Following up a story we’ve been reporting since the fall, about the proposed mixed-use development at the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford intersection:
Cobb Commissioner Jerica Richardson and Cobb Planning Commission member Tony Waybright are having a virtual town hall next week to hear from the public about Z-72-2020.
The town hall meeting is set for Thursday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. and is free for the public to attend.
The February zoning files indicate that Z-72, which was continued from November, will not be heard on Tuesday before the Cobb Planning Commission. The case is being continued again, likely until March.
The development would be anchored by what’s being called East Cobb Church, townhomes and retail on 33 acres. The Cobb Zoning Office has initially recommended denial based on traffic and density concerns.
The church would seat up to 1,300 have four stories and a parking deck, while 125 townhomes are being planned.
The church would be part of the Alpharetta-based North Point Church. Since early last year, East Cobb Church has been formed and is holding services at Eastside Baptist Church.
The land is owned by prominent attorney Fred Hanna and his wife’s outreach ministry, and which they tried to assemble for a residential project in 2016 that was withdrawn.
This will be the first major zoning case in District 2 for Richardson, who succeeded now-retired commissioner Bob Ott this month. Cobb doesn’t hold zoning hearings in January.
If you want to sign up for the town hall you can do so 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.
For questions and information contact Allie Korucu, Richardson’s assistant: aliye.korucu@cobbcounty.org.
Related stories
- Planning Commission member from East Cobb dies from COVID
- North Point East Cobb Church plans: 4 stories, 1,300 seats
- ‘Nexus Garden’s project proposed for Loop-Powers Ferry area
- Land owners: East Cobb church plans ‘good for the community’
- Johnson Ferry-Shallowford proposal: Church, townhomes
- Wesley Chapel Road rezoning case gets final approval
- Johnson Ferry-Shalloword master plan adopted by commissioners
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I am a civil engineer who visited the site. The former lake area looks like a giant detention pond with a weir box and a substantial amount of flowing water which goes into a culvert under Johnson Ferry. There is also a lot of standing water and wetlands vegetation growing everywhere. I looked up the site on the FEMA flood map and it is all in a designated 100 year floodplain. So unless the developer is planning to attempt having the ‘Zone A’ designation modified with FEMA, the residences there would need to purchase flood insurance and there would always be the inherent danger of property damage. I would like to review the developer’s hydrology study to see how they can demonstrate from a viable engineering standpoint that this existing wetlands area is suitable for development. They will need to ensure that stormwater will be discharged at existing flow rate levels, as required for their permit, as they will be adding a tremendous amount of additional runoff from new impervious areas into the watershed. I would also like to know what proposed system they are designing to handle stormwater detention, as it can’t just be piped into the existing stream without causing significant flooding downstream. Also, if the box culvert under Johnson Ferry were to become obstructed, this proposed site would turn back into a lake real fast. I hope all of these issues are being taken into careful consideration.
Has a traffic study, adding 2,000 people (church plus two people per townhome plus guests, rounded for ease of math) to the traffic pattern, been done? That should be required before any permit is issued, and it should not take a civilian to figure that out.
Has anyone looked into the flow of money and power in this project? Peek behind the curtains and take a look at how the Hannas and their interests are involved. Then, look again and consider the consequences – to us and for them.
Can someone please tell me how “The church would seat up to 1,300 have four stories and a parking deck, while 125 townhomes are being planned.” fits into this area? This area is not Sandy Springs, it does not want to be Sandy Springs, and it should not be forced to be Sandy Springs so that a few can get rich on the backs of everyone else.