Mcafee House
Instagram.com/cantonroadneighbors/
Welcome to CRN Website
Chris Lindstrom is new District 3 Planning Commissioner. Chris is a former board member of ECCA.
Fire on McAfee property 3/23/24
Z-52 1054 Shallowford Rd was heard and held by Planning Commission until April PC
Efforts to preserve Historic McAfee House c.1840 onsite at Bells Ferry Rd are ending.
Z-30 Quik Trip 4815 Canton Road has withdrawn their application.
DecemberZoning Update
Z-30 Quik Trip heard and held until Feb 20, 2024 BoC Zoning meeting
https://www.youtube.com/live/Yw32XaAl1ZA?feature=shared
PC zoning Z 30 starts 1 hr 57 minutes into video
Z-30 QT PC recommended approval 4-0 BoC will hear case on Dec 19
Z-32 Toll Bros. Ross Rd RR to RA 5 Approved
Z-40 1810 Shallowford Contd until Feb 6 2024
Z-52 R-20 to NRC 1854 Shallowford Heard and held until Feb 6 2024
December 5 PC
Z-60 GC to NRC for Gas Station NE side of Canton at Jamerson
Heard and held until Feb PC
Cobb Courier article on Quik Trip rezoning
Link to YouTube Video of Planning Commission Meeting 10/3
Z-30 starts at @ 1 hr 35 m
Link to Change Petition Cobb Please Deny Z-30 Quik Trip
October Zoning Update 10/3
Z-30 heard and held to Nov 7 by PC.
Z-32 heard and held to Nov 7 by PC
Link to Cobb MSPLOST presentation: Video and download
Calendar
The Noonday Creek Trail Extension Study is wrapping up.
For the August 9 maps and presentation go to the link below.
Cobb DOT Trail Planning Noonday Creek
Zoning update to see photos: Instagram.com/cantonroadneighbors/
08/15 BoC 9 am
Z-23 Consent Agenda Approved 5-0
Z-24 SWI Investments for C Store and fuel sales 2546 Canton Rd: BOC DELETE Z-24 to LRC, No automotive uses; or fuel sales; Staff Comments and recommendations. Approved 5-0
Sept 5th Planning Commission:
Z-30 Quiktrip
SW Corner Jamerson and Canton
Heard and held by PC until October meeting.
Z-32 Toll
R-20 to RA-6
105 Single family detached homes Sandy Plains and Ross Rd at Scufflegrit
Continued until October
October
Z-40 1018 Shallowford Rd R-20 to LI for RV and boat storage
Hi everyone,
Most of us like happy endings and I have one for you. Most of you in the neighborhoods on Canton that are near Liberty Hill and Westerly Way will recall the very contentious zoning case OB 3 for the vacant property at 2320 Canton, across from Racetrac. This took place last Spring in 2022, when an applicant wanted to open an oil change franchise. The residents closest to the property did not want to see another automotive business just across from a tire store which also offers oil change. Residents further away were OK with it. The Board of Commissioners denied the application without much discussion since the District Commissioner didn’t want another automotive use there either.
Then things got a little testy. It was tough for the owner of the property who wanted to sell, and for the Broker who wanted his commission. They were not pleased with me.
Now, the happy ending, one year later. In April, the long-vacant property at 2320 was purchased by Mr. Ernie Geyer, who is in the restaurant business. His franchises include Lucky’s Burger and Brew and Thumbs Up Diner. We are getting a Thumbs Up Diner which will serve breakfast and lunch from 7 am until 3 pm, daily. There will be improvements to the property but the original building will be repurposed since it has a “diner look”. Mr. Geyer projects the diner will open by the end of the year.
What a nice surprise, and it is a win win for the previous owner, the Broker, and for the community.We have not had a place to get together over coffee and a sandwich since Rib Ranch closed years ago.
More details on this later.
There is a zoning coming up on August 1 at the Planning Commission meeting. It is Z-24 which is at 2546 Canton Rd. SWI Investments, Inc wants to build a convenience store with fuel sales on the vacant lot zoned R-20 residential on the east side of Canton, south of Rosedale and north of Bay Breeze. This is not an appropriate use for the site which backs up to a home. The applicant should be given a NRC or LRC Zoning, but needs to bring back a less intense, more neighborhood friendly use. The community is working on this now.
Finally, the historic McAfee House may be out of the headlines, but a group of concerned citizens are still working to preserve the house on site at 2595 Bells Ferry Rd, where it was built in 1840.
That’s all for now,
Carol Brown, MA, MRP Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
Z-8 Tommy's Express was withdrawn at the BoC zoning 6/20/23 Watchhttps://youtu.be/hGUqVIM99n0
Link to Instagram Photos McAfee HouseLink to YouTube video Robert McAfee HouseRobert McAfee House c. 1840 to be rezoned This Historic House and grounds is the Robert McAfee House built c.1840 for early Cobb settlers Eliza and Robert McAfee.
During the Atlanta Campaign of the Civil War in 1864, there were skirmishes between the Union and Confederate Cavalry along Noonday Creek, Bells Ferry and Canton Road. The McAfee House and farm were used as a resource and headquarters by both Union Brig.General Kenner Garrard and by Major General Joseph Wheeler CSA at different times between June 9 and July 3, 1864.
Today it is a two acre site in Town Center, NE Cobb County. The owners have applied to rezone it for commercial use. The house can be saved by moving it off site and selling it to a private owner.
We believe that the Historic House should remain on the site on Bells Ferry where it was built in 1840.
It can be restored for limited use as a museum. Preserve our heritage. Save the Robert McAfee House and grounds on Bells Ferry Road!
Happy Valentine's Day!
There are a few things to like in the zoning lineup for Canton Road this month.
First, Z-77 Lidl (rhymes with needle) food market was recommended for approval by the Planning Commission on Consent Agenda (no one was opposed). It is located at the SW corner of Canton and Piedmont at the site of the vacant Rite-Aid. That will be demolished and Lidl will build a new facility. Cobb DOT is recommending a deceleration lane on Piedmont which will terminate in a dedicated right turn lane from Piedmont to Canton southbound. Lidl has agreed to contribute towards the cost of the decel lane. The right turn lane would be funded by SPLOST.
The case will be on Consent Agenda for the 02/21/23 BoC zoning meeting.
Also on Consent for the BoC is Z-78 Splash Zone Car Wash at the SE corner of Canton and Shallowford. The applicants will construct an attractive new building design, reopen Old Shallowford Road and bring it up to Cobb DOT Standards. Access on Canton and Shallowford Rd will be right in right out. Local residents are satisfied with the new site plan and improved building design.
Looming in April is Z-8, in which the historic 123 year old house at the NW Corner of Bells Ferry and Barrett Parkway is asking to rezone to NRC – for a car wash. At minimum the house should be disassembled and moved to another location. Preferably at the applicant’s cost. Could the house be relocated to Skip Wells Park? How about the 61 acres of open space Cobb County now owns behind Laura Lake? Or even as a focal point on the 175 acre Beazer development.
The 175 acres is now in the City of Marietta. The long process of negotiation with the City and County in the plan review process is underway. We are hopeful that the HOA to the north will be well buffered from the planned entrance road. We are tracking that issue.
There was an interesting article in last Sunday’s AJC: Breaking down Atlanta’s top bottlenecks www.ajc.com/atlanta-traffic/
Here is a link https://youtube.com/shorts/
to the YouTube video I shot riding a Cobblinc Rapid 10 on the I-75 HOV lanes southbound. We passed a lot of parked 18 wheelers and other vehicles who were on the general southbound lanes below. Transit can and does work, even in the form of a Rapid 10 bus with only a few stops, using the HOV lanes to get to Midtown. What is needed is better awareness of the service which starts at Frey/Campus Loop KSU and picks up passengers at the (free) George Busbee Park and ride. Cobb County will be asking voters to approve a Mobility SPLOST next year. There are things that could be done to improve the existing service – adding security at the current Marietta Transfer Center, adding crosswalks across from bus stops and more advertising to make the public aware of the value of the service. Given the daily snarl of traffic on I-75, the wrecks, the cost of parking and of gas, and the stress of just getting to the destination, riding the Rapid 10 or SRTA Express is a bargain and a breeze.
