Wednesday, June 9, 2004

Target vote postponed again by PTC council; site plan opposed by homeowners in area By JOHN MUNFORD jmunford@thecitizennews.com Homeowners from the St. Simon’s Cove subdivision are opposing the latest plan for the Target store at the Kedron Village retail center because it puts an entrance to the development directly across from the entrance to their subdivision on Georgian Park. A vote on the site plan for the store and 12 other buildings on the plan was tabled by the city council Thursday night. Several council members said they weren’t comfortable evaluating the site plan because a newly tweaked version had been submitted to them just prior to the council meeting. George Rosenzweig, an attorney for developer Faison Corporation, said the changes to the plan were minimal and he wished council would vote on the matter instead of tabling it. He also said it wasn’t right to “derail” approval of the site plan “because of someone who wasn’t a participant in the lawsuit,” referring to the suit between the city, Faison and the Lake Kedron Homeowners Association over the site plan for the retail stores that was later settled. That remark drew jeers from several homeowners from St. Simon’s Cove who were in the audience. John Turner, who lives in St. Simon’s Cove, later said homeowners there were never made aware of the details of the lawsuit’s settlement before it was finalized. “This is a regional development,” Turner argued. “It is not just a Kroger with a few mom and pop shops. ... We’re talking about thousands of cars.” Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford said the ultimate solution to the problem was impossible: creating a cut-through off Ga. Highway 74 for the new commercial development. That idea has already been shot down by the Georgia Department of Transportation, she said. Rutherford also noted that St. Simon’s Cove residents had a chance to get involved in the changes to the site plan, “but you chose not to use it because you didn’t think it would affect you.” Rutherford was the lone vote against tabling the matter. The St. Simon’s Cove Homeowners Association has submitted a list of “needs” to the city regarding the site plan and other restrictions for the area. Included on that list are: • Creating a 100-foot buffer at the rear of the development; • Restricting service vehicle access to using Georgian Park only from the Peachtree Parkway entrance instead of the entrance at Ga. Highway 74; • Provide landscaping on both sides of the intersection at the entrance to St. Simon’s Cove “to minimize noise and light pollution.” • Install traffic calming devices on the western portion of Georgian Park; • Forbid U-turns at the intersection which accesses St. Simon’s Cove and Lifeboat Medical offices and the intersection which accesses Georgian Park condominiums and Newgate Road.