy Tyler, the city's public information officer. "On Monday, June 4, Peachtree City received notice of a lawsuit contesting the validity of the May 3 annexation of property owned by John Wieland and Levitt & Sons. The city has postponed consideration of the impact fees for the area until the legal issue is resolved," Tyler said. login to post comments |