Wednesday, November 1, 2000
|
Wednesday, November 1, 2000 |
| PTC Council to rule
on Wal-Mart plan
By JOHN
MUNFORD
The Peachtree City Council is scheduled to rule Thursday night on whether to uphold the Planning Commission's denial of a concept plan for the proposed Wal-Mart Superstore. The Planning Commission denied approval of the plan July 24, based on the opinion that the store could not meet the specifications of the city's traffic ordinance. The ordinance requires developments near the intersection of Ga. Highways 54 and 74 to perform traffic improvements so traffic won't worsen in the area when those developments open. Developers filed an appeal to city council, asking it to overturn the commission's denial of the concept plan. The appeal has been on hold for several months while attorneys for both sides intervened. During those negotiations, the city agreed to have its traffic consulting firm review its figures. According to a recent memo to council from City Manager Jim Basinger, the city's traffic consultants maintain that the Wal-Mart Superstore can't meet the criteria of the traffic ordinance. The city's traffic consulting firm, Dames and Moore, has indicated that the Wal-Mart Superstore won't meet the traffic ordinance until another lane is added to the bridge on Hwy. 54 West that crosses the railroad tracks. Traffic consultants for RAM Development, however, claim that their traffic impact study indicates the proposed Wal-Mart would pass the muster of the traffic ordinance. The proposed Wal-Mart Superstore would total 204,000 square feet, including an automotive service center and a garden center. Another retail development in that area, The Avenue at Peachtree City, is expected to generate more traffic when it opens either later this year or early next year. Also, the city has approved the location of a Home Depot store on land adjacent to the proposed Wal-Mart site which is also expected to generate more traffic to the area.
|
||