The new design for the proposed Peachtree City First Baptist Church Community Life building was much more well-received than the initial drawings for the project.

The plan details were highlighted during a workshop meeting of the Peachtree City Planning Commission last week. The commission will vote on the project at a later date, but since a rezoning is not necessary the matter will not come back before the City Council.

The community building will be located off Willowbend Road behind the Willowbend shopping center and next to the Twiggs Corner condominiums. The center would house a gym with other multipurpose space and a “teen room.”
At the workshop, commission Chairman Dennis Payton said the latest proposal was “much better” than the previous design. The plan would add 144 parking spaces; the initial proposal called for 352 additional parking spaces.
The first version of the church’s plan drew a significant amount of criticism from neighbors in the area who didn’t want to see the city’s Pebblepocket tennis courts relocated into an area that’s now just greenspace. Now that has been removed from the plan, and there were far fewer complaints at last week’s commission meeting.

One resident questioned how the facility would handle stormwater drainage, citing several easements encroaching on the property. Stan Neely said the location of the new building could create a dangerous situation with regards to stormwater.

“It’s not going to work,” Neely said. “We already lost lives from flooding. How many more lives must be lost?”

Church officials said that the new building would actually improve storm water drainage, but Neely was unconvinced.

“I do stormwater for a living,” he said. “I don’t know who you’ve got looking at this, but it’s just hearsay until an engineer puts his stamp on it.”

Jim Sherrill, who lives in the area, said that the new plan was “a far cry better” than the old one, but he requested that it be examined by the city engineer.

Payton defended the plan, saying that the church would not have presented the plan without considering the easements. He also said that the plan would not be approved unless it meets city standards.

Church officials have committed to making the facility available for city recreation programs when it is not being used for church activities. The City Council has put on hold a plan to expand the city’s Gathering Place senior citizens center to see if there will be a need once the church building is available to house city programs.

The plan is still in its design stages, and no steps have yet been taken to approve it or begin construction.

The building will have a 10,000 square-foot gym with a stage area, another 6,000 square feet for multipurpose use and classroom space, 2,000 square feet for a youth area and 7,000 square feet for a reception area and storage.
The church also plans to tear down three apartment buildings it owns directly to the south and across Willowbend Road from the main church building. That location will be made into a parking lot, officials said.

The church will also reconfigure one of the entrances to its main parking lot so traffic in the area will flow better.

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