While he’s building a faith community during a pandemic, Rev. Jamey Dickens is also taking a crash course in how the zoning process works in Cobb County.
The pastor of East Cobb Church, the newest addition to the North Point Ministries family of Atlanta-area non-denominational congregations, Dickens lives not far from the proposed church home at the southwest corner of Johnson Ferry and Shallowford roads.
His church’s motto is “to love where you live,” and Dickens said in an interview with East Cobb News on Monday that “we want to listen to our new neighbors.”
Dickens has been poring over site plans and learning the language of planners and developers as the church’s application for a mixed-use development proceeds.
North Point’s request is for more than a new sanctuary and church-related facilities. More than 100 townhomes and some retail space are planned for the 33-acre site that’s at the heart of the “JOSH” community.
North Point’s zoning case, first filed last fall, was to have been heard Tuesday by the Cobb Planning Commission. But that has been continued to March by the Cobb zoning staff, which initially recommended denial for traffic, density and land-use reasons.
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On Thursday, Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson and Planning Commissioner Tony Waybright will be conducting a virtual town hall to get public feedback on the project. Dickens said Kevin Moore, North Point’s zoning attorney, will make a presentation that is being revised from the original plans.
The town hall starts at 5:15 p.m. Thursday and will be streamed live on Richardson’s Facebook page.
You can sign up by clicking here. Richardson’s office will send out an e-mail prior to the meeting with a link to the event and information on the meeting structure.
(Here’s the latest site plan; and here’s the initial zoning analysis; as well as traffic analysis. You can look through all the related files by clicking here.)
“What we’re doing is ever-evolving,” said Dickens, who indicated the number of townhomes may be reduced, among other changes.
Those have been in the works after North Point leaders met with nearby homeowners groups, as well as Richardson, Waybright and others in the community.
Dickens said he understands some of the concerns that have been expressed—especially about traffic from the church as well as the townhomes.
East Cobb Church is planning a facility with a four-story building and sanctuary for up to 1,300 people, as well as a parking deck.
Dickens said the parking deck, which would front Shallowford Road, will be at surface levels, as will all other parking areas.
North Point’s plans are to acquire the entire 33-acre site from prominent attorney Fred Hanna and his wife’s outreach ministry, which they tried to assemble for a residential project in 2016 that was withdrawn.
The church would then sell the portion of the land for the townhomes to a developer that North Point is currently negotiating with.
As for church activities, Dickens said only Sunday mornings will pose any traffic issues. Like the other North Point congregations, East Cobb Church will not have a pre-school during the week.
The East Cobb Church sanctuary is smaller than most of the other North Point churches, and Dickens said as is the case at the other locations, this one will have off-duty police who will “prioritize all traffic.
“If our people need to wait, then fine,” Dickens aid.
He said he’s hopeful that Thursday’s town hall will clear up some of the “misconceptions” about North Point’s plans.
“I don’t feel like that on our side it’s a battle,” he said. “I feel confident that we’re going to find a version of this that works.”
The Johnson Ferry-Shallowford site wasn’t something Dickens said he initially thought was the right “fit” for East Cobb Church, which became part of North Point Ministries in late 2019 and had been meeting at Eastside Baptist Church.
After serving as the student pastor at Buckhead Church, Dickens was tapped to lead the new congregation, which grew out of having members from various North Point churches who live in East Cobb, and who wanted to worship closer to home.
“We think we have an incredible message, and we know that people want to be connected to a church where they feel at home,” he said.
East Cobb Church has grown to around 800 people (children excluded), and he estimated that typical in-person attendance was around 600. Services have been continuing online during the pandemic.
North Point was founded in 1995 in Alpharetta by Rev. Andy Stanley, the son of retired First Baptist Church of Atlanta Rev. Charles Stanley. Other North Point churches are located in Woodstock, Cumming, Decatur and Buford.
North Point congregations are known for having mid-week Bible studies in the homes of their members, as well as community outreach.
In October, East Cobb Church raised money for and donated a box truck for Simple Needs GA, which provides furniture and other household goods and everyday items for needy families.
While many of the new church’s members are young families like Dickens’—he and his wife have four children—some of the empty-nesters are among East Cobb Church’s most active volunteers.
He said of Thursday’s meeting that he’s hopeful the North Point presentation “will put some people’s minds at ease.”
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