Residents eager

to see how development will occur in Senoia should circle Tuesday on their

calendars.

Starting at

7 p.m. at City Hall, the city's Planning Commission will listen to the

public's comments on new zoning ordinance changes and development standards.

Earlier this

year, the City Council unanimously approved extending the city's moratorium

on new developments until July. The moratorium was slated to expire at

the end of April but the City Council and Planning Commission were still

examining changes to the city's zoning and land development ordinances.

Council members

started looking at the changes in April, and spent nearly two hours discussing

the finer points of city planner Bill Johnston's recommended changes.

One of the

biggest changes in the new zoning ordinance is the elimination of the

PUD, or Planned Unit Development district.

The PUD was

in the zoning ordinance to take care of large tracts that might have residential

and commercial components. But Johnston said no applications have been

filed in recent years for the district, so he advocates eliminating it.

Johnston recommended

eliminating the R-20 zoning district, which would allow half-acre lots.

Since the smaller lots can be built in the city's open space zoning category,

he did not see the need for this classification.

Johnston also

said the council needed to add a conceptual site plan in its land development

ordinance.

"This

allows major developments to come before the city early on," he said.

The planner

also advocated a punchlist, so that both city leaders and developers could

see the timelines for when specific items needed to be submitted.

The changes

in the ordinances have been evaluated by the Planning Commission and will

be forwarded to the City Council after Tuesday's public hearing.

City administrator

Murray McAfee said the council is working toward getting all the changes

passed by July 1, so the city's moratorium can be lifted.