Wednesday, November 22, 2000
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Wednesday, November 22, 2000 |
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So many battles against overdevelopment in PTC, so many losses Ever since I started the Concerned Citizen group on Dec. 7,1995, I had been involved with Peachtree City shenanigans, and thanks to my subscription to The Citizen newspaper, I am still in touch and have consistently watched the City Council ignore the citizens' wishes and competent suggestions to save the quality of life of a once quite wonderful city. Many people moved here to get away from overcrowded cities that allowed apartments and crime to flourish, and now that is what is happening to Peachtree City along with the big boxes which can only paralyze the city roads. Highway 74 and 54 can't handle it. They can't handle it now. With both Newnan and Fayetteville having the big boxes so close, it is utterly ridiculous to have Home Depot and Wal-Mart here in Peachtree City. I'm going to take you back a few years and remind you that, unless I am wrong, the only time the citizens were ever successful against City Hall was with the Hyde property, near Publix. We fought the apartments in the West Side Village with over 1,000 signatures gathered over a few days. That may have contributed to the city putting a moratorium on further apartments. But don't let that fool you. When it was convenient for City Council and some developers, the city merely lifted the moratorium. So no win there. We lost again. In 1996 a large group of residents from the Pinegate neighborhood appealed to the council over the lack of buffers between them and a 20-unit duplex complex, The Commons, planned by PCDC. The citizens lost. PCDC always succeeded in getting what they proposed as well as many questionable rezonings. I was there. When I refer to PCDC, I'm sure many of you realize PCDC is now Pathway Communities. That's a really neat development's trick in Peachtree City. Change the name and build under another company name. An interesting note is that in April 1996, Peachtree City Council ended the city's five-year annexation moratorium, prompted by a request from guess who? PCDC. Mayor Lenox at that time pointed out that the city "was thoroughly equipped to accept and consider any annexation that comes through the proper channels." I wish I could recall all the zonings we lost but I'm afraid I would bore you. We didn't win any, but we sure tried. Our City Council uses the Land Use Plan only to their advantage. The Walt Banks Road property has sure turned out to be a disaster. First of all, Council rejected a wonderful concept of a shopping mall, The Mews. (That at least, would have had some class, but instead we're getting a mess.) We lost again. The mayor then approved the expenditure of $7,000 to hire outside experts to advise on a development plan for Ga. 54 and Walt Banks Road. Then he formed a committee to further explore other options. Mayor Lenox was quoted at one point to say that he was so happy the way the Walt Banks project was resolved. But hold on now Lexington Commons (developed by Bob Adams, who also has a lot of clout with Council) is requesting more apartments. Watch Council on this one. They do like to please the developers. And incidentally, why get into a legal altercation when our own city attorneys seem always to take the side of the developers? It has been interesting to note over the past few years that [Director of Developmental Services] Jim Williams always seems to have a good smooth reason to support rezoning or building for developers and sometimes, on an appeal, the developer doesn't even have to be there. He somehow convinces council to pass it or in many cases they "negotiate" and the citizens lose again. The excuse is they don't want a law suit. Annie MeMenamin used to vote "nay" at many Council meetings and we, the citizens, appreciated that, but it was a safe "nay" as the other Council members had already voted "yes." This year, unfortunately, when I feel she should have voted "nay" it would have counted, but instead she voted along with Mayor Lenox. I'll close now, but I did want you to know how sad I am to see the demise of Peachtree City, and I don't feel Mayor Lenox is going to be remembered for "doing what's best for Peachtree City." I acknowledge there are many lovely areas to live in Peachtree City, but just stay in your areas and close your eyes to the big box outlets, the traffic, the crime and the nice little stores that will be put out of business. Mildred Harris Ladner, B.C. millihar@aol.com
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