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Annexation, Target on PTC Council agenda

By J. FRANK LYNCH
jflynch@thecitizennews.com

There’s no dodging it this time.

Thursday night, the Peachtree City Council finally will consider action on two issues that have been looming large for more than a year.

First is the step one annexation request from John Wieland Homes to develop unincorporated land on the city’s west side.

Then, the council will be asked to approve the development site plan for expansion of the Kedron Village retail center to include a 125,000 square foot Target store.

Thursday will be the first time members of the council and city staff will have to publicly talk about Faison Corp.’s plans for Kedron Village, which prompted a lawsuit earlier this year.

An executive session involving the council and Faison representatives that had been planned for 6 a.m. Monday was canceled after The Citizen challenged it in court as a violation of Georgia’s law on open meetings.

Fayette County Superior Court Judge Christopher Edwards said the council could meet privately with the city attorney on the matter, but there was no time to reschedule before Thursday night, officials said.

Faison initially submitted its plans for the Target store on Sept. 24. Under terms of the consent order that settled the lawsuit, the city had 12 days to respond to the plans.

Faison chose to waive that right and asked that the site plans be tabled at the Oct. 7 council meeting.

In the meantime, city officials have been working with Faison to fine-tune the plan.

In a memo to the council dated Friday, City Planner David Rast said Faison had already revised the final site plan and resubmitted it based on staff recommendations.

“It appears the majority of our comments have been addressed and the plans have been revised accordingly,” Rast wrote.

The site plans to be reviewed Thursday night show the Target store situated just to the south of the present Kroger store, centered on the overall development. A series of secondary retailers are located adjacent to and across from the Target, with parking in the middle.

New access drives into the shopping center are located off Georgian Park at the south entrance to Amli Apartments, and via a new road labeled Kedron Village Drive South that would intersect Georgian Park between Newgate Road and Sea Island Drive.

Residents of St. Simon’s Cove had feared the developer would make the driveway into Target match up with Sea Island Drive, which is the entrance to their neighborhood.

City staff is recommending approval of Faison’s request.

The Wieland proposal is a different story. In accordance with the city’s recently adopted Annexation Review Process, the request being considered Thursday night is just step one. Detailed plans have yet to be submitted to city planners.

According to Rast, Wieland has formally requested that the city annex 364.8 acres north of the termination of McDuff Parkway and west of the CSX railroad tracks to a point just north of the split between Ga. Highway 74 North and Senoia Road.

In making the annexation request, Wieland states, “The applicant desires to work with the City Council, Planning Commission, Planning Staff and other professionals to emphasize the creation of a mixed-use community that will contain transportation choices and provide a range of housing opportunities.”

Wieland’s proposal is vague on details, but in a series of planning “charettes” held recently with local residents, the developer was presented with a nearby residents’ wish list that included building a range of housing styles, an extension of McDuff Parkway to Hwy. 74 to relieve traffic congestion, additional recreation amenities, a senior center and a shopping village.

If the council approves Wieland’s step one request on Thursday, the developer will then work with the planning staff and Planning Commission on more detailed analysis and proposals.

The council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall.