Armed with input from more than 50 fresh faces, Peachtree City’s planning staff is preparing to make its final recommendations on updating the city’s comprehensive plan.
The input was part of the One Peachtree City planning initiative designed to seek feedback from residents on the direction they would like to see the city take.
The program brought residents together into roundtable discussion groups to determine what they liked best about the city and what they wanted to build on for the future.
One of the concepts is to hold more citywide events and festivals using Drake Field and City Hall Plaza as a central gathering spot, said City Planner David Rast.
While the city has its distinct five village shopping centers which host some events, the idea was to have more citywide events to create a place for “people from all over the city” to gather together, Rast said.
The Peachtree City Farmer’s Market is a great example of the kind of vibe that can be created: providing a great place to hang out and catch up with friends, Rast noted.
The roundtable groups also decided the city needed to bring its focus back to the preservation of greenspace and the success of the path system, Rast noted.
During the initial planning meetings, there were several concerns about the political climate and bickering among city officials, Rast said.
But once everyone aired those grievances, they were able to turn toward looking for the positive aspects of the city, Rast added.
Rast said he was encouraged that the citizen roundtable input came from a wide cross-section of the community, and that many of the participants hadn’t taken part in one of the city’s previous planning efforts.
“We really had great feedback from everybody who participated,” Rast said.
Rast is compiling a summary of the suggestions created by the roundtables and he will forward those to participants for additional comments before making a presentation to the City Council in a workshop scheduled for Sept. 4.