That’s all folks. Enjoy Valentine’s Day!
Carol Brown, MRP, Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
Happy Lunar New Year!
2023 has lurched off to a rocky start for many folks. The undesirable outcome of the huge
175 acre rezoning and annexation on Bells Ferry Road was a disappointment for everyone except
Beazer, the Montgomery heirs, the zoning attorney and the 3 Marietta Council Member/Realtors who voted to approve it. Thanks to the 411 people who signed the petition opposing the rezoning.
Hopefully the Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year, tomorrow, will give us a 2nd chance for a better start. Zoning cases coming up on February 7th before the Planning Commission
include Z-77 LIDL food market at the SW corner of Piedmont and Canton. This is expected to be on Consent Agenda, with no opposition. Also to be heard is Z-78 Splash Zone Car Wash application which was held in December. This is to be located at the SE intersection of Canton and Shallowford.
There has been a meeting with the applicants and the community and we believe that a good agreement has been reached. The applicants have presented a much more modern and well designed building and will rebuild the eastern half of the Old Shallowford Rd. which has been closed for years.
All access to the Car Wash will be right in right out on Canton and right in right out on Shallowford.
It will be a state of the art self serve facility.
Both of these rezoning applications will improve the two vacant sites they will occupy. The former Rite-Aid site will be demolished for a new Lidl food market. QuickTrip is looking at a potential site on Canton Road at the NE Piedmont Canton intersection. This is a bad idea at a terrible location. The Canton Road is over served by gas stations now and another one isn’t needed, definitely not there.
The large Bells Ferry property issues aren’t quite resolved yet. The rezoning and annexation don’t become final until 30 days after the January 11th approval or on about February 10. There is a related issue going on: Beazer is planning to use the 27 acre Laura Lake for its stormwater runoff, rather than build its own stormwater detention facility. There was probably a tentative discussion with Cobb Stormwater at the time the application was with the County. Now that the City has annexed the large tract and rezoned the 175 acres for 592 homes, a new discussion is or will be taking place. Currently there is no written or verbal agreement between Beazer and Cobb County to use the Laura Lake (and Dam) for stormwater detention for the huge development. Beazer stated in an interview that the development hinged on using the lake. This gives Cobb County one more chance to take charge of a large rushed zoning process with very little discussion from the City or Beazer.
Here is a link to the Marietta Council Meeting on January 11th and the Z 2022-29 Beazer rezoning.
The zoning hearing starts at 35 minutes into the video, the community response at 58 minutes and the annexation starts at 1 hr 31 min
Below is a link to the MDJ article about the zoning approval
https://news.yahoo.com/marietta-oks-sprawling-600-home-233400137.html
The entire annexation and rezoning process was rushed and forceful. Cobb does NOT owe the City or Beazer any favors. I hope the county will play hardball and require Beazer to build their own stormwater detention facilities or Cobb should demand some meaningful exactions from the developer.
To support a get-tough approach from the County, I am launching another petition: It would be great to get 400 signers on this petition to Cobb County!
Cobb County: Tell Beazer no Dam/Lake for development! https://chng.it/nS55FLzhmn
On that note, wishing you all a Happy Lunar New Year and a more successful 2nd attempt at 2023, “Year of the Rabbit”.
Carol Brown, MRP Canton Road Neighbors, Inc. www.cantonroadneighbors.org
Z-2022-29 Beazer Homes LLC Appproved by Council Video below:
Zoning starts 35:35
Community Response 58:00
Annexation starts 1:31:00
Here is a link to the MDJ article picked up by Yahoo
https://news.yahoo.com/marietta-oks-sprawling-600-home-233400137.html
At the time of the hearing our petition had 392 signatures and we now have 411. Thank you all for signing and for your comments. Thanks especially to those who attended the meeting.
The speakers were Carol Brown (Canton Road Neighbors), Tullan Avard (Bells Ferry Civic), John McColl, resident of subdivision adjacent to the Montgomery property on the north side, Carla Jenkins, resident of Barrington next to Montgomery property on the south side.
The Council members appear to have made up their minds to approve the application well before the Council meeting so the hearing was a formality required by Georgia Zoning Procedures Act. There were three parts to the application: the rezoning, the annexation and the land use change. We spoke in opposition to all three.
The approval will not be final until 30 days after the hearing or on February 10, There is the possibility of an appeal to Cobb Superior Court. This could further tie up the Beazer zoning. There may be some potentially large roadblocks in the near future in plan review and with storm water management issues involving the County-owned Laura Lake and dam, which will be restored and rebuilt. The land is tied up in a Conservation easement until the end of 2023 and that limits what could take place during that period.
Thank you for taking the time to attend, send email and sign the petition. You did your bit. Unfortunately when it comes to local government in the City or County, your wishes fall on deaf ears too often.
It is important to keep engaging in these issues and when election rolls around, vote the unresponsive politicians out.
If new developments occur I will reopen the petition and send out an update.
Please stay in touch and stay active. you can find us at www.cantonroadneighbors.org and at www.bellsferrycivic.org
CRN email is cantonroadneighbors@gmail.com
Carol Brown
Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
Link to Petition
01/04/22 Challenge to Cobb Commission map heard today in Superior Court
Clarification below in red.
Jason Thompson, attorney for Plaintiff Larry Savage, asked the Court for a Temporary Restraining Order, or Interlocutory Injunction in order to maintain the status quo. This would keep the redistricting map drawn by the GOP, approved by the General Assembly(HB 1154) and signed off by Governor Kemp, in effect. That is the map which drew District 2 Commissioner Jerica Richardson out of her district two years early. Savage argues that he and other citizens are facing imminent and ongoing harm due to confusion about which commission district he lives in and which commissioner represents him. The TRO is meant to stop the County map from being utilized or recognized. That would force a Special Election to fill the vacant seat in District 2.
Cobb County voted last October 3-2 to accept the redistricting map, shown below, drawn by the majority Democrat Cobb Legislative delegation (HB 1256). This map was never voted on by the Georgia General Assembly, in a break from precedent. That map made fairly balanced divisions between the four Commission Districts and did not draw any Commissioner out of her district. After voting to accept that map under Home Rule, the county then filed the map with the State of Georgia,
The County cites constitutional authority under Home Rule, which is granted by the State of Georgia, to redistrict. Home Rule grants powers but also excludes some actions.The county argues that redistricting does not fall under an excluded use. Attorney for the County, Elizabeth Monyak, said that it was the County and Commissioner Richardson who would suffer irreparable harm if a TRO was granted before the merits of the case were heard in court.
The suit was originally brought against the Cobb Board of Elections, which was not the correct party. Attorney Monyak said that this error in itself could be grounds to dismiss. Dan White, attorney for the Cobb BOE said that the BOE and Director Eveler could be dismissed from the litigation as their mandate was to carry out the election law of the State and County, and not to determine which maps should be recognized.
Both maps went into effect on January 1 2023, and it was presumed that a Special Election would be needed for the now-vacant District 2 since Richardson still resided in the (previous) district. Until we learn what the Court order will be regarding the TRO, it appears that both maps are temporarily in effect and Commissioner Richardson still represents District 2. If the TRO is not granted, the case will be heard fairly soon based on comments from Judge Harris. It is also likely that any decision of the court would be appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court.
I am not an attorney, having had only a handful of law courses as part of my graduate degrees. I did not Shepardize any of the above.
What seems apparent on its face can be interpreted and argued at great length by attorneys on both sides of an issue.
Carol Brown, Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
Happy New Year 2023 - and a glance back at 2022
Most of the action in Northeast and Southeast Cobb will be hitting in early January. That would be the huge Z-2022-29 Beazer Homes rezoning and annexation request into the City of Marietta (January 11th City Council) and the even bigger legal challenge to Cobb County’s choice of redrawn commission district maps. Both these stories have been and will continue to be in the news, reported with varying degrees of detail.
