Month: September 2025

East Cobb Zoning Update: RaceTrac proposal gets 30-day delay

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East Cobb Zoning Update: RaceTrac proposal gets 30-day delay
A color rendering of RaceTrac’s proposed gas station and convenience store fronting Barrett Parkway.

The Cobb Planning Commission on Tuesday voted to continue a proposal by RaceTrac Inc. for a 24/7 gas station on the former site of an historic home.

Planning Commission member David Anderson moved for a 30-day delay with a 5-0 vote to further study traffic data and to gauge the impact to schools and nearby neighborhoods.

The vote came after concerted opposition to a request to rezone 2.009 acres at 2595 Bells Ferry Road where the McAfee House once stood.

The applicant wants to rezone the land from planned shopping center (PSC) to neighborhood retail center (NRC) for a 24/7 fueling facility with a convenience store.

The McAffee House was a home built in the 1840s and was a Union general’s command post during the Civil War, and has been relocated to Cherokee County.

But more contemporary concerns brought out citizens who spoke against RaceTrac’s proposal.

They included Max Ramsey, a fourth-grader at Bells Ferry Elementary School, who spoke about the pollution coming from a gas station open all hours.

“This will not be good for our health,” he said, adding fears of crime that could stem from the new facility as a result.

A Bells Ferry ES parent, Erin Quackenbush, raised some of the same issues, and added traffic and school capacity concerns.

The school is undergoing a replacement renovation to address overcrowding, and new development in the area that will add more traffic in a congested area.

She also alleged that Cobb Commissioner Erick Allen, whose district includes the area, may have a conflict of interest because he’s received an endorsement from RaceTrac in the past.

The Cobb County School District also objected to the RaceTrac proposal, and Cobb DOT officials said in response to questions from Anderson they weren’t aware of additional capacity produced by the Bells Ferry ES construction that might affect traffic flow.

Cobb DOT had estimated that 5,000 trips a day could pass by the RaceTrac business, mostly vehicles passing through a busy intersection.

Kevin Moore, the attorney for RaceTrac, reiterated several times that the land owned by Medford Family LP was strictly commercial, and wanting to use it for a gas station and convenience store “is not inherently evil.”

In 2023, a car wash was proposed for the land, and the Planning Commission recommended approval. But the request was withdrawn by the applicant due to what it said were other business obligations.

Planning Commission member Nadia Faucette asked Moore if RaceTrac was looking at “any other options” to service the area aside from the Bells Ferry Road property “if this does not go through.”

There was a smattering of applause, and then Moore replied by saying that “I’m not aware of any other options that they have in particular. I am aware of this option which they consider ideal.”

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Lawmaker files Title IX athletics complaint against Pope HS

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State Rep. John Carson of East Cobb said he has filed a Title IX sex discrimination complaint against Pope High School’s athletics department for a policy regarding female sports eligibility.Pope softball

Carson said in a release he filed a complaint with the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, which enforces Title IX.

That’s a federal education law that bans sex discrimination in educational institutions receiving federal funding.

In his complaint, Carson said that female varsity and junior varsity basketball players were told they could not participate in other sports at the same time, but that male basketball players were not subject to the same policy.

Carson, a Republican who represents District 46 that includes Northeast Cobb, said the policy was implemented in the spring, and that he sent a written complaint to the Cobb County School District in April after hearing from parents.

“This restriction does not apply to their male counterparts, many of whom are allowed to play multiple sports simultaneously and openly without consequence,” Carson said in the release, announcing the complaint, which stems from some of the girls also wanting to play flag football (a sport in which Pope is a current state champion).

“As I said in my letter to the Cobb County School Board, please let the girls play.”

East Cobb News has left a message with the Cobb school district seeking more information, and received this vague response, which didn’t answer any of the issues raised by Carson in his complaint:

“As the school shared with families last year, athletic practices apply to all of our students, both boys and girls.

Schools across the county and metro follow a clear athletic practice: students should finish one sports season before starting another, unless both head coaches and the principal agree to an exception.

This helps protect the health of student athletes by limiting fatigue and preventing injury, especially when sports seasons overlap. Our goal is to support the health, safety, and success of every student-athlete in Cobb.”

