He also didn’t like the one-way-in, one-way-out design.Īlternate member Rick Mendenhall said he was concerned about the 89 students projected being added to the Starr’s Mill school complex by the apartments. “We have enough coffee shops in Peachtree City now,” he said. Photo/Cal Beverly.Ĭommissioner Scott Ritenour said he had concerns about the relative lack of retail space in what is billed as a mixed-use project. Peachtree City Planning Commissioner Scott Ritenour. In brief, 308 apartments would come first and everything else later. Space would be left for future development of a restaurant and a “commercial pad.” The plan also calls for 780 parking spaces. The project plan calls for upwards of 10,000 square feet of “retail/leasing and amenity space” much of which would be the ground floor of two of the eight apartment buildings in the first phase. In addition, Rorie said, “I don’t think that’s a proper location for mixed-used” development, mainly due to its current designation as and proximity to an industrial zone. City Manager Jon Rorie addresses City Council Feb. “Commercial doesn’t follow residential,” Rorie said. He said it’s a mistake to think that if a community provides appropriate residential areas that commercial development will follow, providing jobs and tax income. Photo/Cal Beverly.īrown and a majority of the commission said they were concerned about the nearness of the 3-story apartment buildings to the CSX rail line bordering the rear of the 20-acre site, including a parallel rail spur used as a parking lot for rail tank cars, many loaded with hazardous liquids.īrown brought up the specter of a derailment or a leaking tank car and its effect on hundreds of apartment residents living little more than 100 feet from the escaping noxious vapors.Īnother first: City Manager Jon Rorie walked to the microphone and said he was speaking as a private citizen, something he had not done since arriving in Peachtree City. Former Mayor Steve Brown was critical of the proposed rezoning and the changes to the Planning Commission format. Members of the public present who were not parties to the rezoning request or city staff numbered fewer than a half-dozen. Brown and Chairman Link sparred over the new process, especially the strict time limit, leading Link to admonish Brown to yield the microphone and sit down. This feature drew criticism from one member of the audience, former Mayor Steve Brown. In every case, the City Council had final say on any rezoning.įormal public hearings are now out, replaced by a council-mandated “public workshop” format, which saw new 3-minute time limits imposed on all citizens’ public responses but provided no time limits on the developer who requested the zoning change. The vote has been a formal recommendation either in favor of a rezoning or in opposition to a change. The volunteer commission has voted on every rezoning request for more than 40 years. 22 meeting had some tense moments as Chairman Michael Link navigated through a new hearing process mandated by the City Council, including the loss of the commission’s power to vote on a proposal. It’s adjacent to an as-yet unbuilt hotel approved 5-to-0 by the council 2 years ago after a 5-to-0 disapproval by the Planning Commission. Highway 74 South and TDK Boulevard behind the Pit Stop Convenience Store. The site is at the northwest corner of the intersection of Ga. Later phases would bring an upscale restaurant, some mixed-use retail residential and possible commercial and office units. The proposal by property owner Mike Hyde included a first-phase $80 million construction of 308 apartments and a 2-acre central park on a portion of a 20-acre site in south Peachtree City. Michael Link, chairman of the Peachtree City Planning Commission. Graphic provided by the Planning Commission.ĭespite having been stripped of their voting power by the City Council, four members of the Planning Commission and an alternate gave the equivalent of a no-confidence no-vote Monday night to a 20-acre rezoning request. Master plan of the proposed rezoning and development on Widget Drive.