East Cobb Zoning & Development

East Cobb Cityhood group to hold town hall, appear at Powers Ferry meeting

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East Cobb cityhood group

The leaders of a group promoting cityhood for East Cobb have switched the location for an April 29 town hall meeting.

Rob Eble, one of the leaders of the Committee for Cityhood in East Cobb, told East Cobb News Friday that the meeting will now take place in the theater at Walton High School (1590 Bill Murdock Road) due to capacity issues.

The meeting was originally slated for Chestnut Ridge Christian Church. More than 600 people showed up to to hear cityhood leader David Birdwelll at a March town hall meeting (above) at the Catholic Church of St. Ann.

Eble said the town hall at Walton will last from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and will feature a moderated panel discussion and questions from citizens.

It’s the first of two public meetings cityhood leaders will be having in short order. They’re also slated to speak at a meeting of the the Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance next month.

The civic association is holding a community meeting May 8 from 7-9 p.m. at Brumby Elementary School (815 Terrell Mill Road) that also will include Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce and Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott.

Other topics of discussion include public safety staffing in Cobb, a transit update, issues in the Powers Ferry corridor and news on redevelopment projects that include the MarketPlace Terrell Mill and Restaurant Row.

The day after the March town hall, local legislation was filed that will be considered next year that calls for a referendum in March 2020, and if approved, mayor and city council elections would take place next November.

East Cobb News Cityhood Coverage

The cityhood forces have maintained that they want more local control of government, and would provide police, fire and zoning and planning services.

Birdwell, a real estate entrepreneur, joined the group in January, a couple of months after the group commissioned a financial feasibility study. Eble, a technology consultant, is the other new “face” of the cityhood movement

The city map that was drawn and introduced with the legislation includes a population of 96,000 and takes the East Cobb portion of Ott’s District 2 and the Powers Ferry area that is not in the Cumberland Community Improvement District.

Patti Rice, president of the PFCA, told East Cobb News after the town hall that the proposed map would split the community “right down the middle.”

She said while she lives just outside the proposed City of East Cobb, she’s keeping an open mind about cityhood but thinks the cityhood group “needs to organize their message.”

 

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Kroger fuel center in East Cobb approved by commissioners

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Sandy Plains Centre, Kroger fueling center

Following last Friday’s post about Kroger’s proposed fuel center at Sandy Plains Centre: Cobb commissioners approved the measure Tuesday on their consent agenda.

The grocery chain initially got rezoning for the fueling center in 2011 in a case that included the construction of a Chick-fil-A that did not happen.

Kroger’s revised site plan also calls for nine pumping stations, compared to the original five, and to realign the fueling center to be parallel with Shallowford Road.

On April 10 Kroger’s attorneys submitted a letter with more than a dozen stipulations, and commissioners Tuesday moved to put the item on their consent agenda, which was approved unanimously.

Among the conditions are operating hours of 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week and no beer and alcohol sales to be permitted at the fueling center.

Kroger fuel center Sandy Plains Centre

 

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Kroger plans fueling center at Sandy Plains Centre

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Sandy Plains Centre, Kroger fueling center

For the second time in as many years Kroger wants to build a fueling center in the East Cobb area.

The grocery chain’s request for a location at the Sandy Plains Centre Shopping Center comes before the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday.

It’s listed as “other business” (view the case file here) and includes a revised site plan (see map below) for a nine-pump station fronting Shallowford Road, near Gordy Parkway.

That’s at the front of the shopping center on the southwest corner of Shallowford and Sandy Plains Road (signified by a red star) that includes a Kroger store (green pin).

According to documents filed with the Cobb Zoning Office, commissioners in 2011 approved a rezoning case at the shopping center that called for additional retail space, a restaurant and a fueling center that was never built.

Kroger fueling center Sandy Plains Centre

The CRC zoning status still applies, and the site plan for the fueling center is revised from that 2011 application.

The original request was for no more than five pumps at the fueling center, and allowed a canopy with a maximum height of 22 feet.

Other stipulations banned beer and alcohol sales at the fuel center, permitted an air station (but no car vacuum devices) and set its operating hours between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. six days a week.

Those hours are similar what Kroger sought for a fueling center in 2018 at the Pavilions at East Lake on Roswell Road. That request was approved but construction has not begun on the gas station there.

The rest of the commissioners’ zoning hearing agenda can be found here. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the second floor boardroom of the Cobb Office Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

 

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Lower Roswell townhome project delayed again in Marietta

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Lower Roswell townhome project
Traton Homes wants to build 57 three-story townhomes, similar to what’s above, on a cramped corner of Lower Roswell Road and the North Marietta Parkway.

A proposed townhome project on Lower Roswell Road that includes an annexation request and is opposed by nearby residents in unincorporated East Cobb has been tabled by the Marietta City Council.

The council announced the latest delay at its agenda work session Wednesday, and pushed the item back to May.

The developer, Traton Homes, wants to build 37 townhomes and 15 single-family detached residences at Roswell Road and the South Marietta Parkway, and is seeking rezoning from residential (R-20) and community activity center (CAC) to Planned Residential Development Single Family (PRD-SF).

The application is being fought on density and traffic grounds.

 

Lower Roswell townhome project

The council delay comes a week after the Marietta Planning Commission voted 4-2 to recommend denial of Traton Homes’ request, which covers 7.48 acres. Three of the parcels in the tract are already in the city and are zoned for commercial use—they once were sites for automotive repair shops and a recycling business—and six other lots were once part of a single-family subdivision that’s in the county.

The neighborhood is Sewell Manor, which dates back to the 1950s and features small ranch homes. Residents there have said the project is too intensified for their community, and already-bad traffic will be made worse with a single point of entry on Indian Trail.

Traton, one of the largest homebuilders in metro Atlanta, has come down on its original proposal, which was for 63 townhomes and one single-family home.

Lower Roswell townhome projecg
What Traton has in mind for the 15 single-family homes.

