Peachtree City Councilman Robert Brooks knew that changing his mind

on annexing the West Village land would make a big difference.

His "no" vote would have shifted the balance of power

dramatically. With councilman Dan Tennant firmly against annexation,

Brooks's vote would put the matter within one vote of being

extinguished.

"If anybody else had concerns, it really didn't make sense

to continue," Brooks said Monday afternoon. That's why

he wanted to make his feelings known at last week's council

meeting.

Little did anyone know that several other council members were thinking

along the same lines. The Citizen talked with him and others in

the aftermath of last Thursday's unexpected council vote of

5-0 against annexation.

Before that vote, Brooks made his case, citing the massive burden

that over 1,400 homes planned for the West Village would place on

the county school system. After his lengthy explanation, council

members Annie McMenamin and Carol Fritz chimed in with reasons why

they also opposed annexation.

The final vote to oppose the annexation was unanimous, although

Mayor Bob Lenox later admitted that his vote to shoot the annexation

down was predicated on "seeing the writing on the wall."

In an interview with The Citizen Monday, Lenox said the vote caught

him totally by surprise.

"I had no warning that it was coming - not at all,"

the mayor said, later questioning whether other council members

spoke amongst themselves about the issue before the meeting.

Brooks told The Citizen that he didn't speak to any fellow

council members about his feelings before the meeting. Tennant said

he was also in the dark about Brooks's intentions until a minute

or two before the meeting when Brooks told Tennant he was bringing

up the West Village issue and that Tennant would like what he had

to say.

"I had no idea this was coming up, but I'm glad that it

happened," Tennant said. He added that at no time during the

West Village Task Force's study did he consider favoring annexation.

"It's not that I'm arrogant, but I was going to keep

the promise I made to the people."

Tennant said he asked a number of citizens about their opinions

on annexing the West Village area and "most people had pretty

strong convictions" not to annex.

"It (annexation) would have fundamentally changed the landscape

of Peachtree City," Tennant said.

The Citizen could not reach McMenamin or Fritz for comment by press

time.

Lenox said he felt the decision not to annex would be regretted

later down the road. But for the short term, he thinks council made

the right decision.

"The only time this will be brought up again will be 20 years

from now when we're still having service problems and taxation

problems and it's fully developed," Lenox said.

Brooks said he had been studying the West Village plans intently

because council was scheduled to decide on a rezoning for the Katz

property that's still in the city limits but would have been

considered a part of the West Village master plan.

The "wrapping up" of the task force's study also

helped Brooks decide it was time for him to make a decision, he

said.

All that homework, made easier by detailed minutes from the task

force meetings, helped make up Brooks's mind.

But the public also helped Brooks make his decision. In his 10 years

on council, this was easily the issue that he got the most public

input on, he said.

"It's not even close," Brooks said. "I've

had a number of people talk to me about it in an unsolicited fashion.

I truly believe a lot of the citizens had truly educated themselves

on the issue and they wanted to maintain the situation we have now."

In contrast, Lenox said he had not received one phone call, note

or e-mail from a citizen on annexation since a letter writer in

last week's edition of The Citizen encouraged residents to

contact him.

"I'm not really sure how the majority of Peachtree City

feels about this issue," Lenox said. "I spend most of

my time trying to guess the viewpoint of the community. ... Mainly,

the mayor operates in the dark about how the community feels."

Brooks said the developers could sue for any density they wanted

in the West Village if the city annexed the property. But the city

can't be sued for not annexing the land, he added.

Once the property is developed at county standards of a minimum

of one home per acre, it might be prudent for the city to annex

the property, Brooks conceded.

Lenox said the West Village area could have been developed eventually

with about 1,400 homes. He had already been planning negotiations

with the developers and property owners of the 900-plus acres that

could have become a part of Peachtree City.

The negotiations were part of the logical next step for the mayor

after the task force had voted 10-5 in favor of pursuing the annexation.

At that meeting, each task force member read a position paper indicating

their viewpoint. Lenox then recapped each person's stance to

tally the "votes" without asking for a formal show of

hands.

None of the task force members complained about how their vote was

tallied. But McMenamin, who saw the "vote" take place,

told council she interpreted the vote differently from Lenox.

"I felt that at best it may have been in the reverse of 10-5

of strong pro annexation at least to continue discussion,"

McMenamin said. "I thought it was a very weak vote of those

who voted in favor to continue."

Brooks said Monday that he was against annexation because the development

had several negatives though it didn't make Peachtree City

better. He did say the plan developed by the task force and a consulting

firm was beautiful, however.

During the council meeting, Brooks, Fritz and McMenamin outlined

their reasons for opposing the annexation.

The most important issue for Brooks was the fact that the annexation

"was not the Peachtree City residents' vision."

"I think the majority opinion right now, and significantly

so, is to let it develop at county standards and there are probably

some things we can do in working with the county that would make

that work," Brooks said.

Brooks said the school impact was one of three main issues that

swayed his opinion. Another was the problematic traffic access to

the property. He also said that commercial development that's

coming to the area would impact the traffic in the area of the proposed

West Village.

Brooks said the city is taking the position that the proposed Wal-Mart,

which would be near the West Village property, can't locate

there because the traffic it would generate would create unsafe

conditions.

"So I have a problem with annexing 900 acres for development

behind a proposed Wal-Mart that we say we don't have room for,"

he said.

McMenamin said the high density of the plan "was an absolute

no-no." She added that she totally agreed with all of Brooks's

comments.

"I would hesitate to ask anyone to put any more time or effort

into it," McMenamin said of the annexation pursuit.

Fritz echoed Brooks's concern about the impact the West Village

would have had on the school system. She also was concerned about

the close proximity of the rock quarry which was at the northern

border of the proposed West Village concept plan.

Another of Fritz's concerns was about the impact the West Village

would have on the nearby wetlands and the city's water supply.

"I view that as a serious detriment to any economic development

here," Fritz said. "If we don't have any water, we're

not going to have any economic development."

Fritz asked if council would favor annexation if the property was

developed according to the county's current zoning designation.

Brooks said that zoning was the subject of a lawsuit between Pathway

Communities and the county, so the city should stay out of the issue.

"I think that would complicate things right now," Brooks

said.

Each of the council members applauded the work of the task force

in studying the issue for the city.

But Lenox told The Citizen that he felt the task force wasn't

given a chance to do what it was charged with: come up with two

plans for annexation and present them to city council.

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