Cobb Planning Commission Archives

Ebenezer Road rezoning gets Cobb Planning Commission approval

September 7, 2021 11:58 AM by Wendy Parker

Ebenezer Road rezoning

By a 3-2 vote the Cobb Planning Commission on Tuesday recommended approval of a rezoning request for a 99-home single-family subdivision on Ebenezer Road, although numerous issues remain.

The application by Pulte Homes was for the rezoning of nearly 50 acres on the west side of Ebenezer, between Maybreeze Road and Blackwell Road.

Planning Commission member Deborah Dance, who represents District 3 in Northeast Cobb, incorporated some of those concerns in her motion to approve. They include requiring lot sizes to be a minimum of 10,000 feet, mandating that the developer maintain two lakes on the property in perpetuity and the construction of sidewalks and guest parking.

Those and other traffic issues also remain unresolved as the case goes before the Cobb Board of Commissioners Sept. 21.

Planning Commission chairman Fred Beloin and new appointee David Anderson of East Cobb voted against the recommendation of approval.

The land owned by the Phillips family on Ebenezer Road is one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in the area, and due to the lakes the request called for rezoning from R-20 to the R-15 OSC category. That’s single-family residential with an open space community provision, meaning that not all of the land can be developed.

Last month the Cobb zoning staff continued Pulte’s request. The developer revised the initial site plan and submitted a new stipulation letter, after questions were raised about density of around 2 units an acre, small lot sizes and a lack of amenities.

But nothing new has been added to the case file in the last month, and an online petition was started called “Cobb Citizens Against Pulte Overdevelopment of Ebenezer Road Z-31.” Thus far it has more than 250 signatures.

Pulte representative Rob Hosack, the former Cobb County Manager, showed slides on Tuesday indicating Pulte’s agreement with some community concerns and with previous input from the Planning Commission.

He also noted how the density of the Pulte development would be in line with nearby neighborhoods at around two units an acre.

But John Stuetzer, a nearby resident speaking on behalf of neighbors, and the East Cobb Civic Association said that despite Pulte’s agreement to make changes at community meetings, there’s nothing in the case file indicating that.

Stuetzer said “99 units are too dense” and said there were too many variances being requested “and that’s unacceptable.”

Another resident, Veronica Little, who lives across from the property on Ebenezer Road, said her home would “wash away” without some protection.

She said the dams on the lakes haven’t been looked at since the 1970s: “Do you think these dams are any good? Probably not.

“If one thing happens to this lake, my neighbor’s house is gone,” said Little, asking for the request to be delayed.

Planning Commission OK’s Ebenezer Road senior living project

December 6, 2019 2:47 PMDecember 6, 2019 2:08 PM by Wendy Parker

Ebenezer Road senior living project

The Cobb Planning Commission is recommending approval of a senior living project on Ebenezer Road that’s drawn opposition from nearby residents as too dense and traffic-intense.

At a hearing on Tuesday, the board voted 4-0 in favor of a rezoning request by Traton Homes to build 31 detached homes on less than 10 acres on Ebenezer Road, just north of the Sandy Plains Road intersection.

The developer submitted revised plans (read it here) to reduce the development to 31 units, a new site plan, as well as a left-hand turn lane at the proposed entrance on Ebenezer and numerous other stipulations, including a landscape buffer.

Cobb DOT said it prefers left-hand turn lane access from Sandy Plains Road.

Some living in the adjacent Kerry Creek subdivision said the proposed lots are too small, and that the wooded areas they enjoy now in their backyards would be wiped out by multiple new homes.

The Cobb County School District expressed concerns over the development, since those buying homes would qualify for the Cobb senior exemption from school taxes.

After a citizen suggested that the spirit of the tax exemption wasn’t meant to apply to new developments like this one, Kevin Moore, Traton’s attorney, said “tax status should not be a zoning issue.”

Walter Stevens of the nearby Sandy Plains Baptist Church said he supports the request after seeing some of the changes.

Planning Commission chairwoman Judy Williams of Northeast Cobb recused herself “because of relatives.” She did not preside over the case and abstained from voting.

New county map shows there’s not much room left in East Cobb

The Planning Commission also voted 3-1 to recommend approval of a single-family home proposal on Canton Road after originally proposing townhomes.

Smith Douglas Homes is now requesting RA-6 zoning for 39 detached residences, instead of 61 townhomes, on 6.6 acres on Canton Road at Kensington Drive, in the RA-12 category. (here’s a recent stipulation letter and revised site plan).

The revised request has the support of Canton Road Neighbors, a civic association. Surrounding housing is single-family detached.

Garvis Sams, attorney for the developer, said the land has been designated for office and industrial use but that “there’s just not a market” to develop it along those lines.

The only vote against was Galt Porter of South Cobb, who said the revised proposal is still too dense for him to support. Abstaining was Fred Beloin of North Cobb.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners will make final zoning decisions on Dec. 17.

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Ebenezer Road retail proposal delayed for a second time

August 7, 2019 1:01 PM by Wendy Parker

Ebenezer Road retail proposal

For the second time in as many months a proposal to turn a vacant commercial building on Ebenezer Road at Canton Road into a multi-business retail property is being delayed.

Last month the application by SAW Holding Inc. was delayed from July due to notification issues. At the start of Tuesday’s Cobb Planning Commission hearing, Cobb Zoning Office Division Manager John Pederson said the case was being delayed by the staff until September.

Here’s the case file for the application, which is seeking rezoning from neighborhood shopping to neighborhood retail commercial on 1.7 acres adjacent to Noonday Baptist Church.

SAW Holdings wants build 2,241-square-foot center for restaurants, a grocery store and offices, with the businesses open from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m.