The developer filed a last-minute revision on April 1, the day before the Planning Commission hearing (see map above, and click here to view the case file), and included a site plan and requests for a 15 varianc

The variances include no acceleration or deceleration lane on Lower Roswell, and a reduction in the minimum greenspace requirement of 25 percent to 21 percent. That open space is more than the initial request, which was for 12 percent, but is tucked away in a back portion of the assembled property.

Traton first filed the application for consideration in February, but it was also opposed by Cobb County officials, also for density reasons.

The initial request had the project at 8.56 unites an acre, and the revised plan calls for a density of under seven units an acre.

Cobb officials said in their objection letter to the city that current nearby residential density is only 1.75 units an acre, and pointed to a citing a 2004 state law limiting newly annexed land to a maximum of four units an acre.

 

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Revised Lower Roswell townhome plans still face residential opposition

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Lower Roswell townhome planx

Traton Homes has reduced the number of townhomes it wants to build on a corner of Lower Roswell Road and the South Marietta Parkway, but some living in the adjoining Sewell Manor neighborhood are still opposed to the project.

The home builder delayed a rezoning and annexation request with the city of Marietta last month (see previous ECN coverage here), and has submitted the new plans ahead of Tuesday’s Marietta Planning Commission meeting.

Traton’s request is for the Planned Residential Development Single Family (PRD-SF) zoning category, and the land is adjacent to smaller, older single-family homes in unincorporated Cobb.

(Here’s the revised zoning case file for Z2019-04.)

The original plans called for 63 townhomes and a single-family home on 7.48 acres. The number of townhomes now is 52, but William Watkins, who lives in Sewell Manor, said that other issues with the project remain along with density, including traffic access, short driveway lengths and a lack of preserving natural surroundings.

Watkins lives on Indian Trail, in one of two homes that’s directly fronting the land area. It includes three parcels of former commercial property in the city of Marietta, and six parcels in Cobb that were part of Sewell Manor, which dates back to the 1950s and 1960s.

The proposed density of the revised townhome project would be nearly seven units an acre, down from 8.56.

“There is no reason to annex residential lots into the City of Marietta to force high-density housing into a low density neighborhood,” Watkins said.

The three city parcels were annexed by Marietta in 1998. They formerly housed automotive businesses but were torn down.

The planning board meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday with a work session, followed by its business meeting, where it will make recommendations. The Marietta City Council will make a final decision on April 10.

 

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East Cobb indoor entertainment center gets approval from commissioners

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Sandy Plains Village Shopping Center, East Cobb indoor entertainment center

A proposed indoor recreation and entertainment center at Sandy Plains Village in East Cobb was passed by the Cobb Board of Commissioners at their Tuesday zoning hearing.

By a 5-0 vote on the consent agenda, the commissioners followed the Cobb Planning Commission’s recommendation to keep the existing neighborhood retail commercial (NRC) category, with use-specific conditions for the 67,000-square-foot space that will become Ignite Adventure Park.

(Read the case file here.)

DDR Sandy Plains LLC had sought community retail commercial zoning (CRC) for the entire shopping center it owns because the entertainment center uses didn’t fit the NRC category.

Ignite Adventure Park will include a variety of indoor activities, including go-karts, bumper cars, trampolines, mini-golf and rock-climbing, as well as a restaurant and cafe.

It’s slated to go in the former space of the Walmart Neighborhood Grocery, which closed in 2017.

Planning commissioner Andy Smith of East Cobb—who represents the area of the shopping center on Woodstock Road between Sandy Plains Road and Mabry Road—incorporated several special-use conditions to keep the shopping center NRC.

The commissioners also agreed to planning commission recommendations to mandate that the go-karts and bumper cars be operated on either battery power or electricity (no gasoline-driven engines).

Construction will be limited from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturday construction is indoors only (no nights, Sundays or holidays).

Commissioner Bob Ott noted that the case “started as a contentious zoning” and was moved to the consent agenda by the collaborative efforts of the applicant, Smith (his appointment to the planning commission) and nearby residents who initially were opposed.

Also approved on the consent agenda was a residential rezoning for eight farms-style homes on seven acres on Shaw Road (case file here).

As reported late last week, Mt. Bethel Christian Academy withdrew its request to amend a special land use plan for an athletic field at its Upper Campus on Post Oak Tritt Road.

The case was to have been heard Tuesday, but generated strong opposition from some nearby residents.

 

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Mt. Bethel Christian Academy withdraws sports stadium request

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The lawyer representing Mt. Bethel Christian Academy in its request to allow a sports stadium on its campus at 2509 Post Oak Tritt Road has withdrawn the application.

The letter sent to the county zoning office on Tuesday by attorney Jim Ney did not give a reason for the withdrawal (you can read it here), but it had been strongly opposed by nearby residents.

Cobb commissioners were scheduled to hear the Mt. Bethel application next Tuesday at their monthly zoning hearing. The case has been delayed since it was first scheduled to be heard in December.

The letter by Ney beat the deadline for having the application withdrawn without the commissioners having to vote on whether to do so. That deadline is the Wednesday before the following Tuesday.

Mt. Bethel operates grades 9-12 on what it calls its Upper Campus (with K-8 classes on the Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church grounds on Lower Roswell Road).

When Mt. Bethel purchased the Post Oak Tritt property from the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta in 2013, it said it had no intention of building out a stadium. Some neighbors were concerned then about noise and lighting, and those concerns were raised anew when Mt. Bethel applied for the land-use permit revision last fall.

(Here’s the full case file.)

In an e-mail letter sent to the county zoning office and commissioners the same day as Ney’s withdrawal letter, Becky Carlin, a resident of nearby Marneil Drive, complained that if a stadium is allowed, “I will be able to hear every single word announced at every game played there, as I already can hear noise from Sprayberry High School which is further away.

“This is was one of my concerns when it was first proposed that Mount Bethel purchase this property. The church essentially lied to us, saying they wanted to be part of the community and they would minimize the impact to the neighbors nearby.”

She said the area around the high school, which opened in 2014, has become a nuisance due to increased traffic. (Read her letter here.).

