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New wrinkle on roads: PTC doesn’t own them?Tue, 02/05/2008 - 5:53pm
By: John Munford
Council to vote Thursday night on abandoning 2 city streets to permit a Kohl’s department store The Peachtree City Council is expected to vote Thursday night whether to abandon a road to allow a commercial developer enough room to build a big box store. But there’s a new wrinkle in the plan proposed by Capital City Development. It turns out that Peachtree City doesn’t possess clear title to the streets. According to City Attorney Ted Meeker, a Georgia Supreme Court ruling in a similar case indicates that when such roads are abandoned, the abutting property owners are “presumed to own” to the middle of the road from their property lines. In other words, the city may not be able to sell the roads to CCD after the roads are abandoned. And, Meeker noted in his Dec. 5 written opinion, “once Council votes to approve the abandonment, that vote cannot be rescinded.” Meeker wrote that it’s also possible that should the roads be abandoned, it’s possible the roads could be vested “in the adjacent property owner by operation of law, at no charge, and without any deed restrictions.” The matter will be discussed at the 7 p.m. council meeting at City Hall. Capital City Development wants part of Line Creek Drive and Line Creek Circle so there will be enough room for an 89,000-square-foot Kohl’s Department Store. The 14-acre site is at the southwest corner of Planterra Way and Ga. Highway 54, and it directly abuts the Cardiff Park subdivision. The parcel is zoned for general commercial use. Several nearby residents are pushing for the Kohl’s plan because CCD’s Doug McMurrain has pledged to build the shopping center much like The Avenue shopping center. Conversely, McMurrain has submitted an alternative plan that shows a gas station directly off the highway with several restaurants and assorted shops including some auto-related stores. The Planning Commission denied approval of the conceptual site plan featuring the gas station at its Jan. 28 meeting. CCD has appealed the decision, and that will also be considered by City Council Thursday night. McMurrain has said he is out of time to work with neighbors and city officials in convincing them to abandon and sell the roads. The informal process has been going on behind the scenes for roughly 18 months. [An editorial about the proposed abandonment of the two city streets is under “OPINIONS” online.] login to post comments
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