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PTC loses Lowe’s lawsuitThu, 11/15/2007 - 4:57pm
By: John Munford
Could open industrial park to retail businesses Peachtree City cannot deny a developer’s application to build a Lowe’s Home Improvement store on industrially-zoned land off Ga. Highway 74 and TDK Boulevard, a court has ruled. The win for Hyde Investments clears the way for the Lowe’s to be built, but at this time it appears the home improvement company will not build a location there, said Mike Hyde of Hyde Investments. However, the ruling stands to have significant impact for industrially zoned parcels in the city and particularly those located along major highways. If the ruling is upheld or goes unchallenged, the city may be forced to allow retail uses in the city’s industrial park. The win for Hyde Investments came in the granting of a motion for summary judgment from Fayette County Superior Court Judge Paschal A. English Jr. The company had argued in court that the city has allowed a number of other retail establishments to operate on industrially-zoned parcels, including restaurants. Hyde Investments had also argued that the type of sales expected at Lowe’s would be the same as that of Gill-Roy’s Got It hardware just a bit north on Hwy. 74 which was also on industrially zoned land. While the city successfully argued that Gill-Roy’s was a non-conforming use that had been grandfathered by the city, there was no such argument that justified allowing other stores and restaurants to be built and operated on industrially-zoned property, the court ruled. City officials previously have said that practice was undertaken to allow businesses in the industrial district that would serve industrial clients. Lowe’s potential lack of interest at the site now may have something to do with the city council’s scrapping of plans to extend TDK Boulevard over Line Creek and into unincorporated Fayette County. That road would have linked the city and Hyde’s property with the 3,000 home McIntosh Village project in unincorporated Coweta that has already been approved by the county government. Hyde said he has been a resident of Peachtree City since 1973 and he doesn’t want to do anything to ruin the city. Hyde said he expects the city to appeal the ruling, but he thinks that would be “throwing good money after bad.” The dispute arose more than a year ago when Hyde representatives were told that the City Council didn’t think the Lowe’s, then called Builder’s Supply Outlet, would be allowed as a use on the 13.8-acre industrially-zoned parcel. Mike Hyde is no stranger to taking Peachtree City to court. In 1980 he took the city to the U.S. Supreme Court and won a legal victory allowing his company to post the price of gasoline on signs ... which had previously been deemed illegal by city ordinance. login to post comments
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