The Canton Road Neighbors civic group has expressed opposition to the current application for the subdivided nature of the request, as well as for environmental reasons.

“This is generally a family friendly area, with youth sports facilities, churches and residential neighborhoods,” Carol Brown of Canton Road Neighbors wrote in a letter to the zoning staff. “The SE corner of the Canton/Ebenezer intersection is now the site of a public park. It is an area of natural beauty and the Little Noonday [Creek] needs as much protection as possible.”

The planning board recommended approval of a request by SZS Holdings Inc. for a special land-use permit to expand a parking lot at Auto Weekly Specials, a used-car business (SLUP-7-2019 (case file here).

Owner Obaid Malik wants to add 41 additional parking space on the acre parcel that’s zoned general commercial.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners will make final zoning decisions on Aug. 20.

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Ebenezer Road retail proposal delayed until August

July 2, 2019 1:30 PMJuly 1, 2019 10:03 AM by Wendy Parker

Ebenezer Road retail proposal

The July zoning calendar is light on cases in East Cobb, but one that will be getting first hearing Tuesday before the Cobb Planning Commission involves a retail proposal on Ebenezer Road at the intersection of Canton Road.

UPDATE: This case has been delayed to August for notification reasons.

That 1.7-acre tract, close to the Noonday Baptist Church and the eventual Ebenezer Road Park, is being sought by SAW Holding, LLC from neighborhood shopping to neighborhood retail commercial.

There’s a vacant office building on the site now, but the applicant wants to build a 2,241-square-foot center for restaurants, a grocery store and offices, with the businesses open from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m.

According to the application (case file here) about a half-acre was cleared along Canton Road without approval, and it contains part of a the state water buffer and the FEMA 100-year floodplain.

The county zoning staff is recommending approval with several conditions, including a final site plan (not yet submitted) to be approved by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.

The agenda item Z-48 will be heard on the regular agenda since there’s opposition.

Not far away, a rezoning request for a light industrial category for automotive services on 1.1 acres at 4921 Canton Road is being recommended for denial by the zoning staff (case file here). The land currently houses warehouses but the proposed rezoning does not conform to the Cobb land use plan and the future land use plan.

A proposed rezoning at 3140 Johnson Ferry Road, at the site of a former bank building, would convert that space into retail use. Komorebi Holdings, LLC, is seeking neighborhood retail commercial designation for the 1.3 acres in front of the Wal-Mart store (case file here).

The devlepment would include 5,541 square feet of space, the same as the vacated bank, with business hours proposed are Sunday 12:30-6:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday 10-10 and Friday-Saturday 10 a.m.-11 p.m.

The zoning staff is recommending approval, and Z-37 will be heard on the consent agenda.

The full agenda can be found here and more zoning, variance and other business files can be found here.

The Planning Commission meets Tuesday at 9 a.m. in the second floor board room at the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.

Its votes are advisory. Final zoning decisions will be made by Cobb commissioners on July 16.

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In changing Powers Ferry Road corridor, citizens worry about community impact

January 9, 2019 6:00 PM by Wendy Parker

A public hearing on Tuesday to consider amendments to Cobb County’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan turned into a plea of sorts by citizens in the Powers Ferry Road corridor.

They’re being affected by major development changes all around them, and wonder what will happen to their community in transition, as higher-density commercial and residential projects are being approved or are being earmarked that way for the future.

The linchpin of the evolving corridor, the forthcoming MarketPlace Terrell Mill mixed-use development, was among those properties up for consideration Tuesday by the Cobb Planning Commission.

(Read them all here)

The board voted 3-1 to recommend amending the Cobb future land use map for the 24-acre tract at Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill roads for the Regional Activity Center with a high-density residential node that county commissioners approved last year.

Changing the future land use plan is typically a formality after rezoning, but some citizens who spoke Tuesday weren’t sure what the amendments meant.

“My area has gone through a lot of change,” said resident Kim Strickland, who got emotional as she spoke. “I would like to know how you’re going to change my community again.”

That was a reference to how she says the area has changed since SunTrust Park opened nearby two years ago.

The MarketPlace Terrell Mill project includes a Kroger superstore on the former site of Brumby Elementary School, as well as shops, restaurants, a nearly 300-unit apartment complex and a self-storage facility.

“Another storage unit in my backyard,” Strickland said. “I’ve got more storage units than Waffle Houses right now. We need to keep low- and medium-density homes that we love.”

That’s a concern that’s been echoed by other residents in the Powers Ferry corridor.

But the area, which includes some single-family homes among a wide array of condominium and apartment complexes, is being eyed for higher-density development, especially of the residential variety.

Just down Powers Ferry, on land known as Restaurant Row, commissioners also last year voted to rezone that property for a mixed-use development, also with multi-family and senior housing, shops and restaurant space.

Planning Commission member Andy Smith, whose District 2 includes the Powers Ferry area, said that the amendment process is simply “looking at matching the future land use to what the zoning already is.”

“We’re not zoning any property here,” added Planning Commission chairwoman Judy Williams.

CP-2-1, Cobb future land use plan amendments — *The 370 acres eyed for future Regional Activity Center zoning is in brown, with the MarketPlace Terrell property noted at ZD-12.*

Another proposed amendment by District 2 Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott, would change the future land use of 370 acres in the Windy Hill-Terrell Mill-Powers Ferry area from Community Activity Center, High Density Residential and Park/Recreation/Conservation (PRC) to Regional Activity Center/retail service, Regional Activity Center/high density residential, and Regional Activity Center/open space and recreation.

Dan Davids, who said he has lived in the area in a single-family home “for an extended period,” understands that “change is inevitable. But we ask the question: Where do we fit in? We’d like to continue to live in the area.”