Another resident told East Cobb News she was upset that the stadium would include a 90-foot light tower and loudspeakers “less than 200 feet” from homes.

She was among several who said they intended to speak against the Mt. Bethel request on Tuesday.

 

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Final Johnson Ferry-Shallowford master plan meeting is Tuesday

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Johnson Ferry-Shallowford master plan

After two open house-style meetings, Cobb community development leaders and commissioner Bob Ott will be unveiling a draft plan on Tuesday for the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford master plan.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at Chestnut Ridge Christian Church (2663 Johnson Ferry Road).

Previous East Cobb News coverage here.

For more information visit the county’s community development project page.

Related stories

 

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Proposed East Cobb indoor recreation center gets initial approval

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Sandy Plains Village Shopping Center, proposed East Cobb indoor recreation center

The Cobb Planning Commission voted Tuesday to recommend approval of a proposed indoor recreation center at the Sandy Plains Village Shopping Center that the developers’ attorney says will be a “cutting edge” facility.

The board voted 5-0 to retain the current neighborhood retail commercial (NRC) category for the retail center, with several stipulations to govern what would be called Ignite Adventure Park.

DDR Southeast Sandy Plains, LLC had sought a community retail (CRC) category for its entire property because the rec center doesn’t fit in NRC (here’s the case file).

But planning commissioner Andy Smith of East Cobb—who represents the area of the shopping center on Woodstock Road between Sandy Plains Road and Mabry Road—incorporated several special use conditions to keep the shopping center NRC.

The rec center would have go-karts, bumper cars, wall and rock climbing, indoor trampolines, mini-golf and other features, mostly for kids. Garvis Sams, an attorney for DDR Southeast Sandy Plains, said there also would be a restaurant and cafe.

Among the stipulations added by Smith include mandating that the go-karts and bumper cars be operated on either battery power or electricity (no gasoline-driven engines) and that construction be limited from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday (no nights, weekends or holidays).

The Cobb Zoning Staff had recommended denial of the application in part due to concerns over noise and fumes. Sams said the go-karts and bumper cars were always intended to be battery-powered, and that any noise inside the rec center will be at decibels below the county ordinance.

“They’re as silent as the cars you see” on the roads, he said.

Sams also said in his presentation that the developer will not expand square footage or extend building height for the rec center. The 67,000-square-foot space was originally a Kroger and later housed a Walmart grocery, which closed in 2017.

No one spoke in opposition to the rezoning request.

Sams also represented an applicant in another East Cobb case that got a 5-0 recommendation for approval.

The property owner is Tracey Coker, whose family has owned land on Shaw Road for more than 50 years. The rezoning would go from R-20 to R-15 for eight farm-style single-family homes on nearly seven acres.

(Here’s the case file.)

Z-16 Shaw Road rezoning

A site plan submitted last week would preserve natural habitats including an orchard, flower garden, a community garden and a bird habitat.

“We’re protecting the watershed,” Sams said. Among the stipulations are to have the natural amenities to be maintained in a mandatory homeowners association.

The access road will front the homes, which will all be facing Shaw Road between Woodrush Drive and Oak Creek Drive. The land also is across Shaw Road from the home of District 3 Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell.

“I like the plan,” said planning board chairwoman Judy Williams, who represents District 3. “It’s well-thought out and it will be an asset to the neighborhood.”

Two other East Cobb cases were withdrawn Tuesday.

The owner of a shopping center on Canton Road near Kingston Drive withdrew an application with prejudice for an event center that drew neighborhood opposition (case file here).

Also withdrawn without prejudice was an application to rezone land for six homes on Paper Mill Road near Gateside Place. Last month the planning commission voted to hold it, also after nearby residents spoke against it.

The planning commission recommendations go to the Cobb Board of Commissioners, which is scheduled to take final action March 19.

 

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Lower Roswell Road townhome and Marietta annexation request opposed by Cobb

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Lower Roswell Road townhome request
Land that was once a former recycling business would be included in a townhome community at Lower Roswell Road and the South Marietta Parkway. (ECN photos by Wendy Parker)

If you’ve noticed the green signs near the northeastern intersection of Lower Roswell Road and the South Marietta Parkway, that’s a notice from the City of Marietta about a rezoning and annexation request that’s being opposed by Cobb County officials.

On Tuesday’s Marietta Planning Commission agenda is a request by Traton Homes, LLC, to annex six parcels of unincorporated single-family residential land on Indian Trail and assemble them with with three commercial parcels already in city limits that front Lower Roswell.

The planning commission meeting begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Marietta City Hall, 205 Lawrence St., in the city council chambers.

Traton wants to build 63 townhomes and a single-family home on the 7.48 acres. The land, which formerly housed an auto repair shop and a recycling center and homes that have since been demolished, is across Lower Roswell from a QuickTrip and is in a transitioning commercial corridor with alternating city and county properties.

The three city parcels were annexed by Marietta in 1998.

Traton’s request is for the Planned Residential Development Single Family (PRD-SF) zoning category, and the land is adjacent to smaller, older single-family homes in unincorporated Cobb.

(Here’s the zoning case file for Z2019-04. The application was initially scheduled for February but was delayed to March.)

The parcels Traton Homes is assembling for townhomes are shown in diagonal lines. Map: Marietta Zoning Office

The proposed density would be 8.56 units an acre, and that’s where the county objects. It’s citing a 2004 state law that limits newly annexed land to a density of no more than four units an acre. On Feb. 1 the county sent a letter to the city pointing out that current density is 1.75 units an acre, and that the proposal constitutes “a substantial change in the intensity of the use of the property.”

The future land use plan category for the area also calls for low-density residential, but the Traton request would include changing that to high-density residential.

The Cobb letter was signed by commission chairman Mike Boyce and commissioners Bob Ott, who represents the Lower Roswell-South Marietta Parkway area, and Keli Gambrill.

City planning data including in the zoning case file indicate that other PRD-SF projects in Marietta range from nine to 12 units an acre.

Traton’s proposal comes with a number of issues that don’t meet requirements for that zoning category, and a detailed site plan hasn’t been included.

