A decision to abandon wetlands reclamation behind Stratford Court at the Flat Creek Golf Course reversed since the last Peachtree City Planning Commission meeting Nov. 23 apparently will stand.

City Planner David Rast said at that meeting that owners of the golf course had decided that the half-acre site which affects several homes would become a "low-growing" wetlands area. Since then, said Rast, the owners and their environmental consultant apparently have determined that an "emergent" wetlands project would be too costly. Therefore, the Stratford Court site will likely be restored to its former lawn-like condition.

Neither Lee Burton, golf course manager for the owners, Patten Seed Co., nor consultant Butch Register with Eco-South Inc. could be reached for comment.

The area became a source of controversy after Patten Seed applied to use land at Flat Creek course to mitigate wetlands acreage disturbed during construction of new holes at the Canongate course near Palmetto. Stratford Court residents objected to severe grading and dirt removal in the area. Steve and Marjorie Bachman have said that they made efforts to determine whether the golf course owners were following accepted procedures for wetlands reclamation.

The city became involved through the homeowners. Inspections and contacts led to the discovery that appropriate land disturbance permits had not been obtained from Peachtree City, precipitating discussions of the project at several planning commission meetings. Burton said at one meeting that because the plan had been approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Patten Seed was not aware that city permits had to be obtained.

At the Oct. 26 planning commission meeting, Burton and Register were asked to provide a "complete plan" of proposed actions on the entire wetlands mitigation project, not just the area behind Stratford Court. The city has not yet "received a detailed set of plans for the revised mitigation area," Rast said. Now that the decision has been made to restore the Stratford Court site instead of using it as part of the wetlands reclamation, the golf course owners have designated another location which is not near homes, Rast said. A meeting was held a few weeks ago, he added, which comprised the golf course consultant and manager, homeowners, planning commissioner Gerri Holt and city officials, in which the possibilities for restoration, low-growing wetlands, or full-blown wetlands development for the Stratford Court site were discussed.

Marjorie Bachman said that the plan for "emergent" wetlands was preferable to what had already been done as preliminary work for planting large trees and shrubs for a fully developed wetlands area. The plan would have been to place low-growing plants near the irrigation canal that runs behind the homes, with larger trees located nearer to Flat Creek, which separates the disputed area from the actual playing area of the course.

According to spokesperson Jim Parker of the Corps of Engineers office in Savannah, EcoSouth has "furnished sufficient information about the mitigation plan that either location is fine" as part of the mitigated area. The decision whether to create wetlands behind Stratford Court or to restore that small area to its former condition rests with the owners, Parker said, "although the city may want more or different information about it."

Steve Bachman noted that "the only thing we wanted all along was for the are to be done right, wetlands or not ... I don't know whether the owners realize that if they don't do the wetlands mitigation right, they may not be allowed to mitigate again if it becomes necessary in the future."