A proposed 74-unit townhome development in a single-family residential area of Northeast Cobb was unanimously rejected Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
They didn’t deliberate long to deny a request by Ashwani Kumar Kaura to rezone 13 acres on Lindsey Way off Alabama Road from from single-family residential (R-20) to fee-simple townhome (FST).
The Cobb Planning Commission also recommended denial earlier this month. Four residents of nearby neighborhoods spoke in opposition.
Tom Ganschow, who lives next to the Kaura property on Fitts Drive in the Bernham Woods subdivision, said his many in his neighborhood signed a petition in opposition.
“We feel we’ve been deceived in our neighborhood because we never saw signs posted in our area” about the rezoning request.
He mentioned a news report (ours from March 2) and said that otherwise, “we’d still be in the dark.”
The homes there were built mostly in the 1970s and 1980s, and said there’s “no consideration for the homeowners and the character of Northeast Cobb.”
He said putting up some R-20 homes would be the best option, and that the applicant’s request for variances “ought to be a red flag.”
Kaura’s son represented his father, who has had medical issues out of state, and admitted that after traveling from Arizona Monday “I am not prepared today.”
The property has been in the family for more than 40 years, he said, and stated a desire to have it developed.
Commissioner JoAnn Birrell, who represents the area, quickly made a motion to deny the request, noting the 105 signatures on the petition.
“This isn’t really appropriate for the area,” she said. The only townhomes she recalls nearby were along Shallowford Road a decade or so ago, and located near a shopping center.
“It would be better served to remain R-20.”
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