City Council to vote on rezoning to allow 43 cluster homes on 11 acres

The Peachtree City Council recently assured residents that no more apartments were planned or on the horizon.

The council didn’t say anything about cluster homes, and that what’s on the council’s rezoning agenda this Thursday night — 43 cluster homes on 11 acres in the far northwest section of the city.

Two council members will be casting their final votes before term-limiting off by the end of this year — Mike King and Phil Prebor.

“Brent Holdings, the Applicant, is requesting the rezoning of about 11 acres from AR Agricultural Reserve to LUR Limited Use Residential,” according to the staff report on the rezoning request.

“The subject property is located at 1102 MacDuff Parkway and was recently de-annexed from Tyrone and annexed into Peachtree City by the Georgia State Legislature.

“The 11-acre tract is triangular-shaped and bound to the northeast by the CSX railroad, to the west by the Cresswind subdivision, and to the south by the undeveloped townhome subdivision. The property is currently undeveloped. The proposal is for 43 townhomes, connecting to the approved townhome development to the south, called Collier Hills,” the staff report said.

“The 2022 Comprehensive Plan continued this lower-density definition, permitting only ‘lots smaller than 1/4 acre and some attached style homes with 3 to 6 units per acre.’ At a density of 3.9 units per acre, the proposed zoning meets the [single family cluster] standards,” the staff report said.

“In the end, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend denial of the request, stating that they thought there should be fewer units, that the density should step down toward the city’s edge, and that the proposed density is more appropriate near a Village Center,” according to the staff report on the proposed rezoning.

Should the council approve the rezoning, staff recommended “the maximum number of dwelling units shall be 43.” In addition, staff suggested at least half the homes “shall include either a ground-level bedroom, a ground-level flex room, or a space for an elevator” and “at least a 20-foot separation between buildings.”

Staff further recommended a minimum 50-foot buffer between the homes’ back yards and the CSX railroad tracks, plus a privacy fence along the railroad right of way, and a 100-foot landscaping buffer along the western property line of the site.

“The applicant’s representative confirmed that the homes’ average size would be about 2,200 square feet, and they would be 35 feet or shorter,” the staff report said. 

The townhomes are expected to sell in the “mid-$400,000 price point,” the staff report said. That’s below the average break-even point for providing city services, given as $571,000 in the staff report.

An annexation and rezoning request is also on the council agenda, and three of the five council members — Mayor Kim Learnard and King and Prebor — have already indicated they intend to vote to bring the 52 acres next to the new Booth Middle School into the city. The proposal is for 23 homes costing above $1 million each.

“Michael Hyde, the applicant, is requesting the annexation and zoning of about 52 acres on Stagecoach Road and Spear Road” the staff report said. “The applicant proposes to develop the land into two separate subdivisions: A 2-lot subdivision zoned ER, Estate Residential accessible only from the proposed extension of Stagecoach Road, and a 21-lot subdivision zoned LUR, Limited Use Residential, accessible only from Spear Road.”

The city Planning Commission has twice this year voted unanimously to recommend denial of the Hyde request, and the council seems ready to ignore their planning commission once again.