Among the concerns is dedicated recreational space, and while Traton has indicated there will be “open space” on the development, the only amenities mentioned are a pool and a pool house. In all, the recreation area would be less than an acre, and open space would be only 12 percent, less than half of the category’s requirement of 25 percent.

Lower Roswell Road townhomes
Looking east along Indian Trail, where single-family homes remain in unincorporated Cobb.

City zoning staff also noted that PRD-SF requires a minimum lot size of 4,000 square feet, but Traton wants to “reduce the minimum lot size to the footprint of each unit.”

Another variance would reduce driveway length from 20 to 18 feet, and the units would have two-car garages. All of the units would be accessed by private roads and alleys, and the city zoning staff is recommending that a traffic impact study be done.

The zoning staff also says a sidewalk waiver would be needed for South Marietta Parkway, a deceleration lane needs to be built into the development and city sanitation vehicles wouldn’t be able to go down the streets or alleys.

Instead, garbage bins and dumpsters would be needed where those vehicles can make pickups.

Traton also has not submitted a landscaping plan, nor has it detailed elevations, floorplans and finishes for the townhome units.

The Marietta zoning staff is also asking Traton to enter into a development plan and donate right-of-way along Indian Trail for traffic improvements.

If the planning board makes a recommendation, the Traton request would go before the Marietta City Council on March 13.

 

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Sandy Plains Village Shopping Center owner proposing indoor rec center

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Sandy Plains Village Shopping Center

The former Walmart grocery at the Sandy Plains Village Shopping Center would become an indoor recreational center if the owners can get rezoning for the entire retail complex.

That’s on the Cobb Planning Commission agenda for Tuesday, but the county’s zoning staff is recommending denial, saying noise is a major factor, and that it’s activity that’s better suited for a more intense commercial area.

DDR Southeast Sandy Plains, LLC, wants to rezone the complex on Woodstock Road—between Sandy Plains Road and Mabry Road and which includes the Movie Tavern—from neighborhood retail (NRC) and neighborhood shopping (NS) to community retail (CRC).

Ignite Adventure Park would contain nearly 67,000 square feet of space and is proposed as a family-oriented center with go-karts, bumper cars, wall and rock climbing, indoor trampolines, mini-golf and more.

(View the case file here.)

Cobb zoning staff, in addition to concluding that the proposed zoning is incompatible with the surrounding community, said noise and fumes are the biggest issues:

“Staff is concerned that the proposed go-karts will increase noise and fumes for the adjoining residential properties due to the venting requirements gasoline engines may require. “

The retail center’s attorney, Garvis Sams, submitted stipulation letters here and here since the initial application.

Also on Tuesday’s agenda is a rezoning in the Canton Road corridor that has drawn community opposition.

H & I Real Estate wants to rezone part of an existing shopping center at 3920 Canton Road from neighborhood shopping to neighborhood retail at the Kingston Drive Extension for a retail center with a special events facility.

(View the case file here.)

Essentially, the applicant is asking for additional use of a nearby assembly hall that’s been operating there for around five years. Zoning staff, which is recommending approval with some conditions, said the application came about because of complaints that were taken to Cobb Code Enforcement.

But the Canton Road Neighbors civic group said it objects to an event hall, which isn’t a permitted use under the proposed rezoning category.

Canton Road Neighbors said it also was concerned about the impact on the nearby Emerson Unitarian congregation and the Canterbury Glen subdivision, whose residents have complained about late-night noise.

“To date, this has not been a neighborhood-friendly business,” the civic group wrote in a letter submitted to county zoning staff

(Read it here.)

Other zoning cases to be heard Tuesday can be found here.

The planning commission meeting starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the 2nd floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.

Its recommendations will be forwarded to the Cobb Board of Commissioners, which will conduct a zoning hearing March 19.

 

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East Cobb Civic Association opposes building design standards bill

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Cobb commissioners local design standards

Shortly before Cobb County became the latest metro Atlanta government to oppose legislation that would strip cities and counties of local control of residential building design standards, the East Cobb Civic Association weighed in on the matter.

In response to a message from East Cobb News on Tuesday, ECCA president Linda Carver said that the organization “is firmly opposed” to companion bills in the House and the Senate, “and we will be encouraging our ECCA members to let their state representatives know of our opposition.”

(See previous ECN story here).

The ECCA, which was formed in 1982, represents around 90 subdivisions in the East Cobb area and takes an active role in examining zoning cases, making recommendations to the Cobb Planning Commission and Cobb commissioners.

Carver said in an initial response Tuesday afternoon that her organization hadn’t had time to sort through HB 302, but indicated that “anything that would take away local control of building standards would not be looked on favorably.”

She followed up later Tuesday when learning of the Senate bill and stated the ECCA’s opposition.

The bills, HB 302 and SB 172, are being sponsored by lawmakers in smaller towns and rural parts of Georgia, and some metro Atlanta cities and counties have taken exception.

The legislation would cover design elements for one- and two-family homes, and would take away local approval for such things as exterior building color, style and materials for roofs and porches, exterior architectural ornamentation, location and styling of windows and doors, types of flooring and the interior layout of rooms.

On Tuesday night, the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 to adopt a resolution by commissioner Bob Ott of East Cobb to oppose the bills.

He said he’s been getting a lot of e-mails about the matter, saying it “smacks in the face of local control. We spend a lot of time working with the community” on standards governing the look and materials of new homes.

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of Northeast Cobb said it “would be a disaster for the community and surrounding neighborhoods” if local governing bodies lost the ability to set design standards.

The bills are supported by those in home building and real estate industries.

Also on Tuesday, the commissioners voted 5-0 to adopt a resolution seeking an extension for for a special transit committee in Cobb.

The resolution seeks an amendment to current state law, which call for the termination of the committee in December 2019. It’s made up of county commissioners and the Cobb legislative delegation and its duties include drawing up the boundaries for a special transit area.

Cobb is planning to hold a referendum to extend the SPLOST one-cent sales tax for county government in 2020, and Chairman Mike Boyce is eyeing 2022 for a possible transit referendum, saying the extra time is necessary to draw up a viable project list.

