Road would affect traffic on Hwy. 74

Facing a midnight deadline, the Peachtree City Council voted Thursday night to accept the right-of-way for the proposed extension of TDK Boulevard.

The vote was split 3-2 as council members debated whether or not the action committed the city to building the road, which will link to a proposed 3,000 home development and shopping center in Coweta County that would border the city immediately on the other side of Line Creek. If the road is built, it stands to significantly affect weekday drive-time traffic on Ga. Highway 74 through Tyrone as commuters drive towards I-85.

If council had declined to accept the right of way, the land would have reverted back to Pathway Communities as of midnight according to the land purchase contract between Pathway and the city's Airport Authority. The right-of-way is on land the authority purchased from Pathway north of the airport to extend the airport's runway safety area.

The motion adopted by council, however, left some wiggle room, as Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford said, "this doesn't mean that we agree with building TDK."

Councilman Stuart Kourajian said he wouldn't vote to accept the land because he felt the city was being "bullied" into doing so. Councilwoman Cyndi Plunkett said she didn't want to rush the issue either. Both voted against accepting the right-of-way.

But council members Steve Boone and Rutherford agreed with Mayor Harold Logsdon's viewpoint: that it was better to have the land under city control so the city can ultimately decide whether to build the road or not.

Logsdon said county officials have said they would not build the road if the city doesn't want it.

Rutherford said the city could choose to plant flowers on the right-of-way if it wants, and there will be other opportunities to stop the TDK project.

The Georgia Regional Transportation Agency has indicated it wants TDK to become a four-lane road at some point in the future, requiring that the bridge over Line Creek for the road extension to be made that wide; the extension was initially envisioned as a two-lane road.

It was clear at Thursday night's meeting that there wasn't any support on council for making the TDK extension a four-lane road.

If the road isn't completed by Nov. 1, 2009, the right-of-way will then revert back to Pathway, according to the contract between Pathway and the Airport Authority, City Attorney Ted Meeker told council.

Most of the residents who spoke at the meeting opposed the "11th hour" deal. Meeker explained that the reversion clause involving the Dec. 15 date was not in the draft contract that was reviewed by city officials two weeks before the property was closed on. The city happened to learn about the impending deadline Tuesday at 10 a.m. when the city was conducting interviews with potential applicants to the Airport Authority, Meeker said.

The city asked Pathway Communities to postpone the deadline and the company ultimately refused to do so.

Kourajian said he wondered why Pathway would want the city to rush into accepting the right-of-way.

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