Friday, October 27, 2000
Friday, October 27, 2000 |
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Council places 'big box' rules on hold
By JOHN
MUNFORD
A proposed ordinance to limit the location of large retail stores in Peachtree City will get a few more revisions at the request of City Council. Council declined not to adopt the ordinance at its meeting Thursday night, instead opting to tweak some language in the ordinance to beefen up its legality. Mayor Bob Lenox indicated that he had problems with "regulating free enterprise." The ordinance would limit the size of retail stores in a general commercial zoning district, but there is a loophole, noted Jim Williams, the city's director of developmental services. Businesses could petition the city for a larger building under a limited use zoning proposal, he said. The ordinance specifically states that its regulations wouldn't apply to the Home Depot/Wal-Mart location and the phase two development at the Kedron Village retail center. City Attorney Rick Lindsey said he didn't think the city could legally apply the ordinance to those properties based on how much money the property owners and developers have spent on the projects. "It's a question of when their rights are vested," Lindsey said. Home Depot's concept plat has already been approved by the city and the proposed plat for Wal-Mart has been submitted to the city, Williams said. City staff have commented on several drawings for phase two of the Kedron Village center, he added. Local resident Steve Brown countered, however, that the "big box" ordinance should apply to those projects also. He added that the current version of the ordinance is the best draft the city has developed. Doug Dillard, representing Pathway Communities, the owner of the Kedron Village center, said the center also should be exempt from the big box regulations because the company submitted concept plans to the city for its phase two buildings back in 1994. He estimated that the phase two structures would be over 200,000 square feet, noting that a company already has a contract on the development. "We feel we were vested in 1994-95 when the phase one of Kedron Village was approved," Dillard said. Planning commissioner Rich Schumacher spoke during the public hearing to urge council to approve the big box ordinance. "We feel it will safeguard the city's ambiance and the life-style that we want to have in the future," Schumacher said. Lenox questioned the wording of the first paragraph of the ordinance that states the city was designed and planned "on the concept that there would not be one large central business area with a concentration of retail, other commercial and office uses." Lenox said the city's master plan from 1972 outlines plans for a regional shopping center at the junction of Ga. highways 54 and 74. The wording of the ordinance is in direct contrast to that, Lenox noted after plopping down a stack of documents containing the 1972 master plan. Councilwoman Annie McMenamin said a regional shopping center could be considered to cover all of Peachtree City and not extend farther. The mayor also said he didn't see why one large retail store would create more problems for the city than a handful of smaller stores equalling roughly the same square footage. Several council members, including Lenox, said they supported the ordinance before they voted to table it so the necessary changes could be made.
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