Crowd control will be a concern

Thursday night when the Peachtree City Council is confronted with a number

of high-profile, emotional issues.

City spokeswoman Betsy Tyler

said city staff will consider ways of lessening the crush of people expected

at City Hall.

"Yes, we've had cases

of large crowds in the past and we want to make sure the interests of

the residents are heard and they have an opportunity to attend,"

she said. "We'll look at our options."

The biggest: A formal vote

to finally approve or disapprove a developer's site plan to build

a 265,000 square foot addition including a Target store at Kedron Village,

an issue also pending in Fayette Superior Court.

Faison Corp. and Pathway Communities,

the city's former developer, bypassed the council in October when

the Planning Commission unanimously denied the project, following a loud

and angry four-hour meeting jam-packed with homeowners from the Kedron

Hills neighborhoods nearest the retail site.

The issue challenges the city's

so-called "big box" ban on large-size retail establishments

locating in the city.

Faison skipped the final, legal

step in the approval process � an appeal to the council - and instead

took the matter to court. Just last week, Fayette County Superior Court

Judge Christopher Edwards ruled that Faison had failed to exhaust all

its opportunities for due process, and told the council to take up the

matter once and for all.

Next biggest: The release of

a report from a private consultant that recommends the city's emergency

services department enter into an "automatic aid" agreement

with the county. That would create an area outside the city limits that

Peachtree City's fire and rescue crews would cover on a regular basis,

which has the EMT volunteer corps up in arms.

Potentially big: The council

will receive information regarding a proposed property tax rate freeze

for all homeowners age 70 and older, and what impact it would have on

city coffers. Mayor Steve Brown has suggested giving tax relief to the

city's large retiree population, but County Tax Commissioner George

Wingo has reported that it's not common in Georgia.

Additionally, Mayor Brown is

expected to recognize Peachtree City Girl Scouts, and congratulate the

entire Starr's Mill High School wrestling team for finishing the

season ranked fifth in the state. Councilman Stuart Kourajian's son,

Tyler, holds the Starr's Mill record for individual wins.

The Target issue begs wrestling

comparisons on its own, as opposition is expected to again turn out in

full force to voice displeasure with Faison's project.

At the size proposed, Kedron

Village would become the city's largest retail center, neighbors

and city staffers say. In addition to Target, the complex would include

four or five mid-size national retailers similar to ones in Fayette Pavilion,

a number of boutiques, restaurants and office space.

But officers with the Lake

Kedron Community Association who've filed suit against the project

say they're confident their concerns will eventually be heard.

"We believe the mayor

and City Council will do the right thing," said John Hedge, one of

the leaders of the group, last week.

Group spokesman Tim Wedemyer

said residents who live off Regents Park at Georgian Park, behind the

proposed Target site, aren't opposed to the store at all, just the

access Faison wants to provide by extending Regents Park into the commercial

area.

"We're absolutely

committed to opposing any extension of Regents Park across Georgian Park,"

Wedemyer said. "If the road goes away, we can probably work with

the rest of it," he said of Faison's project."

But simply making the road

go away isn't as easy as it sounds, even with confirmation from the

state Department of Transportation that an additional right turn in/out

access point off Ga. Highway 74 is a possibility.

Since last fall, two new members

have been seated on the council: Stuart Kourajian, and Judi-ann Rutherford,

replacing Dan Tennant and Annie McMenamin. It's not known if the

makeup of the new council will force a different outcome on the Target

project had it been voted on in November.

City Manager Bernard McMullen

refused to speculate on the outcome of Thursday's meeting as well

as the impact the additional Hwy. 74 access would provide, calling the

issue a "pending legal matter."

Faison's lawsuit against

the city to establish its "vested rights" to expand Kedron Village

remains, even with Edward's decision last week.

A round two of arguments before

Edwards was already scheduled for next Tuesday, and will proceed depending

on the outcome of the council's decision this week.

While there have been a number

of issues that have drawn overflow crowds in the past, notably the decision

to locate Wal-Mart and Home Depot off Ga. Highway 54 West in 2001, Tyler

said the City Council meetings have never been relocated for that reason.

"This is where the meetings

are advertised to be held, and this is where the people come," she

said.

In other business, the council

is scheduled to:

- Appoint Marcia Brown

pending passage of a background check for service on the city's Ethics

Board. She replaces Steven Fraas, who was recently appointed to the Development

Authority;

- Consider adoption of

a proposed change in the city's ordinance relating to the sale of

alcohol in neighboring businesses when churches lease worship space in

shopping centers;

- Consider a request from

residents of the Smokerise Plantation neighborhood to install raised speed

bumps or other traffic calming devices to slow cars cutting through from

Spear Road to North Peachtree Parkway. The city's staff is recommending

denial;

- Hear a report on amending

the Recreation Department's fee schedule, including all youth sports,

that would raise an additional $95,000 annually;

- Participate in the swearing-in

of Stephen Ott as the city's judge pro hac, providing backup to Judge

Eric Maxwell.

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