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PTC denies 54W store upsize requestThu, 01/07/2010 - 9:48pm
By: John Munford
Without taking any public input, the new Peachtree City Council unanimously voted down a developer’s request to upsize one retail building for a new shopping center off Ga. Highway 54 West from 50,000 to 65,000 square feet. When the agenda item came up for discussion, new Mayor Don Haddix notified the audience there would not be a public hearing. He noted that in the past two years the council has received more than 6,000 emails on the subject. Council did, however, hear the case from Capital City Development attorney Rick Lindsey. Lindsey suggested CCD would be willing to have two other 50,000 square foot stores shrunk down to the city’s regular 32,000 square foot limit as a tradeoff for approval of the upsize of the third store from 50,000 to 65,000 square feet. Lindsey said CCD is courting Kohl’s Department Store, which he noted was well-received as a potential neighbor by residents in the adjacent Cardiff Park and Planterra Ridge subdivisions. Another potential tenant is Academy Sports, he said. Neither company is interested in a 50,000 square foot store, Lindsey said. He noted that if those companies don’t come to Peachtree City, they are likely to end up just across the Fayette-Coweta border in a megadevelopment at Ga. Highway 54 and Fischer Road. As approved by the previous council in 2008, the shopping center can have a maximum of 175,000 square feet total. The site is located at the southwest corner of Ga. Highway 54 West and Planterra Way; it will be served by a new traffic light approved on the third try by the Georgia Department of Transportation. Lindsey asked that council table the vote and instead form a committee of residents along with the planning commission, city council and city staff to study the proposal to see if it was worth pursuing Kohls or what other national retailers citizens would like to see at the site. The land owned by CCD is already zoned for commercial use. The project drew some controversy in 2008 when the City Council voted to sell most of two city streets on the property to CCD for at least $500,000 in cash and the potential for additional land to be added to the city’s Line Creek Nature Area. Councilman Doug Sturbaum said he felt the plan in place was “workable” and new councilmember Kim Learnard said she felt the city needed to stick to the framework of that plan, which she noted was a compromise. The motion to deny was unanimous 5-0. But at least some resentment lingered in the air over the decision not to allow public input. Resident Caren Russell asked after the vote for the opportunity to correct a misstatement made during the discussion, but Haddix turned her down. “I’m glad you’re willing to listen to the citizens of Peachtree City,” Russell said. “I stated before there was to be no public input on this and I will stick to that,” Haddix replied. login to post comments
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