Ebenezer Road rezoning

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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Ebenezer Road rezoning gets Cobb Planning Commission approval

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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.

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Ebenezer Road rezoning returns to Cobb Planning Commission

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Ebenezer Road rezoning
Homes proposed for a new Ebenezer Road subdivision would be designed in farmhouse style.

After being delayed twice, the Cobb Planning Commission will once again hear a rezoning request for a new residential development on Ebenezer Road.

Last month the Cobb zoning staff has continued a request by Pulte Homes for a proposed 99-home single-family detached development on nearly 50 acres on Ebenezer Road, between Blackwell Road and Maybreeze Road.

Pulte Homes revised that 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.

Nothing new has been added to the case file since then, but last week an online petition was started by Tom Dilbeck and called “Cobb Citizens Against Pulte Overdevelopment of Ebenezer Road Z-31.” Thus far is has nearly 250 signatures.

The property is currently zoned R-20 OSC, the latter meaning “open space community” overlay, a special preservation designation.

The Planning Commission is a five-member advisory board appointed by the Cobb Board of Commissioners, who make final decisions on zoning cases.

Tuesday’s meeting starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday (you can read the full agenda here) in the second floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta. It 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.

The meeting also will be the first for David Anderson, a new Planning Commission member who was appointed last month by District 2 commissioner Jerica Richardson. He’s a resident of East Cobb with a background in commercial real estate investment and development and urban planning.

The application by North Point Ministries to build the East Cobb Church and sell land for homes and townhomes in the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford corridor was delayed in August at the behest of Richardson.

There were only four commission members present at the August zoning hearing and two of them said they could not support the request. Commission chairwoman Lisa Cupid was absent due to a death in her family.

That case will be taken up again on Sept. 21.

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