Another resident, Nick Johnson, wanted to know why RAC designation was being sought: “What are the plans?”

Smith explained that there’s not a development proposal now, but “there is a vision for that area that it’s going to be developed in a denser way. What it does is allow a more unified development” in the future.

The community also is being affected by the planned Windy Hill-Terrell Mill Connector. A number of apartment and condo units have already being condemned, and commissioners on Tuesday approved a measure to allow Cobb DOT to condemn four more if negotiations with property owners fall through.

A woman wondered if the amendments would prompt her to move, but Planning Commission member Galt Porter said “this doesn’t mean anybody is going to be kicked out of their house.”

Strickland later apologized for the confusion and acknowledged efforts to “better our area” and “not tear down our homes.”

The Planning Commission voted 3-1 to recommend approval of Ott’s proposed land use change, with Fred Beloin, the appointee of new commissioner Keli Gambrill, opposed.

Cobb commissioners will have the final say, voting on the land use plan amendment proposals next Tuesday.

*The former Brumby Elementary School site is being cleared on Powers Ferry Road.*

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Long-delayed Wigley Road rezoning case clears initial hurdle

August 8, 2018 3:21 PM by Wendy Parker

After more than a year of delays, the Cobb Planning Commission Tuesday recommended approval of a Wigley Road rezoning case that would convert hilly, rocky former farm terrain into a single-family subdivision.

The commission vote was 4-1 in favor of an application by Oak Hall Companies for single-family homes on 96 acres on what once was the Wigley family farm. The land abuts the Cherokee County line to the north, and is north of Sweat Mountain, Jamerson Road and Summitop Road.

The planning board initially heard the case in May but placed a 60-day hold on the application, which was once again delayed in July.

The developer wanted to build 95 homes for a community to be called Provence Estates, but the commissioners recommended 91 instead. Parks Huff, an attorney for Oak Hall, noted the rarity of a proposal for single-family homes that is around one to an acre.

Since the planning board recommended the R-30 OSC category, roughly half the tract would be placed in a conservation easement.

The land is from the estate of Audra Mae Wigley and was part of the Wigley Farm in Northeast Cobb. Initially, the Oak Hall application was for 55 acres, but both pieces of the former farm property were put together in a single request earlier this year.

Some neighbors were opposed for traffic as well as for stormwater runoff issues, and it was a factor outgoing planning commissioner Thea Powell cited for her vote against the request.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners will have the final say on the rezoning request on Aug. 21.

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Powers Ferry Restaurant Row project gets Cobb Planning Commission OK

August 7, 2018 9:52 PMAugust 7, 2018 5:22 PM by Wendy Parker

A rezoning to allow a Powers Ferry Restaurant Row project that would raze mostly empty commercial property was recommended for approval Tuesday by the Cobb Planning Commission.

The board voted 4-1 to recommend a request by Powers Ferry Road Investors, LLC, to rezone 8.8 acres to regional retail commercial (RRC) from the current general commercial (GC) category.

Proposed Powers Ferry Road development would replace long-vacant restaurants

August 5, 2018 12:56 PMAugust 2, 2018 2:27 PM by Wendy Parker

A proposed Powers Ferry Road development that would include nearly 500 residential units and restaurant and retail space comes before the Cobb Planning Commission Tuesday.

The rezoning request by Powers Ferry Road Investors, LLC, would raze a string of vacant restaurants and build 291 apartment units and 181 upscale senior active dwellings in between a 10,000-foot restaurant building, according to a filing with the Cobb Zoning Office (agenda packet item here).

The project would include three buildings totaling 438,555 feet near the Wildwood Office Park.

The 8.8 acres along Powers Ferry between Windy Hill Road and Windy Ridge Parkway currently houses only one active business, the Rose & Crown Tavern, which will remain and be “enlarged” in the new development, according to a zoning impact statement included in the case file.

Surrounding it are empty restaurant spaces that were once Sal Grosso, Famous Dave’s and TGI Friday’s. The Sage Woodfire Tavern location that opened last fall in the former Houston’s space on the corner of Powers Ferry and Windy Ridge Parkway is not part of the development.

Z-47, Powers Ferry Road development — The site plan calls for a senior living complex on the left, with a large apartment building at the right. The office/retail/restaurant space is slated for the center building. (From Cobb Zoning Office case file.)

(Earlier this week, Sage Woodfire Tavern filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but no announcements have been made on possible restaurant closings.)

The Cobb Zoning staff is recommending approval of the request to rezone the land with conditions from general commercial (GC) to regional retail commercial (RRC), which is recommended for large developments of 500,000 square feet or more.

The future land use plan calls for regional activity center (RAC).

The developer has included three variance requests that would reduce the front and a side setback from the minimum 50 to 15 feet, and reduce a recommendation of 859 parking spaces to 510.

The Cobb Zoning Staff analysis said while the requested zoning category is compatible with the area, the six-story heights are taller than nearby buildings. The staff also does “not support the reduction of the required parking spaces.”

Also on Tuesday’s Planning Commission agenda is a nearby request for another development on Powers Ferry Road that was delayed last month. It would replace the aging Powers Ferry Woods office park with a mixed-use project.

The cases are the latest major redevelopment projects slated for the Powers Ferry corridor since the opening of SunTrust PArk, and follow the MarketPlace Terrell Mill rezoning approved earlier this year.

Here’s a summary of the cases to be heard Tuesday, and a link to all case files.

