Cherokee TV

Canton planners approve Canton West

Tom Brooks
Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Canton West, a mixed-use project that would add almost 3,500 homes to Canton and northwestern Cherokee County, cleared a hurdle Monday night as the Canton Planning Commission approved the development in a split vote.

The stage is set for the Canton City Council to vote in September on Canton West, although other hurdles remain for the zoning and annexation petitions of the project that its developers say would take about 20 years to build out.

The Canton Planning Commission voted 4-3 on July 21 to recommend approval of the 910-acre portion of the proposed 2,340-acre Canton West development that would be within the city. The request is for Planned Unit Development zoning for site.

Proposed as a mix of houses, retail and office space, Canton West is planned for mostly undeveloped land between Marietta Highway in Canton and Ga. 108 near Lake Arrowhead and Waleska.

First proposed three years ago, Canton West was reviewed last summer by county officials who voted to postpone further consideration of the project until Canton acts. The plan shows 1,430 acres in unincorporated Cherokee County, with almost 1,340 homes proposed for the area, and about 2,130 homes in the city area.

The motion  approved by the city planning commission asks the Canton City Council to make approval of Canton West conditional on the county giving the project the green light.

The plan proposed by Atlanta-based PEC Development for its Canton West project shows higher densities of the mix of houses and commercial space situated west of Ga. 140 and north of the Etowah River than in its northwestern Cherokee section.

Financial issues were raised as central concerns during the regular July planning commission meeting in Canton City Hall before the split vote that capped more than two hours of the case’s public hearing and discussion between the planners.

Opponents of the plan presented Monday told the city officials the project poses too much of a financial risk for the city to ensure roads and other needs are ready for new residents in Canton West while the real estate market is uncertain. They also cited its environmental impact and the density levels as points of contention.

Canton West’s developers and other supporters say the project represents a better scenario for the city and its residents than the “sprawl” of individual neighborhoods on the land that could be built under existing zoning.

PEC Development executives and their representatives, including land use attorney Doug Dillard, said a key feature of Canton West is a planned four-lane parkway that would connect Marietta Highway with Ga. 108.

The parkway, along with land and funding donations for the Cherokee County School District, a sewerage treatment facility, and land for city park space are multi-million costs for Canton West that would address the project’s impact that are to be paid by PEC Development and others instead of city taxpayers, the company officials said.

PEC Development President Todd Hager said the company has made major commitments to address infrastructure, educational and recreational demands of the project. The road would provide traffic relief on roads throughout the area around Canton West, he added.

“This development will pay for all its impacts,” Hager said.

“The benefits to the city, I believe,” PEC Development CEO Paul Corley said of the project plan presented Monday “are tremendous.”

The road, which PEC Development officials say would cost about $30 million, is a central question for Canton West, according to the planners.

Some county and city officials say the roadway should be completed before construction of buildings start in Canton West. PEC Development officials proposed a staged construction schedule for the road.

Under the motion approved Monday, the four-lane road project would be phased, with segments added incrementally. The condition in the motion approved Monday calling for the county’s approval before city approval would be in effect was put in place to ensure the road would be completed through the entire project to link Marietta Highway and Ga. 108, city planners said.

Planning commission member Bill Bryan, who voted against Monday’s motion, said he doesn’t believe the parkway would address traffic generated by Canton West beyond the site. Roads would become congested with the added traffic and taxpayers, in turn, would be footing the bill for intersection upgrades and other improvements, Bryan said.

The future traffic flow is challenging to predict, said the sponsor of Monday’s motion, planning commission member Louis St. Peter, before the vote.

“It’s an imponderable, essentially,” St. Peter said of future traffic conditions.

The request before the city includes the proposed annexation of 901.7 acres into Canton. The city area would also include an 8.5-acre portion already within the city limits by Marietta Highway at its Westview Drive intersection. Nearly 600,000 square feet of commercial space is also proposed for the city section, almost 450,000 square feet of retail space and 150,000 square feet of offices.

The Canton City Council is slated to hold its first reading on the Canton West requests on August 21 and the final vote is slated for September 18.

Planning commission members Mary Beth Burnette, Herman Cantrell and Rejayne Cordery also voted for the motion. Also voting no were Chairman Mark Walker and Jim Wilson.

Along with the city planning staff’s recommended conditions, the planning members added the condition that the county endorse the project to allow for its full approval by the city and added the proposed condition that a determination be made the smaller tract and the larger tract are contigious. Georgia annexation law includes requirements for properties subject to annexation to be contigious to land already within municipal boundaries of the cities.