Photocircuits and residents of Planterra Ridge subdivision reached an agreement this week concerning the company's proposed parking expansion.

A site plan for the project will be presented to the Peachtree City Planning Commission at Monday night's meeting. A hearing on the company's request for an exception to allow parking closer to Dividend Drive is tentatively set for the May 20 meeting of the City Council.

Some differences on conditions for the setback variance were discussed and ironed out at Monday night's weekly meeting of the Photocircuits Action Committee. The group will not meet again until May 24.

The variance would allow Photocircuits a smaller setback in front of its property on Dividend Drive. In exchange, the company will provide more buffer at the rear of the site, nearest Planterra Ridge.

The following conditions were agreed upon by both parties:

Forty feet shall be permanently added to the rear (west) setback and this area will be maintained as an undisturbed buffer.

With the exception of fire, safety, and building codes and other statutory and regulatory requirements, no noise-producing mechanical or ventilation systems or operations shall be located along the exterior of the west wall of any future construction. Additionally, said noise-producing systems and operations shall be oriented to transmit noise away from Planterra Ridge, situated to the west of the site.

If and when a future building or parking area is constructed on the site, the storm runoff detention area shall be placed immediately west of the building or parking area and east of the rear setback.

The established fencing and landscaping scheme shall continue to the west to the point where the southern setback extends to the full 50 feet, where the fence shall terminate with a 90-degree turn.

According to Mark Bunker of Photocircuits, the agreement reached Monday greatly improved his company's construction timetable, with the company getting the support of the residents going into the Planning Commission meeting.

The variance was tabled by the City Council last month and sent back to the Planning Commission for review of the site plan. The Planning Commission can approve the site plan contingent upon the council's approval of the variance, allowing the entire process to possibly be wrapped up within that 10-day span.

Bunker was pleased with the progress the group made on the variance negotiations, which boiled down to some legal terms and how they could affect future owners of the site.

"We talked about the wording and came up with something that was mutually agreeable," Bunker said.

Also at the action committee meeting, Bunker updated the group on several ongoing projects addressing noise and safety issues.

A proposed automatic dialing system, which would inform blocks of residents in specific areas in case of an emergency, is moving along well, he said. The next step is the Local Emergency Planning Committee.

The system can make 200-400 calls per minute, depending on the length of the message, Bunker said. The company hopes other industries will help pay for the systems, and Photocircuits is interested in investing as well.

A company known as Sound and Vibration Control Technologies LLC has been retained to do a sound analysis at the Photocircuits facility. The firm is based in the Atlanta area and headed up by a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech.