Lidl Grocery rezoning

Publix GreenWise Market to make Georgia debut in East Cobb

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Publix GreenWise Market

The first tenant in a new shopping center on the site of the former Mountain View Elementary School will be the first location in Georgia for the Publix GreenWise Market concept.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that the store will have 25,000 square feet as the anchor of a 103,000-square foot development on 14 acres on Sandy Plains Road at Shallowford Road.

The still-to-be-named complex is being developed by East Cobb-based Brooks Chadwick Capital and Fuqua Development and will include “chef-driven” restaurants, retail and service shops and a self-storage facility.

Rezoning for the complex was approved by Cobb commissioners last fall, and they signed off on the self-storage building this spring despite complaints from nearby residents.

According to a report in ToNeTo Atlanta, which covers the metro retailing scene, Publix is rolling out its GreenWise Market organic foods concept in other Southern markets. They include Tallahassee, Boca Raton and the Charleston, S.C. area.

The East Cobb store will be right down the street from a Publix supermarket at the Highland Plaza Shopping Center. The ABC quoted an Atlanta real estate observer that:

“The target market for GreenWise is those areas that have a strong Publix presence already. GreenWise could function as a complementary destination for a core Publix location, helping to spread out customer density in their busiest markets.” 

GreenWise is eyeing a competitive East Cobb organic grocery market, with Whole Foods and Sprouts nearby, in the Johnson Ferry-Roswell area.

The Shallowford-Sandy Plains area also was a target of Lidl, a German-based supermarket chain, which wanted to locate a store on the site of the Park 12 Cobb movie theater on Gordy Parkway. But its zoning application was rejected by commissioners last fall following intense community opposition.

ToNeTo said the East Cobb Public GreenWise Market could open by next summer.

 

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Lidl Grocery East Cobb proposal rejected by commissioners

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A long-delayed site plan amendment by Lidl Grocery to convert the Park 12 Cobb theater into a supermarket was voted down Tuesday by the Cobb Board of Commissioners.

At their monthly zoning hearing, the commission voted 4-1 to turn down the application by the German-based grocer to build a store on Gordy Parkway at Shallowford Road, site of the cinema, in a case that received heavy community opposition. Park 12 Cobb, Lidl Grocery

“This use is too intense for this location,” said commissioner JoAnn Birrell, whose District 3 includes the theater location, which is close to three subdivisions and several parks as well as Lassiter High School.

She also cited traffic and crash data analysis in moving to deny the application. The number of accidents in the area—including the busy Shallowford/Sandy Plains intersection—has gone up dramatically in recent years.

Birrell said 42 accidents were recorded there in 2014, 61 in 2015, 82 in 2016 and through May of this year, 26, for a total of 211 accidents.

“Lidl would be better suited in a shopping center [on a major road] than in a standalone location on a two-lane road” that’s the primary point of access for residential communities, she said.

The Cobb zoning staff recommended approval for the grocery plan, which was first presented in May. Lidl attorney Parks Huff maintained that “this is not a difficult decision. This is technically a property rights issue and needs to be approved.”

Commissioner Bob Weatherford was the only vote in favor. While Lidl didn’t need rezoning, chairman Mike Boyce wondered why Lidl continued to insist upon a proposal that had such strong opposition (including an active Facebook group): “This one takes the cake.”

JoAnn Birrell
District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell. (East Cobb News file photo)

Huff, who said at the outset of the hearing that the application should be “a very routine matter,” claimed that many of those against Lidl’s plans “want to keep the movie theater as much as anything.”

Some in the audience groaned, but traffic and density issues dominated the discussion. Citizens against the Lidl proposal displayed several accident photos while making their remarks.

“We’re not opposed to this as a commercial property,” said Laura Hickman, who lives in the Highland Park neighborhood off Gordy Parkway. A grocery store, she said, “is too intense for this piece of land.” The Lidl proposal also was opposed by the East Cobb Civic Association.

