Lower Roswell rezoning/annexation case subject of community meeting

Lower Roswell rezoning/annexation

Residents living in the Sewell Manor neighborhood at Lower Roswell Road and the Loop have scheduled a public meeting for Wednesday to discuss a proposed annexation and rezoning case next to their community that’s going to mediation between Cobb County and the City of Marietta.

The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, just down the road at 2051 Lower Roswell Road.

Citizens living in Sewell Manor have been opposed to a proposal before the Marietta City Council by Traton Homes to build 37 townhomes and 15 single-family detached homes on 7.48 acres at the northeast intersection of Lower Roswell and the Loop.

The rezoning request also requires annexation into the city, since some of that tract is in unincorporated Cobb.

Cobb officials initially objected to the request under a state law governing annexation involving high-density zoning matters.

Traton has come down on its proposal from nearly 12 units an acre to 6.5 an acre. The law’s threshold is 4 units an acre, but the county did not formalize its objection in writing.

The Marietta City Council could have voted anyway, but tabled that vote earlier this month and agreed to mediation with the county.

That process is set to start in June, and Sewell Manor residents want to brief their fellow neighbors on their concerns.

They include additional traffic at an already congested intersection, as well as other aspects of Traton’s site plan.

Sewell Manor homes were built in the 1950s and the neighborhood density is 1.75 units an acre. Some have said they’re not against new development but what Traton is proposing is incompatible with their community.