Moments before it was to be considered by the Peachtree City Council Thursday night, a developer withdrew his request for the city to consider selling part of Line Creek Drive to make room for a 89,000-square-foot Kohl’s department store off Ga. Highway 54 West.

Doug McMurrain of Capital City Development notified council of the withdrawal moments before it was to be considered. Minutes earlier, Councilman Mike Harman said later, Harman had notified McMurrain that he would vote against the proposal.

Harman’s vote would have been critical since it was the “swing” vote to break a 2-2 deadlock. Mayor Harold Logsdon and Councilman Steve Boone were in favor of the proposal, and council members Cyndi Plunkett and Stuart Kourajian were against.

Harman said his main concern was whether a big box anchor store was even necessary for the shopping center to be economically viable. After doing research on his own, speaking with other developers not involved with the property, and speaking with other municipalities, Harman decided the big box Kohl’s was not necessary.

“I didn’t want to see vacant buildings that opened and closed,” Harman said Monday afternoon. “... I believe the developer can build a development that will be viable without being anchored by a big box store.”

Without the road in his possession, McMurrain has no room for a big box store because of the city’s road setback regulations.

McMurrain previously has said he will develop the shopping center, located on the south side of Hwy. 54, whether there’s a big box store or not.

Harman said he also took into consideration the architectural overlay for the area which McMurrain will have to follow as part of the shopping center’s development.

“I just wanted to make the right decision for the long-term interest of Peachtree City, and I think I did that,” Harman said.

Although McMurrain withdrew the request, it is possible the issue could resurface as early as January, as a new council member will take the place of Stuart Kourajian, who opposed the Kohl’s plan and the city abandoning the streets.

A number of residents in the nearby Cardiff Park and Planterra Ridge subdivisions had strongly supported McMurrain’s plan at previous council meetings. That was in large part because McMurrain pledged to provide significant landscaping along Cardiff Park, which is immediately adjacent to what would have been the rear of the Kohl’s building.

Residents also cited the aesthetics that McMurrain planned for the shopping center, which he said would look much like the popular The Avenue shopping center. Opponents of the project noted that McMurrain already has to meet strict architectural guidelines because the site is in part of the overlay district for Ga. Highway 54 West.

After McMurrain verbally confirmed he was withdrawing the request, there was a smattering of brief applause from citizens in the audience at Thursday’s meeting.

Even if the city had agreed to abandon the road and sell or swap it to McMurrain, the city would also have had to grant a special use permit for the Kohl’s to be built at 89,000 square feet because that is well over the size limits for stores in the city’s big box ordinance.

Tree Top LLC, the developer of the nearby Shoppes at Village Piazza shopping center, had opposed the city abandoning a large portion of Line Creek Drive because it owns property contiguous to the road.

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