Tyrone

residents hoping to find out if developer Joel

Cowan will be able to build a 169-home

subdivision in the northern part of town will

probably have to wait until the first part of

next year.

That's

the word from town manager Barry Amos, who

explained that the proposal will not be discussed

at this Thursday's Planning Commission meeting.

quorum of Planning Commission members able to

discuss the matter will not be present at this

week's meeting, he said.

Commissioners

Lyn Redwood and Dan Flaherty have already

confirmed they will not be at the meeting,

leaving only three members.

While

three members does constitute a quorum,

commission Chairman Tom Williams has removed

himself from discussing the matter since he lives

near Cowan's proposed development.

The

issue will now be discussed at the November

Planning Commission meeting and sent to the City

Council sometime around the first of the year,

Amos said.

The

issue that has drawn the residents out in force

is Cowan's request to build Lake Windsong

subdivision on property bordering the Windsong

and Magnolia Farms subdivisions.

Cowan

owns 282 acres and wants nearly 200 of the acres

rezoned from R-70 and AR, which calls for two-

and three-acre lots, to R-48, which allows

one-acre lots. The remaining 80 acres are already

zoned R-48.

Cowan's

father, Joel, was one of the original developers

of Peachtree City and is the current head of the

powerful new Georgia Regional Transportation

Authority. The younger Cowan wants to create an

upscale subdivision that features homes priced in

the mid-$200s to $300,000, built around an

existing lake.

The

subdivision would feature such amenities as a

clubhouse, tennis courts, a pool overlooking the

lake and possible high-speed Internet connection.

Cowan

emphasized that 23 percent of the acreage would

be left as open space, and he said he would make

sure that many of the older trees on the property

would be saved. If the rezonings are approved, he

expects to start building homes by next spring.

After

hearing Cowan's presentation, numerous residents

have circulated petitions and attended meetings

to stop the development.

The

biggest problems many of the residents saw were

traffic and overburdening existing services.

"The

traffic will triple in our area. It's too high a

density. This subdivision would be built on the

backs of Magnolia Farms and Windsong

(subdivisions)," said Scott Davis.

Many

of the residents were outraged that the only

paved entrance into the subdivision would be down

Ashland Trail.

The

proposed subdivision is virtually two

subdivisions, because the lake cuts the property

nearly in half. The entrance to the subdivision

on the southern side of the lake would be from

either Crestwood Road or Dogwood Trail, which are

currently unpaved.

Another

problems residents had with the proposal was 169

more septic tanks added to the city. But Cowan's

engineer, Mukut Gupta, assured the residents that

Cowan would meet and probably exceed county

health department standards for the development.

Perhaps

the biggest concern of the residents was routing

all the traffic of the new subdivision through

existing subdivisions.

During

a workshop meeting last week with the Planning

Commission, Cowan outlined several options for

additional solutions to the traffic problem.

One

option is to build a road across the dam, but

Amos is not sure the dam is strong enough to

withold auto traffic.

Cowan

is currently conducting a traffic study of the

area and Amos said that will be a key piece of

information that both the Planning Commission and

City Council will need in making their final

decisions.

<!--

-----------