Huff said the number of parking spaces would be reduced from the current 379 spaces  to 187 for the grocery store, and that landscaping and architectural plans would be an improvement from a movie theater. But East Cobb commissioner Bob Ott said the detriments to the proposal have to considered as well as the benefits.

Lidl Grocery
Opponents of the Lidl Grocery plans presented photos of accidents in the vicinity to make their case. (CobbTV screen shot)

“The traffic pictures speak for themselves,” he said.

Some citizens suggested that Lidl look elsewhere for a new site, perhaps at the old Mountain View Elementary School, which is being proposed for mixed-use redevelopment. An application for that property was to have been on the September zoning agenda but has been continued to October.

Lidl Grocery, Taqueria Tsunami cases on Cobb zoning agenda

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After several months of delays, the Cobb Board of Commissioners will finally get to consider a proposal to convert one of only two East Cobb movie theater complexes into a grocery store.

Taqueria Tsunami East Cobb
A site plan amendment is being proposed to allow for a Taqueria Tsunami restaurant at the old Caribou Coffee location on Johnson Ferry Road. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)

Lidl Grocery’s application to redevelop the Park 12 Cinema on Gordy Parkway (near Shallowford Road and Sandy Plains Road) highlights a busy BOC zoning meeting that starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The meeting takes place in the second floor board room of the Cobb BOC Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta (here’s an agenda summary).

The Lidl case (agenda information here) was first scheduled to be heard in May, but has drawn significant community opposition. Some nearby residents fear traffic will increase in a busy corridor near Lassiter High School.

Some opponents also have created a Facebook page and begun an online petition drive against Lidl’s proposal, mainly to preserve the cinema. Lidl is a German grocery chain looking to expand into Georgia.

The Lidl case will be heard in the “other business” category. These are for applications that don’t have to go through a full rezoning process. Also on the OB list is a site plan amendment filed on behalf of Fork U Concepts, proprietors of the Marietta-based Taqueria Tsunami restaurants.

The proposal (agenda information here) would remove the drivethru at the now-closed Caribou Coffee location at 1275 Johnson Ferry Road, and to increase parking to 42 spaces with restriping. The old Caribou/Einstein Bros. Bagel location is being eyed by Fork U to expand the Latin-Asian fusion concept to East Cobb.

As East Cobb News has reported, the amendment has been recommended for approval by the East Cobb Civic Association, as well as the Cobb Planning Commission.

The proposed redevelopment of the old Mountain View Elementary School complex on Sandy Plains Road for mixed commercial use also will appear on Tuesday’s agenda, but is likely to be delayed at the request of the applicant.

A redevelopment project at the northwest intersection of Powers Ferry Road at Terrell Mill Road is being continued by the Cobb zoning staff until October.

Full zoning staff analysis of each September agenda item can be found here.

More delays sought for major East Cobb rezoning cases

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When the Cobb Planning Commission meets Thursday morning, two of the most notable cases on the docket may not be heard at all.

That’s because of continued delays in those proposals for major retail, shopping and restaurant developments in East Cobb.

The Planning Commission meeting starts at 9 a.m. in the second floor board room of the Cobb BOC Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

One of those East Cobb proposals, to redevelop the northwest corner of Powers Ferry Road at Terrell Mill Road, is definitely being continued to October. That’s Z-012-2017, submitted by SSP Blue Ridge LLC, and calling for a mixed-use complex covering 21 acres, anchored by a Kroger supermarket.

The case has been rescheduled to be heard by the Planning Commission on Oct. 3.

The site of the former Mountain View Elementary School also is being proposed for a new center to include restaurants, shops, banking and grocery options on 13 acres of the east side of Sandy Plains Road, just south of Shallowford Road.

Old Mountain View Elementary School
Plans to redevelop the former Mountain View Elementary School site include seven buildings and 103,100 total square feet. Click to see larger map.

