A scaled-down shopping center plan along Ga. Highway 54 West near Planterra Way will be considered for approval by the Peachtree City Planning Commission at its Sept. 22 meeting. And a new Dunkin’ Donuts for PTC’s westside will be considered.
Trinity Development has submitted a plan for the site on Ga. Highway 54 West adjacent to Planterra Ridge subdivision that includes several stores totaling 69,000 square feet, a far cry from its previous proposal of a 164,000 sq. ft. retail area.
Trinity had to change its plans after receiving notice from the Peachtree City Council that the city —unlike in 2007 — would not sell Line Creek Drive and Line Creek Circle to make the layout more flexible.
With the streets remaining in the city’s possession, the developable area of the site shrinks considerably thanks to the city’s road setback rules. It also hinders Trinity from its plan to reduce the grade of the site at the rear, which means the area abutting the Cardiff Park subdivision will be somewhat more visible than initially planned.
The new plan includes a potential gas station right off the roadway with its own right-in, right-out entrance. It also shows one “large” retail building around 32,000 square feet, the maximum size allowed under city ordinance without a special use permit.
The plan includes a 75-foot “transition yard” undisturbed buffer, as required by city ordinance, along the property line adjacent to Cardiff Park.
The Trinity parcel, currently owned by BB&T Bank, is zoned for general commercial use.
No potential tenants or property owners for the site were identified at last month’s planning commission meeting, as commissioners gave feedback on the first set of plans Trinity submitted.
Trinity is asking the planning commission for a conceptual plat approval, which will give it flexibility to sell off parts of the property if necessary to accommodate a particular development. If that were to occur, each individual parcel would go through the city’s planning process individually, with conceptual and landscape plans subject to approval of the planning commission.
Some residents worry that the site might end up being developed piecemeal instead of under one unified plan. Tim Lydell, who lives in Cardiff Park and has worked with several developers on restrictions for the property, compared the potential to have an unsightly development such as that seen at Lexington Circle on the city’s far east side off Ga. Highway 54. Lexington Circle has a number of undeveloped parcels, attributed in large part to the properties having a variety of different owners.
“It’s just not aesthetic to Peachtree City,” Lydell told the commission last month. “And it’s not conducive to the residents of Cardiff Park, so why should we support it?”
The Trinity parcel, currently owned by BB&T Bank, is zoned for general commercial use.
In other business Thursday night, the commission will consider exterior changes for a convenience store at Wisdom Road at Ga. Highway 74 for a new Dunkin’ Donuts franchise, exterior improvements to Carrabba’s Italian Grill and a parking lot expansion for Southside Church.
The commission meeting will start at City Hall at 7 p.m.
