Staff

Writer

Participants

in the potential development of the northwest corner of

Walt Banks Road and Ga. Highway 54 are looking for a way

to draw several different pieces of property into a

single plan that everyone is happy with.

Another

step in creating that scenario took place at a recent

meeting of the City Council of Peachtree City and various

land owners and developers at the library. The group is

scheduled to meet there again Tuesday at 11 a.m.

And while

there is still a great deal of ground to cover, every

side appears to be talking and looking for a solution.

Jim

Williams, the city's development director, unveiled a

drawing of a possible layout combining residential,

commercial and office-institutional zonings throughout

the 73-acre tract, which is currently controlled by

several parties.

Williams

said that his preliminary design, which was essentially

drawn up to give everyone a discussion point, was

motivated in part by several points raised by attorney

Doug Dillard, who represents Bill Lassiter, the owner of

33 acres at the site.

Dillard had

stated in a previous meeting that visibility along Hwy.

54 and access from the highway to the site were top

priorities in coming to an agreement on the use of the

property. The current stipulations on the tract call for

a 100-foot buffer on the highway.

Lassiter,

Dillard's client, was not present.

Williams'

drawing included two entrances from Hwy. 54 - one at

the existing stoplight in front of Stein Mart and another

just north of that.

After

Williams' brief presentation, Dillard said that he had no

problem with the concept in general, although some

tweaking here and there would be in order.

He noted

that Lassiter would be giving up a great deal by

converting so much office-institutional property to

residential, and wondered if some kind of condominium or

town house development could not fit into the overall

plan somewhere.

Mayor Bob

Lenox said that one point not to be overlooked is the

possibility of upper-level development in this plan, such

as office or residential space situated directly above

street side commercial parcels.

Councilwoman

Carol Fritz said she also was concerned with drainage

factors, noting that all of the property backing up to

this tract is on septic tanks.

Addressing

the condo suggestion, Councilwoman Annie McMenamin said

she wants the "best value" possible for the

benefit of the residents of Southern Trace, a subdivision

next to this property. She wondered if condos would meet

that need.

Lenox then

asked if anyone believed there was a market for attached

residences in the upper $200,000 range in the area.

Developer

Bob Adams, who is developing a portion of the site, said

he believed there is such a market in Peachtree City for

fee-simple town houses with a homeowners' association.

"The word `condo' is still a four-letter word around

here," he said.

But there

is another hurdle to clear before any development of that

type is undertaken.

City

attorney Rick Lindsey reminded Dillard that to build town

houses or an assisted living facility, which also has

been mentioned as a possible use for a portion of the

tract, he must get the City Council to lift its

moratorium on attached or multifamily housing.

A few

moments later, Dillard, who is known around the state for

challenging various local zoning decisions,

lightheartedly said, "You all know what I think of

your moratorium." To which Lindsey smiled and said,

"That is for another forum."

Lenox

repeated that one of his main goals is to find out if a

basic concept can be agreed upon before a lot of money is

poured into the design process.

"We

can pursue this," Dillard answered.

John

Callaway, whose Mews development planned for this tract

was denied by the city earlier this year, suggested that

the design phase should not go too far without input from

tenants.

Other

issues also were mentioned as needing to be addressed,

such as how to make it easy for local citizens to get

from the residential portion to the commercial and vice

versa - "inter-parcel access," as Dillard

put it.

Callaway

said he knows of a buyer interested in a child's shopping

center there, and asked if that was an idea the city

might be interested in.

Adams

mentioned that his plans for the Lallande/Scott property

will be presented at Monday's Planning Commission meeting

and again at the June 17 City Council meeting. He said

his petition conforms well with the plan under

discussion.

As plans

were made to convene again and work toward developing a

more concrete design, all in the group expressed their

eagerness to get moving.

"We've

spent enough defending this corner," said McMenamin,

referring to past litigation. "Now we can spend some

being proactive and doing something we can all be proud

of."

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