Quick takeaways from the Beazer application: Cobb County objects to the annexation; largely based on inappropriate density and the impact on infrastructure. They sent a new letter to City Council on December 22 reaffirming their opposition to the annexation. The City doesn’t appear to like the site plan for similar reasons. The public doesn’t care for the application because dammit, the public is already fed up with congested traffic, street racing at night, stormwater runoff and with living in an area that used to have greenspace but is now a concrete jungle. Will Beazer submit a new plan? Will Council listen to reason, the County and the public and slow down the process? We will know soon enough. 175 acres, 596 homes, 4,600 vehicle trips per week
The legal issues with the Commission maps were shaped after the Census report. The redistricting process began normally enough with the Cobb legislative delegation redrawing the districts to accommodate the population growth. The GOP, eyeing the shift in demographics, realized that a 3rd Commission District (NE Cobb) might be competitive enough to elect another Democrat to the County Commission. Breaking with precedent, the Georgia General Assembly ignored the map drawn by the majority Democratic Cobb Legislative delegation and produced a gerrymandered map which guaranteed that the current GOP District 3 Commissioner would be reelected. They then drew the duly elected Democratic District 2 Commissioner out of her seat two years early. That is without precedent.
The General Assembly approved the GOP-drawn maps and Governor Kemp signed off on them. The primary and general elections were held, with voters in the NEW districts voting for the future commissioner but some voters in the current districts 2 and 3 were shut out of that opportunity. Belatedly, the Cobb BoC voted to invoke home rule, normally strong in GA, meaning that great deference is paid to the wishes of the local government. Except when it isn’t. The BoC voted 3-2 to recognize the Democratically drawn map, in an effort to preserve District 2 Jerica Richardson’s seat.
Birrell is the Commissioner-elect for the new District 3 tomorrow morning and Ms. Richardson will be out of a job. Longtime activist Larry Savage in District 2 (uh, now District 3) filed a legal challenge to the County invoking home rule to recognize a map not signed off on by Governor Kemp. The GOP states that recognizing the earlier map is not only illegal but chaos would result if that were to take place. It is pretty chaotic now, with a duly elected Commissioner drawn out early to accommodate another Commissioner’s wish for a 4th term. Added to the legal quandary is the matter of a Georgia Statute which states that the General Assembly can not lengthen or shorten the term of a local official without a public referendum.
Universal Citation: GA Code § 1-3-11 (2021)
No office to which a person has been elected shall be abolished nor the term of the office shortened or lengthened by local or special Act during the term for which such person was elected unless the same shall be approved by the people of the jurisdiction affected in a referendum on the question. (Code 1981, §1-3-11, enacted by Ga. L. 1983, p. 685, § 1.) In other words, drawing Ms. Richardson out of her seat two years early appears to violate the law of Georgia. That precedent has also created chaos. The first court hearing is scheduled on Wednesday, January 4. Commissioner Birrell has canceled her public swearing in ceremony due to the conflict in dates, and will be taking the oath of office in private.
The good news for the area is that after it’s February zoning case Z-77 is approved, Lidl Food Market will be opening a new grocery store at the SW corner of Canton and Piedmont. They plan to demolish the old Rite-Aid and build a new store. This is anticipated to be approved on Consent Agenda.
Wrapping up 2022
There were 18 zoning cases with only a handful making a significant impact on the area. The most important, LIDL Z-77 was continued to 2023 for reasons related to notification, but is expected to be approved on Consent Agenda.
The other rezoning case which made a nice improvement was Z-18 at 910 Liberty Hill Rd. A large semi-industrial site cleaned up nicely. Now neighbors near it and passing by have a different vista. Before: a 12 foot tall purple and green inflatable gorilla and other “jumpies”, auto storage, landscape materials dumped on the back lot and a large loading dock, all enclosed by an 8’ chain link fence with concertina wire on top.
The rezoning stipulated repainting of the large metal building, clean up of the lot, removal of the auto storage, new wood privacy fencing around the perimeter with landscaping in the right of way in front.
What a difference one zoning case can make. Thanks to the owner for agreeing to these improvements.
The other important activity centered on the election for Commissioner in District 3 NE Cobb. Commissioner Birrell ran for a 4th term in a newly drawn district and faced challenger Christine Triebsch. Triebsch ran a strong race and performed well in neighborhoods along Bells Ferry and Canton Road. There were no debates between Triebsch and Birrell and overall it was a civil race but an uphill battle for Triebsch. Birrell was reelected, in the new Commission District which now extends well into SE Cobb by the Chattahoochee River.
I will keep you updated on the progress of the Beazer rezoning in the City in January. We may put out a new call for signatures on the Change Petition and attendance at the evening meeting in the City on January 11th unless the zoning is continued.
Thanks to all of you who engaged in planning and zoning processes this year, you helped to bring about improvements to the area and fight off undesirable impacts. Thanks especially to the Neighborhood Advisory Members of CRN and our Board for their constant support of my advocacy efforts. I could not do this without their help. Thanks also to Bells Ferry Civic Association for working with CRN.
Best wishes to all of you for a Happy and prosperous New Year!
Carol Brown, M.R.P. Canton Road Neighbors, Inc. www.cantonroadneighbors.org
DCA FAILS to get Arbitration Panel
We learned today that the Georgia Department of Community Affairs has failed to convene an arbitration panel within the required 15 day time frame. The arbitration fails.
Unless there is further action by Cobb County the Zoning case and annexation is scheduled to go before the Marietta City Council on January 11, 2023.
The public is still free to express their concern and opposition to City Council leading up to and on the 11th of January
We will publish an update tomorrow, Friday the 16th to advise you if there is any further action by the County.
Carol Brown
The 175 acre Beazer Homes LLC rezoning and annexation (Z2022-29) has been Tabled (continued) by the City of Marietta. It will not be heard at the Wednesday December 14th City Council Meeting. Cobb County filed an objection to the annexation and Council may not hear or act on the case until the dispute is resolved. At the present, the arbitration process is just getting underway. The DCA is having difficulty in putting together a panel.
Maybe this is an opportunity for Beazer to submit a new, better site design which is less intense and preserves more usable open space.
Here is a wish for Santa- how about Cobb County acquiring at least 30 or 40 acres of the property for passive green space to add to the 61 acres that they now own on the west side of the lake.
These are ideas worth pursuing and now we have a little time. This is the last large property on the east side of I-75 and it has a lot of potential.
It never hurts to explore ideas and to dream of what might be possible. That is how the public acquired Hyde Farm, Bullard Farm and the Tritt property.
We owe it to City and County residents and especially young people to at least make the effort.
As always, updates will be made as needed.
Seasons Greetings!
Carol Brown, MRP, Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
Here is a link to the DCA Arbitration process:
The City Council may not act on the Zoning and Annexation until the objection is resolved. Given the short time frame until next Wednesday and the fact that the process is JUST getting underway it is unlikely although maybe not impossible that this would be wrapped up in time for the next Council meeting.
But if you would rather hear a legal opinion, here is a link to the video of the Planning Commission Meeting. It started at 26:40 minutes into the video. Attorney Doug Haney is advising the Planning Commission on the pending county objection and that they, the city planning commission can go ahead and recommend an action, but it may be delayed before getting to the City Council. In the end, they deadlocked in their votes, 3-3 on rezoning, 3-3 on annexation and 3-3 on land use change. How soon City Council will be able to hear it is another issue.
Hopefully that explains the process that must be followed. How quickly it will happen we don't know yet. But I will stay on top of if and will update you with any new information.
Carol Brown, M.R.P. Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
Thanks to the 232 (and counting) signers of this petition.
The Marietta City Planning Commission tied tonight on 3 votes; Z-29 rezoning, the annexation and land use change. This moves it to City Council with no recommendation.
The Council hearing is December 14 HOWEVER, this has gone to arbitration because Cobb County objects to the annexation. This may very well slow the process. Will keep you updated.
Thanks also to Bells Ferry Civic Association, Briarfield Crossing, Canton Road Neighbors and Chimney Cottages HOA for working together to address this massive zoning that is/was being rushed through at Christmas time.
cantonroadneighbors.org https://twitter.com/@cantonrdnaybors
https://www.yahoo.com/now/developer-turns-city-annexation-rezoning-040100007.html
OpEd by Bells Ferry Civic Association on development in Town Center RAC
Canton Road Neighbors
December 1 Brief
LIDL Z-77 will be continued until February due to issues with required mail notification. This should not affect the outcome. No zoning cases are heard in January.
