Mayor, Council Answer Questions About Roberts Property Transaction

A small group attended the Peachtree Corners town hall meeting held at the New Age Building at Jones Bridge Park Thursday night.

Those who did come learned how the city leaders came to the decision to purchase the property across from The Forum.

"It was an act of desperation," said Council member Alex Wright (Post 3), of the city council's decision to purchase the property.

"We researched all kinds of ideas," said Weare Gratwick, Council member for Post 6. "We found out the city could afford it if we had to buy it. But someone else came in before we could present a contract and bought it," he said.

The buyer, a group of local investors headed by Robert Cheeley, who is a member of the board of directors at Piedmont Bank, was the "white knight" that city leaders had hoped for. His plan for a mixed use development was just what the city had envisioned.

"We were hoping somebody would want to do that," said Mayor Mike Mason who explained that the city is already at a 50/50 mix of apartments to single family homes, adding 250+ garden apartments would have put the city over that ratio which is considered unhealthy for a suburban city the size of Peachtree Corners.

As a result of the urgency to find a means to keep the property across from The Forum from being developed, there were a number of executive sessions held which had some residents questioning why all of the secrecy.

Council member Lorri Christopher (Post 5) explained the reason for executive session and why the discussions that take place during those meetings must remain private.

"There are three reasons the Council can meet in executive session," explained Christopher, "litigation, land and personnel matters. By law we cannot share what's discussed in those meetings until an action has been taken."

The council had explored the idea of putting the decision to buy the property to the voters in a March referendum, but it was too short a notice explained Wright.

With no other alternative, the city moved forward with its plan to purchase the property when Cheeley's investment group stepped in ahead of the city.

Cheeley told Patch in an interview last week that he hoped to close on April 15 but it would probably be early next year before any construction would start.

On another topic, the mayor discussed the city's plans for a redevelopment referendum to help the areas of the city that need to be redeveloped.

"We believe we need to do that in Post 1," he said. "We are looking at ways to redevelop that area, maybe by forming a Community Development District (CID)."

The Community Development Director, Diana Wheeler, brought the group up to date on the city's efforts to create a comprehensive plan.

"The comprehensive plan is state mandated," she explained. Although it's required document that must be prepared, it's also an opportunity for the community to decide what it would like to see developed in the next 20 years she added.

"Peachtree Corners may be a limited government service, but it's still a full service community," said Wheeler. Residents are asked to look ahead two decades to plan for some of the needs of the community such as additional parks, transportation, residential needs of an aging population and other such issues.

Residents can participate in an anonymous on-line survey to help the city develop its comprehensive plan. To access the survey, visit the city's website or call City Hall at 678-691-1200 for more information.

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