On Jan. 7 the Peachtree City Council made the decision to turn down [developer John] Callaway's rezoning request at Walt Banks Road and Ga. Highway 54 (The Mews). Making this decision was a tough call for the city council, but one that was in the best interests of the whole city.

Whenever an issue like this arises it is the responsibility of the city council and mayor to take input from many people, some with very strong personal views (like myself), consolidate them, and reach a decision that will result in the best long term outcome for Peachtree City. I congratulate the council for having the courage to follow this process.

Mr. Callaway's approach was almost successful. He found these groups with narrow interests that he made alliances with, promising something to each. Each of these three groups made some pretty disappointing decisions to make a deal with a developer that served their best interests, but not those of the city. Each group had their own narrow interests in mind, championing the cause of a developer who stood to make a huge financial windfall at the expense of the qualify of life in Peachtree City.

As stated by Mr. Callaway during his presentation, the reason the land had never been developed is because the landowner (Palm Beach Development Corp.) was holding out for a large project that would bring a high price for the land. Mr. Callaway stated that a lower land price would bring a less desirable project. Mr. Callaway then enlightened the audience on the fact that the development he proposed required $35 million to proceed, which would result in a "regional shopping center."

The reason the money involved is significant directly relates to traffic and the quality of life in Peachtree City. In order to obtain commercial loan guarantees a developer must demonstrate in the loan application that enough shoppers will spend enough money to pay the mortgage. The higher the land price, the higher the mortgage, the higher the number of shoppers needed, and the higher the number of cars that must drive into the shopping center.

For a $35 million, 400,000 square feet regional shopping center to exist, a lot of traffic must happen. This project is half the size of the Fayette Pavilion and would have stores that drew people from three counties. The traffic would have been enormous.

If approved, two or three years later we would be hearing about the need to four-lane Peachtree Parkway, improve Walt Banks Road, redesign the red lights at Hwy. 54 and Robinson Road, put in a signal at Walt Banks Road and Peachtree Parkway and on and on.

For the megacenter (Mews) one of Mr. Callaway's claims was that only 15 percent of the cars would be on Walt Banks Road. If this was really true he could have offered to give up all entrances onto Walt Banks or just one; instead he insisted on two. At no time during the proposal discussion was any offer made to eliminate all entrances to Walt Banks Road in exchange for entrances only onto Hwy. 54. That was because a lot of people were going to be coming down Peachtree Parkway from Tyrone, down Blue Smoke from Kedron Village and other parts of our city.

Since Mr. Callaway didn't get the proposed zoning through, the landowner is still able to develop the land. Mr. Callaway stated the development would be of lower quality since the land price would now drop. However, the lower size development means less traffic in Peachtree City.

I believe an opportunity for Palm Beach to develop the property in a manner that is "win-win" exists. Mr. Lassiter (owner) I'm sure desires to make a return on his investment. He should have that opportunity. The best way would be to find a development design within the current zoning (or some logical modification) that maximizes the return to Mr. Lassiter while at the same time protecting the interests of adjacent property owners and the citizens of Peachtree City.

I would challenge the many people who are interested in the final resolution of the Walt Banks Road and Hwy. 54 property to work proactively to find a solution working with the Peachtree City staff (director Jim Williams), the planning commission, and the city council. Instead of taking a "business as usual" approach, the combination of creative thinking and teamwork between the developer, adjacent property owners, and city should yield the best outcome for all.