Sandy Plains Marketplace

Two notable East Cobb mixed-used developments approved during the last two years are located on property that county commissioners will be considering this month as part of their annual Comprehensive Plan updates.

They include land zoned last year for the MarketPlace Terrell Mill project (above) at Terrell Mill and Powers Ferry roads, and for the Sandy Plains Marketplace on the former Mountain View Elementary School site on Sandy Plains Road that was rezoned in late 2017.

Commissioners don’t hear zoning cases in January, but they adopt amendments, including future land use changes, to the 2040 Cobb Comprehensive Plan.

The first of two public hearings on the proposed amendments is scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. by the Cobb Planning Commission. Cobb commissioners will hold a hearing and adopt any changes at 9 a.m. on Jan. 15.

Both meetings are in the second-floor board room of the Cobb government building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

(Here’s a link to the complete agenda.)

Revising the future land use plan is fairly routine following zoning cases. But those East Cobb cases, along with other proposed future land use plan amendments up for consideration, reflect lingering issues over density in the area, and the county in general.

The MarketPlace Terrell Mill project—which is to include a Kroger superstore, nearly 300 apartment units, restaurants and retail space—was opposed by residents of a nearby condominium complex.

Others opposed the assemblage of 24 acres that included the former Brumby Elementary School site into the Regional Retail Commercial category, a rare one in Cobb County that is denser than most surrounding property in a busy commercial corridor.

The future land use designation for the land is Regional Activity Center with high-density residential.

The MarketPlace Terrell Mill Project is regarded as a linchpin of redevelopment in the Powers Ferry corridor.

In its analysis for the future land use plan amendments, however, Cobb community development staff noted that “considering the changing conditions on site and the intensity that the proposed development will generate, a more appropriate future use designation may be Regional Activity Center with a sub-category of high density residential (RAC/hdr).”

The “changing conditions” is a reference Kroger’s attempts to seek tax breaks from the Development Authority of Cobb that were invalidated by a Cobb judge last fall. The grocery chain has appealed as other parts of the $120 million project are underway.

Also under construction is the Sandy Plains Marketplace project. Ground-clearing has begun, and all that’s left of the old Mountain View school is the sign at the entrance.

That project will include a Publix GreenWise Market as its anchor, and other tenants have been announced.

The current future land-use designation is public institutional, since it was a school site. The proposed amendment would change it to the Community Activity Center category that matches the rezoning change.

Some residents of an adjoining neighborhood expressed concerns about some aspects of the project, including a three-story self-storage facility that would be constructed near their property lines.

Another high-density East Cobb rezoning is on the proposed amendment list. That’s four acres on Olde Towne Parkway that were converted from Community Activitity Center to High Density Residential.

Commissioners approved rezoning to RM-12 for four-story townhomes that nearby residents said were too high and too intense for the area.

Cobb commissioners have proposed several future land use plan amendments. Bob Ott of District 2 in East Cobb is proposing changing 370 acres in the Powers Ferry-Terrell Mill-Delk Road area to a mixture of designations.

Currently the land (map below), which houses a number of commercial and multi-family developments, is designated for Community Activity Center, High Density Residential and Park/Recreation/Conservation (PRC).

He wants that property to be reclassified to the following categories: Regional Activity Center/retail service, Regional Activity Center/high density residential, and Regional Activity Center/open space and recreation.

The area includes some of the planned Windy Hill-Terrell Mill Connector project and a proposed extension of the Bob Callahan Trail network along Rottenwood Creek.

Other proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments would designate land purchased by commissioners last year for future green space to PRC. They include properties on Ebenezer Road and part of the Tritt property next to East Cobb Park.

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