The commissioners also approved an alcohol license for Catfish Hox, a seafood restaurant at 2595 Sandy Plains Road, and that was recognized at the 2018 Taste of Marietta festival.

The restaurant’s initial application for beer, wine and Sunday pouring had been rejected by the Cobb License Review Board because it’s located within 600 feet of Sprayberry High School.

Owner Vivian Creasor said in her appeal that while the industry standard is to check identification of customers ordering alcohol who appear to be under 40, carding at Catfish Hox will occur “100% of the time regardless of appearance.”

She said the application for a pouring license is to compete with other restaurants in the vicinity. Kumo, a Japanese restaurant in the same shopping center, also serves alcohol.

 

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Georgia residential design bill opposed by East Cobb commissioner

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Commissioner Bob Ott of East Cobb is proposing a resolution at the board’s meeting on Tuesday opposing a residential design bill in the Georgia legislature that would bar local governments from imposing certain standards in zoning cases.

His resolution, which is being co-sponsored by new commissioner Keli Gambrill of North Cobb, is the latest proposal by a local government body in metro Atlanta in response to HB 302.

( Read the Cobb resolution here.)

That bill, co-sponsored by some of the most powerful members of the House Republican majority, would restrict the ability of local governments to determine building design elements for one- and two-family homes.

Among other things, the provisions of the bill would cover exterior building color, style and materials for roofs and porches, exterior architectural ornamentation, location and styling of windows and doors, types of flooring and the interior layout of rooms.

(Read HB 302 here.)

Ott said the bill would subvert local control of zoning and design standards at the city and county level, where quality-of-life decisions relating to housing need to be made.

Bob Ott
Local control of design standards “helps us keep Cobb the type of community most people move here for,” commissioner Bob Ott says.

“People move to different communities because they like the look and feel of the area,” he said in a statement issued by the county Friday afternoon. “They want to protect their neighborhoods and often work with their local elected officials to do so.”

Most of the bill’s sponsors, which also include two Democrats, are from rural and small-town areas of Georgia; none are from metro Atlanta.

HB 302 narrowly passed the House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee last week and is listed on the House floor calendar for Monday.

On Friday, a companion bill, SB 172, was introduced in the Georgia Senate and on Monday will likely receive a committee assignment.

Like the House version, SB 172 is sponsored by small-town and rural lawmakers, including President Pro Tem Sen. Butch Miller of Gainesville.

HB 302 has been drawing support from the home-building industry, those in favor of expanding affordable-housing options as well as some realtors. The Georgia Association of Realtors is claiming that the “American Dream of Home Ownership is under attack.”

HB 302, the realtors’ group claims, “brings the American dream of homeownership within reach of more citizens, not just the ones local officials think deserve to be homeowners.”

The Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association also supports HB 302, saying it’s important for the preservation of private property rights.

Local governments, the group said in statement, are unnecessarily adding thousands of dollars to the cost of new homes: “What used to be the purview of a Home Owners Association are now decisions made by city or county administrators with jurisdiction-wide application.”

Ott’s resolution says that “local governments can provide more affordable housing options without sacrificing unique character or threatening economic development.”

Opposition to the bill is coming from the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association.

Some local governments have already sprung into action against HB 302, including Forsyth County, which passed a resolution last week. Sandy Springs officials have expressed concern, and on Monday the Dunwoody City Council will consider a similar measure.

Ott said another concern he has over the legislation is how it might impact the ongoing development of a new master plan for the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford area.

“Commissioners consistently work with different citizens groups to ensure the quality of development in Cobb County,” he said.

 

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Paper Mill Road rezoning case held by Cobb Planning Commission

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proposed Paper Mill Road subdivision

The developer of a proposed single-family subdivision on Paper Mill Road made a last-minute reduction to the number of units he wants to build, but all it got him on Tuesday was some more time.

Zoning attorney Garvis Sams told the Cobb Planning Commission that his client, Mohammed Visagh, had agreed to build six homes instead of seven on 3.4 acres he owns at Gateside Place, and presented a revised site plan.

But neither the board nor neighbors in the Column Gate subdivision had seen it before Tuesday’s hearing, and the commission voted 5-0 to hold the application for another month.

The request by Visagh, who’s also the property owner, to rezone the land from R-20 and R-30 to R-15 was continued from December. (Here’s the original request, which was recommended for denial by Cobb zoning staff.)

Sams said he and his client met with neighbors and Cobb Planning Commission member Andy Smith at the offices of Retail Planning Corp. in Paper Mill Village, a commercial real estate developer, and Joe Gavalis, a resident of the nearby Chattahoochee Plantation community.

(Retail Planning founder G. Owen Brown and Gavalis are the only identified individuals associated with an effort to create a City of East Cobb, and they have paid for a feasibility study and have hired a lobbyist to press for local legislation that would establish a referendum.)

Sams said the proposed homes on the Visagh property would cost between $1.5 million and $2 million and range in size between 3,000 and 5,000 square feet.

The triangular-shaped land is between the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection and the Column Gate subdivision. It’s also directly across Paper Mill Road from the North Atlanta Soccer Association fields.

Sams said the revised site plan for the subdivision (see map below) would reduce the density to 1.73 units an acre, in line with those in Column Gate. The seven-lot proposal came to 2.02 units an acre.Paper Mill Road rezoning case

But Fred Wachter, a Column Gate resident who spoke in opposition, said his subdivision and what’s being proposed are nothing alike.

He said five existing houses would be directly impacted by the new development, which proposes a 20-foot buffer, and “the topography slopes directly toward my house.”

The R-15 request also runs counter to the very low density residential status of the Visagh property in the Cobb Future Land Use Plan. Column Gate was zoned R-15 in 1989, before there was a future land use plan.

Smith, who represents District 2 in East Cobb, initially made a motion to recommend denial of the request, but others on the board suggested they wait to let the developer continue meeting with the community.