A letter of concern has been submitted to the City of Marietta on Z 2022-29 Beazer Homes LLC on Bells Ferry. The letter was signed by CRN, Bells Ferry Civic Association, Briarfield Xing HOA andresidents of Huntington Woods. A petition has been created for concerned residents to sign if they are unable to attend the December 6th 6 pm meeting.
Here is a link to the Change petition.
12/6 Calendar
Zoning County PC 9 am:
Z-78 Car Wash HELD
SLUP 18 U-Haul for storage
Zoning City PC 6 pm:
Z 2022-29 Beazer Homes LLC
Election Day Vote!!!
Unified Development Code Public Open House 6:30- 8:30 pm
Switzer Library
December 14
Noonday Creek Trail Study 5:30-7:00 Vanderlande Chastain Meadows Pkwy.
Cobb County Survey
https://selfserve.decipherinc.com/survey/selfserve/fdf/221026?list=0&l=2#?
November
28th Update
Hello everyone,
Canton Road and Bells Ferry are going to see some important zoning cases take place in December. Not exactly festive, but one of them really merits your attention and participation – if only to send an email or sign a petition.
The pleasant news first: Z-77, Lidl Food Market will be building on the corner of Canton and Piedmont, across from Covenant Presbyterian Church. It will need to rezone, and the case will be heard on December 6 by the Planning Commission and December 20 by the Board of Commissioners.
This does not appear to be controversial with area residents, in fact, many of us are happy to see Lidl build a new grocery store at the site of the old Rite Aid which has been vacant for years. A few of us will attend a small meeting at Gritters Library this week to hear the presentation. I expect this could be on Consent Agenda.
Across the street, Special Land Use Permit 18, U-Haul Company plans to build a 3 story self-storage building on 4 acres at Piedmont Village, where a U-haul is currently located. U-Haul is the parent company of Repwest which has owned the 21 acre commercial site since 2014. They plan to continue to lease the retail space to current tenants.
There is an application for a car wash, Z-78, Jaraysi, at the challenging corner of Canton and Shallowford. Nearby residents of Highland Trace are concerned about adding more traffic to this busy intersection.
We are pleased, by the way, at the landscaping installed at 910 Liberty Hill Rd , owned by Harris Tessler. Looks great!
And now the not so great news- The property at 2320 Canton which had an oil change application denied in March, turned up a potential buyer. The interested party wanted to build a package store but lost his contract to purchase. We are not sure why but the Realtor signs are back up at 2320 and now, they are up across the street on the Letsos property. Is there another oil change application in our future early next year?
The issue which all residents in the Bells Ferry, Turner Rd., Kurtz, Cajun, Canton Road and Piedmont Road area should be watching is the major rezoning and annexation of the Montgomery property (168 acres) on Bells Ferry at Laura Lake Dr. Cobb County has formally objected to the annexation based on Density which in turn brings up concerns about other issues, namely traffic volume on the narrow two lane, congested Bells Ferry Rd. The plan is for 596 homes. In 2020 the Montgomery heirs deeded Laura Lake and the dam, 26 acres, and an additional 61 acres to Cobb County. The County will be responsible for rebuilding the dam and will use the lake as a regional detention facility. The 61 acres is to be left undeveloped and used at some point for passive greenspace open to the public. The northern boundary of the site will be across from Skip Wells Park and the southern end will wrap around Laurel Hills apartments. Its big. The Marietta Planning Commission is scheduled to hear this case on December 6th at 6 pm. Because the County has objected to the annexation, it will delay a Council hearing. It is still possible that the Planning Commission hearing may ask the applicant Beazer to table the case and submit a new site plan. We will let you know. If the case goes ahead we will be asking each of you and your neighbors to get involved in opposing this case, as presented.
I am pasting the City’s very critical review of the plan below. Please read it. Of particular concern is the section that talks about relieving traffic by using Kurtz and Cajun to get to Canton Road and Piedmont. “The wider street network: the development could be connected via Laura Lake Road, which ultimately connects to Canton Road and to Piedmont Road (via Cajun Drive). This could potentially relieve traffic proposed to funnel only onto Bells Ferry Road.”
A link to the complete City Staff Analysis and Traffic Study is here under December 6 Hearings
https://www.mariettaga.gov/1439/Upcoming-Hearings
ANALYSIS & CONCLUSION
Beazer Homes is requesting to rezone 175.028 acres of property from RA-8 (Single-Family Residential - Attached) and R-20 (Cobb County – Single Family Residential, 20,000 sq.ft) to develop 596 homes on forested property containing streams and wetlands, located
between I-575 and Bells Ferry. The bulk of the land (168.4 acres) is located in unincorporated Cobb County (zoned R-20), which they wish to annex into the City; a single parcel – a 6.6 acre-tract – is primarily occupied by high-voltage overhead powerlines and is already located in the city (zoned RA-8).
Beazer Homes is requesting that the 175-acre subject property be rezoned to PRD-SF to accommodate 596 units (303 detached homes, 198 attached townhomes, and 95 age-restricted units) at a density of 3.4 units/acre. The requested PRD-SF zoning district allows
the greatest flexibility to create a community based traditional neighborhood design. PRD-SF zoning is intended to allow the development of single-family attached and detached
dwellings within a site that incorporates the following elements:
• “natural resource conservation”
• “neighborhood cohesiveness”
• “[maximized] open space”
• “pedestrian scale”
• “protection of sensitive environmental, historic, or aesthetic resources”
• “site amenities such as parks, open space, walking trails, etc.”
• “[reduction] of vehicle trips”
• “[enhancement] of the surrounding area”
Review of the development plans revealed the following, however, which do not satisfy the intention of PRD-SF zoning:
• “Open space” appears to have been created simply by “space leftover after planning” rather than intentionally designed.
• Natural resources have not played a prominent role in shaping the development proposal.
• The only identified historic resource – a cemetery – is a roadside monument, given just enough space to be preserved in the midst of a row of 27 houses.
• The preponderance of dead-ends, cul-de-sacs, and extremely long, straight roadways does not create a welcoming environment for the pedestrian, does not include traffic calming, nor does it meet the goal of reducing vehicle trips.
• A pool amenity area is featured in the plan but falls short of meeting the recreation amenities required by code.
• The development does not connect to the surrounding area except for at two points on Bells Ferry.
An active recreation feature is required by PRD-SF zoning, which the pool would satisfy. However, code mandates that recreation features be within 300 feet of 75% of homes. The only proposed recreation amenity – a pool – does not in itself meet code requirements.
A recreation area of 12 acres is required but only 6.8 acres is shown on the plan.
Transportation
A traffic study was submitted for Staff review on November 16, 2022, and the Public Works Transportation Division is in the process of evaluating that report. That evaluation will be reported at a later date due to advertising deadlines.
Based upon the plans that were timely submitted, Engineering comments are as follows:
• Access streets should align with existing alignments across Bells Ferry. A traffic study will be needed to evaluate dedicated turn lanes, accel/decel lanes, signal and or roundabout warrants. Cost sharing for right of way improvements may be required.
• Staff has serious concerns for the lack of points of access and the “drag strip style” long straight streets (done to increase lot yield) versus incorporating meandering streets that offer traffic calming and aesthetic appeal. Long straight street segments without sinuosity will require future traffic calming at the City's expense, using SPLOST funds, should the proposed layout be approved.
• Roundabout shown on the plan to be evaluated for Box truck, Fire truck and Sanitation truck sized vehicles.
• Applicant cites topographical constraints as a factor in refusing to make logical street interconnections.
• The access points on Bells Ferry would most likely need to be roundabouts or signalized (waiting on traffic study).
• Other improvements may be needed to Bells Ferry to accommodate the increased trips generated (waiting on traffic study).
• Bells Ferry is an existing CCT bus route, but the application is almost silent on alternative modes of transportation. At a meeting with the applicant, they seemed opposed to sidewalks on both sides of the streets interior to the project, which implies they do not intend to make the community walkable.
Gross Trips (Driveway Volumes) 4,622
Fire •This project represents significant impact to the existing fire district and supporting services. A fire station may need to be added to serve these new customers.
