By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

The Peachtree City Council will decide Thursday night whether to overturn a Planning Commission decision to deny a concept plan for the proposed Wal-Mart Superstore.

The Planning Commission denied the concept plan for the proposed superstore at its July 24 meeting upon a recommendation by city staff. The Wal-Mart would be behind the planned Home Depot on Ga. Highway 54 across from the entrance to Planterra Ridge subdivision.

City staff recommended the plan be denied based on the position that the store could not meet the city’s traffic ordinance. The ordinance requires developers to fund traffic improvements for projects that might hurt traffic in the area, but the city’s traffic consultants say no improvements could be made by the developer.

The store would meet the traffic ordinance after Hwy. 54 is widened, but there is no definite time line for the start of the process.

The developer of the project, RAM Development, contends that the project is not governed by the traffic ordinance since plans for the store were submitted before the ordinance was passed by council.

Doug McMurrain of RAM Development said the company’s position is that the store would meet the traffic ordinance anyway. But that’s using the numbers from RAM’s traffic consultants.

The traffic numbers from the city’s study are a little higher, McMurrain said.