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PTC Council, don’t open Pandora’s big boxTue, 02/05/2008 - 6:01pm
By: The Citizen
If the Peachtree City Council votes Thursday night to abandon two roads to a developer, the city would be all but paving the way for a big box store. Right now the city has the ultimate leverage over the situation. It owns the roads, which with setback rules leaves no room for Capital City Development to construct a Kohl’s Department Store at the corner of Ga. Highway 54 and Planterra Way. Should the City Council abandon the roads, they will also in turn be granting CCD’s wish for a big box store on the 14-acre parcel. Once abandoned, the roads are gone for good. The only thing left to settle would be the granting of a special use permit to build the store, which would be decided also by the City Council. Oh, and did we mention with the big box likely comes another traffic light you can add to the mix on Hwy. 54, right in between Planterra Way and MacDuff Parkway? It has also come to light that if the city abandons the roads, it may not receive compensation from CCD. That’s because the city doesn’t possess clear title to the streets, according to City Attorney Ted Meeker. The Georgia Supreme Court has previously ruled that in such a situation when the road is abandoned without the government owning the title or having condemned the property, “the abutting landowners are presumed to own the fee to the middle of the road, free of the former rights of the general public.” In other words, the city could well be giving the roads away, an unacceptable premise. The leverage used by CCD’s Doug McMurrain is a relatively ugly plan that features a gas station directly off Hwy. 54 at the front of the parcel, which backs up to the Cardiff Park subdivision and also the entryway to the Planterra Ridge subdivision. We can only guess at this point, but one could imagine a traffic light won’t be necessary for just a gas station and a couple of restaurants and auto-oriented shops that McMurrain has on his current plan. That plan was unanimously denied by the city’s Planning Commission last week, leaving the ball in City Council’s court as well. We can’t blame the nearby residents for wanting the prettiest shopping center they can have in their backyard. At the same time, it’s not the city’s responsibility to maximize the developer’s profits. The gas station and the remainder of the stores/shops will have to abide by additional architectural rules established for the 54 West area. So in theory the development will look nicer than most others in the city. It’s also not in McMurrain’s best interest to slap something together ... he does have to sell the property to interested tenants. Certainly he wants to maximize his return on investment. Kohl’s proponents argue that the store is not a regional draw since it has stores in Fayetteville and Newnan. They also argue that the company hasn’t closed a store in who-knows-when. Both are valid points. But once the city grants a special use permit for a big box, Pandora’s Big Box will open and it’s a free-for-all. Maybe it’s worse if the city sells the roads but denies the big box permit, leading to another lawsuit challenging the city’s big box rules. Worst of all is if the city abandons the roads then cannot get any money for them because of the clouded title. That’s a lose-lose for everybody in Peachtree City. Keep the public roads open to the public. They are our roads, used by the public for decades and paved and repaved with our tax money. Leave the box closed, City Council. For the benefit of all residents, not just a vocal few. login to post comments
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