East Cobb Church rezoning changes

Zoning update: More East Cobb Church, Ebenezer Road changes

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East Cobb Church rezoning changes
The latest site plan by North Point Ministries changes the residential mix and reinstates Waterfront Drive access to nearby neighborhoods. For a larger view click here.

As happened in September, North Point Ministries has filed yet another site plan and stipulation letter for its rezoning request for a church/residential/retail complex that goes before the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday.

Pulte Homes has done the same with a subdivision proposal on Ebenezer Road that’s also been delayed multiple times.

In a 21-page letter sent to the Cobb Zoning Office on Wednesday, North Point attorney Kevin Moore announced new totals for the controversial residential portion of the proposed development at Johnson Ferry and Shallowford roads, and reintroduced access to nearby neighborhoods via Waterfront Drive that had been removed last month.

In his letter (you can read it here), Moore said the new proposal calls for 63 townhomes and 49 single-family detached homes. At the September commissioners’ hearing (our story here), those figures were 44 and 51 respectively.

The request has switched back to seeking RA-6 rezoning for the residential units after being at RA-5 last month, and a corresponding increase in density, from 4.98 units an acre to 5.37.

The Waterfront Drive access from Johnson Ferry will also connect with the adjacent Waterfront neighborhood, which had been another major point of contention at the September hearing.

Commissioners voted to hold the case due to density and traffic complaints made by nearby residents, as well as the East Cobb Civic Association.

The changes aren’t likely to change the minds of opponents, who’ve said the mixed-use development is too intense for the area. 

There are also stormwater issues that would remain uncertain should the application be approved. A federal floodplain study would be done after that, which could affect the number of residential units.

Also complicating the matter is Cobb Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid’s recusal from the case, citing a family member who attends another North Point Church, and leaving the decision to her four colleagues.

In the Ebenezer Road case, Pulte Home is keeping its request for 92 homes on nearly 50 acres, but has added a viewshed protection plan to address concerns from nearby residents of major stormwater runoff. 

The revised site plan is here; and here is the stipulation letter from Rod Hosack of Taylor English, Pulte’s representative.

As happened in September, the commissioners will hear Tuesday’s cases in two separate sessions.

The North Point case will be the first after the consent agenda (summary here; more details here) in the morning session, which starts at 9 a.m.

The Pulte case will lead off the afternoon session, with an unspecified starting time. 

The full agenda can be found here; the zoning hearing will take place in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building (100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta).

COVID-19 protocols are being followed, including mandatory masks and a limit on in-person attendance due to social-distancing.

The hearing also will be live-streamed on the county’s website, cable TV channel (Channel 24 on Comcast) and Youtube page. Visit cobbcounty.org/CobbTV for other streaming options.

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Major changes to East Cobb Church, Ebenezer Road rezoning plans

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East Cobb Church rezoning site plan
For a larger view of the latest North Point Ministries/East Cobb Church site plan, click here.

Some last-minute changes to the North Point Ministries/East Cobb Church rezoning case and for a rezoning request on Ebenezer Road have been filed ahead of Tuesday’s hearing before the Cobb Board of Commissioners, and they’re substantial.

In the case of the former, North Point Ministries has filed a new site plan (above) for the 33-acre assembly at the southwest corner of Johnson Ferry and Shallowford roads that responds to concerns over density and traffic.

In particular, the number of residential units has been cut from 130 to 95 overall, more retail space has been added, and traffic access from the MarLanta subdivision via the existing Waterfront Drive to Johnson Ferry Road has been removed.

North Point had proposed 71 townhomes and 59 single-family detached homes in the RA-5 housing category—with more than 20 acres to be sold to Ashwood Atlanta, a residential developer.

But now the request is for 51 single-family detached homes and 44 townhomes under RA-5.

That would be on 19 units and the density of the homes would be reduced to 4.98 units an acre, according to a stipulation letter submitted Tuesday by Kevin Moore, North Point’s attorney.

The townhomes that were to have bordered Johnson Ferry Road have been removed, and nearly 25,000 square feet of retail under NRC (neighborhood retail commercial) and parking have been proposed for 3.78 acres of that stretch.

The church plans haven’t changed—around 130,000 square feet and a parking deck on 10 acres zoned LRO (low-rise office), and  plans for a linear community park also remain intact.

District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson asked to hold the case last month when she couldn’t get a majority support for a motion to approve.

A full final analysis by the Cobb zoning staff of the revised North Point application can be found by clicking here.

Z-31 Ebenezer Road site plan 9.15.21
For a larger view of the Pulte Homes/Ebenezer Road rezoning, click here.

On Sept. 7, the Cobb Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the Ebenezer Road case, which also has faced opposition from nearby residents for density and stormwater reasons.

But since then, Pulte Homes has filed an update to its proposal for 99 single-family homes on 50 acres on the west side of Ebenezer, between Maybreeze and Blackwell roads.

Pulte had initially applied for R-15 OSC, a residential category with an open space community provision, meaning that not all of the land can be developed.

On Wednesday, Pulte representative Rod Hosack—the former Cobb County Manager—filed a new site plan and stipulation letter requesting a simple R-15 category for 92 units, including some that will be developed in a stormwater management area.

A lake and green space that had been set aside on the property also has been removed from the revised site plan.

The final staff analysis can be found here.

As we noted on Friday, the format of the zoning hearing on Tuesday has been changed to accommodate public interest in these two and other cases and to meet county COVID-19 protocols for social distancing.

The North Point case will be heard in a morning session that starts at 9 a.m.; the Ebenezer Road case is slated for an afternoon session.

The full agenda can be found here; if you’re planning to be in attendance (second floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta) you will be required to wear a mask.

The zoning hearing also will be live-streamed on the county’s website, cable TV channel (Channel 24 on Comcast) and Youtube page. Visit cobbcounty.org/CobbTV for other streaming options.

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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!