A Bells Ferry Road senior living development was approved Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners, on a chunk of green space that’s been eyed for a variety of uses over the years.
They voted to rezone 35.8 acres of low-density residential land on Bells Ferry Road and North Booth Road at I-575 for 155 single-family, detached homes for seniors 55 and older. Here’s the agenda item packet.
The vote was 4-0, with commissioner Bob Ott absent.
It was one of two major zoning cases on Tuesday’s agenda that asked for the Residential Senior Living (RSL) category, which is becoming a more frequent request from developers in Cobb.
There was no formal opposition to the application by Jim Chapman Communities Inc., which had initially proposed 178 units. The homes will range between 1,600 and 2,400 square feet and will have an attached two-car garage. The request was supported by the Bells Ferry Civic Association.
District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell of Northeast Cobb wanted to have the case heard due to some e-mails she had received.
Before making a motion to approve the request, she noted that the land had drawn the interest of developers for other types of development, including commercial, which she opposed to due nearby residential communities.
The land is located across North Booth Road from Chalker Elementary School. She also said the property had been nominated to be purchased as county parkland, but that use was rejected.
“The applicant asked for what we wanted,” Birrell said of the Jim Chapman proposal. “RSL is the best fit for this area.”
Among the stipulations as part of the rezoning include a right turn lane to be built from Bells Ferry Road southbound onto North Booth Road, and for sidewalks to be constructed along the frontage for both roads.
Before that case, commissioners approved a similar rezoning near Powder Springs, for 123 senior homes on 53 acres on Old Lost Mountain Road, that drew opposition from nearby residents for traffic and density reasons.
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