For the last year or so we’ve been posting about the master plan process for the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford area (known as JOSH); earlier this week the the Cobb Community Developent Agency released a draft that’s loaded with recommendations before final approval.
(You can read all 94 pages here.)
The recommendations are based on community input that included several public meetings since early 2018, as well as an online survey.
Five categories were included in the study: land use; transportation; parks; stormwater and sense of place.
What follows is a first look at the report, and the overarching recommendation is to:
“Preserve the detached single family residential character of the JOSH study area as the primary land use, directing more moderate transitional residential and commercial uses toward the Johnson Ferry at Shallowford Road commercial node.”
That should come as no surprise to those who’ve taken part, especially at the public sessions.
As was detailed at one of those meetings in January, the JOSH area—with a population of nearly 27,000—has more than 99 percent of its residents living in detached single-family housing.
Around 85 percent of the JOSH area is zoned for low-density residential. It also has an older and richer population than much of the rest of Cobb County.
A few more highlights from the recommendations, which begin on Page 58 of the draft:
- Transportation: traffic improvements at the Johnson Ferry and Shallowford intersections, as well as Johnson Ferry and Wesley Chapel Road; Shallowford intersections at Childers Road and McPherson Road; and considering a roundabout at Hembree Road and Lassiter Road;
- Landscape medians: Along Shallowford between Sandy Plains and Childers, and additional medians along Johnson Ferry at “appropriate” locations;
- Pedestrian safety improvements: Johnson Ferry intersections at Post Oak Tritt, Shallowford and Lassiter.
- Sidewalk recommendations: Both sides of McPherson and filling gaps along Post Oak Tritt, Lassiter and Mabry Road;
- Multi-use trail: Added to the Cobb Greenways and Trails Master Plan;
- Greenspace purchase: Possible parks and preservation;
- Preservation: Working to get the 1830s Power-Jackson Cabin on Post Oak Tritt near McPherson included in the Cobb County Register of Historic Places;
- Stormwater: fund and create a management plan for the Willeo Creek basin;
- Design guidelines: To unify streetscape and architectural standards and create pedestrian and bike-friendly streets with sidewalk connectivity.
One of the biggest lingering issues in the JOSH area is 30 acres of land at the southwest intersection of Johnson Ferry and Shallowford that’s been proposed for rezoning but was withdrawn in 2017, right before the master plan process.
In the master plan draft, two conceptual plans were drawn up for mixed-use potential of that property, which includes a lake in the middle.
Among the recommendations is to work with the property owners to restore the lake, using it as a cornerstone of redevelopment, or converting that water basin into a creek.
That’s a long-term recommendation, as is the possibility of establishing a neighborhood park on that land. It’s also included in stormwater recommendations to restore to original flood stage and for possible retention use.
At the back of the master plan draft are results of an image preference survey for homes, commercial buildings, mixed-use development, parks and greenspace and more.
The 30-day public review period began on June 3, and additional input can be provided by email at comdevplanning@cobbcounty.org
Related stories
- Mapping the future of the Johnson Ferry-Shallowford community
- JOSH image preference survey to be revised after protests
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