Mt. Bethel Christian Academy master plan approved Archives

Proposed Mt. Bethel Christian Academy master plan delayed — *Mt. Bethel Christian Academy wants to relocate a swimming pool and prepare to build permanent classroom buildings.*

Cobb commissioners on Tuesday approved a master plan at the Mt. Bethel Christian Academy upper campus on Post Oak Tritt Road after making a variety of site plan revisions.

The 5-0 vote came after a lengthy presentation, discussions and a motion to approve by Commissioner JoAnn Birrell of District 3 in East Cobb (you can read the application filings here).

The changes include a second access point on Post Oak Tritt and agreements by the private school to construct an indoor swimming pool and limits on evening activities.

Mt. Bethel Christian Academy proposed those and other stipulations in a Dec. 11 letter to the Cobb Zoning Office.

Commissioners voted last month to delay the application after complaints from neighbors about noise and the East Cobb Civic Association in regard to modular classrooms that have been at the site for more than a decade.

Mt. Bethel Christian Academy has operated a high school there since 2014 and will be adding middle school grades.

The master plan, which was urged by Birrell, would include expanded parking on the east side of the 33-acre site, which is located just west of Holly Springs Road.

The school was started by Mt. Bethel Church in 1998 but became a separate entity in 2021, right before before the church’s departure from the United Methodist Church. Since then, the academy has leased space from the church for Grades K-8 on its grounds on Lower Roswell Road.

But last year, Mt. Bethel Church decided to terminate the school’s lease by 2028, prompting the academy to find new facilities.

MBCA attorney Kevin Moore said his client had agreed to the changes, which come with some considerable expenses.

Chief among them is the enclosure of the swimming pool over a covered outdoor facility and a 25-foot wall due to noise complaints from a nearby subdivision.

The pool will be relocated to near the back of the property, adjoining a football/soccer field. In addition, tennis courts would be moved to the same area, and will include protective padding to help reduce noise issues.

At last month’s zoning hearing, a resident on the adjacent Alberta Drive said increased sports activities at the school have resulted in continuing noise concerns.

Birrell said being able to walk the property and meet with nearby residents in the past month “has been very helpful” in proposing changes.

The ECCA was upset that the master plan didn’t include more specific details about permanent classrooms.

Moore said in response to a question from Birrell that the master plan includes an outline of future buildings for academic activities, including the possibility of an auditorium.

“This is as specific as we can get it at this point,” Moore said.

Commissioners would need to approve those buildings when they are proposed; among the stipulations approved Tuesday include a height limit of 35 feet, per an ECCA request, and that the modular structures would be removed.

Other stipulations prohibit lighting at the football field and all athletic activities must be related to the school.

“I do understand the neighbors’ concerns, but there have been a lot of concessions that have been put on Mt. Bethel to alleviate a lot of those concerns regarding noise and buffers,” Birrell said.

“The way this is outlined now with revisions that both parties have agreed to, we can approve this as it is,” she added, saying final site plans and elevations and landscape plans, among other modifications, have to come back for final approval with citizen and county reviews.

Birrell’s motion also limited evening lighting on the campus to 10 p.m. and maintains an 85-foot buffer along the back line of the property.

Also on Tuesday, commissioners approved by a 5-0 vote a site plan change at the former Sunrise of East Cobb site on Johnson Ferry Road to permit a senior independent living facility.

Hammocks at East Cobb is proposing a townhome-type concept with 72 separate living units, including six detached cottages along Johnson Ferry Road, as well as a number of amenities.

In another East Cobb case, commissioners approved a site plan change, also by a 5-0 vote, to allow a Kiddie Academy day care on Gordy Parkway

The 1.42-acre tract, which is right behind the Highland Plaza Shopping Center and near the intersection of Sandy Plains Road, is the last parcel of undeveloped land at that mixed-use complex.

The ECCA asked for the case to be held until Cobb DOT could review traffic study examining access concerns at the site.

But Birrell made a motion to approve with a number of stipulations, including a 20-foot landscape buffer next to the Highland Terrace subdivision.

Access to the day care via Gordy Parkway also will be limited to right-in, right-out.