The meeting begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

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East Cobb Kroger gas station proposal gets OK from Planning Commission

June 5, 2018 10:13 AM by Wendy Parker

East Cobb Kroger gas station

The Cobb Planning Commission on Tuesday recommended approval of a gas station operated by Kroger at the Pavilions at East Lake Shopping Center in East Cobb

By a vote of 3-1, the planning board voted in favor of the zoning request by Kroger from Neighborhood Shopping to Community Retail Commercial (agenda item information here).

Planning commission members Andy Smith of East Cobb, Skip Gunther and Galt Porter voted in favor; Thea Powell was opposed. Judy Smith of Northeast Cobb was absent.

The vote is advisory. The Cobb Board of Commissioners will make the final decision on June 19.

Kroger wants to demolish a 10,000-square foot building on 14 acres in the front of the shopping center that’s been largely vacant for a gas station. The operating hours will be from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.

The building used to be occupied by a Panera Bread store, and some other smaller spaces also are empty.

Garvis Sams, an attorney for Kroger, said the layout for the fueling station (see renderings at bottom) will be similar to another Kroger development on Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill Road that was approved earlier this year.

There will be no outside storage at the fueling station, and front signage will not be on top of the fueling canopy, addressing a concern by the East Cobb Civic Association.

He also said once the gas station closes at night, the outdoor lighting also will be turned off. The site is located next to an apartment complexes, and single-family homes are located a bit further behind.

Construction hours for the gas station would be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and no work on Sunday.

Kroger gas East Lake renderings

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East Cobb Kroger gas station request on June zoning agenda

May 30, 2018 2:53 PM by Wendy Parker

East Cobb Kroger gas station

An East Cobb Kroger gas station would replace vacant space at the Pavilions of East Lake Shopping Center where a Panera Bread restaurant was located.

That’s among the requests on the June zoning agenda in Cobb County.

The Cobb Planning Commission will hear cases next Tuesday, June 5. The Cobb Zoning Staff released its final analysis on Tuesday (full agenda here), and is recommending approval of the gas station request (agenda packet item here) with several conditions, including the district commissioner making minor modifications, and to incorporate recommendations and comments from the site plan review, stormwater management review and Cobb DOT review of the application.

Kroger wants to rezone 14.55 acres of the East Lake complex at 2100 Roswell Road from the current Neighborhood Shopping to Community Retail Commercial. The area includes a 10,000-square-foot building that would be demolished for the fueling center.

The anchor space in that building has been empty for several years after Panera Bread closed. Existing businesses would be relocated to other empty spaces at East Lake.

Kroger said in the application the hours for the fueling center would be from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week, and include a kiosk with seven pumps and an air station.

A stipulation letter in the application from Garvis Sams, the applicant’s attorney, to the East Cobb Civic Association indicates that construction hours for the gas station would be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and no work on Sunday.

An apartment complex is located next to the proposed gas station site, and no construction vehicles would be parked on an adjoining road. There also would be no signage on the top of the gas station canopy.

A few other East Cobb cases to be heard Tuesday by the planning commission include:

ANE Investments, Inc., for 0.94 acres on Jamerson Road, south of Canton Road, for an automotive shop (staff recommends denial for comprehensive plan reasons);
Duncan Land Investments Inc., for 1.93 acres on Wesley Chapel Road and across from Loch Highland Parkway for four single-family homes (staff recommends denial for density reasons);
Oak Hall Companies, LLC, for 96 acres on Wigley Road for 92 single-family homes (the case was held by the planning commission, tentatively until July, for density, runoff and other reasons).

The planning commission meeting will take place at 9 a.m. in the second floor board room of the Cobb County government building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

Final decisions on zoning matters will be made by the Cobb Board of Commissioners on June 19.

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Long-delayed Wigley Road rezoning case held again until July

May 1, 2018 11:07 AM by Wendy Parker

Wigley Road rezoning case, Provence Estates, Oak Hall Companies — *A rendering of homes in the proposed Provence Estates development.*

A Wigley Road rezoning case that has been delayed for months is being held up again after major revisions to the application that have prompted traffic and stormwater concerns.

The Cobb Planning Commission on Tuesday voted for a 60-day hold on a rezoning application by Atlanta-based Oak Hall Companies, LLC, which wants to build 92 single-family homes on 96 acres currently zoned R-30, low-density residential.

Here’s the agenda item packet for what would be called Provence Estates, with homes ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 square feet. Oak Hall had requested zoning to R-20 OSC, a low-density residential designation with open-space provisions.

Cobb zoning staff is recommending that the land be rezoned R-30 OSC to include more conservation easements because of the hilly terrain of the property.

The land is from the estate of Audra Mae Wigley and was part of the Wigley Farm in Northeast Cobb. Initially, the Oak Hall application was for 55 acres. Parks Huff, an attorney for Oak Hall, said Tuesday that his client “wanted to bring in both pieces of property at the same time.”

The land is north of Sweat Mountain and has a steep topography that has prompted concerns about stormwater runoff. Plans call for nearly half of the tract to be open space, and there would be 50-foot undisturbed buffers on the eastern and southern edges of the property.

Dave Evans, who lives on Wigley Road, said 40 percent of runoff from the property flows into a lake near his home, and worries that additional stormwater would overwhelm capacity.

The other stormwater routes are into neighboring Cherokee County and the nearby Falcon Crest subdivision.

Dave Breaden of the Cobb Stormwater Management Department admitted that “we’ve got a challenge to control runoff on this site.” Several retention ponds are included in the Oak Hall site plan.

Included in the staff comments is a request for the developer to provide a preliminary rough grading plan.

Others noted traffic issues. Cobb DOT currently estimates around 40 daily traffic trips in that area, a figure some residents said would jump to around 1,000.

The Oak Hall site plan (see illustration) also would cut off an adjacent cluster of homes that abut the Cherokee County line from Cobb-provided public services, including traffic access to Wigley Road.

