Would extend utility across city limit for shopping center

The Peachtree City Council Thursday again postponed a decision on a proposed sewer easement that would lead to the city’s sewer system being used by a shopping center just outside the city limits.

The easement would go through the Meade Field area and allow the Plantation Center at Starr’s Mill shopping center to link with the system. Officials for Southern Pines Plantation have committed they won’t increase the density or intensity of the site, which is zoned for 111,000 square feet of retail and 41,000 square feet of office space.

Those figures do not include the four outparcel sites that are directly off Ga. Highway 74. The shopping center is located at the intersection of Hwy. 74 and Redwine Road.

Council members said they want to see more details about what was approved for the tract by the county, including the county’s overlay design requirements and the open space protection for existing vegetation on the site.

Councilman Don Haddix said he worries that allowing the easement will allow for more dense development in the county with no idea where it will stop. However, the unincorporated land on the other side of the shopping center is already developed between a day care center and the Brechin Park subdivision.

The proposal would allow sewer access for the shopping center and also for parcels across Ga. Highway 74 on the left hand side of the road, including some inside and some outside the city.

At issue is a state law that requires developers to tie into sewer lines if they are “available.” City Attorney Ted Meeker said that in the past such lines have only been considered available upon approval from the city. Still, some worry it’s possible a developer could seek legal action to demand sewer service if the site is within 200 feet of the sewer system even if the city resists it.

The shopping center was planned to be served by an underground septic system similar to what is used for an individual home, just larger. Mayor Harold Logsdon said he’d prefer giving sewer access to the site to prevent a septic tank from being located so close to Line Creek.

It was suggested that some open space on the site that is being deeded to the county, and perhaps the area set aside for a septic spray field, could be a good addition to the city’s Meade Field sports complex, which currently includes soccer and softball fields.

The city is also going to be in the market for some land to relocate the city’s recycling center due to the realignment of Rockaway Road, but that was not mentioned by council during the discussion.

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