Updated: The conservative Cobb Voice website suggested that Carson “may have cried wolf” with his complaint, and included an excerpt from an April message from Pope principal Matthew Bradford saying that female athletes can play basketball and flag football:

 “In the same way, both boys and girls have the same opportunity, schedule permitting, to try out and/or play in two sports simultaneously when seasons overlap.”

The Cobb Voice—whose contributors are not identified, opined that:

“Some are asking whether Rep. Carson is truly defending fairness or simply meddling in matters best left to educators. Local athletic policies are developed by coaches, principals, and administrators who work directly with students. By injecting politics into a process governed by local control, Carson risks overstepping his role as a state legislator.

But Cobb Board of Education member John Cristadoro, whose Post 5 in East Cobb includes the Pope cluster, posted on his Facebook page Tuesday that “Given the seriousness of such an allegation, I hope a thorough review was conducted prior to its filing. If any concerns are found to be valid, I trust the district will take the necessary steps to address and resolve them.”

He also said that “From my experience, I also believe our coaches and athletic directors across Cobb County and across Georgia, recognize the unique challenges faced by multi-sport athletes and strive to make roster decisions with student safety in mind. Pope High School has made clear to families that this commitment applies equally to all students—boys and girls alike.”

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East Cobb’s Chin Chin Chinese restaurant destroyed by fire

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UPDATED:

The daughter of the restaurant’s owner has started a fundraiser: “I would really like to surprise her and try to help her rebuild everything.”

ORIGINAL REPORT:

A fire has destroyed most of the standalone building that has been the home of the Chin Chin Chinese restaurant in East Cobb for nearly three decades.

The early Tuesday morning blaze consumed most the restaurant’s facility at 617 Johnson Ferry Road.

It’s located just south of Lower Roswell Road and across from the entrance to Parkaire Landing Shopping Center, in between a Waffle House and Dunkin Donuts.

Cobb District Fire Chief Justin Green told East Cobb News that a 911 call was received around 1 a.m. Tuesday, and firefighters arrived on the scene a few minutes later to find smoke and fire coming through the roof of the building.

Crews were inside when the roof collapsed, and the fire took five hours to contain, with more than 300,000 gallons of water needed to put it out.

Green said around 35 firefighters and other personnel were on the scene—five engines, three ladder trucks, a rescue vehicle and two battalion chiefs—and that no one was injured.

Two lanes of Johnson Ferry Road southbound were closed while fire crews were on the scene early Tuesday morning.

Green said the cause of the fire is still being investigated, and that it might take longer than is usual due to the roof collapse.

 

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Editor’s Note: Help support the future—and now—of local news!

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As I was leaving church on Sunday one of the ladies from the altar guild was handing out roses from the bouquets that adorned the worship space.

They were as aromatic as they were lovely, and they certainly brought a smile and a warm glow. You could say I was feeling a little rosy, with some extra leisure time looming due to the Labor Day holiday.

As much as I enjoy bringing you East Cobb News every day of the week—including our popular newsletter on Sundays—I’ve really been looking forward to this respite. A little recharging goes a long way to continue the mission I set out when I began East Cobb News eight years ago.

It’s been the dream of mine to serve the place where I grew up with local news and useful community information. It’s what I started doing at the beginning of my career, and did so again during nearly two decades at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In case you missed the news, the AJC announced this week that at the end of the year they’ll discontinue a print edition and will be switching to all-digital publishing.

After 157 years, Atlanta won’t have a daily newspaper, and for many of us who worked there, it’s a nostalgic and bittersweet feeling.

But 17 years ago this week, as I closed out my tenure there in an online editing position, I sensed that what I was doing then was the future of local news.

That understanding has guided my work ever since, including a stint editing East Cobb Patch, formerly part of AOL’s hyperlocal news network.

And it fueled the desire to bring independent, homegrown local news—every day, timely and relevant—to East Cobb with what you’re reading now at East Cobb News.

Please donate today!

While what the AJC is doing is considered something of a risk, I think it’s inevitable, and I wish my old place well.

There are naysayers about the value of online media, but I firmly believe this where the future of local news and local business advertising will be best realized.

And at East Cobb News—where nobody else does what we do, every day—that future is now and has been for a while. I remain bullish about this because I know what kind of audience we’ve built here, and that comes to rely on what we do every day.

We’ve been at this since 2017, and we intend on staying at it for a long time to come—giving you the local news that you love, and that makes a difference in this community.