If cul-de-sacs are to be employed, the minimum diameter must be 96 feet to accommodate fire apparatus turn-around. However, if streets are connected, no turn-around points would be needed.
A 3 rd point of access is necessary, preferably as full access for the community, but minimally as access for emergency vehicles.
Sanitation
• The City will need to add one (1) new dedicated sanitation route at an estimated cost to the City of $500,000.
The City is waiting on comments from the schools, and also Historic Preservation.
This is the largest and most significant development in NE Cobb and the City since the Sprayberry Crossing Mixed use development. Z-29 is greenfield with environmentally sensitive areas, streams, potentially some Civil War trenches, inadequate road capacity and a poor site design. It will affect many people in neighborhoods near it. It will be critical to get it right.
Finally, with the Christmas season approaching there will be many great activities including concerts available to the public. If you love music, I encourage you to visit the Atlanta Symphony website www.aso.org to check out the lineup. For families with young children and seniors who aren’t thrilled with a drive downtown for the evening concerts, the ASO offers Sunday 3:00 pm concerts and at least one Saturday 3:00 pm concert. There is also a great option to avoid driving I-75 and parking: Cobblinc Rapid 10. Residents in this area can drive to the Busbee Park and Ride near Big Shanty and the KSU Stadium, park at no charge and hop on the Rapid 10. It’s a one hour ride and it drops you off just across the street from the elevator up to the Plaza where you enter the High Museum, the Alliance Theatre and the Atlanta Symphony. If you are attending an afternoon concert or visiting the High, catch the Rapid 10 back up to Town Center. If you are a senior the fare is a real bargain. This route is one of the best kept secrets in Cobb. Check it out sometime and enjoy a stress-free ride to the Arts Center.
CRN will be coordinating with Bells Ferry Civic Association and City residents on the big Z-29 case. We will try to keep you updated on this very important rezoning. Once I get past December 6th I will be in a much more festive frame of mind. Whatever your plans, I hope you have a safe and happy Holiday.
Carol Brown
Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
Cobb BoC Meeting 11/08/22 Public Comment tab
Text of comments by Carol Brown regarding Annexation of Montgomery property and proposed grant funding from FEMA to rebuild Laura Lake dam.
I want to briefly address the Annexation request and rezoning of @ 175 acres of land owned by the Montgomery heirs. We don’t know if the County Staff has finished their review of the annexation and Beazer site plan and will object based on HB 489 or draft a letter of non-objection.
I’m sure the staff is aware that the ARC declined to give the site plan a Development of Regional Impact review because the applicant lowered the number of homes from 699 to 596. This is still a staggering volume of traffic to be absorbed by the narrow two lane Bells Ferry Road that is already congested.
Who will pay to widen the road? Will the City of Marietta share the cost of the road widening and traffic signals? Or will Cobb taxpayers be asked to pick up the tab in the next SPLOST?
The Phase 3 Barrett Reliever won’t be any help for this planned development.
The transfer of 87.55 acres including Laura Lake and 61 acres to be used as passive greenspace per the deed, is a bargain. Laura Lake dam is classified as Cat 1, meaning loss of life would occur if the dam broke say, during a 500 year flood. Hopefully the grant funding will be available from FEMA but if not, I believe it is in the long term public interest for the county to repair the dam. Acquisition of 61 acres of greenspace to be left undeveloped and used by the public as a passive park is a cause for celebration.
Here are some concerns:
1. IF the annexation into the City proceeds and the City approves the requested PRD (hopefully scaled back) will be public/Cobb County and City residents who don’t live in the PRD have access to the 61 acre greenspace? Will the proposed Access road to the dam guarantee that access permanently?
2. Will the City contribute to maintenance or cost of rebuilding what is to be a regional detention facility?
3. If approved by the City, will Beazer Homes LLC be required to pay a fee in lieu of detention to Cobb County? Or should they be required to build their own stormwater management facility?
4. I imagine you have had the time to examine the PRD submitted to the City by Beazer Homes. You will see a band of green around the perimeter of their site plan. Are they using the County’s 61 acres of greenspace as part of their site plan? That must not be allowed to happen. A PRD required to have 1 acre of recreational space for every 50 homes. They should not try to co-opt the county’s new passive greenspace.
We all hope that Beazer can be persuaded to submit a revised, more reasonable site plan to the City. At minimum I hope that the County can file a letter of objection to the Annexation and list some meaningful stipulations to be required.
Thank you for your time.
Carol Brown
On a happy note to start the weekend, The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has posted a livestream of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, on YouTube for a limited time. If you missed it but love music, check out this performance led by Maestro Nathalie Stutzmann. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Beethoven's 9th
Z-69 was for the large property owned by the heirs of the Montgomery family. They are selling most of their acreage on Bells Ferry Road to be developed by Beazer Homes LLC. Z-69 was for 699 homes on 175 acres but was withdrawn by Attorney Kevin Moore.
See link to article at top of column.
He has filed a request for Annexation into the City of Marietta, and a rezoning to PRD for 175 acres with 596 homes. The density will be 3.40 units per acre.
Cobb County acquired the 26.34 acre Laura Lake to repair the dam and use it for regional detention. They also received an additional 61.21 acres which must remain undeveloped and will be used as passive greenspace open to the public. This is a total of 87.55 acres which was deeded to Cobb County by the Montgomery heirs in lieu of the @ $4,000,000 cost to repair the dam and dredge the lake. No money changed hands. There was also a 4.87 acre access easement across the north property line running from Bells Ferry to the dam which will allow Cobb to work on the dam. It is not a new cut through road or reliever.
This promises to be an interesting and challenging case. The county has decided to object to the annexation due to the conflict between the LDR land use and proposed MDR in the City. There will be substantial issues with the volume of traffic entering and leaving the project onto the narrow and congested two lane Bells Ferry Road. There is likely to be an issue with the added burden to the Marietta City Schools.
The sheer number of homes should require a Development of Regional Impact review by the ARC but they have declined to review the application. Who will pay for the infrastructure (road) improvements needed? Why the taxpayers of course!
The Montgomery property has been a private Wildlife Preserve for years, and there is an old cemetery and historic artifacts on the property as well. Currently this case is planned to be heard in the City on December 6 by the Planning Commission and on 12/14 by Marietta City Council. The case is Z-2022-29. We will keep you updated. A development this size will have significant impact on homeowners in the Kurtz, Cajun Rd, Bells Ferry, Piedmont and Canton Road area and on the two churches nearby. The commissioner will continue to be JoAnn Birrell until 01/01/23. All residents are free to engage in the rezoning process whether it is in the City or County. Let your voice be heard.
Hot mess
It started with the new county commission district map redrawn as required after the 2020 census.
The map, drawn by the Cobb legislative delegation, majority Democrats, was fairly balanced in distributing new residents into the 4 commission districts. Traditionally, the Georgia General Assembly will recognize and approve a locally drawn map. This year, the Cobb GOP stepped in, alarmed by the prospect of losing another commission district to a Democrat and gerrymandered Districts 2 and 3 to ensure that Commissioner Birrell would not have a close, competitive race as in 2018. The Georgia General Assembly dominated by GOP, accepted the gerrymandered map and Governor Kemp signed off on it.
District 3 is now comfortably GOP leaning. District 2 now straddles I-75 all the way past Town Center CID. The controversial aspect is that Commissioner Jerica Richardson, duly elected in 2020 has been drawn out of her own district two years early. She would need to move into the new District 2 on or before January 1, 2023 to retain her seat.
A bit belatedly and not without controversy, Democratic Chair Lisa Cupid decided that the Commission would invoke Home Rule which she felt allowed the county to accept the map drawn first by the Democratic legislators and keep Commissioner Richardson in her original District 2 after January 1, 2023. This was adopted in the form of a Resolution, which passed 3-2 on Tuesday the 25th. No doubt someone out there will take legal action on or before January 1 to force the county to accept the GOP map. Litigation is guaranteed to follow.
Whoever wins the District 3 race is set to represent the new district 3 on January 1 but it sounds like Birrell (presumed winner) and Richatdson will be sharing some of the same overlapping turf. Who decides? Who will cast votes on zoning and everything else?
