Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Work begins on updating PTCs 20-year planBy JOHN MUNFORD Almost 44 acres of commercial retail projects went online in Peachtree City last year, according to city figures. And, no, that figure does not include the Kedron Village Target store, which isnt under construction yet, City Planner David Rast said at a joint meeting last week of the City Council and Planning Commission. The meeting was held to get the officials input on the citys update to its comprehensive plan, which looks forward about 20 years. In Peachtree Citys future, redevelopment will become a more critical issue, Rast predicted. The recent changes to the former Westpark Walk movie theater, under construction for a restaurant site, and the former Donatos Pizza, now a series of retail stores at The Avenue, may only be the start, Rast said. Its possible that a large-scale redevelopment could also take place, as some of the citys older shopping centers could be targeted for new stores, Rast said. In the Braelinn Village retail center, for example, there is some undeveloped property and if the Kmart went out of business, the city could be facing a potential big box store, he added. Thats why its important for the city to determine ways to help the various retail centers, noted Clyde Stricklin, the citys director of developmental services. Some of the (shopping) centers seem to work better than others, Stricklin said. We can see if there are small or little things we can do to improve them. Rast noted that some developers have inquired about putting small residential projects within current retail centers, which could be a way to invigorate the centers by creating a live-work-play atmosphere. Braelinn Village, for example, has 15 acres of undeveloped land that could possibly be used for such a concept, he added. It might make the shopping centers more vibrant, said Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford. Redevelopment of individual residential lots will also be a concern in the future, officials agreed, particularly in older areas of town. Some of the best lake views are in Wynnmeade (subdivision), even better than those on Lake Kedron, said Councilman Steve Rapson. Rutherford said the city needed to be careful to make sure new homes built in existing subdivisions fit in with the existing homes. Councilman Murray Weed asked if its possible the city would see more residential rezoning requests for land zoned for industrial use. Rast said he didnt see that happening. Either youre going to have an industrial park or youre going to have an industrial park with residential use, and I dont think you want that, Rast said, adding that the city needed to stick to the use of streets and natural boundaries for the industrial park. Weed said he wanted the city to develop a town center to create a downtown atmosphere. Peachtree City lacks a downtown area as it was broken up into four villages, each served by a certain amount of stores instead of there being one main commercial district for the entire population, pushing 40,000, to use. The citys original master plan of nearly four decades ago called for almost double that population, but the city evolved with far less multi-family units and less dense residential lots than originally envisioned. The city is currently tallying all its lots, which will include a figure on how much raw undeveloped land is left by each zoning category, Rast said. Stricklin also suggested the city needs to be more aware of whats going on regionally, as commuters from other areas will travel through here, and city commuters will face growing development on the Ga. Highway 74 corridor in Tyrone, Fairburn and south Fulton County. Rutherford said she felt communication was a big issue, and sometimes she was uncomfortable with the discussions occurring with developers at the staff level. Several council members said they wanted to give the planning commission more time to study plans; currently the commission gets its meeting packets the Saturday before a Monday meeting, leaving little time for thought and introspection, some said. City Attorney Ted Meeker said anytime the council or commission felt they were pressured to consider last-minute changes, theres always an available option: a vote to table the matter to a future meeting. Planning Commissioners were also urged to pass along their comments to council, particularly on issues that end up being forwarded to the council for final approval such as rezonings and appeals of denied conceptual site plans. |
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