East Cobb News promotes local businesses with dynamic digital advertising—and we’ve been busy as well signing up new advertisers that we’re excited to share with you soon.

Donating is secure and easy!

But we’ve also been asking for reader support to help us defray some of our business costs.

With our growth has come some additional costs, and while we’re thrifty, we have bills that come due every month.

Our donation amounts are voluntary, and what you pay is up to you. We are suggesting $6 a month on a recurring basis.

Put a better way, here’s how to think about what you can do to help us out:

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East Cobb residential real estate sales, Aug. 18-22, 2025

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Arbor Bridge, East Cobb real estate sales
Arbor Bridge

The following East Cobb residential real estate sales were compiled from agency reports and Cobb County property records.

They include the street address, subdivision name and sales price listed under their respective high school attendance zones:

Kell

1515 Barrier Road, 30066 (Lamplighter): $350,000

4766 Jamerson Forest Circle, 30066 (Jamerson Forest): $392,000

4252 Keheley Lake Drive, 30066 (Lakewood Colony): $441,000

Lassiter

4249 Arbor Club Drive, 30066 (Arbor Bridge): $787,500

3920 Cash Landing, 30066 (Oaks at Mill Pond): $1.15 million

Marietta

1456 Rosewood Creek Drive, 30066 (Briarwood): $415,000

904 Ivy Green Lane, 30067 (Powers Ferry Green): $394,500

174 Bluffington Way, 30066 (Bluffs at Bells Ferry): $439,489

Pope

2717 Hearthstone Circle, 30062 (Chimney Springs): $685,000

2681 Tritt Springs Trace, 30062 (Post Oak Springs): $495,000

3640 Shelby Lane, 30062 (Rolling Acres): $687,000

Sprayberry

2560 Silver Star Drive, 30066 (East Cobb Walk): $593,995

2538 Morgan Lake Drive, 30066 (Morgan Farms): $392,000

3335 Ranch Road, 30066 (North Forty): $405,000

1031 Lakewood Drive, 30066 (Lakewood Estates): $252,500

2990 Piedmont Drive, 30066 (Piedmont Heights): $339,000

1655 Oak Crest Court, 30066 (Oak Creek Estates): $530,000

3139 Hilltop Drive, 30066 (Addison Heights): $692,250

1691 Holcomb Lake Road, 30062 (Holcomb Lake): $650,000

1552 Hillhaven Drive, 30066 (Blackjack Hills): $630,000

2688 Lee Ann Drive, 30066 (Piedmont Hills): $450,000

3320 Bryant Lane, 30066: $599,000

3624 Autumn Ridge Parkway, 30066 (Blackwell Chase): $404,000

Walton

4622 Traywick Drive, 30062 (East Hampton): $1.255 million

3961 Riverlook Parkway, Unit 209, 30067 (Willows by the River): $269,000

1140 Promontory Drive, 30062: (Waltons Reserve): $925,000

1386 Heritage Glen Drive, 30062 (Heritage Glen): $475,000

4378 Heritage Glen Court, 30062 (Heritage Glen): $555,000

4629 Kempton Place, 30067 (Whitehall): $770,000

912 Sunny Meadows Lane, 30062 (Walton Creek Estates): $1.12 million

521 Pine Valley Road, 30067 (Atlanta Country Club): $5.39 million

5238 Timber Ridge Road, 30068 (Willow Point): $2.05 million

1401 Parkaire Crossing, 30068 (Parkaire Crossing): $293,600

Wheeler

3300 Windy Ridge Parkway, Unit 1121, 30339 (Horizon at Wildwood): $430,000

452 Brushstroke Court, 30067 (Giverny): $1.27 million

1059 Dunhill Drive, 30067 (Millridge): $740,110

2357 Clearwater Drive, 30067 (Red Oak Park): $480,000

2185 Sun Valley Drive, 30067 (Sunvalley Estates): $318,000

2567 Willow Field Crossing, Unit 22, 30068 (Oaks at Powers Ferry): $500,000

679 Forest Ridge Drive, 30067 (Forest Ridge): $370,000

109 Cedar Court, 30067 (Chimney Trace): $219,000

3244 Beechwood Drive, 30067 (Terrell Mill Estates): $787,500

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