The Peachtree City Planning Commission had to make an about-face

on a recent decision during its meeting Monday night.

Previously, the commission had denied a concept plan submitted for

the Kedron Commons (also known as Kedron Estates) subdivision.

But after being informed by the city attorney that its vote was

"illegal," the commission approved the concept plan 3-1,

with Jim Finney, Rich Schumacher and Wes Saunders in favor and Willis

Granger against.

City Attorney Rick Lindsey had advised the Planning Commission that

its vote to reject the plan because the subdivision would not be

connected to city sewerage was illegal. In a letter, Lindsey said

the commission doesn't have the authority to require all new

developments to be connected to the sewer system.

That's because the city codes and ordinances don't have

such a requirement, Lindsey said in the letter. Therefore, the vote

shall be considered as if it did not occur, Lindsey wrote.

The plan from Hyland Developers calls for 24 homes to be built,

each on its own septic tank. The subdivision is already under construction

on an extension of Astoria Lane.

The subdivision has been the subject of some controversy regarding

the plan to use septic tanks instead of hooking the homes up to

city sewer service. The original plans were for septic tanks, but

earlier this year a sewer manhole was discovered near the property.

Since the sewer manhole was within 500 feet of the proposed 28-lot

subdivision, the Fayette County Health Department ruled that a Georgia

law required the homes to be hooked up to sewer service.

At first, developer Jimmy Halligan appealed to the Water and Sewer

Authority, asking for a letter to the Health Department saying sewer

service was "unavailable" to the subdivision, because

the cost would be prohibitive.

WASA declined, however, and Hyland Developers submitted a new plan

that left out four previously planned lots. That revision put the

24 remaining lots about 700 feet away from the manhole and in compliance

with the Georgia law regarding sewer service for subdivisions.

WASA also recently adopted a similar regulation that dictated sewer

service would be considered "available" if the property

in question is within 500 feet of a sewer manhole.

At Monday's commission meeting, Halligan was asked several

times if the new plan was designed to skirt the intent of the law.

He didn't reply directly to the question, only stating that

several local governmental agencies have hindered the process of

developing the property.

"I'm going by the law: the state law," Halligan said.

Halligan also was questioned about his plans for the four previous

lots that he decided to leave out of the subdivision. He said he

would not leave that land undeveloped, but he might ask for a rezoning

of that land later or simply build a four-home subdivision on the

four lots and connect them to sewer service.

"I will be coming back to do something on that property,"

Halligan said.

Doug Dillard, an attorney representing Hyland Developers, said the

Health Department still has to "sign off" on each lot's

ability to use a septic system.

Jim Williams, the city's director of developmental services,

told the Planning Commission that the city's "policy"

is to have subdivisions hooked up to sewer service. But sometimes

the cost to do that is high, he added.

Williams said that from the beginning, all parties involved assumed

it would be okay to use septic tanks instead of a sewer system for

the subdivision.

City staff had recommended that the Planning Commission approve

the new concept plan.