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Big box regulations may be coming to Fayetteville

Idea floated to City Council for restrictions similar to PTC

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Fayetteville staffers have floated the idea of addressing the vacancies of large “big box” stores in much the same way that Peachtree City does.

In a recent memo to the Fayetteville City Council, Planning and Zoning Director Jahnee Prince noted that abandoned parking lots and unused stores “can create an unsightly problem for the city.”

Fayetteville’s most glaring examples of big box vacancies are the former Kmart and Stein Mart locations at the Banks Crossing shopping center. Across Ga. Highway 85, the former Cub Foods is vacant in the Banks Station shopping center, but work is in progress to turn that building into a Food Depot, according to a sign posted there.

Some big box vacancies are created when a tenant relocates but continues to pay rent to the landlord, giving no incentive to lease the property, Prince said in the memo. Also, companies who lease such buildings often vacate and refuse to lease the property to a competitor, she noted.

Peachtree City’s ordinance regulates tenants who locate in buildings over 10,000 sq. ft. Those tenants cannot prevent the landlord from leasing the building to another person or company if the tenant voluntarily vacates the premises or cease to conduct retail business on the site.

The ordinance also forbids the landlord from marketing and leasing the property to a direct competitor of the tenant.

The ordinance has been in effect for almost four years and has yet to be challenged in court.

Prince said a formal proposal is not expected for the immediate future but the issue may be addressed again with future changes to the city’s zoning ordinance, Prince said.