That is the mess served up to County residents.
There are no zoning cases in the CRN area scheduled for November. The following cases will be heard in December:
Z-2022-29 Beazer Homes City of Marietta,12/6 12/14
County 12/6 12/20 Z-77 to CRC (Lidl for grocery store) 2833 Canton Road, 740 Piedmont Road; Z-78 to NRC Lee Jaraysi for car wash 4400 Shallowford Road, 4360 Canton Road; SLUP 18, Uhaul Co. 2800 Canton Road, Self-storage, truck and trailer rental, retail
The Candidate Meet and Greet held October 20th at Shiloh Hills Baptist Youth Center was well attended and featured Major Mitchell from Precinct 1 and Candidate Christine Triebsch.
Major Mitchell discussed the use of a robotic surveillance system called Flock Safety. This makes use of a license plate reader, among other components and speeds up apprehension of criminals entering a location or driving in traffic, fleeing a crime scene. It also allows citizens to upload their video to the police Flock system. A summary of issues impacting Bells Ferry was made by BFCA's Tullan Avard and Carol Brown gave a brief summary of Canton Road issues.
Three major public projects in Commission District 3 are on long term hold:
A ground breaking ceremony for the planned construction of a new Gritters Library was held nearly a year ago, but on September 27th an agenda item to fund the construction was pulled after Commissioner Birrell was unable to find the votes to approve. This did not appear in any of Commissioner Birrell’s newsletters. Rising costs of construction led to the tabling of the new library; also impacted was construction of a new Police Precinct 6 at Mountain View. The East Cobb News article was published on September 29. Link to the East Cobb News article
The third major project on hold is the planned new Fire Station 12 on Canton Road across from the Chastain Kroger. It is currently housed on Brackett Rd., close to Shaw Park. This is funded in the 2022 SPLOST and cost estimates are still underway. Construction may not begin for two more years.
Construction of the intersection improvements on Canton at Shallowford Rd. which are funded by the 2016 SPLOST, is slowly moving ahead.
CRN’s Jim Smith reports that the retaining walls, sidewalks with curb and gutter and guard railing are mostly done. A base layer of asphalt has been laid. Work on the medians has not yet begun. The DOT estimate for completion is January 2023.
Street racing continues to be a problem on the 5 mile Canton Road corridor and on the Connector.
We first became aware of the problem in late August a year ago, when an unruly crowd took over the intersection of Canton at Liberty Hill and assaulted a driver and his family as they attempted to go around the vehicles “making donuts” in the middle of the intersection. The noise and number of vehicles engaging in this dangerous-to-the-public “recreation” has not improved. Motorcycles, trucks and cars can be heard roaring up and down the corridor as late as midnight. Occasionally an ambulance can be heard and the racing pauses for a while. In the daytime tire tracks can be seen at several intersections, along with pieces of metal from wrecked cars. Here is a link to video shot on October 15th at 9 pm. It would be interesting to hear what the plan is to stop this activity. It seems to be operating largely out of control.
Review the Cobb Board of Commissioners Work Session on Stormwater Infrastructure here: www.YouTube.com/CobbCountyGovt.
There are no zoning cases in the CRN area scheduled for this month or November. The following cases will be heard in December:
Z-69 Beazer Homes LLC Laura Lake Z-77 to CRC (Lidl for grocery store) 2833 Canton Road, 740 Piedmont Road; Z-78 to NRC Lee Jaraysi for car wash 4400 Shallowford Road, 4360 Canton Road; SLUP 18, Uhaul Co. 2800 Canton Road, Self-storage, truck and trailer rental, retail
This is the second candidate event that CRN has co-hosted with Bells Ferry Civic; the first was the 2016 Chairman Candidate debate at Covenant Presbyterian featuring Tim Lee, Larry Savage and Mike Boyce. CRN hosted a Candidate Meet and Greet at Vespucci’s in 2012 and in 2010 hosted a Meet and Greet for District 3 and Chairman candidates at 756 Kurtz Road, which had been nominated for a park.
Special thanks to the Shiloh Hills Baptist Church for providing use of their Youth Center for the meeting.
That’s all for now.
Carol Brown, MRP
Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
Cobb Redistricting Vote AJC 10/10
Watch BoC hearing Agenda Item 41 to vote on resolution amending Act 562
Approved 3-2
Youtube starts:
2:35:00 to 3:00:00
BoC to hear about Stormwater Infrastructure The county’s stormwater infrastructure will be the topic of a work session Tuesday before the Board of Commissioners.
In December, the Commissioners asked the Water Service Director to develop a proposal to enhance stormwater services in the county and examine the establishment of a stormwater fee to fund the program. Water Service Director Judy Jones will brief commissioners on how our services compare to neighboring jurisdictions and how other jurisdictions charge for stormwater services based on the impervious surface area.
Stormwater management has become a matter of increasing concern in the county and has become more challenging to maintain. A growing amount of the hundreds of miles of drainage pipes in the county have reached the end of their useful life, and it has been difficult to maintain the staffing required to handle calls and catch up on a backlog of stormwater projects.
Currently, stormwater maintenance in Cobb County outside of the right-of-way is funded through water and sewer rates and handled by contractors, while many neighboring jurisdictions have a stormwater utility dedicated to maintaining the infrastructure. Tuesday’s work session is an informational briefing only. Any change to stormwater management in the county would only happen sometime in 2023 after significant feedback from Cobb residents and other stakeholders.You can watch the work session at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday on the county’s website, YouTube channel, or cable channel. You can view a replay of the meeting at any time at www.YouTube.com/CobbCountyGovt.
--------Updates are made to the CRN website as needed. Photos have been added recently to the Progress/Visual history, About and Photo Gallery pages. Go to the sidebar to find the pages. The Progress/Visual History can be found as a subheading under Zoning. The before and after photos really tell the story of positive changes on the Canton Corridor and to the role Canton Road Neighbors has played in helping to bring them about for the past 18 years. We work with the county, zoning applicants/attorneys and residents whenever possible to get the best outcome possible. More often than not that approach has been successful.September Zoning
OB 49 1091 Lake Dr. To consider a Stipulation amendment for Arylessence (recent recipient of fee and permit waivers and incentives). Approved on Consent
Z 54 756 Kurtz Rd R20 OSC to R 20. This is to allow the owner to build a swimming pool. Approved on Consent
SLUP 12 Piedmont Rd Storage facility Approved on Consent
Carol Brown, Canton Road Neighbors, Inc
Stuck in traffic on the perimeter again? Check out GDOT'S Major Mobility Investment program update. The plan will add express lanes to the periPmeter and GA 400. https://majormobilityga.com
September Zoning
Z 54 756 Kurtz Rd
SLUP 12 Piedmont Rd
August Zoning
OB 37 921 Jamerson to allow window tinting business
July Zoning cases
Planning 7/5 BoC 7/19
Z-44 LRO to NRC 1900 Sandy Plains for Personal Care Home: Consent Agenda Approved by BoC
OB 35 3850 Canton Rd Amend Stipulations to allow personal care home. East side of Canton north of Centerview Drive. Withdrawn w/o prejudice
ARC Regional Safety Strategy focus group recap
The Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Safety Strategy focus group took place on Monday in a 2 hour virtual session that presented design concepts to make transportation safer for all – drivers, pedestrians and bicycle riders.
Statistics on crashes in the metro region, annual averages over 5 years: 230,000 crashes, 3,150 seriously injured and 600 killed. Most of the fatalities and serious injuries occurred in roadway departures, with speed a factor: 22,000. There were 116,000 injuries at intersections 325 fatalities and 1700 serious injuries.
There were 2,100 bike/pedestrian crashes.
The presentation slides showed different road configurations: 4 lane, 5 lane, 2 and 3 way intersections and rural two lane highways. Each road design featured proposed infrastructure solutions to mitigate accidents at intersections and roadway departures. Proposals suggested were roundabouts, installing medians on 5 lane roadways, creating adequate bike pedestrian trails that were separated from traffic using bollards or trees. Adding lighting, raised reflectors in the center lane and increasing the width of striping at road edges were suggested to improve safety on rural two lanes where roadway departures due to speeding occur often.
