Members of

the West Village Task Force hit the ground running

Tuesday afternoon in their second official meeting, with

a wealth of supporting materials to aid in their

discussion of annexation and development possibilities

for the area.

Mayor Bob

Lenox informed the group at the outset that a visit to

the site by as many committee members as possible could

be advantageous, and he had already contacted the

property owners in anticipation of such an opportunity.

Two dates in the coming week, April 11 and 15, were set

aside as days to visit the property, giving everyone

ample opportunity to take a look at what has become the

subject of so much discussion.

In response

to requests at the previous meeting for informational

materials, task force members Tuesday found themselves

surrounded by about a dozen maps and diagrams, including

a land-use map of Coweta County and a zoning map of

Tyrone, watershed maps from the Atlanta Regional

Commission, aerial photographs provided by Georgia Power,

and a pair of conceptual plans - one assuming

annexation becomes a reality, and another providing for a

lack of annexation.

Lenox said

that questions had been raised about his own presentation

at the recent City Council meeting which initiated this

entire process. He informed the task force that he put

that together completely on his own, with no input from

city staff except for the actual conversion of his work

into a PowerPoint presentation.

On Lenox's

urging, city planner David Rast gave a brief presentation

of the two concepts before the task force, referred to as

plan A (annexation) and plan B (no annexation).

Rast

pointed out that under a non-annexation plan, the parcels

already in the city and especially along McDuff Parkway

would likely be more densely developed, with an estimate

of four units per acre not unreasonable, considering the

existing densities of Wynnmeade and Cedarcroft. Using a

clustering concept would help provide a better buffer

along the railroad and power line, he added.

Estimates

of total residential units under both plans were

compared, using net acreage figures based upon

elimination of flood plain areas and subtracting 40

percent of the usable land for roads, buffers and

infrastructure. Under plan B, Rast calculated that a

total of 913 units could develop in the area (including

105 undeveloped lots in Wynnmeade), with a density of

four units per acre in the southern section, one unit per

acre in the central Pathway Communities section, and a

half unit per acre in the northern section.

Rast also

indicated the current strip of industrially zoned land

along the railroad within the city, saying that without

annexation it was not configured well for residential and

would probably remain as industrial, office or

institutional uses.

An analysis

of the developers' plans proposed to the City Council in

January showed a total of 1,450 single-family residential

units and 100 assisted living units. Lenox noted that the

committee was actually comparing the 1,450 figure with

the plan B option of 808 units, after subtracting the

undeveloped Wynnmeade land, which was not included in the

developers' plan.

While that

leaves a difference of nearly 650 units, Lenox added that

without annexing, the remaining 62 acres of industrial

land could house between 300,000 and 600,000 square feet

of office/industrial development, which should also be

factored into the traffic and tax revenue analysis. He

estimated that the industrial properties would develop in

a similar manner to the existing development on

Huddleston Road.

Task force

member Chuck Lehman asked about the possibility of MARTA

coming to Peachtree City, and Lenox responded that, based

on his work with the Atlanta Regional Commission, he did

not see it happening. However, he said five light

commuter rail lines are being planned, and that Peachtree

City is designated as the second of those five lines.

Under that

proposed line, using the existing CSX line and extending

to Senoia, Lenox said he envisions stops in the northern

and southern ends of Peachtree City (the northern stop

would be in the West Village area), Tyrone, perhaps

Fairburn, and then Hartsfield International Airport and

downtown. He said this system is in ARC's 20-year plan,

but no funding has been designated yet.

Lenox

presented the task force a revised list of work elements,

incorporating comments from the previous meeting. The

list included:

Traffic

impact (access points, internal and external traffic

flow, and short and long-term impact on highways 54 and

74);

Environmental

impact (wetlands and floodplains, Line Creek, on-site

streams, mitigation rules, and land donation and

management);

City

services (fire, EMS, police, recreation, library, public

works and administrative);

City

financial analysis (capital costs, operating costs,

impact fee revenue, general revenue and infrastructure

costs);

School

system assessment (required sites and facilities, student

loading analysis, capital and operating financial

analysis);

Planning

issues (land use allocations, traditional zoning vs.

