Small half-court extends into greenbelt, a PTC no-no

A resident of Peachtree City’s Centennial subdivision must remove about half of a small basketball court he built in his backyard because it encroaches into the city-owned greenbelt.

Clarence White, who lives at 128 Century Park Place, told the City Council Thursday night that the error was due to information shared with him by a representative of John Wieland Homes. White said the employee told him there was enough room in the backyard to build the court.

Council unanimously voted to deny a variance sought by White, but he was given 30 days to correct the matter.

White said he trusted the Wieland employee who told him the area was indeed part of his backyard. He also said he never saw the pins that marked his property line.

Construction of a basketball court does not require issuance of any city permit, said Community Development Director David Rast. The issue came to the city’s attention when the Centennial homeowner’s association forwarded a letter about the issue, Rast explained.

White said he initially wanted Wieland to build the court for him but a Wieland employee suggested it would have been too costly.

“I was told the land was mine when I moved in,” White said, noting the unusual trapezoidal half-court shape was due to fitting the court against the property line. The court is not as wide as a regulation court and thus cutting half the width may make it unusable.

The court also encroaches into a 25-foot wetland buffer, Rast noted.

White said he understood that the council was most likely to turn him down, but he wanted other people to understand how it happened.

“The biggest thing is I want to let everybody know that this is what Wieland did to me,” White said. “... I understand I am completely incorrect. If nothing else everyone will know what has been done to me and I’m sure it’s been done to other people.”

Councilwoman Cyndi Plunkett said she understood that Mr. White acted in good faith in building the court but said the city’s hands were tied on the matter.