In order to sort through all those issues, Planning Commission chairwoman Judy Williams, who represents the area in District 3, asked for the vote to hold the application until July. The vote was 4-0, with Thea Powell, also of Northeast Cobb, absent due to what Williams said was a family emergency.

Tony Garcia, who lives on Summitop Road, said given the housing that’s already in the area, the homes that would be built in Provence Estates don’t “fit into the character of Wigley Road.”

But planning board member Skip Gunther said that the land “is going to get developed one way or another,” and that the R-30 OSC designation is a “no-brainer.

“It’s going to generate traffic, but it’s going to be less than it otherwise would be.”

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Cobb commissioners seek $90M in short-term loans; East Cobb citizen appointed to planning commission

April 10, 2018 4:54 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday authorized county budget officials to begin the process of taking out short-term tax-anticipation notes (TANs) that would be repaid later this year.

By a 5-0 vote the commission approved a measure that would obtain $90 million in TANs, which are short-term loans used to plug county finances and spending between budget years. The current fiscal year 2018 (with a general fund budget of $405 million) ends at the end of the September.

Since the Cobb tax digest is revealed and millage rate is set in July, the county doesn’t begin collecting property taxes until a new fiscal year is underway. Those bills are mailed out in October. The county tax assessor’s office began mailing out assessment values to residential and commercial property owners last month.

According to a background sheet from Tuesday’s meeting agenda, Cobb has been issuing TANs since the late 1980s, a practice that “provides the needed liquidity at attractive borrowing rates to the County.”

(The Cobb County School District also occasionally seeks out TANs, and recently obtained $40 million in short-term loans for construction purposes.)

The TANs are general obligation bonds and interest is usually tax-exempt. Last year Cobb borrowed $60 million in TANs, but the amount has gone up because of a projected fiscal year 2019 deficit of at least $30 million.

The county budget office will begin a competitive bidding process for the TANs in May and present a low bid to the commissioners for approval before any loans would be obtained.

The TANS would have to be repaid by the end of November.

Proposed self-storage facility at former Mountain View Elementary School site clears first hurdle

February 6, 2018 7:20 PMFebruary 6, 2018 5:03 PM by Wendy Parker

Over the objections of nearby residents, the Cobb Planning Commission Tuesday recommended approval of a climate-controlled self-storage facility at the former Mountain View Elementary School site (previous East Cobb News post here).

The vote was 4-1, with planning commissioner Thea Powell opposed.

The 105,340-square foot building has been added to a mixed-use development approved in October that would call for “high-end” restaurants, shops and other retail uses.

A special land-use permit must be obtained for self-storage facilities (agenda item information here).

Residents living in the Cutters Gap neighborhood accused the developer, Brooks Chadwick Capital, of a “bait and switch” in proposing a three-story building at the southwest corner of the 14-acre parcel at 3448 Sandy Plains Road.

Others said they feared the building, which one called “a monster,” would tower over their neighborhood, and suggested a two-story limit.

Kevin Moore, an attorney for Brooks Chadwick, said among the stipulations included with the request would be a 45-foot height limit on the self-storage building, which would include 13 parking spaces.

“It’s the quietest possible use there could be in this location,” Moore said.

The planning commission recommended denial of another East Cobb rezoning request to convert empty office space into a mixed-use development at Johnson Ferry Road and Lassiter Road.

Dr. Robert Licata, a pediatrician who’s long had a practice at 3000 Johnson Ferry Road, wants to move his office to 2863 Johnson Ferry Road and get an acre currently zoned for low-rise office (LRO) to neighborhood retail commercial (NRC).

The request included the possible use for a restaurant and gym as well as other shops. Two empty buildings have sat vacant at that property, but residents in the nearby Lassiter Walk neighborhood are opposed (agenda item information here).

Planning commission chairman Mike Terry said “there are issues that are problematic,” including 37 parking spaces (the county zoning staff is recommending at least 52) and the lack of loading access behind the buildings.

Licata later deleted the restaurant from the rezoning request, but the planning board voted 5-0 to recommend denial.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners will decide on both cases on Feb. 20.

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Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill Road development gets OK from Cobb Planning Commission, with changes

February 6, 2018 2:56 PMFebruary 6, 2018 1:20 PM by Wendy Parker

The Cobb Planning Commission is recommending approval of a Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill Road development that’s been held up for months, but made some changes Tuesday before sending it along for formal action later this month.

By a 4-1 vote the planning board approved rezoning a 23.9-acre tract at the northwest corner of Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill to community retail commercial (CRC) and multifamily residential (RM-16).

It’s slated to become what its developer, Eden Rock Real Estate Partners, is calling the MarketPlace at Terrell Mill, anchored by a Kroger superstore, and to include restaurants, retail shops, and an apartment building and a self-storage facility.

Eden Rock was requesting a Planned Village Community (PVC) designation after the commission held the application in December. Eden Rock initially sought CRC and urban condominium (UC), but sought a new category that would reduce proposed variances from 21 to 10 and made other changes.

Those changes weren’t enough to sway some planning commissioners and residents of the Salem Ridge condominiums, which are adjacent to the proposed apartments and self-storage building.

After a lengthy discussion, the planning commission included a set of stipulations in its recommendation that would reduce the height of the apartment building to three stories from four, and a maximum of around 220 units in all. The latest site plan had cut that number from 350 to 298.

“I don’t think this is too intense at all,” said planning commission Mike Terry, who represents District 2, which includes the Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill area.

His motion to approve PVC rezoning was voted down before planning commissioner Judy Williams moved to delete that category and replace it with CRC and RM-16.

