Month: March 2023

Chattahoochee River NRA draws a record 3.5M visitors in 2022

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Chattahoochee River trails management plan
The Paper Mill Road bridge over Sope Creek is at the edge of the East Cobb portion of the Chattahoochee River NRA.

The National Park Service said this week that a record 3.5 million visitors used the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, which includes several area trails and facilities in East Cobb.

Those figures were right behind the Cape Cod National Seashore in Massaschusetts and Yosemite National Park in California and in 21st place overall nationally.

The 3.5 million figure is nine percent higher than in 2021, according to park officials, who said that the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Marietta reported 1.5 million visitors last year.

The Chattahoochee River NRA, which was created in 1978, stretches for 48 miles between Forsyth, Gwinnett, Fulton and Cobb counties.

In East Cobb, there are the Gold Branch and Johnson Ferry units above Johnson Ferry Road, and the Sope Creek Unit trails located off Paper Mill Road.

The NPS figures didn’t break down park visits by those units. But in a social media posting Friday the Chattahoochee NRA staf said that “this many visitors each year mean parts of the park are always very crowded.

“If you crave solitude in nature, #PlanLikeAParkRanger and explore some of the northern units of the park, like Bowmans Island or the Jones Bridge.”

The All Trails website rates the Sope Creek Loop from Paper Mill Road as the second-best trail in the Chattahoochee River NRA.

It’s a 2.9-mile route that takes about an hour to complete for moderate walkers/hikers, and also includes mountain bikers.

The Gold Branch trail is ranked fourth, and the Chattahoochee River trail from Columns Drive is rated seventh.

The Sope Creek Loop from Cochran Shoals and the Sibley Pond Loop also are in the top 10 of those rankings.

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East Cobb Zoning Update: PMV, Post Oak Tritt cases delayed again

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Post Oak Tritt zoning case delayed
The 14 acres owned by Kenneth B. Clary at Post Oak Tritt and McPherson roads (inside the blue lines) is the subject of a delayed residential rezoning request. Cobb Tax Assessor’s Office

An early agenda for next Tuesday’s Cobb Planning Commission meeting shows that two cases in East Cobb that have been delayed several times in recent months are being continued again.

The summary agenda files indicated that an application by Kenneth B. Clary for a subdivision development on Post Oak Tritt Road has been continued to April.

The land is near McPherson Road (east of Tritt Elementary School) and is adjacent to the Clary Lakes neighborhood, and the case was first scheduled for a hearing in September.

The property is zoned R-30 and is designated as low-density residential in the Cobb future land use map; Clary is the landowner of what’s called a conservation tract with an appraised value of more than $2 million, according to Cobb property tax records.

There’s a small home on the property near the lake that was built in 1950.

More importantly, the land also contains the Power-Jackson Cabin, a one-room log home from the mid-1800s that’s a local and state historical landmark.

There’s nothing in the zoning filings that refers to the cabin.

In his letters seeking continuances over the fall and winter, attorney Parks Huff, who represents Clary, has made unspecified references to “some remaining issues which are scheduled to be addressed and resolved.”

The Cobb Historic Preservation Commission noted last fall that the cabin could be subject to demolition if the land is rezoned.

The five-member body appointed by Cobb commissioners has been working with Cobb Landmarks, a non-profit preservation group, and Cobb Parks “to see if preservation solutions could be discussed,” according to the minutes of a Sept. 12, 2022 preservation commission meeting.

If the cabin is torn down, the developer could be subject to a mitigation fee similar to one levied following the demolition of a Mabry Farm homestead on Wesley Chapel Road in 2018 to make room for a new subdivision.

The $7,500 paid by the developer was dedicated for historic preservation efforts in Cobb County.

Originally the Clary application sought an R-15 zoning category to build 20 homes with a single entrance from Post Oak Tritt.

That request has since been changed to R-20, which would reduce the number of homes to around 15, but a new site plan hasn’t been submitted.

