Fernleaf’s storm pipes could stay—with the owner on the hook for upkeep

Stormwater infrastructure at Fernleaf Park could remain inside Fulton County’s water-line and sanitary-sewer easements, but the property owner—not the county—would be responsible for maintaining, repairing and replacing the private improvements under two proposed agreements.⁠[1][2][3][4]

Fulton commissioners are scheduled to consider those permissions and a separate sewer ownership-and-access agreement on Nov. 18. The three requests involve TPG AG EHC III (EMP) Multi State 1, LLC, at 1180 Upper Hembree Road in Alpharetta, Georgia. These are requests for approval, not completed approvals.⁠[1]

The practical trade-off: private infrastructure could occupy the utility corridors, while county crews would retain free access for routine maintenance and emergency repairs. Under both private-improvement agreements, the owner would have to repair or replace public utilities damaged by its employees or subcontractors, or by failure of the private improvements. The county could do that work and charge the owner.⁠[3][4]

Permission would be revocable. Both agreements allow the county to suspend or revoke the license immediately in an emergency, or with at least 10 days’ notice in nonemergency situations to carry out a necessary government function. They also allow the county to end the license at will and remove the private improvements without liability for loss or damage from that removal.⁠[3][4]

The separate sewer agreement would transfer the development’s sewer system to the county and provide unrestricted access for operation and maintenance. But county ownership would not amount to a blanket promise of county-funded repairs: the agreement assigns costs differently for single-family, multifamily and commercial or mixed-use developments. The materials reviewed do not resolve which cost category applies at Fernleaf.⁠[2]