It was a no-go for Great Wolf Family Lodge at the April 16 meeting of the Peachtree City Council.
The move by Great Wolf to have the 38-acre Dolce Atlanta-Peachtree property on Aberdeen Parkway rezoned for a family-oriented resort was turned down on a 5-0 vote.
The public hearing and questions to Great Wolf took more than three hours while the discussion and vote by the council took only minutes.
At the end of the brief discussion the motion was made to deny the rezoning and variance requests. The vote was 5-0.
Mayor Vanessa Fleisch said, in the end, Great Wolf could not overcome citizens’ objections. Her comments were followed by an informal poll of the sentiments of the council, with each expressing sufficient doubt to lead minutes later to a motion to deny the request.
Councilwoman Kim Learnard in her comments said she found nothing lacking in Great Wolf’s presentation, though she did not believe the regional draw of families that would support the business was compatible with Peachtree City.
Councilman Terry Ernst said he had pondered the proposal for months, adding that the Dolce location may not be the best place to locate. Given that the property is for sale and wondering what could go there, Ernst cautioned residents saying, “When we start this thing over, remember where you were tonight.”
Councilman Eric Imker said he initially like the proposal, but later heard the details and heard the input from citizens. That input was almost exclusively against the proposal.
Councilman Mike King said he appreciated residents showing how much they care while acknowledging that the property on which Dolce is a tenant has been for sale since 2013 and that Dolce is losing $50,000-100,000 per month.
King said he could not say if a family-oriented hotel was a good fit, adding that the next potential buyer could come in a stay with the General Commercial zoning category and build a 400,000 sq. ft. shopping center with impervious surface.
Many in the room cheered and applauded at King’s comment.
At issue in the rezoning and variance request was the company’s desire to extend the building height to 65 feet and having the water slides extend 27 feet into the buffer area and below an existing driveway and employee parking area.
Great Wolf CEO Kim Schaefer after the meeting said the company will re-group and begin a new search for a location. Schaefer said Great Wolf likes the idea of being in Georgia and in the metro Atlanta area.
Rainy weather dampened the turnout but not the spirits of the 70 people attending the “No Wolf” rally held at the Aberdeen Shopping Center prior to the council meeting.
The mood was festive with signs and a sprinkling of dancing to music provided by an on-site DJ that included a variety of songs featuring a wolf in the lyrics.
The rally concluded with a golf cart procession to City Hall where the group was joined by others totaling more than 200 for the council meeting.
