East Cobb neighborhood ramps up annexation fight with Marietta

East Cobb neighborhood, Sewell Manor — *Cobb commissioner Bob Ott and Sewell Manor resident Theresa Gernatt. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)*

Residents of an East Cobb neighborhood want their county representatives to send a strong message to the City of Marietta about a proposed annexation they’ve been fighting for months.

Cobb commissioner Bob Ott, who represents the Sewell Manor subdivision on Lower Roswell Road at the Loop, said he will offer such a proposal for his colleagues to consider next Tuesday.

It would replace an unratified objection the county made to a high-density residential development that’s being proposed on 7.48 acres right next to Sewell Manor in unincorporated Cobb.

But at a town hall meeting he called on Monday night, Ott reminded those residents that the city holds the power right now to annex six former lots in Sewell Manor and add them to three parcels on Lower Roswell that are already in the city.

“There is no obstacle to annex the land, based on the law,” Ott said to a room of around 100 people at the Sewell Mill Library. The crowd included residents in nearby neighborhoods in an older portion of East Cobb.

He made reference to a state law that allows counties to object to municipal annexations when related rezoning cases reach a certain density threshold.

Traton Homes is proposing to build 37 townhomes and 15 single-family homes on land owned by Ray Boyd, a commercial real estate broker.

That amounts to 6.9 units an acre, above the limit of of four units an acre for previously undeveloped land, and five units on land proposed for redevelopment. (The original site plan called for 64 townhomes, a density of nearly 12 units an acre.)

However, the county objection letter—signed by Ott, commissioner Keli Gambrill and chairman Mike Boyce—was never voted on by the commission. Ott said county staff neglected to include that item on a meeting agenda after Boyd filed a request to annex in January.

Last month, the Marietta City Council was prepared to vote on the annexation and rezoning, but for the second time delayed that action. A mediation session between Cobb and Marietta was scheduled for Wednesday, but Ott called it off because the city was asking for a different process.

“The city ought to show the county a little courtesy,” said James Rosich, who lives in the nearby Hamby Estates neighborhood. “Our county and community have been taken advantage of.”

An urban planner by training, Rosich outlined for the audience Sewell Manor’s objections to the Traton proposal, which includes 15 variances, and what Rosich termed “a hostile approach to annexation.”

For several years, the former commercial properties on Lower Roswell Road have sat vacant, an eyesore entrance to Sewell Manor that’s more than annoyed residents there.

“It looks like a third world country,” said Gernatt, who grew up in Sewell Manor. “The city of Marietta has allowed that to happen over the last decade.”

Boyd previously tried to get Marietta to annex the vacant Sewell Manor lots four years ago, but was denied.

Gernatt said she’s met with laywers who’ve told her the Sewell Manor neighbors should “sue the bejeezus out of everyone. But that’s not what we’re about.”

*The main entrance to Sewell Manor on Indian Trail, and a view south along Lower Roswell Road. The empty lot once housed gas station and automotive repair businesses.*

Ott said while he agrees with community concerns over traffic and density, the immediate focus should be on the annexation matter.

“You can’t sue until some action is taken,” Ott said.

He said in his 10 years as a commissioner, no other Cobb city has voted to annex land if the entire five-member county commission objected.

That kind of support, he added, “sends a huge message to the city.

“Why would they care about you? You don’t live in the city. Why have they not annexed? Think about that.”

Ott declined to detail what he’s presenting at the commission meeting Tuesday, with news media present at the town hall. Afterward, he told East Cobb News that “I do have some ideas,” but he still would not elaborate.

“They’re not going to be ready for what I’m proposing.”