The Peachtree City Planning Commission on June 25 recommended the approval of a rezoning request on 66 acres in Wilksmoor Village for 180 homes.
The property totaling 66.5 acres exists as several adjacent parcels zoned GI (general industrial) and AR (agricultural residential) and is situated along the CSX rail line at Senoia Road. The property is bordered to the south by the Everton subdivision and is located immediately north of the Wilkes Grove Church. The Cresswind subdivision is located to the west, directly across MacDuff Parkway.
The vote to recommend the approval of the rezoning request was 4-1, with commissioners J.T. Rabun, Lisa Curtis, Frank Destadio and Paul Gresham in favor and Commissioner Jack Bernard opposed.
That vote was preceded by a motion from Bernard for denial. That motion did not receive a second.
“These are some of the last remaining undeveloped parcels in the Wilksmoor Village, and are now almost completely surrounded by new residential subdivisions,” Senior Planner Robin Cailloux said in a June 14 letter.
Applicant Century Communities proposed 180 single-family homes with an amenity center and 26 acres of open space. City planning staff noted that a spring head is located near an old home site and flows southwest through the properties.
The city’s Future Land Use Map designates the sites for low density residential use and industrial use.
Cailloux said density for the proposed results in 2.7 homes per acre, a figure that is line with the densities at both the large Cresswind subdivision and with portions of the Everton subdivision.
Bernard took issue with the density proposal, saying that the low density requirement for the half of the property zoned AR and adding that a smaller number of homes with larger lots and substantially higher prices would generate more property tax revenue. Bernard expressed the idea that what was being requested was going from “low-density to high-density that doesn’t comply with the map.”
Asked later about the general price range of homes immediately surrounding all sides of the 66-acre area, City Manager Jon Rorie said the homes generally range from $300,000 to the mid-$400,000s, depending on the amenities offered in individual homes.
Bernard for several minutes continued his rationale for having low-density homes with much higher prices on the site.
Century Communities representatives addressing prices said their homes would average $360,000.
City staff recommended approval with nearly two dozen conditions, the majority of which the applicant had previously agreed. Staff will work with the applicant on the remaining conditions. The applicant agreed to a development plan for the amenity package, to be presented during the concept plan phase.
Century Communities in the proposal said it would provide access to Wilks Grove Church, allowing the closure of the at-grade railroad crossing. This closure, along with another crossing just south of this property, will allow the railroad to eliminate the required horn notification from trains, according to city staff.
