A proposal to annex a 4.4 acre site containing a new medical office building and a second such building under construction will be formally considered at a later date by the Peachtree City Council.
The site, which is accessed via Ga. Highway 54 East, is contiguous with the city limits along Sumner Road. The developer wants the annexation so the buildings can be hooked up to sewer service.
Council’s vote Thursday night allows the developer to work with city staff in exploring the annexation further, but a final vote of approval or denial will come from council at a later date.
Chuck Ogletree of Foot Pain LLC said while there are several other parcels west of his site along Hwy. 54 which are also in the county, all but one have expressed an interest in also being annexed into the city.
The new building can be developed with a septic system instead, but the sewer is preferable, Ogletree said.
The main benefit to the city of such an annexation would be the addition of the $2.37 million building and the under-construction expansion to the property tax rolls, an additional source of revenue. If the site is ultimately annexed, the city would have to provide city services such as public safety and the like.
The site is currently zoned commercial as a part of the unincorporated county. If annexed, the property owner wants it rezoned for office use.
Several residents spoke against the annexation, worried that the Foot Pain site and adjacent businesses might seek access to Sumner Road and create traffic problems. There were also concerns about cutting more trees down along Sumner Road, which contains a residential subdivision on the other side from the medical clinic.
Councilman Eric Imker noted such concerns can be shared with the city’s planning commission when it studies the proposal.
City Attorney Ted Meeker noted that the annexation could be pursued despite the parcels to the west of the site remaining in the county. That’s because those parcels would still connect to the unincorporated county across Hwy. 54, which keeps the proposed annexation in line with state law that forbids the creation of islands of unincorporated land that are bordered only on one side by the unincorporated county.