The completed RSS Strategy will be used as a reference guide by the ARC for counties and municipalities as they plan for roadway improvements, funded by local SPLOST dollars or to be matched with State and Federal funds.
A quick look at Georgia DOT’s Crash Data for 2021 in Cobb County showed 27,223 crashes with 10,417 injuries and 77 fatalities. Cobb crash data 2021 is shown in the GIS maps at the top of the page.
Add to this our fairly recent problem with street racing and we have some serious issues to address.
Calendar
June 28 BoC Work Session 1:30 2023 proposed Budget: link to info and video explaining Staffing Crisis below:
https://www.cobbcounty.org/cmunications/news/commissioners-hear-details-fy23-budget
ARC Regional Safety Strategy planning underway
The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is developing the Atlanta Region’s first-ever transportation Regional Safety Strategy (RSS). The RSS is looking at safety from a regional perspective and will offer guidance to cities and counties on planning and implementing their own safety projects and safety elements for users of all modes. Part data-driven, part human-driven, the RSS will be the product of technical analysis as well as wide stakeholder input, presenting safety measures that are meaningful and impactful to all communities.
As part of the strategy development process, the project team is hosting focus groups with citizens from around the region to get their perspective on safety and how it impacts their daily lives as they move around their local communities and beyond, and collect feedback on draft recommendations for the RSS.
June Zoning Cases
BoC Zoning
Z-30 Approved on Consent
Z-32 Amadeus LLC for Talk of the Town Catering 2469 Canton Rd Approved 5-0
view YouTube
starts 2:21:00
Planning Commission
Z-37 905 Liberty Hill R-20 to LRO Withdrawn
Z-30 875 Blackwell Rd R-20 to LRO - deleted to LIPS rec approve 3-0 Starts 1:21:18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnJJMxlwifc
Z-32 Amadeus LLC 2469 Canton Rd GC to NRC for caterer, office space Talk of the Town Catering rec approve 3-0 starts 1:44:38
https://www.youtube.comwatch?v=JnJJMxlwifc
If the links above do not redirect visit YouTube and search Cobb Planning Commission June 2022
the run times listed are correct
Commission District Map Cobb Republicans file bill to redistrict commission districts
Canton Road Neighbors, Inc 2020-2022
Canton Road Neighbors Inc. Is a Georgia Nonprofit, nonpartisan civic and neighborhoods-based organization of neighborhoods along the Canton corridor and our focus is on planning, zoning and other issues related to an aging commercial and residential community.This is the official website of Canton Road Neighbors, Inc. We do not host a Facebook site and do not post to Next Door. Updates are posted to this site and quarterly updates are sent via email to those who have signed up to receive our newsletter.
To stay updated on Cobb County news visit www.cobbcounty.org
This website, CRN's third, is the most current version and will be updated as needed. The first site, CRN Archives, covers zoning cases and other activity from our incorporation in 2005 to 2015. The link to CRN Archives is https://sites.google.com/site/cantonroadneighborsarchives/homeThe second, more recent site covers zoning cases and community development issues from 2015 to fall 2020. It is available at this link.https://sites.google.com/site/cantonroadneighborsinc/
Canton Road Neighbors June
Canton Cook Chinese take out has opened. 2063 Canton Rd. at Merge 404-255-8000 dine in and take out. open 11-11 Tuesday- Saturday
Planning Commission
Z-30 875 Blackwell Rd R-20 to LRO - deleted to LIPS rec approve 3-0 Starts 1:21:18
https://www.youtube.comwatch?v=JnJJMxlwifc
Z-32 Amadeus LLC 2469 Canton Rd GC to NRC for caterer, office space rec approve 3-0 starts 1:44:38
https://www.youtube.comwatch?v=JnJJMxlwifc
May 2022
Hi everyone,
This brief is mainly for our most active residents on the southern end of Canton which has experienced a lot of zoning activity. Other items are included also.
First, the outcome of Z-18 910 Liberty Hill which as you may know was approved on Consent and included Kevin Moore’s letter of stipulations and CRN’s. The new privacy fence, new paint and landscaping will be implemented in the next 90 days. The color scheme of Meridian Restoration at 837 Liberty Hill which is gray with black trim and black doors was accepted by the Commissioner.
We want to ensure that they plant trees on the east side of the east gate closest to the RR to provide complete screening of the loading dock. No truck delivery will be permitted to use Lessie Maude as a cut through. The landscape company will move on Jan 31, 2023.
Zoning Case Z 37 at 905 Liberty Hill is pending June 7. More later.
The applicant for the oil change shop at 2320 Canton appealed the BoC vote to Deny OB 3. The case appears to have been heard twice in Cobb Superior Court. The County filed a Motion to Dismiss and a Brief in Support of the Motion on May 16.
The RV rental at 2120 Canton has been tied up in court by the Plaintiff/owner Tom Mitchell Esq. DBA Petroplex Joint Venture LLC. The Complaint was filed in November 2020. There has been an extended period of arbitration and it appears that the time to reach a settlement expired on May 2. If a settlement has been reached it would likely be heard by the BoC in a public hearing as an Other Business Agenda Item and voted on. Will keep you posted. Here’s hoping it results in fewer RVs on that tiny lot.
Z-30, at 875 Blackwell just behind Blackwell Sq. is applying to rezone from R-20 to LRO for a Contractor’s office. This will be heard in June.
Z 32, also in June, at 2469 Canton, the Federal Tile property, is rezoning from GC to NRC for use as an event center, warehouse, offices and catering. The catering company is Talk of the Town. This seems like a good use and good addition to the area. The only concern might be with hours of operation due to the close proximity to homes on Fraser.
Z-44 to be heard in July is at 1900 Sandy Plains Rd. just east of the vacant drug store corner of Sandy Plains and Scufflegrit. The zoning request LRO (low rise office) to NRC neighborhood retail commercial to build a one story 24 bed personal care home. The applicant’s representative is Garvis Sams. This seems to be a good use for that site.
Chairwoman Lisa Cupid has been in the news for her recent remarks about the unequal (double standard) nature of zoning opinions issued by staff that apply to different areas of the county. She is right on the mark with her comments. There is greater deference given to relatively affluent areas than to moderate income communities about which uses are permitted and how they are regulated. The Code is the Code and when it needs to be enforced, equal protection should apply. Here is a link to a recent article. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/cupid-calls-zoning-staff-unequal-040100054.html
Input for the 2040 Comprehensive Plan has concluded. I made two recommendations for a land use change on Canton Road and one on Powell Wright. Proposal 1 was to change the land use from NAC to MDR on the parcels fronting Canton at Westerly Way. That was accepted. Proposal 2 was to change the land use from NAC to MDR on Canton from Powell Wright north to @ 2270 Canton Road. This was rejected. Proposal 3 was to change the land use on the south side of Powell Wright and the west side of Oland from R-20 to PRC. This was rejected. This includes two parcels which are not buildable due to setbacks and a stream. The lots flood easily and the land use change might have prompted acquisition by the county to mitigate stormwater runoff. The proposal on Canton at Powell Wright was to suggest that building a quality residential development on the Canton Road frontage might be a better use of the land given the tight housing market.
We are aware that a plan for a new Lidl grocery store came through Site Plan Review in mid April. This would have been for the SW corner of Canton at Piedmont in the vacant Rite-Aid. We don’t yet know if this will proceed but it would certainly be a great addition to this community.
There continues to be a serious problem with street racing on Canton Road and on the Canton Connector. You can hear the noise from motorcycles, trucks and cars blocks away. There are several drivers who have used the narrow 25mph Powell Wright as a drag strip. Motorcyclists and at least two cars have been seen hitting at least 45 mph between the RR tracks and the 15 mph hairpin curve on Powell Wright to the west. This is being documented. Signs asking these people to slow down will not help. Police intervention might help. It shouldn’t take a fatality on these residential streets where neighbors walk, for this to be stopped quickly.
There continue to be problems with speeding dump trucks carrying aggregate from Vulcan Materials to the Quikrete Plant on Canton north of Jamerson. One was stopped last week by police after speeding through the Blackwell Elementary School Zone during the afternoon.
