Brian

McAllister has had a unique problem, the only one

of its kind in Peachtree City - at least,

the City Council hopes it's the only one.

The

young airline pilot lived in his home at 205

Creekbed Court with his wife and two young sons

for nearly two years without incident. He bought

the house in 1997 and became the third owner of

the property since the house was built in 1973.

It

was only when he sold the house, so his family

could move back home to Colorado, that his

private nightmare began.

It

was discovered during routine paperwork for the

sale that his backyard fence, which marked his

supposed property line, enclosed more than 60

feet of the city's green belt. Thus, much of his

"backyard" was not his.

The

amazing thing about this discovery was that it

had never been noticed for 26 years prior to this

transaction. A new backyard fence was even

inspected by the city and a permit was issued for

it, McAllister explained in a letter to the City

Council.

McAllister

and his wife spent a great deal of time building

the fence themselves, following the exact route

the previous fence had taken - more than 400

feet. Now they were faced with the possibility of

having to tear it down and rearrange the property

lines before the sale could be completed.

The

matter was complicated by the fact that the

city's own cart path actually encroached onto

McAllister's land.

McAllister

appeared before the City Council at last week's

regular meeting to present what he thought was a

fair and equitable solution to the problem -

swap some land, square foot for square foot.

He

proposed to give the city the land surrounding

the cart path, with an equal amount being

returned to him so that his fence would be

undisturbed.

City

attorney Rick Lindsey researched the city's

options and determined that the city could swap

the property if it wanted to. He also said that,

according to his interpretation of state law,

while the city cannot lose title to land it holds

for the public by prescriptive easement or

adverse possession, it could take possession of

property through the same means. However, Lindsey

recommended that the city not take any such

action, since it would be

"inequitable."

Councilman

Jim Pace said he had walked the property himself

and thought the proposed swap was "the only

right thing to do." He made a motion to do

so, was seconded by Annie McMenamin and it

carried unanimously.

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