 

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Revised Holly Springs Road senior living proposal reduces number of units

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Holly Springs Road senior living proposal

An initial look at the Cobb zoning calendar for February shows a significant revision to a proposed senior living development on Holly Springs Road that was held by county commissioners in December.

Loyd Development Services had sought zoning for a 16-unit single family subdivision for seniors 55 and older on 4.3 acres near the Davis Road roundabout, but nearby residents complained about traffic and density concerns.

Commissioner JoAnn Birrell asked the applicant to consider an R-15 residential zoning instead of RSL (residential senior living) to get under the Cobb zoning staff’s recommendation of 2.5 units an acre.

A stipulation letter filed with Cobb zoning office on Jan. 22 does more than that in reducing the number of units from 16 to 10.

Those 10 units would come to 2.32 units an acre, and Loyd has revised the application to seek R-15 rezoning.

Garvis Sams, an attorney for Loyd, indicated in his letter the developer is continuing to meet with residents in adjoining neighborhoods.

Part of the new site plan is a 20-foot buffer between the Loyd development and homes on Intrepid Close, an adjacent street.

Here’s the full letter, with additional stipulations and the revised site plan.

The Cobb Planning Commission meets next Tuesday, but this case doesn’t have to go back before that board and will be heard by Cobb commissioners on Feb. 19.

Here’s Tuesday’s full agenda. Individual case files can be retrieved at the Cobb zoning office website. (The county website is being overhauled and for now this is how zoning cases are being organized.)

A couple of East Cobb cases to note: The zoning staff is recommending denial of an application by Mohammed Vasigh to rezone 3.4 acres on Paper Mill Road at Gateside Place from low-density residential to R-15. Currently, one home is located there, and the applicant wants to build a 7-home subdivision.

There is R-15 zoning in the Gateside neighborhood, but the land up for consideration is in the low-density category on the Cobb future land use map. Vasigh also has hired Sams in a case that has been continued.

Something from the December zoning hearing that also was delayed is a proposed sports stadium at the Post Oak Tritt Road campus of Mt. Bethel Christian Academy that has drawn community opposition.

There’s nothing new in the case files on that and we’ll update that story when we get more. The Mt. Bethel proposal also will be heard on Feb. 19 since it’s in the “Other Business” category that doesn’t go before the planning board.

The Planning Commission meeting starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the 2nd floor meeting room of the Cobb government building at 100 Cherokee St. near the Marietta Square.

 

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Cobb economic incentive proposals delayed by commissioners

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Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell
Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell

After adopting several economic incentive policies last year to spur business growth and relocation, Cobb commissioners have put on hold their approval of several proposals stemming from those changes.

Four of the five proposals, totaling more than $400,000 in county incentives, were withdrawn at Tuesday’s Cobb of Commissioners meeting because they are in District 2 and commissioner Bob Ott was absent.

But after a sometimes pointed discussion, commissioners also agreed to withhold the other incentive package on the agenda, for a planned office building in District 3 in northeast Cobb.

Last February, commissioners implemented the Special Economic Impact Program, which reduces or waives certain fees for companies that meet specific criteria for moving to or expanding in Cobb.

The companies must be in the financial, insurance and professional services sectors (including legal and accounting), as well as transportation, manufacturing and emerging technologies industries.

They also must add at least 150 jobs, invest $30 million or more in the county and pay average salaries at least 1.25 times the county average, as determined by the Georgia Department of Labor.

Qualifying companies also must agree to invest in Cobb for a minimum of 10 years or the incentives are revoked.

District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell and Chairman Mike Boyce were strongly in favor of a county incentive package totaling nearly $125,000 for Edison Chastain Office, LLC, which wants to build a 152,000-square-foot office building on Chastain Meadows Parkway near Bells Ferry Road.

“I think this is a good fit for this program,” Birrell said.

The incentives for Edison Chastain would cap development permit fees (proposed incentive agreement here). According to the Cobb Community Development Agency, Edison Chastain would invest $35 million and create 150 jobs once the building opens.

But commissioner Lisa Cupid of South Cobb questioned the wisdom of allowing breaks on fees for companies when the county has had major budget problems in recent years.

Community development officials estimate the break-even point for the Chastain Meadows incentives would be in 2022.

“I have grave concerns that five [economic incentive proposals] are coming up at one time,” she said, “when it might take several years to recoup [the incentive amounts]. At the same time, we’re struggling year-to-year to provide core services.”

Birrell responded that the facility eyed by Chastain Meadows was initially slated to be a warehouse. “Now it’s an office building. It’s eligible and it meets the requirements,” she said.

Boyce said such incentives will help the county enrich its tax digest, which is the best way to meet increasing service needs.

“Getting the resources depends on getting those companies to come here,” he said. “The [tax] millage rate brings in a certain amount, but [a growing] tax digest brings in even more.”

Cupid asked if the county was “doing things in a healthy way,” then tried answering her own question by saying that “I don’t see it at all.”

Replied Birrell: “If [qualifying companies] are not here, we’re not going to get the revenue at all.”

She agreed to withdraw the Edison Chastain proposal and asked interim community development director Michael Hughes for background information on the incentive program.

Floor & Decor wants to relocate its HQ to a near-vacant building at Wildwood.

Two of the four incentive proposals previously withdrawn are in Windy Ridge Parkway area near East Cobb:

Also seeking incentives are Home Depot ($213,750) for expansion in and around its headquarters in the Cumberland area, and construction firm Brasfield & Gorrie ($90,798) for renovating its new headquarters near SunTrust Park.

The county incentives are unrelated to tax abatements that the companies have sought with the Development Authority of Cobb County.

 

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Mapping the future of the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford community

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Johnson Ferry-Shallowford community

With all kinds of maps abounding all around them—for land use, stormwater management, traffic and more—a few dozen citizens from the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford community turned out last week to continue efforts at developing a master plan.

After some input meetings last spring, Cobb County officials decided to come back this winter to solicit more feedback. At the first of those meetings, at the Chestnut Ridge Christian Church, commissioner Bob Ott explained how the “JOSH” master plan process—short for Johnson Ferry-Shallowford—is similar to those that have taken place previously and that have involved his constituents.

