The attorney for the Peachtree

City Council predicts fairly swift action on a lawsuit filed against the

city by Faison Enterprises seeking a to establish the developers rights

to build a 260,000-square-foot addition at Kedron Village in the north

end of town.

Ted Meeker said it was in the

best interest of both the city and the developer to reach a conclusion

to the issue as rapidly as possible.

The suit was filed in Fayette

County Superior Court Oct. 31. No hearing dates have been set.

At issue is a 125,000-square-foot

Target store and more than 100,000 square feet of smaller retail chains

that may or may not be in violation of the city's ordinance against

allowing any new "big box" retailers, passed in 2000.

Faison is asking the court

to decide in its favor on one of three points:

-�That Faison has a vested

right to develop the property using the Regents Park-Georgian Park access

road.

-�That Peachtree Citys

big box ordinance does not apply to the Target store proposed for the

Kedron Village expansion because Target will own the building and the

ordinance specifically refers to retail leases

-�That the plaintiffs

have the vested right to develop the property under the city's General-Commercial

zoning category despite the big box ordinance because the zoning and tentative

future use of the property had already been approved by the city prior

to the ordinance.

"There's very little

factual dispute here," said Meeker. "The legal signficance has

already been established. It's appropriate that the case be moved

along at a quick pace, but ultimately it's up to the judge."

In a legal opinion requested

has vested rights to develop the property to some degree, the size of

the proposed project is way beyond anything approved up to now.

That's the exact argument

homeowners nearest the proposed development have been trying to make for

weeks, but to little avail.

Tim Wedemyer, spokesman for

his neighborhood, is relieved that Faison's action isn't a threat

to the ordinance itself, but rather a request to clarify Target's

exemption status.

"Our position now is that

the city has laws on the books and it's up to government to uphold

those laws when passed," said Wedemyer. "We view this as a very

important piece of legislation that the city should fight to uphold. There

are thousands of citizens in the northern end of Peachtree City who expect

the city to defend all its laws, and especially this one, with as much

vigor and enthusiasm as can be mustered."

Wedemyer cited Meeker's

legal brief to City Manager McMullen as support for their cause, as well

as a memo from Police Chief James Murray expressing his sentiment that

the center would increase traffic counts in the residential neighborhoods

and affect the crime rate.