A bid to annex 360 acres into Peachtree City has taken another blow, as county officials have indicated they might oppose any annexation with a zoning more dense than the current two-acre lot size allowed.

That was the reaction city staff got when approaching the Fayette County Commission last week to present a few details about the proposed rezoning. The Peachtree City Council wanted the county's opinion before possibly voting to allow Wieland officials to work with city staff on what is estimated to take a significant amount of staff time preparing the annexation for a council vote.

The council was briefed Thursday night on the county's input, but council itself took no action.

Wieland is seeking one lot per acre on the parcel for a total of 360 homes. Also, the developer wants to combine it with an 88-acre tract that is in the city limits but currently zoned for industrial use.

City Planner David Rast told council that county officials pointed out that they defended the current zoning for the property in court, both at Fayette Superior Court and at the appellate level after a legal challenge by the previous owner, Pathway Communities.

Any change in the land use, such as commercial, as originally proposed on a small scale and later withdrawn by Wieland, would also be opposed, Commission Chairman Greg Dunn told city staff last week.

"That's just not something we would do to the residents of Peachtree City," Dunn said, noting that due to the wetlands on the site the current county zoning would allow roughly 138 homes on the parcel.

The 360-acre tract Wieland wants annexed into the city was part of a larger annexation bid of more than 900 acres which ultimately was turned down by the City Council in 2000.

Perhaps just as important as the rezoning reaction from the county were some comments about the proposed extension of MacDuff Parkway to Ga. Highway 74. County commissioner Peter Pfeifer told Rast that he couldn't support the project because it wasn't part of the county's transportation plan.

Rast noted that Pfeifer was concerned that traffic figures hadn't been developed for the road. The City Council has set aside $180,000 for engineering work on the extension, regardless of whether or not the annexation takes place.

Rast added, on a humorous note, that city staff wasn't "run out of town" by the commission.

- Citizen staffer John Thompson contributed to this report