The Peachtree

City Planning Commission has given its stamp of approval to the city's

proposed outdoor display ordinance.

The measure

is aimed at regulating how retail stores display products outdoors. The

ordinance, which must now be approved by the City Council, would limit

the size of those displays to a space 6 feet deep by 12 feet in length.

Jim Williams,

the city's director of developmental services, said local merchants and

members of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce have provided comments

on the ordinance, and the recent revisions have made the language stronger.

"We actually

got some good ideas," Williams said.

The ordinance

would not cover such items as newspaper machines and ice storage machines,

Williams said. Rather, it would be enforceable on displays such as cases

of sodas and racks of tires.

Businesses

which depend on outdoor sales, like golf cart dealerships and lawn care

products, could still store their goods outdoors by having a special site

plan approved by the Planning Commission, Williams added.

Any store can

also get a temporary use permit to expand to a larger space for up to

one week long for a maximum of four times per year, according to the ordinance.

One local merchant,

however, didn't like the idea of the restrictions the ordinance would

put on local retailers. Tom Fancher, the manager of Gill-Roy's Complete

Hardware and Lumber, said as a Peachtree City resident that he appreciated

what the city was trying to do, but he felt it went a little too far.

"We have

a present signage law and I'm a little uncomfortable adding a couple of

pages to it," Fancher said.

Gill-Roy's

has some equipment on display outdoors, although the store doesn't leave

it out overnight and the size of the display is restricted because Fancher

knows that's not what local residents want to see.

However, the

tactic works to spur sales, he added.

"It works,"

Fancher said. "It's a significant tool in retail."

Restricting

that tool, however, would essentially "infringe on those of us who

are here and our ability to do business," Fancher remarked, adding

that he understands the ordinance is being developed to prevent large

outdoor displays at large retail stores such as the proposed Home Depot.

Fancher said

Gill-Roy's has other stores that dedicate more space to outdoor displays

than the Peachtree City store. About 25 of those stores are within a mile

of a Home Depot and they are still doing well, he added.

"I think

your store looks pretty good," Planning Commission member Rich Schumacher

told Fancher. "That's why I shop there."

The commission

debated limiting the space as a percentage of the storefront's length.

But the commissioners eventually decided to drop that idea after considering

it would give larger stores an unfair advantage.

Local resident

Phyllis Aguayo complimented the city for developing the ordinance. She

added that she thought the ordinance was fair.

The ordinance

forbids trailers with signage from being parked in a commercial area unless

they are parked in an area specified by the planning commission during

the site review process. A similar requirement is in place for the sale

of products from trucks, such as pinestraw.

Vehicles which

can be parked overnight must not be slept in during that time frame, the

ordinance requires.