A "mediation committee" will be formed to try to solve problems between Photocircuits Corporation and residents of Planterra Ridge in Peachtree City.

At a meeting Monday night with city officials and Planterra residents, Mayor Bob Lenox stressed the need for "negotiation and communication" as the most effective tools for arriving at solutions that can be acceptable both to the company and to the subdivision homeowners.

It was agreed that the committee would be composed of eight Planterra residents, three representatives from the city, and two or more representatives from Photocircuits. The residents pinpointed noise, light, odor, chlorine containment and traffic as primary problems to be addressed.

While several residents noted that more than two years of effort to work with Photocircuits had not produced results, Lenox said that the "whatever authority the city can bring" to discussions would help accomplish meaningful, long-term remedies for what the residents say are major problems.

"We need for the city to hold Photocircuits to the highest possible standards for variances, expansions or additions," said Planterra association president Eric Snell. City ordinances specify that the "health, safety and welfare" of citizens should come first in land development, noted Planterra resident Rob Rothley.