Not

satisfied with annexation plan A or B, members of

Peachtree City's West Village Task Force came up with

plan C Tuesday night.

The

proposal calls for no annexation, no change in zoning,

maintaining GI (general industrial) zoning status along

the railroad tracks and construction of about 400 new

homes.

Plan A

promotes annexation and construction of 1,450 homes. Plan

B is an annexation proposal with 750 homes. The property

available for annexation covers 913 acres on the south

side of Ga. Highway 74. The city could also rezone 241

acres within its jurisdiction for new construction.

Subcommittees

of the task force presented their findings to the entire

group in a meeting that left many members in a quandary

over the effects the west village development would have

on traffic, the environment, the existing community and

growing school enrollments.

Todd

Strickland, a task force member, said after the reports

were given, "This property has a high number of

negative factors." Referring to the acreage proposed

for annexation and development, he ticked off the minuses

- an active rock quarry that conducts regular

blasting, logging on the Redwine property, the regular

passage of diesel trains, existence of power lines, the

Peach Pit, a 10-acre land fill, now sealed, which was

left open for about 11 years for unregulated dumping, and

what he called, the "Wynnmeade factor,"

referring to the subdivision that borders the proposed

village's south side.

Jerry

Peterson of Pathway Communities and Strickland are

devising a ratings system to weigh the pros and cons of

annexation versus non-annexation from a planner's

standpoint.

Tackling

traffic was John Williams, who estimated another 1,000

cars on the road from projects already planned.

"What's pertinent is not what's to come, it's what's

already on the board... I'm most concerned about the

impact we haven't felt yet, and we won't know that for

another two years," he said.

Biologist

Dennis Chase, dealing with environmental factors, said he

discovered that the wetlands on the property in question

are "more extensive than we've seen on the

maps," citing an upcoming law that will require

mitigation for disturbed wetlands in excess of one-tenth

of an acre. He also stated the need for additional

testing on the Peach Pit.

Purchased

at the time, but, "If we put people out there [in

the west village], it will have an impact and we will

have to test the ground and surface water," Chase

said.

The growing

enrollments in the Fayette County schools prompted school

board Chairman Debbie Condon in her remarks to say,

"We need three new elementary schools in the next

four years and that's not including the west

village." Growth projections for the West Village,

provided by the school district, estimated that the

property in question would still produce 913 single

family units even if the city does not annex the land.

Based on a formula of one elementary student and one

secondary student for every two single family units, that

would produce more than 1,800 students. If annexation

takes place, the result would be 1,553 single family

units, or more than 3,000 students, based on the same

formula.

The next

task force meeting will be Monday, May 8 at 4 p.m. at

Peachtree City Hall.