“Instead of consultants, we have community meetings and you help design the plan that you want,” he said.

That’s what has happened in the Powers Ferry Corridor, and with “urban design” guidelines on Johnson Ferry Road between Roswell and Lower Roswell elsewhere in East Cobb.

The high-density and mixed-use development that’s accelerating along Powers Ferry, or in the case of the Johnson Ferry Urban Design plan, the use of language, have concerned some in the JOSH area about what may be in store for where they live.

Bob Ott, JOSH
Commissioner Bob Ott said a master plan “isn’t perfect but it’s better than not having a master plan.” (ECN photos by Wendy Parker)

It’s a community with overwhelmingly single family residential homes, a population that’s older and a higher median income average than the rest of Cobb County.

It’s also new territory for Ott, whose District 2 was redrawn in 2016 to include JOSH. He referenced another master plan in his district that is similar to what he’s seeing for JOSH.

The Vinings Vision MasterPlan was developed out of an interest in preserving the feel of an older community surrounded by high-scale commercial growth in the Cumberland area.

The Vinings plan, Ott said, was deemed a “protection plan” when it was finished.

“This also appears to be a protection plan instead of a redevelopment plan,” he said of JOSH.

In Vinings, citizens took an additional six months to finalize that plan. Two more meetings are scheduled over the next two months for the JOSH master plan. Cobb Community Development Agency staff will present a preliminary plan on Feb. 12, and a draft plan on March 12, and public comments also will be sought.

Both of those meetings also will be at Chestnut Ridge Christian Church (2663 Johnson Ferry Road), starting at 7 p.m.

Jason Gaines, Cobb Community DevelopmentThe master plan will include future land use, infrastructure, stormwater, parks and recreation, building design and more (JOSH outline here).

Last spring, some citizens objected to an image preference survey that included photos of high-density development. Ott asked community development staff to rework the survey.

Jason Gaines, the community development agency’s planning division chief (above), broke down some of the JOSH demographics (boundary map here):

  • Population: 26,600
  • Employment: 4,400
  • Median Age: 44.9 years (Cobb median: 36.5)
  • Median household income: $119K (Cobb: $72K)
  • Median per capita income: $51K (Cobb: 36K)
  • Housing: 9.4K units; 98.2% owner-occupied; 99.5% single-family residential detached (Cobb: 66.2%)
  • Median home value: $347K (Cobb: $219.7K)

Phillip Westbrook of the planning division said 86 percent of the land in the JOSH map that’s included in the proposed master plan is residential (mostly low-density) and has only two major commercial areas: at the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford intersection, and on Shallowford near Lassiter Road.

Much of the current future land use map for the JOSH area hasn’t changed much over the last 25 years. Perhaps the most closely-watched case is at the southwestern intersection of Johnson Ferry-Shallowford, where a proposed residential zoning application was withdrawn in 2017. In addition to high-density issues there also have been concerns over stormwater, since the 30-acre property includes a lake.

“What’s going on that property we don’t know,” Ott said. “But this map is going to change.”

JOSH map

 

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In changing Powers Ferry Road corridor, citizens worry about community impact

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Powers Ferry Road corridor
The aging Powers Ferry Road Business Park will soon give way to the MarketPlace Terrell Mill development. ECN Photos: Wendy Parker

A public hearing on Tuesday to consider amendments to Cobb County’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan turned into a plea of sorts by citizens in the Powers Ferry Road corridor.

They’re being affected by major development changes all around them, and wonder what will happen to their community in transition, as higher-density commercial and residential projects are being approved or are being earmarked that way for the future.

The linchpin of the evolving corridor, the forthcoming MarketPlace Terrell Mill mixed-use development, was among those properties up for consideration Tuesday by the Cobb Planning Commission.

(Read them all here)

The board voted 3-1 to recommend amending the Cobb future land use map for the 24-acre tract at Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill roads for the Regional Activity Center with a high-density residential node that county commissioners approved last year.

Changing the future land use plan is typically a formality after rezoning, but some citizens who spoke Tuesday weren’t sure what the amendments meant.

“My area has gone through a lot of change,” said resident Kim Strickland, who got emotional as she spoke. “I would like to know how you’re going to change my community again.”

That was a reference to how she says the area has changed since SunTrust Park opened nearby two years ago.

Powers Ferry Road corridor
Apartments and a self-storage facility will be abutting the Salem Ridge condominiums in the back of MarketPlace Terrell Mill.

The MarketPlace Terrell Mill project includes a Kroger superstore on the former site of Brumby Elementary School, as well as shops, restaurants, a nearly 300-unit apartment complex and a self-storage facility.

“Another storage unit in my backyard,” Strickland said. “I’ve got more storage units than Waffle Houses right now. We need to keep low- and medium-density homes that we love.”

That’s a concern that’s been echoed by other residents in the Powers Ferry corridor.

But the area, which includes some single-family homes among a wide array of condominium and apartment complexes, is being eyed for higher-density development, especially of the residential variety.

Just down Powers Ferry, on land known as Restaurant Row, commissioners also last year voted to rezone that property for a mixed-use development, also with multi-family and senior housing, shops and restaurant space.

Planning Commission member Andy Smith, whose District 2 includes the Powers Ferry area, said that the amendment process is simply “looking at matching the future land use to what the zoning already is.”

“We’re not zoning any property here,” added Planning Commission chairwoman Judy Williams.

CP-2-1, Cobb future land use plan amendments
The 370 acres eyed for future Regional Activity Center zoning is in brown, with the MarketPlace Terrell property noted at ZD-12.

Another proposed amendment by District 2 Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott, would change the future land use of 370 acres in the Windy Hill-Terrell Mill-Powers Ferry area from Community Activity Center, High Density Residential and Park/Recreation/Conservation (PRC) to Regional Activity Center/retail service, Regional Activity Center/high density residential, and Regional Activity Center/open space and recreation.

