A proposed high-density residential development on wooded land located in a floodplain along Keheley Drive was rejected Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.
By a 4-1 vote, the commissioners denied a request by David Pearson Communities Inc. to rezone 26 acres from R-20 to a much higher residential density category, R-12, for 51 single-family homes.
That would have allowed nearly three units an acre in a residential area with no similar density, which drew plenty of community opposition.
“R-12 doesn’t fit in this neighborhood,” Northeast Cobb commissioner JoAnn Birrell said in moving to recommend denial of the application. “It is way too dense for this area.”
In addition to the high-density zoning category, the developer also sought a number of variances that included spacing homes only 10 feet apart (instead of the minimum of 15 feet), and 12 of the proposed homes would have been located in the 100-year Rubes Creek floodplain that has spilled over several times in recent years, including this summer.
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As he did during a Cobb Planning Commission hearing earlier this month, a representative of nearby several homeowners associations showed photos of flooded homes and streets, including the major 2009 floods that prompted several homes in the Country Meadows neighborhood to be condemned.
The same property, owned by the Ruggles family, was proposed for rezoning in 2007 to R-15 for 39 homes, but that request was turned down.
The developer this time included stormwater management stipulations to address flooding, but not to the satisfaction of the community nor the commissioners.
Kevin Moore, an attorney for David Pearson Communities, noted that since the land is in the hands of an estate, it must be sold and is bound to be developed someday. If it is built out under the R-20 category, he added, it may not need the flooding stipulations that come with a higher density.
“What zoning can offer is to work the developer to address stormwater concerns,” he said. “The opposition has chosen to simply oppose.”
Resident Doug Boutwell of the Enchanted Woods subdivision, who said he’s encountered stormwater issues living where he does, took exception to those comments.
In his dissenting vote, East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott said that “you’re not going to get the flooding fixed if you deny” and thought that an R-15 category (which includes Enchanted Woods) might be worth considering. “The fact that there was flooding this year shows that there’s a problem.”
But local opposition was especially vocal. The rezoning proposal is close to Keheley Elementary School, where more than 80 people turned out for a Nov. 2 community meeting.
Many homes had yard signs expressing opposition, and Bergin said he was representing nearly 800 individuals in several communities and got nearly 500 signatures objecting to the rezoning.
