A proposal to rezone the Walton on the Chattahoochee residential complex on Akers Mill Road is on the agenda for the Cobb Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the 2nd floor commissioners meeting room at 100 Cherokee St., downtown Marietta.
It’s one of just a few East Cobb cases on the agenda that will be heard after the Cobb Planning Commission voted earlier this month to table or continue two other major applications in the same Powers Ferry corridor.
The planning board voted on Dec. 5 to table the proposed Terrell Mill Towne Center, at the corner of Terrell Mill and Powers Ferry roads, after residents at the adjacent Salem Ridge condominium complex protested (previous East Cobb News story here).
Another residential proposal, to build townhomes at Windy Hill Road and Wildwood Parkway, is being continued after objections from nearby residents.
The Walton on the Chattahoochee rezoning case also drew opposition from residents in nearby condominium communities in the Akers Mill Road corridor, but the Planning Commission voted to recommend approval. Walton Riverbend, the property owner which has its headquarters on the property, wants to convert the 46-acre tract into three office buildings totaling 16,800 square feet and to keep a 26-unit residential building.
The complex was once known as the Riverbend Apartments, and was a trend-setting development for young renters in the 1970s. Now the area is being eyed for more upscale commercial and residential development with the addition of SunTrust Park in the Powers Ferry corridor.
Kevin Moore, Walton Riverbend’s attorney, said at the planning board hearing that there are no other intentions to develop the property. “We want to set this up for the future,” he said.
That open-ended intent bothered residents of nearby communities. Brian Cipriani of the Chattahoochee Trail complex said Walton Riverbend has engaged in “constant misrepresentation about how it’s going to be developed and what’s going to take place.”
Cipriani said that “it’s inconsistent to add office space along the river,” and that he’s not the only homeowner who’s spent money trying to prevent runoff issues.
Planning Commission chairman Mike Terry, who represents the area, said the proposal “truly is a plan for the future” and added that any “trust issues” residents had with the developer are “with what’s gone on in the past.”
Still, the planning board was split 3-2, with Galt Porter and Thea Powell opposed.
The rest of the commission zoning hearing agenda can be found here.
Cases that are continued or held will be taken up in February, since Cobb does not conduct zoning hearings in January.
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