Dan Davids, who said he has lived in the area in a single-family home “for an extended period,” understands that “change is inevitable. But we ask the question: Where do we fit in? We’d like to continue to live in the area.”

Another resident, Nick Johnson, wanted to know why RAC designation was being sought: “What are the plans?”

Smith explained that there’s not a development proposal now, but “there is a vision for that area that it’s going to be developed in a denser way. What it does is allow a more unified development” in the future.

The community also is being affected by the planned Windy Hill-Terrell Mill Connector. A number of apartment and condo units have already being condemned, and commissioners on Tuesday approved a measure to allow Cobb DOT to condemn four more if negotiations with property owners fall through.

A woman wondered if the amendments would prompt her to move, but Planning Commission member Galt Porter said “this doesn’t mean anybody is going to be kicked out of their house.”

Strickland later apologized for the confusion and acknowledged efforts to “better our area” and “not tear down our homes.”

The Planning Commission voted 3-1 to recommend approval of Ott’s proposed land use change, with Fred Beloin, the appointee of new commissioner Keli Gambrill, opposed.

Cobb commissioners will have the final say, voting on the land use plan amendment proposals next Tuesday.

The former Brumby Elementary School site is being cleared on Powers Ferry Road.

 

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UPDATE: Johnson Ferry-Shallowford Master Plan meetings resume

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Johnson Ferry-Shallowford community, Johnson Ferry-Shallowford Master Plan

We noted last month that another round of public meetings for the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford Master Plan were resuming in early 2019.

The first meeting next Tuesday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m., at Chestnut Ridge Christian Church (2663 Johnson Ferry Road). Additional meetings are scheduled for Feb. 12 and March 12, at the same time and venue.

Representatives from the Cobb Community Development Department and other county government agencies will be on hand, and this first meeting will include a presentation to “re-familiarize” the public with the master plan scope and process, followed by breakout sessions.

Topics include land use, parks and recreation, transportation and stormwater management.

The master plan concept that is developed from the JOSH meetings will be incorporated into the Cobb 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

Citizens can offer feedback online, and view documents, maps and other information related to the study area, by visiting the Cobb government website with JOSH information.

The master plan process is similar to others done in the county at the behest of district commissioners. District 2 commissioner Bob Ott, whose constituency now includes the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford area, has had previous master plans conducted for the Powers Ferry and Johnson Ferry corridors and Vinings.

 

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East Cobb mixed-use properties among future land use proposals

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Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill properties, MarketPlace Terrell Mill, East Cobb mixed-use developments

Two notable East Cobb mixed-used developments approved during the last two years are located on property that county commissioners will be considering this month as part of their annual Comprehensive Plan updates.

They include land zoned last year for the MarketPlace Terrell Mill project (above) at Terrell Mill and Powers Ferry roads, and for the Sandy Plains Marketplace on the former Mountain View Elementary School site on Sandy Plains Road that was rezoned in late 2017.

Commissioners don’t hear zoning cases in January, but they adopt amendments, including future land use changes, to the 2040 Cobb Comprehensive Plan.

The first of two public hearings on the proposed amendments is scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. by the Cobb Planning Commission. Cobb commissioners will hold a hearing and adopt any changes at 9 a.m. on Jan. 15.

Both meetings are in the second-floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

(Here’s a link to the complete agenda.)

Revising the future land use plan is fairly routine following zoning cases. But those East Cobb cases, along with other proposed future land use plan amendments up for consideration, reflect lingering issues over density in the area, and the county in general.

The MarketPlace Terrell Mill project—which is to include a Kroger superstore, nearly 300 apartment units, restaurants and retail space—was opposed by residents of a nearby condominium complex.

Others opposed the assemblage of 24 acres that included the former Brumby Elementary School site into the Regional Retail Commercial category, a rare one in Cobb County that is denser than most surrounding property in a busy commercial corridor.

The future land use designation for the land is Regional Activity Center with high-density residential.

The MarketPlace Terrell Mill Project is regarded as a linchpin of redevelopment in the Powers Ferry corridor.

In its analysis for the future land use plan amendments, however, Cobb community development staff noted that “considering the changing conditions on site and the intensity that the proposed development will generate, a more appropriate future use designation may be Regional Activity Center with a sub-category of high density residential (RAC/hdr).”

The “changing conditions” is a reference Kroger’s attempts to seek tax breaks from the Development Authority of Cobb that were invalidated by a Cobb judge last fall. The grocery chain has appealed as other parts of the $120 million project are underway.

Also under construction is the Sandy Plains Marketplace project. Ground-clearing has begun, and all that’s left of the old Mountain View school is the sign at the entrance.

Sandy Plains Marketplace

That project will include a Publix GreenWise Market as its anchor, and other tenants have been announced.

The current future land-use designation is public institutional, since it was a school site. The proposed amendment would change it to the Community Activity Center category that matches the rezoning change.

Some residents of an adjoining neighborhood expressed concerns about some aspects of the project, including a three-story self-storage facility that would be constructed near their property lines.

Another high-density East Cobb rezoning is on the proposed amendment list. That’s four acres on Olde Towne Parkway that were converted from Community Activitity Center to High Density Residential.

Commissioners approved rezoning to RM-12 for four-story townhomes that nearby residents said were too high and too intense for the area.

Cobb commissioners have proposed several future land use plan amendments. Bob Ott of District 2 in East Cobb is proposing changing 370 acres in the Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill-Delk Road area to a mixture of designations.

Currently the land (map below), which houses a number of commercial and multi-family developments, is designated for Community Activity Center, High Density Residential and Park/Recreation/Conservation (PRC).CP-2-1, Cobb future land use plan amendments

He wants that property to be reclassified to the following categories: Regional Activity Center/retail service, Regional Activity Center/high density residential, and Regional Activity Center/open space and recreation.

The area includes some of the planned Windy Hill-Terrell Mill Connector project and a proposed extension of the Bob Callahan Trail network along Rottenwood Creek.

Other proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments would designate land purchased by commissioners last year for future green space to PRC. They include properties on Ebenezer Road and part of the Tritt property next to East Cobb Park.

 

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