So far, it

looks like Coweta County and the city of Senoia may not have to head to

the Georgia Supreme Court to handle new annexation disputes.

The city and

county have compromised on two of the three three annexation notices the

city submitted to the county.

The first request

that the two groups compromised on is for the same 50 acres on Rockaway

Road that led the county and Senoia to the Georgia Supreme Court last

year. In a ruling that Coweta County Attorney Mitch Powell called a precedent,

the Georgia Supreme Court sided with the county in its zoning dispute

with Senoia.

The court overturned

a decision by Coweta County Superior Court Judge William Lee, who said

the city should be able to annex 50 acres into the city and zone the land

as its council members please.

The case turned

into a battle over the recently enacted state House Bill 489, which requires

cities and counties to work closer to prevent duplication of services.

Part of the

law also requires cities and counties to work through a long mediation

process on annexation disputes. Lee declared those parts of the law unconstitutional

and said the Georgia Constitution gives the local governments exclusive

zoning power.

Because Coweta

County representatives can object to Senoia's zoning on the land in the

ordinary course of public hearings, the judge deemed the law calling for

further discussion between the two entities unconstitutional.

But the Supreme

Court ruled that the arbitration process is constitutional, so now the

city and county head back to the arbitration process, Powell said.

Senoia had

wanted to annex the property into the city and allow one-acre lots, but

the adjoining county property is zoned for five-acre tracts.

But this time,

City Administrator Leonard Thompson said developer Steve Entrekin is seeking

the city's new "green space" R-40 zoning.

The zoning

allows for a little bit higher density development, but stipulates that

25 percent of the land must be reserved for greenspace. Thompson estimates

Entrekin could place 55 homes on the tract.

Entrekin also

has requested annexation for a 100-acre tract further up Rockaway Road.

He is also requesting green space rezoning for that parcel.

The county

and city agreed that Entrekin would have to place 1.6-acre lots on the

perimeter of the property that adjoins county property, but would be allowed

to have half-acre lots on the inside part of the property

The final tract

being considered for annexation is a 100-acre tract near Southern Mills.

The city plans to use the area for a spray field for its newly developed

sewer system.

The county

wants the city to be more restrictive on spray field applications and

will head to mitigation efforts later this month.