Developer Doug McMurrain — responsible for Peachtree City’s Wal-Mart, Home Depot and other westside area shops — has won over the hearts and minds of many neighbors in the Cardiff Park and Planterra Ridge subdivisions, at least when it comes to bending the city’s big box rules for an 89,000-square-foot Kohl’s department store in their collective backyard.

In fact, McMurrain’s chief nemesis throughout the 18-month give-and-take with the neighbors — Cardiff resident Tim Lydell — made an impassioned Powerpoint presentation in support of the project in a workshop before the city’s Planning Commission Monday night.

Even residents Phyllis Aguayo and Lynda Wojcik — two of the city’s most staunch development critics — admitted that the plan presented by Lydell had much to like.

But former Mayor Steve Brown countered that McMurrain hasn’t met landscaping obligations for his stores along the north side of Ga. Highway 54 West, noting that no document can guarantee McMurrain will landscape the area as promised.

Brown argued that hundreds of residents sent in surveys several years ago saying they were opposed to building big box retail stores in Peachtree City, and he encouraged the Planning Commission not to forget those people.

“The traffic over there is going to go crazy,” Brown said.

Brown also criticized McMurrain for his “bluff” by drawing up a site plan that featured a Hooter’s restaurant, a Pep Boys auto parts store and a QuikTrip gas station in an effort that McMurrain has admitted to using as a tactic on homeowners who were resistant to his improved Kohl’s plans.

Manny Guerrero, president of the Planterra Ridge Homeowner’s Association, said others have said McMurrain was bluffing with that plan.

“I don’t want to call his bluff,” Guerrero said, worrying that if the site is developed without the Kohl’s, it could turn out looking “ugly.”

“... If you want to call the bluff, you’ve got to be willing to pay the price,” Guerrero added.

McMurrain has said he has $8 million tied up on the property, and after a year and a half of working with neighbors on the issue the time is nearing to take action one way or the other in terms of developing the parcel.

Beth Pullias, president of the Kedron Hills Homeowner’s Association, said that of the 194 homes in her neighborhood, about 85 percent of the residents opposed big box stores. She expressed frustration that more residents from other areas of the city didn’t come to the meeting to express their views on big boxes, and noted that many of her fellow homeowners have told her: “You speak for us.”

“We don’t want this. We didn’t move here for this,” Pullias said.

The Kohl’s would be almost two-thirds larger than the city’s maximum store size allowed under city ordinance for projects on land zoned general commercial. However, the City Council can grant exemptions to that ordinance for certain projects.

In this case, though, the city will have to not only allow that exemption but either sell McMurrain the current city streets on the property or swap the streets for other land. Last week council indicated it would consider such a proposal, and McMurrain has offered to pay fair market value for the property, which he has estimated at $500,000.

Without Line Creek Drive and Line Creek Court in his possession, McMurrain lacks enough room on the site to build the Kohl’s store.

City Councilman Mike Harman attended the full meeting, notable since he is likely the swing vote on council as to whether or not the city will allow McMurrain to take possession of the streets through a sale or land swap. Harman did not speak during the meeting but was present on the front row in the audience.

Harman was appointed to the council last month after serving as the chairman of the city’s Water and Sewer Authority.

McMurrain has retained the landscape and hardscape architect responsible for The Avenue, and he has pledged to make it as nice or better than The Avenue in that regard. Lydell’s presentation showed three different courtyard areas, each with fountains, and the main entry drive has trees not only on either side of the road but also in the median.

Lydell pointed out that the Kohl’s shopping center, dubbed Central Park at Line Creek by Capital City Development, is roughly the same size in terms of square footage and acreage as The Avenue, and it also would have about the same amount of parking spaces.

Lydell said Kohl’s has committed to having a tower feature and adding awnings along the storefront, both of which a store representative initially told Lydell “Kohl’s doesn’t do those.” The company even changed the color of the wall behind the Kohl’s sign to make it less obtrusive, Lydell noted.

A tree-lined entry drive with trees ranging from four to six inches in diameter will screen half of the large retail buildings from view by passing autos on Hwy. 54, he noted, “because we want shade now, not 10 years from now.”

As far as traffic created by Kohl’s being a concern, Lydell noted traffic would also come with smaller stores too. And because there’s a Kohl’s roughly eight or nine miles in either direction, the Kohl’s will not have a regional draw, Lydell added.

Capital City Development will erect a stop light for the shopping center between MacDuff Parkway and Planterra Way, McMurrain has said.

Lydell admitted that light would likely slow traffic down on the highway.

After Lydell’s presentation, Brown said it took 12 years for the city to get Hwy. 54 west widened, it it could take longer before it will be widened to six lanes.

Aguayo questioned whether McMurrain’s development can be held to performing on the list of conditions including the landscaping plan. McMurrain responded later that the conditions can be enforced by city staff and also would run with the land if adopted by the City Council.

Brown added that during his tenure as mayor four different developers presented plans to him for this tract, and none of them had big box stores on them.

Resident Doug Sturbaum, who is running for City Council, questioned whether allowing Kohl’s would create a precedent that could open the door for other big box stores in similar circumstances.

City Planner David Rast noted that at a meeting last week that City Attorney Ted Meeker said he didn’t think council approving Kohl’s would create such a situation.

Lydell, in his presentation, argued that big box stores don’t have quite the impact on police services, especially compared to those at The Avenue.

Several planning commissioners agreed that the plan has improved significantly since when it was first presented to them. Commissioner Patrick Staples, who lives in Cardiff Park, said he remains against big box stores, but he felt the shopping center addresses elements important to Peachtree City, including providing “a sense of place” and a family-oriented atmosphere.

Commissioner Marty Mullin asked what could happen if the Kohl’s leaves the store. McMurrain said he will have the option to buy the building back from Kohl’s and lease it, and he suggested that the city could possibly have that option as well if it wanted to.

“I just want to keep it from being an empty shell,” Mullin said.

Wojcik said she was concerned about the Kohl’s taking so much business that it would force the store in Fayetteville to close.

In addition to the 89,000-square-foot Kohl’s, McMurrain’s plan includes two attached retail buildings: one at 28,000 square feet and the other at 25,000. There are also smaller retail buildings along the frontage off Hwy. 74, with the larger stores at the rear of the property near Cardiff Park.

Lydell noted that McMurrain has pledged to reforest the buffer between Cardiff Park and the rear of the shopping center. McMurrain has even said he would allow residents to select the kind of trees that are planted to screen their backyard from the shopping center, Lydell noted.