I am sick to death at hearing and reading that all residents of Peachtree City are elitist snobs. Why is it snobbery for wanting to protect your investment and keep the community the type of place that U.S. News and World Report lists as one of the top ten places to retire? To quote from that report "lush greenery eclipses buildings, making the wooded town feel tucked away in its own world." (The Citizen--9/26/07-page 1). When all the greenery has made way for asphalt and all wooded areas are replaced with big box stores, we will no longer be on these lists. We will then be one of many areas that have become wall to wall shops, no character, no ambience, nothing to attract anyone to the area. What happens when the big box stores decide to close down and move to another location? Drive to some of the neighboring counties and see where this has happened and the stores remain shuttered and in disrepair or are taken over by less desirable tenants. Is this what we want for our city?

Lest you think I am one of the so-called rich elitist snobs so often referred to let me introduce myself. I am a 73-year- old grandmother who lives on social security and income from a rental unit. Yes, I am a landlord--definitely not an absentee landlord but one who turned an earlier residence (townhouse) into an investment to make ends meet. I am careful of tenants to whom I rent. After all, this is an investment and I want it to remain lucrative so I may continue to be self- sufficient. My home and my rental property in Peachtree City are very important to me. I want my neighborhood and city to remain the beautiful area that attracted me in the first place--if this makes me an elitist snob, so be it. I am sure there are many people residing within the city in my same or similar situation, wanting to protect their neighborhoods and investments.

To say that we have to accept anything that builders/speculators throw at us is insane. We proved what we can do when we banded together on the Kroger situation. The promises by said builders remind me of that old commercial 'Promise her anything but give her-----" If the builders of the proposed Kohl's shopping area are the same ones that gave us the shopping area across the street where Wal-mart and Home Depot, etc are located, you have a perfect example of what to expect. Where is all the lush landscaping promised? If I lived in Planterra Ridge and Cardiff Park I would be very leery of any promises made. This is in your backyard. The traffic will impact all of us, but you more than most.

Let's band together and refuse to let our representatives sell, give or barter away any land needed for this shopping center. If our mayor and most of our city representatives do not have the backbone to stand up to them, let's do it as homeowners. After all we are the ones to feel the effects of this for years to come--as residents and as home owners.

Cookie McClure

Peachtree City

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