"smart growth," environmental and watershed

protection, future planning for outparcels, service

requirements, and process control and management); and

Process

control and management (coordination with ARC, Fayette

County Commission, Fayette County Water, Fayette County

Board of Education, Tyrone Town Council, Coweta County

Commission, PTC Water & Sewerage Authority and

utilities).

John

Williams said he felt that working with the full group on

all of these issues might prove cumbersome, and he

suggested forming subcommittees to research the specific

elements of the work program. Jim Steinbach agreed with

that suggestion.

"That's

the only way to get our arms around this," said

Steinbach. "Otherwise, it's just too big a

process."

Lenox said

he did not want to bias the process for or against

annexation, and he felt that a detailed analysis would

reveal positive elements to both plans. "If we

decide not to annex, we'll still learn a lot about what

the city, the Board of Education and the county will face

in the coming years by doing this comparative

analysis," he said.

When Lehman

asked what the difference in population would be between

the two plans, Lenox replied that it is about 2,000

people, based on the figure of 3.05 people per household

used by the city.

Robert

Brown pointed out that the developers' proposal indicated

only one school site, which would accommodate less than

half the students generated by the development, and that

the school system does not have funds to build a school

on the site.

Lehman said

his interpretation of the work program elements is that

population will govern most of the impact. Lenox said

there is a direct correlation between population and some

elements, such as the number of police officers needed,

but that a fire station will be needed regardless of

whether the property is annexed, and it will require a

certain number of firefighters whether there are 800

homes or 1,450 homes.

Lenox also

felt that the city might have to provide fire and EMS

services to the 364-acre Pathway property, which is next

to the current city limits, regardless of annexation.

Steinbach

pointed out that the residents of the area also would use

recreation and library services in Peachtree City rather

than driving to Fayetteville, and they would add traffic

on Peachtree City's road system whether annexed or not.

Williams

said he feels it is important to consider developing the

area under the village concept. If the residents have

services within their village, they will make fewer trips

onto the major arteries, he said.

Dennis

Chase pointed out that the subcommittee approach would

work well for some of the elements, but felt that issues

such as the schools and the environment would have wider

areas of impact, and would require looking beyond the

West Village boundaries.

Asked if

zoning restrictions could limit the number of people per

unit or affect the number of students a development might

generate, Lenox said that zoning could have some effect,

but added that the design of the homes and lots will have

more bearing. Some of the communities in town that are

designed for and appeal to empty nesters and retirees

have less impact on schools and roads, he said, even

though there is no age restriction on the neighborhoods.

Lehman

asked what Peachtree City's transient rate is - how

often people move in and out. Lenox thought that was an

important factor and suggested calling local Realtor Jim

Fulton, feeling that the Board of Realtors would have

some statistics on resale homes that could shed light on

that figure.

Lenox asked

to serve on the school subcommittee, noting that he had

been working to organize a countywide group of builders

and financial people to assist the Board of Education

with its building program. He felt he would be working on

the same issues for that group.

Members

then began volunteering for various subcommittees, and

absent members were tentatively assigned pending their

acceptance, as follows:

Traffic

impact - John Williams as chairman, Liz Bunker, Willis

Granger (tentative).

Environmental

impact - Dennis Chase as chairman, Phyllis Aguayo

(tentative), Todd Strickland, Jim Steinbach.

City

services and city financial analysis - Chuck Lehman as

chairman, Jim Steinbach, Jim Barber, Jim Basinger.

School

system assessment - Bob Lenox as chairman, Debbie Condon

(tentative), Dennis Chase.

Planning

issues - Todd Strickland as chairman, George Kadel

(tentative), Jerry Peterson.

Process

control and management - Cele Eifert as chairman

(tentative), John Williams.

Lenox asked

that the subcommittees meet and be prepared to give

reports at the next task force meeting, set for April 25,

on their organization, requests from staff and other

relevant points. He said the chairman should work toward

ultimately providing the task force with an overview

comparison of the impact of plan A (1,450 residences, 100

assisted living units and about 25 acres of commercial

development) to plan B (800 residential units and

approximately 62 acres of industrial/office development).

The task

force has scheduled two site visits. The first is

Tuesday, April 11, at 9 a.m. with Lenox serving as tour

guide. The second would be Saturday, April 15, at 9 a.m.,

led by Jerry Peterson. Participants would meet at City

Hall. Lenox said liability waivers will be required, and

he is organizing those.