East Cobb zoning cases

Olde Towne townhome proposal to be heard by Cobb Planning Commission

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A proposal that would allow a 43-unit townhome complex adjacent to the Olde Towne Athletic Club is the latest high-density rezoning case in East Cobb.

The request by Pulte Homes (here’s the agenda item packet) goes before the Cobb Planning Commission on Tuesday. The Cobb zoning staff says the site plan (above) is too dense and is recommending denial.

That’s one of several East Cobb zoning cases on the docket that staff is recommending for denial, for density and future land use reasons.

The four-acre Olde Towne property houses a four-story office building at 5000 Olde Towne Parkway, and the end of a cul-de-sac, and is zoned planned shopping center (PSC).

Olde Towne townhome proposal
The proposed townhomes would be next to the Olde Towne Athletic Club (numbered 4950).

Pulte is seeking the RM-12 multi-family residential zoning category, which would allow 10.5 units an acre. The land is designated for potential community activity center (CAC) in the Cobb future land use plan.

Although there are nearby multi-family homes in the Olde Towne development, most of the surrounding land is commercially oriented. Those homes also are zoned at a lower density and are detached. Pulte’s proposal would build townhomes of around 3,000 square feet each and they would include garages.

The zoning staff, in its denial recommendation, said that RM-12 is ideally compatible with surrounding high-density development should match nearby residential categories.

Other East Cobb cases to be heard Tuesday by the planning commission include:

  • Another high-density townhome development at Windy Hill Road and Wildwood Parkway, by Ashton Atlanta, which was held by the Cobb Board of Commissioners in February;
  • A personal-care home proposal on less than an acre on Sandy Plains Road and north of Ebenezer Road, by Green Park PCH, which Cobb zoning staff also is recommending for denial since it would include 32 units and would be close to a single-family neighborhood;
  • A eight-unit single-family residential proposal by Duncan Land Investments on East Piedmont Road at Cajun Drive, on three acres zoned for low-density residential. Staff also recommends denial;
  • A 20-unit residential application by Loyd Development Services, on six acres on Shallowford Road near Shallow Ridge Drive. Right now the land is zoned low-density residential and staff also recommends denial, saying it’s too also too dense.

Here’s the link to all of the cases on Tuesday’s planning commission schedule. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the 2nd floor board room at the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

Planning board recommendations are advisory. The Cobb Board of Commissioners will make final decisions on March 20.

 

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Terrell Mill Towne Center rezoning goes before Cobb Planning Commission

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Terrell Mill Towne Center

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.Kroger sign Terrell Mill Towne Center

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.

Terrell Mill Towne Center landscapingThe 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.

 

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East Cobb Civic Association gives nod to Taqueria Tsunami site plan proposal

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Taqueria Tsunami East Cobb

A follow-up to the story we reported here Monday about a proposed Taqueria Tsunami in East Cobb going up in the old Caribou Coffee/Einstein Bagel space on Johnson Ferry Road: It’s gotten a recommendation of conditional approval by the East Cobb Civic Association.

During its monthly business meeting Wednesday, the group voted to recommend approval of a site plan amendment being proposed on behalf of Fork U Concepts, the Marietta company that runs the six-restaurant Latin-Asian fusion concept chain, but with some stipulations.

Those recommendations include the district commissioner (Bob Ott) signing off on building renderings for the new restaurant, a landscaping plan for the property and front signage, none of which have been submitted to the Cobb Zoning Department.

The 0.70-acre tract at 1275 Johnson Ferry Road has been vacant since Einstein Bagels left in 2015. The land was first zoned for commercial use in 1978 as a Krystal fast-food restaurant (Caribou replaced it in 1995 and closed in 2013).

Amor Design Group, an architectural design firm submitting the application, wants to revise the site plan to remove the drivethru window used at the former Caribou location, in order to increase parking. The proposal calls for a parking expansion to 42 spaces that would include restriping.

The ECCA, which represents more than 90 homeowners associations and other individuals, is a citizens group that provides advisory opinions to the Cobb Planning Commission and Cobb Board of Commissioners on zoning and land use cases. While it wields no official power, its influence is frequently considered (Ott is a former ECCA president), especially when community opposition arises.

One other thing to note about the Taqueria Tsunami case: It’s considered “other business” in Cobb zoning parlance since it’s a site plan amendment proposal, instead of a pure rezoning matter.

Therefore, this case doesn’t need to go before the Cobb Planning Commission and instead will be heard by the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Sept. 19.

A zoning case that was on next Thursday’s Cobb Planning Commission agenda but that has been continued until October is the proposed redevelopment of the former Mountain View Elementary School (Z-053-2017). The nearly 14-acre tract would be converted into a mixed-use complex of restaurants, grocery, retail, banking and other commercial uses.

According to Jill Flamm of the ECCA, the applicant, Brooks Chadwick Capital LLC, is asking for more time to work with the community.

She also briefed ECCA members on other zoning and land use cases that have no new information to report. They include another high-profile September case, proposed by Lidl Grocery (OB-016-2017) to redevelop the Park 12 Cinema on Gordy Parkway, and a proposal by S & B Investments to add a drivethru window at the Starbucks Coffee location near Paper Mill Village, at 31 Johnson Ferry Road (OB-028-2017).

The ECCA has recommended denial of the Lidl Grocery application and supports the Starbucks addition.

Also on Wednesday, the ECCA voted to hold an application by Blair Waldron to amend a site plan for 1.28 acres on the north side of Roswell Road, just west of East Piedmont Road, to allow for a 16,000-square-foot medical and dental office building.

The land is located between a Bank of America branch and the East Cobb United Methodist Church. The proposed building would house Waldron Dentistry, which is currently located at 3020 Roswell Road, near Old Canton Road.

Flamm said no renderings have been submitted, and there are 34 pages of stipulations to consider. Much of that stems from a litigation settlement in 1999. Here’s the file information on OB-041-2017 from the Cobb Zoning Department, which hasn’t done a staff analysis for the application since it came in after the Aug. 4 commenting deadline.