A request to increase the size of a new shopping center for Ga. Highway 54 W will be reviewed for the first time tonight by the Peachtree City Planning Commission.

Also at its 7 p.m. meeting the commission will hear a pitch to annex a 48-acre tract west of Peachtree City United Methodist Church for a 21-home subdivision. The subdivision, on the eastern border of the city just south of Ga. Highway 54, would actually be an extension of the existing Hyde Park subdivision with homes upwards of $800,000.

Both matters will be heard in a workshop format, meaning no vote is anticipated on either project. The commission meets at City Hall.

The shopping center request would increase the development’s size from 175,000 to 186,000 square feet. Capital City Development is also asking for its largest building to go from 50,000 to 63,830 square feet.

The shopping center would be located at the southwest corner of Ga. Highway 54 W and Planterra Parkway. CCD has already won approval for the shopping center to exceed the city’s size limit of 150,000 square feet overall and 36,000 square feet for the largest store. Those limits are in place to prevent large retail stores with regional draws that bring the potential of significant traffic.

The shopping center plan has been of some controversy. Early on, the plan drew fire from some residents after CCD asked the city to sell it the city streets, Line Creek Drive and Line Creek Court, that lead to the location. Had the streets remained, there wouldn’t have been room to build large stores on the tract due to the city’s road setback guidelines.

Months later, CCD secured a traffic light for its entry road, despite the intersection’s proximity to two existing lights on either side: for Planterra Way and also MacDuff Parkway.

A traffic engineer for Capital City has said that traffic in the corridor can be improved by making sure all signals are appropriately synchronized via computer.