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Kedron Village retail expansion approved

Nearby homeowners air concerns about traffic, parking

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

With 17 stipulations attached, the Peachtree City City Council finally approved the conceptual site plan for the expansion of the Kedron Village retail center, which includes a 124,000 sq. ft. Target store.

The plan also includes eight other stores, all at 10,000 sq. ft. and below, with four outparcel retail buildings

The unanimous approval from council came after a representative of the St. Simon’s Cove subdivision asked for several changes to the plan, including a limitation on truck traffic to keep it from entering Georgian Park from Ga. Highway 74. Richard Gilbert also said the homeowners wanted a berm to be built along Georgian Park at the subdivision to protect homeowners from traffic noise and the shopping center’s lights.

Gilbert said homeowners are concerned that the new entrance on Georgian Parkway at the south end of the development — about 250 feet from the entrance to St. Simon’s Cove — will become an often-used way to reach the Target store.

Mike Cohen of Faison Enterprises, the developer of the project, said the company would mitigate the effects of the shopping center on St. Simon’s Cove once it is more clear what the affects will be. Cohen also noted that a second traffic study is underway and Faison will construct traffic calming devices as recommended by the city engineer after the traffic study is reviewed.

“We’re virtually cutting off all traffic that would have gone past St. Simon’s Cove,” Cohen said.

John Hedge, president of the Lake Kedron Homeowner’s Association, also complained that the conceptual site plan doesn’t meet the consent order reached between his group, the city and Faison which put on hold a lawsuit over the original version of the plan.

Hedge said Lake Kedron homeowners thought the traffic study and engineering for the project would go forward before the conceptual site plan was approved. Cohen later noted that the engineering would be far too expensive for Faison to front without knowing the plan would be approved.

Hedge noted that the association was prepared to take the matter back to court if necessary.

The new southern entrance to the development was put on the plan as part of an agreement from the consent order to give up the original entrance that was located at the intersection of Georgian Parkway and Regents Park.

Traffic lights will be necessary for the intersection of Peachtree Parkway and Georgian Parkway and the intersection of Georgian Parkway and Ga. Highway 74, but city officials determined those lights must be constructed by the owner of the current shopping center according to a 1995 agreement for the original development.

The Target store was shifted further south, which drew complaints, because city staff wanted the Target to share a loading dock area with the existing Kroger store, Cohen said. The idea is to have the trucks serving Target continue to use the path taken by Kroger trucks: entering Georgian Parkway from Peachtree Parkway and then going behind the Kroger store, Cohen added.

Cohen also said the greenspace alloted for the project was 40 percent greater than the city’s requirements. He also said the company doesn’t intend to take some of the extra greenspace and present plans for further development in the future.

Faison has also agreed to plant Leland Cypress trees at the top of a retaining wall along Georgian Park to further screen the development.

Mayor Steve Brown noted that the inclusion of dedicated golf cart parking spaces in the plan “sets the bar” for other commercial developments in the city.