As he has stated often during the long-delayed application process, Terry said that the Eden Rock proposal—an assemblage of property that includes the current site of Brumby Elementary School—is a key to reviving the Powers Ferry area, especially with the nearby relocation of the Atlanta Braves having provided a spark.

“This is vital to revitalize this whole corridor,” he said. “If this collapses, we’ll have a hodgepodge [of potential future development] . . . and would have the same thing we’ve got now.

“I want this community to be revitalized, and this is the first bite of the apple we’ve had.”

The development has been supported by the Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance, a civic group. But Salem Ridge residents echoed their concerns about density, traffic and potential noise from the complex, including an outdoor swimming pool planned for the roof of a parking deck next to the apartment building.

They also objected to the PVC request, which mandates a 50-acre minimum.

“This request just doesn’t fit,” said Salem Ridge resident Amy Patricio. “It’s too dense, and it doesn’t fit the code or the master plan.”

Planning commissioner Thea Powell, the lone dissenting vote, agreed, even after previously saying that “this not a PVC case.”

The Eden Rock proposal has been more than three years in the making. Partner Brandon Ashkouri said the site plan that was heard Tuesday was the 61st version of the project.

The Cobb Board of Commissioners will make the final decision on the application on Feb. 20.

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Developers of proposed Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill Road project seek new zoning category

February 3, 2018 12:50 PM by Wendy Parker

MarketPlace Terrell Mill rendering, Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill Road project — *A new rendering of the MarketPlace Terrell Mill project, which goes before the Cobb Planning Commission Tuesday.*

In December the Cobb Planning Commission decided to hold a zoning application for a major Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill Road project that was opposed by some nearby condominium dwellers.

When the case goes back before the planning board Tuesday, the proposed redevelopment will come with a request for a new zoning category and will bear a new name.

What had been tentatively called the Terrell Mill Towne Center is now being dubbed MarketPlace Terrell Mill.

Related coverage

Planning Commission holds Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill zoning case

The proposed mixed-used project still covers nearly 24 acres at the northwest intersection of Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill roads, and includes the site of the soon-to-be-vacated Brumby Elementary School.

It would still be anchored by a Kroger superstore, along with restaurants, retail shops, as well a high-density apartment complex and self-storage building that have been opposed by residents of the adjacent Salem Ridge condominiums.

Instead of seeking community retail commercial (CRC) and urban condominium (UC) rezoning, the developers are now asking for the designation of planned village community (PVC), a rare category in use in Cobb County.

The attorney for the applicant, SSP Blue Ridge LLC, said a “huge amount of changes” also include settling on Colonial-style architecture throughout the development, and “tilting” the singular apartment building 180 degrees from the original proposal to alleviate concerns by nearby residents.

Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill Road project — *The rendering from Terrell Mill Road, with the proposed self-storage building in the front of a 298-unit apartment building. The Salem Ridge condominiums are to the left.*

Instead of more than 20 variances in the initial request, the PVC would reduce those variances to around 10 or so, according to Garvis Sams, who represents the applicant.

Some Salem Ridge residents who opposed the rezoning in December think the new request is improved, but are still worried about traffic and density issues.

“It’s a step in the right direction, but I don’t think this is it,” said Salem Ridge resident Robert Thompson, who spoke against the proposal at the planning commission hearing in December.

While he understands the need to redevelop the Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill intersection, and that “a lot of wheels are in motion,” he thinks the developers haven’t come far enough in addressing his concerns.

The number of apartment units have been reduced from 350 to 298, and the building has been reduced from five to four stories. The adjacent self-storage facility would be three stories, also with the same architecture (see revised site plan below).

The Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance, a civic group formerly named the Terrell Mill Community Association, has supported the project all along, and urged members to attend Tuesday’s hearing “to help show that the PFCA has a role in supporting positive change in the community!”

One of the variances is significant. To get PVC zoning, a piece of property must be at least 50 acres. The Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill land isn’t half that.

Sams said a waiver request from that minimum acreage is included in a stipulation letter sent Jan. 23 to the Cobb zoning staff, which is recommending approval of the rezoning.

Noting the geographical reality of the property, Sams said the most recent PVC rezoning in Cobb—the West Village Smyrna project approved 13 years ago—also comes in under 50 acres.

Here’s a PDF of the stipulation letter submitted to the Cobb zoning staff that includes the revised site plan.

The Planning Commission meeting begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the second floor board room of the Cobb Government Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

The planning board’s recommendation is advisory; the final decision is up to the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Feb. 20.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Self-storage facility proposed on former Mountain View Elementary School site

February 1, 2018 2:52 PM by Wendy Parker

Last fall the former Mountain View Elementary School site was rezoned for a major mixed-use development (previous East Cobb News post here) that is to include restaurants, shops and other small businesses.

Now, the developers are coming back through the rezoning process to request that a self-storage facility be allowed on the nearly 14-acre tract at 3448 Sandy Plains Road.

Brooks Chadwick Capital, LLC is seeking a special land use permit to construct a three-story facility that would be located at the southwest corner of the property and adjacent to the East Cobb Senior Center and the The Art Place-Mountain View.

The application will be heard Tuesday by the Cobb Planning Commission, which meets at 9 a.m. in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.

Brooks Chadwick has submitted a revised site plan and renderings for the facility (agenda item packet here), which would contain 105,340 square feet of space and 13 parking spaces.

The above rendering, which features a brick Colonial style to the exterior of the building, was worked out between the developer and nearby residents and was submitted in December.

The Cobb zoning staff is recommending approval of the application with several conditions, including final architectural and landscaping plan approval coming from the district commissioner, and continuing existing stipulations that were part of the rezoning case last year.

