After more than a year of delays, revised site plans and other changes, a Wigley Road rezoning case was approved Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
The case file was numbered Z-56 of 2017, and it was Oak Hall Companies’ project to build single-family homes on a sloping tract of land that once was part of the Wigley Farm in Northeast Cobb, just below the Cherokee County line.
Commissioners approved most of what the Cobb Planning Commission recommended earlier this month: A total of 91 homes on 96 acres. Because of the hilly topography, however, only about half of that acreage will be developed.
The rezoning request was for R-30 OSC, or low-density residential in an Open Space Community. The land has been in the estate of Audra Wigley.
There will be conservation easements and other buffers and measures to limit stormwater runoff that was a major concern, and responsible for some of the delays.
“This is the best we’re going to get,” said District 3 Cobb Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, who represents the area.
Had the developer wanted to stick with the R-30 category already in place, not only would rezoning not be required, but around 105 homes would have been allowed without any mandate for buffers or protective space.
The initial rezoning request called for 96 homes, but that was reduced to 91 by the planning commission.
Related stories
The request approved Tuesday calls for a 40-foot undisturbed buffer surrounding the entire development, which Oak Hall Companies is calling Provence Estates.
The original application came in two pieces, but was combined earlier this year. The acreage is on Wigley Road and north of Summitop Road, where opposition to the rezoning emerged.
Traffic concerns also were referenced by nearby residents (a traffic impact study was done in March, and can be found here), as were stormwater issues.
Some of those citizens who had been opposed urged commissioners on Tuesday to keep their concerns in mind. Among them include erosion and runoff from areas under development, and resident Tony Garcia, a Summitop Road resident, presented photos he took of that activity.
Here are more documents, stipulation letters, site plans and other correspondence related to the case. It doesn’t contain a stipulation letter from the developer dated Monday, Aug. 20, that’s part of the final approval.
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
