Peachtree City's "big

box" ordinance is now officially on the books.

The City Council unanimously

approved the ordinance at its meeting Thursday night, after removing language

that would specifically exclude two properties in town from having to

abide by it.

At the same time, however,

council stipulated that both properties the Huddleston tract (the future

site of a Wal-Mart Superstore and Home Depot) and Phase II of the Kedron

Village retail center had turned in site concept plans to the city for

review before the effective date of the ordinance: August 28.

That admission could be interpreted

as council conceding that the ordinance cannot apply to either property.

The ordinance limits the size

of retail stores to a maximum of 32,000 square feet in general commercial

zoning districts. Larger stores, however, could be located on land that

is zoned for limited use commercial.

The approval of the ordinance

came after some heated comment from citizens, including big-box opponent

Steve Brown, whose letter-writing campaign opposing the exemptions drew

388 responses that were hand-delivered to his home before the meeting.

Brown said he thought the ordinance

was too late, adding that council should have adopted such rules after

the Home Depot store was approved by council. Councilwoman Carol Fritz

asked Brown why he didn't undertake the letter-writing campaign back then,

either.

Brown also alleged that "an

appearance of impropriety" was created by the language in the ordinance

that specifically exempted the two properties, which was later eliminated.

Brown said that since City Attorney Rick Lindsey's law partner, Jim Webb,

serves on the board of directors of a local bank with one of the developers

on the Kedron project, the ordinance should be reviewed by an impartial

attorney before it is approved.

But Mayor Bob Lenox said that

Webb's dealings on that board were not financial or fiduciary in nature.

"In my opinion, there's

no appearance of impropriety," Lenox said.

Councilman Dan Tennant said

he was suspicious of the way the site plan was submitted for Phase II

of the Kedron Village retail center, since it has been described as similar

to a plan Pathway Communities submitted for the Home Depot store but later

withdrew when the company decided to locate elsewhere.

"They immediately threw

that site plan in the hopper," Tennant said, to prevent the property

from having to meet the big box guidelines.

Former Planning Commission

member Willis Granger said since the ordinance wouldn't apply to the Kedron

Village retail center, Wal-Mart or Home Depot, it would be essentially

useless.

"It's closing the barn

door after all the horses have gotten out," reiterated local citizen

Robert Brown.

Lenox pointed out, however,

that a developer could purchase property like the Peachtree Crossings

retail center and demolish the current structures in order to build big

box stores. He also alluded to one more property in town where several

parcels of land could be combined to create enough space for a big box

store.

Granger said that although

the land has been zoned general commercial for many years, big boxes didn't

exist that long ago.

Lenox said the city's master

plan actually called for a shopping center in the area with restaurants,

specialty stores, nightclubs and other establishments. It would have been

"the Fayette Pavilion on steroids," Lenox said.

Lenox said he thought the ordinance

was legally defensible against any other future project with the exception

of the Huddleston property and the Kedron Village retail center's second

phase.

Doug Dillard, an attorney for

Pathway Communities, said the Kedron Village retail center should be excluded

from the big box regulations since a site concept plan was approved for

the property back in 1994.

Lenox also suggested that language be added to the ordinance's requirements

aimed at preventing buildings from being vacant for a length of time.

The ordinance requires that leases for buildings over 10,000 square feet

prohibit the tenant from ceasing operation and preventing the landlord

from leasing the premises to another person or company.

Lenox suggested that an exception should be made preventing the space

from being leased to a "direct competitor" or the tenant.