The planning commission is an advisory board appointed by members of the Cobb Board of Commissioners, which will decide this and other rezoning, land use permit and related business on Feb. 20.

The rest of the February zoning schedule can be found here.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Cobb Planning Commission votes to hold Terrell Mill Towne Center rezoning case

December 6, 2017 2:37 PMDecember 5, 2017 2:33 PM by Wendy Parker

After nearly two hours of discussion that included heated opposition from residents in a nearby townhome complex, the Cobb Planning Commission on Tuesday voted to hold the long-delayed rezoning request for the proposed Terrell Mill Towne Center.

By a 3-2 vote, the Planning Commission—which is an advisory board to the Cobb Board of Commissioners—requested more time to sort out a major, complex application that was filed in January.

Traffic and density issues were the primary concerns raised by Thea Powell, Galt Porter and Skip Gunther, the three planning board members who opposed the proposal to rezone nearly 23 acres at Powers Ferry Road and Terrell Mill Road. The mixed-use project, which would be anchored by a Kroger superstore, was to have gone before Cobb commissioners Dec. 19.

The latest delay will push back a formal vote until at least February, since Cobb zoning cases are not heard in January.

The $200 million Terrell Mill Towne Center (agenda packet item) also would also contain restaurants, retail shops, and most controversially, a 310-unit luxury apartment complex abutting the Salem Ridge townhomes on Terrell Mill Road.

Related coverage:

Cobb Planning Commission Chairman Mike Terry of East Cobb, who represents District 2, where the Terrell Mill Towne Center would be located, was in strong support of the development by Eden Rock Real Estate Partners. So was Judy Williams of District 3 in Northeast Cobb, who said the project “would be good for the neighborhood, but will have to be tweaked.”

While the Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance—formerly known as the Terrell Mill Community Association—overwhelmingly supported the rezoning, Salem Ridge homeowners expressed strong opposition, especially to the residential component they say is excessively dense for the area.

“Why do we have [zoning] codes at all if we are going to ignore them?” asked Amy Patricio, who represented the opposing Salem Ridge residents.

She argued that the multiple variances requested by developers amounted to “taking the code and rewriting it to serve their purposes.”

Although Terry and Garvis Sams, the attorney for the developers, pointed out that the full proposal is suitable under the Cobb future land use plan and Power Ferry Master Plan, it was the residential component and a self-storage facility that opponents objected to the most.

In particular, Patricio said the UC zoning category sought for the apartments—Urban Condominium—was far more dense than should be allowed, and that there were an “egregious” number of variances as part of the project.

Porter, of South Cobb, agreed about the density issue, pointing to the project’s proposed 60 units an acre, as compared to the current nearby maximum of five units an acre.

“This just doesn’t match Salem Ridge or anything else around here,” he said, calling it “the definition of spot zoning.”

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Terrell Mill Towne Center rezoning goes before Cobb Planning Commission

December 3, 2017 4:04 PMDecember 3, 2017 3:07 PM by Wendy Parker

We posted back in October some details about the proposed Terrell Mill Towne Center development that’s finally coming up for rezoning this month after months of delays.

The first step in the process comes Tuesday, when the developer, Eden Rock Real Estate Partners, gets a hearing before the Cobb Planning Commission for its 23-acre plan at the northwest corner of Terrell Mill Road and Powers Ferry Road.

The meeting starts at 9 a.m. in the 2nd floor commissioners meeting room, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.

The Cobb Zoning Staff packet and analysis includes a general recommendation of approval of the application with quite a few stipulations related to traffic, including that the developer conduct a traffic study.

The staff document also contains photos of landscaping and lighting plans submitted by the developer, as well as signage height dimensions for the Kroger superstore that’s the anchor component of the project.

Eden Rock (the formal applicant is SSP Blue Ridge, LLC) wants to convert land presently zoned for general commercial, neighborhood shopping and low-density residential (including the present location of Brumby Elementary School) to community retail commercial and urban condominium categories.

In addition to the 100,000-square-foot Kroger, Terrell Mill Towne Center would include restaurant and retail space and 340 luxury residential units.

Here’s Eden Rock’s prospectus it posted in October.

Also in October, the developers and Cobb government and school officials outlined the project at a meeting of the Powers Ferry Corridor Alliance, a civic group formerly known as the Terrell Mill Community Association. That group has expressed general support for the Eden Rock project as a boost for the Powers Ferry area.

The development also is timed for the opening of a new Interstate 75 interchange at Terrell Mill Road.

In its analysis, the Cobb Zoning staff recommended that the developer donate right of way for traffic improvements, including a minimum of 50 feet on the west side of Powers Ferry Road, and a similar distance on the north side of Terrell Mill Road.

The traffic study recommendation includes a long-term build-out assessment of 10 years, as well as the installation of traffic signal on Powers Ferry Road at least that’s at least 1,000 feet from the intersection of Terrell Mill Road.

Eden Rock also has proposed a traffic signal on Terrell Mill Road that would partially shut off access to the Terrell Mill Plaza (where the LA Fitness Center is located).

Zoning staff is recommending that a new access point be created at the rear of Terrell Mill Towne Center to coordinate with the Terrell Mill Plaza entrance, and that the developer build raised concrete islands on Powers Ferry Road and Terrell Mill Road.

The rest of Tuesday’s Cobb Planning Commission agenda can be found here, along with preliminary staff analysis.

Staff recommendations and the planning commission’s votes are advisory; the final say comes from the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Dec. 19.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Northeast Cobb residential proposals highlight Planning Commission agenda

November 8, 2017 2:45 PMNovember 6, 2017 1:03 PM by Wendy Parker

Wigley Road rezoning, Northeast Cobb residential proposals — *An old farm-style house on Wigley Road. (East Cobb News file photo)*

Last week we wrote about two rezoning applications for Northeast Cobb residential proposals that go to the heart of density disputes.