Clary Lakes is zoned R-15 and according to an early site plan, part of the lake is in a federal 100-year flood zone. There also are state and county water buffers totalling 75 feet, as well as impervious setback considerations.

It’s been nearly a decade since a portion of some other Clary land across the road on Post Oak Tritt was developed by Brooks Chadwick into Hadley Walk, which has six homes on nearly 10 acres.

Those homes are currently valued at more than $1 million.

A proposal to expand the current Starbucks at Paper Mill Village into a two-story, 5,000-square foot standalone building also is being continued to April at the request of the applicant, S&B Investments.

Zoning attorney Garvis Sams said in a letter to the Cobb Zoning Staff on Tuesday that his group has met with nearby citizens groups and the shopping center over what he called “very minor tweaks” over architecture and various stipulations.

But he said his client wants more time to finalize them and to get “one hundred percent consensus.”

The Cobb Planning Commission hearing begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta), you can view the full agenda and individual case files by clicking here.

You also can watch on the county’s website and YouTube channels and on Cobb TV 23 on Comcast Cable.

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Marietta Planning Commission OK’s Powers Ferry apartments

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Apartments proposed Powers Ferry Kroger site

The first hurdle for a 322-unit apartment building on a Kroger site on Powers Ferry Road was cleared Wednesday when the Marietta Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval.

The proposal goes before the Marietta City Council next Wednesday for final action.

The mixed-use development proposed by WC Acquisitions LLC includes 7,000 square feet of amenities for the apartment building, 6,000 square feet of retail space and a 485-space parking deck that’s six and a half stories high.

The density would be high, at more than 60 units an acre, and one of the highest in the Marietta city limits.

But it’s in keeping with density at the nearby MarketPlace Terrell Mill in unincorporated Cobb and other multi-family complexes in the Powers Ferry corridor.

The application got the support of the Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance.

The Kroger at Terrell Mill and Delk roads was built in 1982, and is the southernmost tract of land in the City of Marietta in that area.

Later this year, Kroger is moving Marketplace Terrell Mill that’s in unincorporated Cobb, and WC Acquisitions Attorney Garvis Sams said the 4.8-acre site doesn’t have a retail future.

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East Cobb Food Scores: LongHorn; McCray’s Tavern; more

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Longhorn East Cobb, East Cobb food scores

The following food scores for the week of Feb. 27 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:

AJ’s Famous Seafood & Po’Boys
2100 Roswell Road, Suite 2148
March 1, 2023 Score: 91, Grade: A

Corazon Mexicano Cantina
1199 Bells Ferry Road
February 27, 2023 Score: 90, Grade: A

Dunkin Donuts
4661 Woodstock Road
March 1, 2023 Score: 99, Grade: A

Jameric
3349 Canton Road, Suite 201
February 28, 2023 Score: 98, Grade: A

LongHorn Steakhouse
4721 Lower Roswell Road
February 28, 2023 Score: 100, Grade: A

Martin’s Restaurant
3101 Canton Road
February 28, 2023 Score: 97, Grade: A

McCray’s Tavern
4880 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 850
March 2, 2023 Score: 83, Grade: B

McDonald’s 
2371 Delk Road
February 28, 2023 Score: 100, Grade: A

Mediterranean Grill
1255 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 15
March 1, 2023 Score: 87, Grade: B

Taco Bell 
4880 Lower Roswell Road
March 2, 2023 Score: 100, Grade: A

Willy’s Mexicana Grill
2900 Delk Road, Suite 8
March 2, 2023 Score: 88, Grade: B

Zaxby’s 
2756 Sandy Plains Road
February 27, 2023 Score: 91, Grade: A

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Cobb Schools Foundation honors 2023 volunteers of the year

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East Cobb schools 2023 volunteers of the year
From L-R: Dana Stassen, Bells Ferry ES; Gary Loveless, Hightower Trail MS; Kristy Flowers, Wheeler HS.