That case, Z-053-2017, is included in the regular agenda to be taken up by the Planning Commission, but it may be continued. The Cobb zoning staff has offered full comments and a recommendation of approval with conditions.

But at last week’s East Cobb Civic Association meeting (previous East Cobb News coverage here), members were notified that the applicant, Brooks Chadwick Capital, LLC, has asked for an extension to continue working with the community.

Another application by SSP Blue Ridge that was on Wednesday’s agenda also has been continued to October. That’s SLUP-008-2017, a special land use permit request near the Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill proposal to build a self-serve storage facility on an acre along Terrell Mill Road (the land is currently zoned for residential use).

Another proposal for a storage facility in the Canton Road corridor is on the Thursday agenda.

Z-050-2017, by Storage Development Group, would allow for a 760-unit facility on 3.39 acres on the west side of Canton Road, north of Sylvan Drive (staff recommends approval with conditions). Rezoning would be from Offices Services (OS) to Neighborhood Retail Commercial (NRC). The applicant also is seeking a land-use permit (LUP-010-2017) for the site (staff recommends approval with conditions).

As was noted here last week, on Sept. 19, at their monthly zoning hearing, the Cobb Board of Commissioners will consider a site plan amendment that would allow for Taqueria Tsunami resturant to be built at the former Caribou Coffee/Einstein Bros. Bagel site on Johnson Ferry Road, below Merchants Walk (previous East Cobb News coverage here).

At that meeting, the commissioners also will consider a continued application by Lidl Grocery (OB-016-2017) to redevelop the Park 12 Cinema on Gordy Parkway that has generated community opposition. The case has been continued since May.

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.

EAST COBB ZONING: Lidl Grocery, Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill cases to be continued

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At their monthly zoning hearing Tuesday morning, the Cobb Board of Commissioners voted to approve Lidl Grocery’s request to continue its rezoning application to redevelop the Park 12 Theatre site (previous ECN post here).

The case will be placed on the August zoning calendar. Another major East Cobb application, filed by SSP Blue Ridge, LLC, for a mixed-used development at Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill roads, has been continued to September by the Cobb zoning staff.

The Blue Ridge proposal is for a 21-acre retail, residential and commercial center stretching from the current location of Brumby Elementary School to the northwest intersection of Powers Ferry and Terrell Mill.

The anchor of the proposed development would a be Kroger Marketplace, replacing the current Kroger store on Powers Ferry at the southwest intersection of Delk Road.

We’ll update this post later with more East Cobb cases from today’s zoning meeting.

Lidl Grocery asks for rezoning continuance until August

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Lidl, the German grocery company that wants to build a store at the site of the Park 12 Theatre on Gordy Parkway in northeast Cobb, has asked for a continuance in its rezoning request until August.

Its application is on Tuesday’s Cobb Board of Commissioners zoning hearing agenda, but the board would have to vote at that meeting whether to grant the delay, since the request came after a deadline for doing so, according to a message issued Friday by District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell.

According to a letter sent Thursday by Parks Huff, Lidl’s Marietta-based attorney, the applicant would have to amend its site plan to accommodate a request by the Cobb Architectural Control Committee to have an arborist review tree preservation issues.

If the Lidl rezoning is delayed, it would next be taken up by the commissioners on Aug. 15. Lidl’s proposal for a 35,962-square-foot store, a bit bigger than the cinema facility but with 170 parking spaces—half the total for the movie house—has been opposed by some nearby residents, some of whom started a petition to save the Park 12.

This from petition organizer Abi Hainey, on the Save Park 12 Facebook page, who said another delay could be “a blessing in disguise:”

“If Lidl’s purpose in postponing the hearing is to “wait us out,” they are mistaken. East Cobb is a strong community of people that care and this campaign has made me even more proud to live here. We will not lose steam, in fact, our movement will only get stronger between now and August 15th. Thank you for your continued support!”