Those two items are part of a larger agenda to be heard by the Cobb Planning Commission Tuesday that includes other similar applications in the area.

The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the 2nd floor boardroom of the Cobb BOC Building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.

The Cobb zoning staff is recommending denial of a proposal to squeeze nearly three single-family units an acre, or 51 homes in all, on 26 acres on Keheley Drive, near Keheley Road and Keheley Elementary School.

That case, Z-74 (agenda item packet), is being opposed by nearby residents, who live in lower-density homes.

The zoning staff initially recommended denial of Z-71 (agenda item packet), which would rezone 13 office and low-density residential acres for higher-density residential for a 45-unit subdivision on Hilltop Drive and Hilltop Circle, off Canton Road.

The rezoning would allow for nearly three and a half units an acre, a density staff said would not be suitable, since lower-density housing surrounds the land. Homes in the adjoining Addison Heights neighborhood are zoned for only 1.5 units an acre.

A number of variances would also be required, as would improvements to Hilltop Drive and Hilltop Circle, which are both described in the staff analysis as “substandard” streets.

However, that case has been continued to December.

Two parcels of land once belonging to the Wigley family in and around Sweat Mountain were scheduled to be heard Tuesday, but one of them, Z-56 (agenda item packet), also is being delayed to December.

That application would rezone 55 acres of undeveloped land plus an old Wigley family home on either side of Wigley Road, north of Summitop Drive, for a single-family subdivision with more than 80 homes. This is the third time the application is being continued.

A nearby application, Z-69 (agenda item packet), would rezone 12 acres at Wigley Road and Jims Drive for 19 homes, and zoning staff is recommending approval with numerous conditions.

The following East Cobb items are included in the Other Business category and will be heard by the Cobb Board of Commissioners Nov. 21:

OB-55, by Feroz Ali, a revised site plan for vacant property at 1445 Powers Ferry Road to redevelop a gas station and convenience store adjacent to the Valencia Hills condominium community;
OB-57, by St. Clair Holdings, a site plan amendment for 12 high-density residential lots at 1149 Woodlawn Drive, in the Woodlawn Commons neighborhood.

Another major East Cobb zoning case that had been scheduled for November will be heard next month. That’s for the proposed Terrell Mill Towne Center at Terrell Mill and Powers Ferry that will include a Kroger supermarket anchoring shops, restaurants and residential units.

That application goes before the planning commission Dec. 5.

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Keheley rezoning case reflects density issues brewing in Northeast Cobb

November 8, 2017 2:40 PMOctober 31, 2017 6:29 PM by Wendy Parker

The community around Keheley Elementary School maintains something of a tucked-away feel, with winding country-style roads, lushly wooded areas and a mix of single-family home styles on generous lots.

This part of Northeast Cobb still feels like it has some elbow room. If you travel westbound on Keheley Drive, close to where it intersects with Keheley Road, and look off to the right, you’ll see a thick scrub of land that drops down behind trees. A dirt path provides an opening into nearly 26 acres of land.

There are two homes, one built in 1910 and another in 1957, at 4351 and 4371 Keheley Drive, on land that’s otherwise designated for conservation use. The acreage is located within the floodplain and stream buffer associated with Rubes Creek.

That’s where an East Cobb luxury home developer wants to build 51 single-family homes (site plan at left). A request to be heard next week by the Cobb Planning Commission (agenda item packet) is seeking a higher density use than the surrounding neighborhoods.

David Pearson Communities, Inc. has applied for rezoning from R-20 to R-12, which would allow up to three units per acre. Nearby homes are zoned either R-20 or R-15, and there’s plenty of visible community opposition.

Small yellow signs with red lettering pop up intermittently along Keheley Drive and Keheley Road, in front of homes and neighborhood entrances:

“Save Keheley! No Rezoning.”

The parcel in question is in the hands of the estate of Collene Ruggles, who died in 2016.

The Ruggles land previously came up for zoning in 2007, from R-20 to R-15, but it sits undisturbed today, in an area that’s encountering some of the same density issues that have been increasing in East Cobb.

Not far away in Northeast Cobb, land belonging to the estate of another longtime family property owner is also going before the Planning Commission for higher-density zoning.

EAH Acquisitions, Inc., is seeking rezoning from R-30 to R-15 to build 19 homes on 12. 29 acres at the northwest corner of Wigley Road and Jims Road. The titleholder is the estate of Dorothy Henrietta Wigley, who also died in 2016. She was a member of the Wigley family that was a major property owner, including Sweat Mountain and much of the present-day Mountain View area.

*The only remaining structure on the Wigley property, which is proposed to be developed into a single-family subdivision.*

While the Wigley application got a recommendation of approval with conditions from the Cobb zoning staff—since R-15 zoning is in effect in nearby and adjacent communities—the Keheley case did not.

In fact, the zoning staff analysis strongly recommends denial of the request. David Pearson Communities wants to build homes with at least 2,500 square feet of space on small lots. Among the variances would be to reduce the distance between residences to 10 feet from the minimum 15 feet.

Not only are other homes in the area not as densely packed, but according to Cobb zoning staff, 12 of the 51 lots in the proposed site plan don’t meet the minimum code required area above the floodplain.

The Cobb zoning staff also pointed out that the rezoning request doesn’t conform with the Cobb County Comprehensive Plan, since the Ruggles property is designated as being in a Low-Density Residential area (LDR), or no more than 2.5 units an acre.

The Cobb Planning Commission meets Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 9 a.m. in the 2nd floor boardroom of the Cobb BOC Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

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