Despite an impassioned plea by Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority Chairman Wade Williams, the Peachtree City Planning Commission voted unanimously Monday to deny an 18 acre annexation request along the city’s southern border that could have potentially delivered sewer service to a planned shopping center just beyond the current city limits.
The city council will have the final say on the annexation request, but the council rarely goes against a planning commission recommendation.
Jim Wells submitted the request on behalf of Southern Pines Plantations Commercial Group, a development company with strong ties to middle Georgia.
His company has owned the 18 acre tract as well as a larger adjacent 62 acre tract since 2000. During that year, the Fayette County Board of Commissioners rezoned 28 of those acres along Highway 74 South near Meade Field from Agricultural/Residential to Community Commercial and Office Institutional -- despite a request by Peachtree City not to do so.
Wells’ company has since received approval from the county to develop a shopping/office complex on the site, which rivals the size of Peachtree City’s ‘The Avenue.”
Wells indicated Monday that he plans to break ground on the development in the next 24 months -- regardless of whether or not sewer becomes available.
The annexation request would bring the northern 18 acres of the development into the city. The front 3.86 acres of that tract would be used for an office development, while the remaining 14 plus acres would be donated to Peachtree City for an expansion of Meade Field.
The annexation would also allow the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority to construct a low-impact, environmentally-friendly gravity sewer line to serve the development, Meade Field, the animal shelter and several other tracts along the city’s southern edge that are currently relying on septic systems.
With the sewer line in place, the larger portion of Southern Pines’ commercial development could also obtain a sewer hook-up, despite remaining outside of the city limits.
“This annexation would undoubtably be a benefit for us at the water and sewer authority,” Williams said.
“You’ve got to look at the environmental impact. We’re taking a step backward by putting them in a situation where they have to install a
“Without new big users like Southern Pines, residents are going to see their rates go up again,” he explained.
Wells called the Meade Field septic system “an environmental time bomb.”
“When that thing breaks it’s going to dump straight into Line Creek,” he noted.
County Commissioner Eric Maxwell, who attended the planning commission meeting, also spoke in favor of the annexation to no avail. Maxwell called the proposal a “Win for all five parties involved.”
“This annexation is a win for the county, a win for the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority, a win for the Brechen Park subdivision and a win for Peachtree City,” he said.
“The talks and plans you see tonight were initiated by the Water and Sewer Authority.”
If the council backs the planning commission’s position and denies the annexation, Wells said the development will still move forward.
“There is a demand for professional office in the southern part of the county,” Wells explained.
“I may have to rethink the scope of the project, but bottom line, we’re approved by the county to build. The city is turning down free land for ball fields and free sewer. We are ready to pay for the sewer expansion. The Water and Sewer Authority has a need and the only place they can feasibly put a gravity line is on our property.”
The planning commission’s Monday vote essentially calls Wells’ bluff.
A city staff position paper opposing the annexation stated, “Annexing the property as proposed would allow sanitary sewer to be extended into the county thus enabling a retail and commercial development that was initially opposed by
the city.”
All five planning commission members sited the staff position paper when explaining their nay votes.
“We’re miles apart from the county when it comes to building standards,” said board member Theo Scott.
“This is not a good development for Peachtree City’s gateway.”
However, Wells insisted he is not bluffing and he needs no “enabling.” He already has approval from the county to build.
Without the annexation and sewer line, Wells said the Southern Pines development will utilize a large commercial septic system and a vast sewage spray field, which will be adjacent to the Brechen Park subdivision.
Planning commission chairman Patrick Staples said he hopes the water and sewer authority, Southern Pines, the county and Peachtree City can come back together and rework the plans to make the proposal “a bigger win for everybody.”
“I’m voting nay, but we may in fact get a septic field there, which makes me sick to my stomach,” Staples stated.
If Southern Pines can get sewer hook ups, the spray field will not be necessary and the 50 acres in the rear of the property will be available for county use.
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