John Wieland Homes has cut the density of its proposed west Peachtree City annexation in half, with 360 homes on 360 acres instead of the previously proposed 750 homes.

The company is still committing to extending MacDuff Parkway, and building the necessary at-grade railroad safety crossing and traffic light where the road would line up across Ga. Highway 74 from the southern entrance to Kedron Drive, according to Wieland Vice President Dan Fields.

The road extension would be done first by the company, meaning it could be done much quicker and cheaper than if the city took up the project itself, Fields said Tuesday afternoon. Last month, the City Council voted to set aside $280,000 for engineering the road extension, whether or not the annexation is approved.

Although the new density is equal to one lot per acre, the land located in the unincorporated county is zoned for lots with a minimum size of 2 acres. Wieland officials want to combine the 360-acre tract in the county with an 88-acre tract that's already in the city limits, which is currently zoned for industrial use and would require a rezoning for residential construction.

Another significant cut from the previous Wieland annexation proposal includes the amenities, such as the village green and civic area, which now will be stripped from the proposed project, officials indicated.

In an e-mail copied to The Citizen, Mayor Steve Brown lamented the loss of the amenities and the 340 units of senior housing "that would have almost no negative impact on our community schools and traffic."

"Never in our city's history have we seen such overwhelming support for a promising annexation from the adjacent homeowners, churches, businesses, public safety chiefs and the Board of Education," Brown wrote. "For this proposal never to make it to the planning staff is disheartening."

The City Council is due to consider whether or not the annexation should be pursued by city staff. If so, the proposal could be fleshed out with staff input before a final vote from the council to officially approve or deny the annexation request.

If council rebuffs the effort, the project could go