The Peachtree City Planning Department and Comprehensive Plan Advisory Board hosted the third of seven public forums Thursday at the Gathering Place in Peachtree City to discuss updating the city’s comprehensive plan.

The third meeting focused on the future of Braelinn Village, the largest of Peachtree City’s six villages.

Rast said the planning department has identified certain “character” areas, which include the Braelinn Village Shopping Center, Robinson Court retail center, Wilshire Pavilion shopping center and two tracts of land in unincorporated Fayette County: a parcel at Ga. Highway 74 and Redwine Road zoned for a shopping center and several parcels along Redwine that are currently horse farms but have the potential for redevelopment.

“They are areas we feel are in need of attention,” Rast said.

Rast also said there are four “pretty substantial” projects under construction or which may be rezoned in Braelinn Village.

One is adding three office spaces to the Braelinn Village office park: an orthodontists’ office, a medical office and another building with an office at the top level and retail on the ground level.

Another project is Towne Club at the corner of Crosstown and Peachtree Parkway. It’s a 145-unit, age-restricted apartment complex geared toward seniors 55 and above.

“It’s a place where it will keep people safe and warm,” said Towne Club representative Greg Umquist. “It will keep people active in the lifestyle community. We’re not a facility, we’re not a institution, we’re a community.”

The Towne Club features a library, a business center, a media/game room, a massage room and a covered golf cart area, among other amenities.

Two other projects are a retail center at Hwy. 74 and Rockaway Road, and Somerby at Peachtree City, a 376-unit, age-restricted, campus-style senior community.

The biggest problem with Braelinn Village, Rast said, is the lack of restrictive covenants in the village’s subdivisions.

“One concern at the staff level is that a lot of subdivisions don’t have restrictive covenants, or many are expiring,” Rast said. “There isn’t an established homeowners association. We can’t prevent neighbors from painting their house pink.

“One of the biggest hurdles we face as the city ages is how we control subdivisions that don’t have any restrictions.”

There was a community participation comment board on which citizens could post their concerns and recommendations on sticky notes regarding the future of Braelinn Village and Peachtree City.

Some of the posted comments included redeveloping Braelinn Village into an educational facility; restoring Huddleston Pond; amending the city’s leash law to ensure dogs are on leashes at all times; strengthening litter laws; changing the speed limit on Crosstown to 30 mph in the school area; and stopping new commercial development.

Once all the public forums are held, the Peachtree City Comprehensive Plan Advisory Board, the Planning Commission and City Council will compile all the feedback received from the public and present the information for review at several workshops, which are tentatively scheduled for November and December.

Following the workshops, staff will prepare the community agenda portion of the update and present this to the planning commission and city council for review. The documents will then be submitted to ARC and DCA for review prior to approval and official adoption by Council.

Peachtree City’s next public forum will be held Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Centennial subdivision’s clubhouse. It will focus on development in the city’s West Village but as always comments will be accepted on development around the entire city.

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