Well I can now say, without a doubt, my letter from last week on the proposed Kohl’s which highlighted an objective rationale based on a factual historical perspective and our documented ordinances and plans certainly hit a nerve in our community.

The responses were well beyond the regular half-hearted “I agree with your opinion” reaction.

Local residents who moved here from Clayton, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Fulton could recite, almost blow-by-blow, how their former communities fell into the trap of “this one development won’t hurt” followed months later by “this other development won’t hurt either” and so on. Bus, rail transit and road expansions were supposed to fix everything, but it proved to be a big lie.

Gwinnett County – undisputed big box capital of Georgia – had the honor of passing Fulton, Cobb, and Clayton on the ranking of violent crimes. Gwinnett’s big box stores were supposed to be a tax windfall that would usher in prosperity like metro Atlanta had never seen. For a decade it seemed true, but then it happened.

Gwinnett started losing high-paying jobs while the low-paying retail jobs continued to grow. All the negative indicators (crime, median salary, poverty, public assistance, etc.) began to climb. Gwinnett traffic, well let us just say you can time the commute periods with a sundial.

I say all that to say this: Spontaneous, developer-driven and unplanned growth leads to significant and unnecessary tribulations. The city that holds fast to sound planning principles, considers infrastructure limitations and has the vision to think beyond five years down the road, will create public efficiency, improve the quality of life and reduce the future tax burden.

Right now, we have a problem, and I am not just talking about the impact of a Kohl’s big box store. The record shows the current leadership is, in fact, PROMOTING spontaneous, developer-driven and unplanned growth.

The promise was, “The West Village land must be developed to our planning standards, and as mayor I will be proactive to ensure those standards are met” (Logsdon essay, The Citizen, 10-19-2005). Reality is he watched a railroad spur being constructed all the way to completion near a dense residential area for six months before he complained to CSX.

Reality is the Levitt and Sons development is the antithesis of our comprehensive plan which calls for less density at our borders. The Peachtree City Civic Association (PTCCA) sent a resolution to the mayor and council asking for, “Compliance with the city’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Plan, specifically in relation to density at the city’s outer edge” and to “ensure the presence of a public access senior facility within the Levitt track at developer expense.”

Reality is the mayor and council honored none of PTCCA’s planning requests. The Levitt and Sons development is one of the densest on the Westside and it sits on our border.

Furthermore, our citizens age 65-plus are nearing 10 percent of our population and the current population ages 45 to 59 is approaching 24 percent. The two new major senior developments on the way will cause those percentages to climb even faster.

Reality is if the bond for the senior center expansion does not pass, the council will have set us up for our next infrastructure crisis as facilities for seniors are meeting capacity now.

The PTCCA, in conjunction with historical precedent and planning, also said, “The entire proposed West Village area should be master planned. So to take on the challenge of a possible annexation without having an approved use for the 89 acres of property to the east along the rail line would not be in the best interest of the city.” Unfortunately, the annexation approval went forward with an 89-acre doughnut hole filled with industrial zoning surrounded by residential zoning.

You can count on the development “solution” for the 89-arces to include more residential use which lands it on the worse possible scenario list.

The next promise, “We must also improve relations with our neighboring governments, most of all in planning transportations projects that will affect us all” (Logsdon essay, The Citizen, 10-19-2005). Reality is we ended up with the mayor and council pushing the TDK extension even though it was obvious the project would be devastating to our city.

As far as the relations with the other governments, yes, reality is Coweta County’s commissioners demanded a four-lane TDK and said they did not really care what we thought. The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) hammered us in court and the Atlanta Regional Commission turned their back and refused to take our side. Even worse, the mayor has decided not to appeal the GRTA ruling; thus, all municipalities in state will be affected by our ruling.

Then there was the annexation near the Starr’s Mill school complex which was approved even though it was projected to be a net loss with revenue to services rendered.

The Kohl’s and the others listed above are some examples of our planning principles being outright abandoned. The next developer-driven abandonment from what made us great is a proposal near Robinson Woods and Whitfield Farms subdivisions on Robinson Road. The proposal asks to rezone the 11 acres at Robinson Road and Spear Road from Estate Residential to Limited Use Residential adding 46 homes to replace the three existing ones.

Our longstanding plan has strictly required lighter density uses toward our borders (Estate Residential or Agricultural) and now we are looking to throw that out the window again. The writing is on the wall and the mass of “for sale” signs on Robinson Road are indicative of the shift in development standards. Owners are trying to cash-in before things turn ugly. Owners are trying to sell while they have a local government willing to be permissive and by-pass the standards, ordinances and Comprehensive Plan.

Obeying our ordinances and planning guidelines should be the primary issue in this election. However, it is apparent the mayor has abandoned nearly all of his election campaign promises, so you really cannot go by what people have to say.

Actions always speak louder than words.

Steve Brown

stevebrownptc@ureach.com

Peachtree City, Ga.