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 But the request was withdrawn by the applicant due to what it said were other business obligations.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.”
Related stories:
- RaceTrac rezoning plans at NE Cobb historic site to be heard
- New townhouse plans filed at rejected Marietta site
- Dog-training business at East Cobb home put on hold
- RaceTrac delays rezoning request on NE Cobb historic site
- Tom Cousins, developer of Indian Hills, dies at 92
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