Post Oak Tritt Road subdivision rezoning request withdrawn

*The Power-Jackson Cabin is one of the last one-room log cabins in Cobb dating back to the 1840s. Photo: David Seibert for Historical Marker Database*

A week after the Cobb Planning Commission voted to hold a subdivision request on Post Oak Tritt Road that drew community opposition, the applicant has withdrawn the proposal without prejudice.

Attorney Parks Huff asked for the withdrawal in a letter dated May 12 to the Cobb Zoning Office, but didn’t specify a reason, other than referring to “issues raised during the pendency of the application.”

East Cobb News has left a message with Huff seeking more information.

A request by Kenneth B. Clary, the landowner, to rezone 13.38 acres at 4701 Post Oak Tritt Road near McPherson Road for homes adjacent to the Clary Lakes subdivision was first made last fall, but didn’t get a first hearing until April.

The Cobb Planning Commission voted for a continuance then, after Clary sought rezoning from R-30 to R-15, and with nearby residents concerned about responsibility for repairing two dams on the lake.

The Cobb Zoning office recommended an R-20 designation, which would allow 18 homes.

But historic preservation activists also had issues with the rezoning. The site includes the Power-Jackson Cabin, one of the last one-room log structures left in Cobb County.

It dates back to the 1840s, and the Cobb Landmarks Society wanted the applicant to pay for relocation expenses to the Hyde Farm property in East Cobb.

Also at the April hearing, preservationists mentioned a cemetery on the site that Clary’s representatives said they weren’t aware of.

At the May 2 Planning Commission hearing, Jimi Richards of the Cobb Cemetery Preservation Commission cited a book about the early history of Cobb County (up to 1932), indicating a young mother, part of the Power family, died there nearly 140 years ago giving birth, and she is buried there with her baby twins.

He asked for the delay for the applicant to hire an archaeologist, per county code, to conduct a survey to discover if, and where, they may be resting.

Joe Ovbey, who lives in an adjacent home on Post Oak Tritt, said his family has known the Clarys for decades.

“I’ve been shown where those graves are for many years,” he said earlier this month.

The planning commission motion to hold the case included provisions for a community meeting between the applicant and nearby residents, a third-party analysis of the possible graves and further addressing dam and stormwater issues.

When an zoning applicant withdraws a request without prejudice, it can refile at any time. Cases that are denied or that are withdrawn with prejudice cannot be refiled for at least a year.