Peachtree

City was a showcase for a statewide audience Tuesday as

the Governor's Green Space Committee visited City Hall

for its regular meeting, which included a golf cart tour

of town.

The all-day

meeting was highlighted by a presentation from city

officials, who discussed the ways that they believe

Peachtree City's use of undisturbed open space has

enhanced the community.

Mayor Bob

Lenox said that a friend told him a few months ago, after

seeing the city and its layout, "You've got a lot of

room to grow." Lenox responded, "No, we

don't."

The city is

now about 90 percent developed, Lenox told the committee,

and the large areas that some might assume will

eventually be filled with houses or commercial

development are going to stay green for a long time.

Lenox said

that he considers the best green space to be found in

neighborhoods, pointing out that nearly all of Peachtree

City's homes are near such an area.

About 30

percent of the land in the city is devoted to open space,

according to development director Jim Williams. Any

subdivision or commercial development that goes on the

drawing board is designed to work within the green space

network, he said, and very few subdivisions back right up

against each other without any open space between.

Williams

pointed out how the city's two major creek basins, Line

Creek and Flat Creek, have been used for the creation of

nature preserves that are overseen by the Southern

Conservation Trust, which he called one of the largest

organizations of its kind in the Southeastern United

States.

The 70-mile

network of cart paths makes virtually any part of the

city accessible from any home, Williams said, citing a

recent survey that said 98 percent of the residents

consider the cart paths a top transportation priority

within the city.

Many people

tell Williams that the things done in Peachtree City were

possible only because it was done from the beginning, and

they cannot be duplicated in existing cities.

"That's not true. You don't have to start from

scratch," he answered.

Property

values in the residential areas of the city validate the

economics of these policies concerning green spaces,

Williams asserted.

A committee

member asked if all employees who work in Peachtree City

can live there as well, and both Lenox and Williams said

they can, pointing out that there is housing in every

price range.

Williams

cited the fact that he has lived in the city for many

years while being a city employee, and Lenox said that

many of the people who work for his company live in

Peachtree City also.

Police

chief Jim Murray addressed the group briefly about the

peculiarities of preserving public safety in such a

unique place as Peachtree City.

He said

that, while they are often secluded and hard to see, the

cart paths rarely see much criminal activity. Also,

because of the nature of their layout, people from other

areas who commit crimes in there often have a difficult

time getting away without being caught because of their

unfamiliarity with the surroundings.

Murray

mentioned the ongoing bike patrols and golf cart patrols

that are done in the city, and said officers have even

patrolled the paths on rollerblades along with the city's

6,800 registered golf carts.

Citing a

recent Atlanta magazine article that says Peachtree City

has an exceptionally low crime rate, Murray also pointed

out that his force has a relatively low number of

officers per capita.