The Cobb Schools Foundation on Wednesday held a luncheon honoring volunteers of the year for 2023 at each of its schools.

They were treated to lunch at Jim Miller Park as they have “demonstrated superior leadership and served as a role model in collaboration and consistency towards high impact school  programs or projects,” according to the foundation, a non-profit that provides financial, academic and other support to students of the Cobb County School District.

Here are the volunteers of the year at elementary schools in East Cobb:

  • Amy Pernicaro, Addison
  • Dana Stassen, Bells Ferry
  • Erin Ellingwood, Blackwell
  • Mike Marotta, Brumby
  • Michelle Lewis, Davis
  • Brooke Jarrett, East Side
  • Jessica Stalcup, Eastvalley
  • Carol Tefft, Garrison Mill
  • Laura Kubica, Keheley
  • Nikkia Velazquez, Kincaid
  • Kelly Wilkins, Mt. Bethel
  • Sara Wright, Mountain View
  • Meredith Wilkes, Murdock
  • Lauren Rose, Nicholson
  • Charles McCord, Powers Ferry
  • Amy Kraft, Rocky Mount
  • Donna Lipscomb, Sedalia Park
  • Kim Lindsay, Shallowford Falls
  • Lauren Lynch, Sope Creek
  • Ashley Rager, Timber Ridge
  • Maria Janos, Tritt

Middle schools:

  • Lisa Duke, Daniell
  • Erin Inan, Dickerson
  • Elizabeth Snow-Murphy, Dodgen
  • Barbara Boutaker, East Cobb
  • Gary Loveless, Hightower Trail
  • Dena Loadwick, Mabry
  • Gladys Francois, McCleskey
  • Veena Raj, Simpson

High schools:

  • Ray Fajay, Kell
  • Christine Kim, Lassiter
  • Beth Florence, Pope
  • Kristine Hampson, Sprayberry
  • Shannon Eiser, Walton
  • Kristy Flowers, Wheeler

For more on this year’s group of volunteers of the year, click here.

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Cobb hires consultants for 2024 transit sales tax referendum

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The three Democrats on the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday voted to spend more than $500,000 to hire three separate consulting firms to help the Cobb Department of Transportation prepare for a transportation sales tax referendum in 2024.Cobb transportation sales tax consultants

The contracts will be for developing project lists and providing planning and engineering services, as well as conducting community outreach.

Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid has proposed a one-percent, 30-year sales tax for transit, but the board’s two Republican members are opposed to anything longer than five years.

What’s been called the Cobb Mobility SPLOST, or M-SPLOST, would fund mass transit services as well as traditional transportation options, including resurfacing.

The county set aside $400,000 for consulting services for the M-SLPOST referendum, but on Tuesday spending that was approved totaled $529,839:

  • WSP USA, Inc., $207,205
  • Kimley-Horn & Assciates, $192,795
  • CDM-Smith, Inc., $129,839

Republican commissioners JoAnn Birrell and Keli Gambrill voted against the contracts, objecting to the long-term nature of the proposed 30-year sales tax.

State law gives local governments that option, and they also could levy a five-year, one-percent tax for surface projects, which Birrell has supported.

While commending Cobb DOT director Drew Raessler and his department for their efforts, Birrell said that “all along I have said I cannot support a 30-year tax.  .  . . Getting anybody to get on the same page up here is a difficult task.”

The county held town halls and other public events in 2021 for a sales tax referendum targeted for 2022, but put that on hold when mayors of Cobb’s cities objected to a 30-year tax.

Gambrill asked Raessler why more outreach was necessary, and he said that it would be more targeted, especially to those in cities and community improvement districts to hear “what type of projects they would like to see.”

Cupid said that “I think we have a significant opportunity to invest in our future, at least just to ask the citizens the questions, to flesh out with the mayors what the options are.

“This isn’t a done deal yet. But hopefully we’ll get the data to support where we could potentially go, with additional help fleshing out what the [project] lists are.”

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