With the

traffic debate concerning the Ga. Highway 54 corridor at

a fever pitch, another possible wrench has been thrown

into the works.

An

application has been made with the city for the

development of a 203,750-sq. ft. Wal-Mart superstore and

a 129,808-sq. ft. Home Depot retail center on the

Huddleston property west of Ga. Highway 74, directly

across Hwy. 54 from Planterra Way.

The initial

site plan the city received also includes a couple of

small commercial outparcels and more than 1,500 parking

spaces. A pond at the rear of the propery, long

considered a favorite fishing spot for local residents,

would be filled under this plan.

The

proposed site is bordered on the east by the railroad

tracks (which prevent any current access from Hwy. 74)

and on the west by a tract that is being developed as a

396-unit apartment complex to be on the proposed Line

Creek Parkway.

RAM

Development made the application for the new commercial

site only a few weeks ago, since serious discussions have

been initiated by the City Council in an attempt to

relieve traffic congestion in the area. The council was

scheduled to conduct a public hearing at last night's

meeting to consider such alternatives as a traffic impact

ordinance and a building moratorium.

City staff

has recommended that a proposed traffic impact ordinance

be adopted. If it is, then the developers of this

project, or any other that is considered by the city,

will be required to conduct an independent traffic study

at their own expense, with the results being plugged into

a traffic model now being designed by city-retained

consultants.

Projects

that are shown to have a detrimental effect on traffic in

the corridor, which has already received a "D"

grade by consultants, would be required to undertake

appropriate mitigation or risk not receiving building

permits.

The

Wal-Mart/Home Depot plan is expected to be on the

Planning Commission's Sept. 27 agenda, but word of the

project has already spread throughout the city.

Council

candidate Chuck Lehman mentioned it at his Monday morning

press conference, and residents were calling The Citizen

a few hours after that to inquire if the Planning

Commission would be considering it that night. City staff

was expected to bring the matter up at last night's City

Council meeting and ask for direction as the project

relates to the overall traffic issue.

RAM

Development currently is at odds with the city on another

project one block away, having asked for permission to

develop a commercial parcel at the southwest corner of

Line Creek Parkway, next to the Wynnmeade subdivision.

The city

contends that the corner must be permanent open space, by

order of the settlement reached a few years ago ending

litigation over the property. The developer disputes that

legal opinion, and the matter has not yet been officially

settled.

Home Depot

is in the preliminary stages of another Peachtree City

site, in Kedron Village behind Kroger. While the retail

giant has not commented specifically on the newest

project, it is almost certain that Home Depot would not

build on both sites. Some city officials are speculating

that the company will sit back for a while and consider

both options for as long as possible.

As for the

apartments on Line Creek Parkway, the developer of that

project has redrawn it so that the buildings are out of

the wetlands, and it will be looked at again at the next

Planning Commission meeting.

But

everything proposed for the parkway, as well as the road

itself, will be affected one way or another by the city's

decision on how to tackle the traffic issue.