A reminder to the County that we need to draft a new Noise Ordinance that actually protects residents and allows the county to enforce the code against excessive noise. The Gwinnett ordinance is a good resource and actually would be a good one to cut and paste.
This update has mainly focused on the south end of Canton Corridor, since after a long period of inactivity, the pace has picked up. We hope to see more progress in the area and will continue to work with business, residents and the county to achieve a good outcome for all parties.
Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend.
Carol Brown MRP, Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
Gritters Library Groundbreaking:
Gritters Library GrantGritters will close during the construction period. This could be for 18 months to two years. The official estimate is that it will be completed by late 2022. Based on every SPLOST project I am aware of, that is a VERY optimistic estimate. The good news is that Shaw Park will be the site of a state of the art library and our first ever community center. The sad news is that the temporary closure of Gritters will be like losing an old friend, for regular patrons, and I am one of them.“Library Director Helen Poyer says the new building will feature a larger multipurpose room for public and library use; reading and study rooms; indoor/outdoor book drops; dedicated children’s area; computer training lab; moveable stacks; outdoor programming/reading space; ample parking; flexible space to accommodate programs/services; and one service desk.”Zoning Cases: No zoning cases CRN area in December or January
A conceptual plan for the vacant property at 2320 Canton
(formerly Big Deals) was submitted to Plan Review on 10/14. It proposes to use the site for Strickland Brothers Oil Change. This will likely require a public hearing based on the stipulations in Z-42 2007.CRN Year in Review 2021
As zoning applications go, it was an uneventful year for much of the 5 mile Canton Corridor.
A few new businesses moved in; a boarding kennel, a warehouse for Quikrete product andThere is an election in No a new restaurant was approved in April but Canton Cook is not yet open.
The major zoning cases and development were all around our area; the Atlantic Realty mixed use application in the old Sprayberry shopping center was finally approved; the 49 acre tract on Ebenezer owned by the Phillips was approved for residential development and in the Bells Ferry area, homeowners tried to process the impact of a planned massive Amazon warehouse at Big Shanty and Chastain Meadows.
It was good to see the Public Storage completed just south of the Racetrac. Further north on Canton, the Smith Douglas Homes development near Kensington is well underway. The Shallowford turn lane and intersection improvements funded by SPLOST are underway and not a day too soon. The recent groundbreaking event for the new Gritters Library was a nice way to end an otherwise depressing year.
The County estimates construction will be finished by late 2022. Based on every SPLOST project in the area we have tracked, that is a VERY optimistic projection. Cherokee Cattle should be reopening when renovation is complete.
The past two years of the pandemic have taken a toll on everyone and CRN is no exception.
We have communicated by phone and email but have not had any group meetings. There hasn’t been a lot to look forward to south of Piedmont. In fact, other than the new Public Storage and Racetrac driveway, progress in the southern section of Canton has come to a screeching halt.
Speaking of screeching, every local wanna-be stock car driver and motocross rider has discovered Canton Road. The first episode was August 29th at the Liberty Hill Canton intersection. The sound of engines roaring, tires squealing and a cheering crowd could be heard hundreds of feet away. The crowd converged on a small car trying to go around the intersection and broke windows, attacked the driver and sent broken glass flying inside onto a child. Nice, classy group of folks. At least one of them was arrested. Loud engines can still be heard racing up and down Canton but police diligence seems to be making a dent.
Street racing isn’t the only unwanted noise in the area. A local HVAC contractor who has outgrown the site they are leasing seems determined to go out with a bang. A lot of loud bangs as dumpsters are dropped off, dragged over concrete repeatedly on a daily basis, followed by A/C units and hot water heaters dropped into the dumpsters. We hear they are moving to a larger, more appropriate site next year.
Just south, in an old blighted gas station that got a new paint job, a tenant has packed more RVs onto the small parcel than anyone would have thought humanly possible. The landlord sued Cobb County for the right to get an inappropriately intense zoning, kinda like the inappropriate zoning the departing HVAC contractor received in 2009.
That is a good segue into the planned overhaul of Cobb County’s zoning code, development standards and design guidelines. Its called Unified Development Code and is considered a best practice in the planning profession. The UDC combines multiple documents into an easier-to-review and understand format containing zoning ordinances, development standards and design guidelines.
A number of residents are suspicious of the planned UDC which will take nearly two years to put together. There will be a public engagement process and the zoning procedure known to many citizens will not be changing. This should result in a more cohesive, clearly explicit set of guidelines for what is and isn’t permitted in a given location. Hopefully it will reduce some of the arbitrary nature of zoning decisions and of what issues code enforcement can address. Considering some of the more “memorable” zoning cases I have experienced on Canton Hwy, UDC sounds like a giant step in the right direction.
There’s no denying that many of the aspirations stated in the 2006 Canton Road Steering Committee planning, and in the 2009 Canton Road Design Guidelines, have failed to materialize south of Piedmont. Some incremental progress has been made, parcel by parcel. One goal was to make Canton Road a destination, not a pass-thru. A number of undeveloped or blighted sites were meant to be redeveloped. Automotive uses and aging metal buildings were meant to be phased out. Rather than focus on assemblage however, the focus has been on steering business to the vacant, aging metal buildings. As a result there are fewer vacancies. Now rather than automotive uses, service and industrial businesses dot the landscape from Piedmont Road south to the merge. These are even less neighborhood friendly than automotive uses since many generate noise. Meanwhile, many of the neighborhoods just off the corridor have undergone renovation by the owners. There has been some infill development as well.
These are viable, diverse, middle class neighborhoods and many of the homes are on large lots. There aren’t many for sale in the area and when one does go on the market it sells quickly.
That is not the description of our area used to justify the Enterprise Zone in 2013-4 which was not supported by the community. As concerned residents feared, it has actually made quality growth more difficult to attract. It has not been a success and should be removed.
2022 Opportunities approaching. This may be the year that transformational change comes to the southern section of Canton Hwy. There is interest in a mixed use development at the SE corner of Piedmont and Canton. There are multiple parcels waiting for assemblage. As destinations go, there’s no place like home, and the housing market is still hot. Bringing attractive development to the area will require work and the ability to be open to something different. Its time to change the development patterns of the past and support quality growth we can all be proud of.
I am thankful to have made it through the past two years and am thankful for good friends and neighbors and for my pets. I am also thankful that we live in a county and country whose elected leadership seems to care about the health and welfare of all citizens and our environment.
Season’s Greetings and may 2022 bring many good things to you and to our community.
Carol Brown, M.R.P. Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
November 23, 2021
Other Business 062 at 2288 Canton Rd, for use as a boarding kennel and dog training: approved 5-0 on November 16. No outside runs, all dogs to be supervised when outside.
October 30, 2021
Briefly
The noise from street racing (cars and motorcycles) can still be heard as they roar up and down Canton Hwy and the Connector. However, Cobb County PD estimates they have written over 150 tickets for speeding and loud mufflers.
Way to go! At some point the cost of tickets will outweigh the cost of new tires and engine repair. Hopefully sooner than later.
One case in the CRN area in November: Other Business 62 for a Boarding Kennel and dog training at 2288 Canton Rd. This will be heard on November 18.
Street racing gang Canton Road alert
08/29/21
Early this morning a street racing gang shut down the intersection of Canton Road and Liberty Hill by the Racetrac. The photo below shows that vehicles were doing "donuts" in the intersection. Apparently a passenger vehicle tried to drive around the activity and their vehicle was damaged by bystanders. The headlights were broken as well as the rear windshield.
The reported activity took place at approximately 1 am Sunday, and nearby residents reported hearing it between 2 and 3 am.
This is not the first time that street racing has been a problem on Canton Hwy. On June 22, 2020 CBS 46 reported an incident in the parking lot at the intersection of Canton and Piedmont.
Cobb County Police arrested one of the drivers, a 19 year old from DeKalb County, who was charged with 17 criminal charges. Canton Road will be put on Police Zone Patrol starting this weekend.
Report any concerns immediately: call 911.
Stay safe,
Carol Brown, Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
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Good news for fans of Cherokee Cattle Company! It is undergoing renovation and will be opening again for business, date TBA.
The Ebenezer Road residential rezoning has been continued until the September Planning Commission meeting. Hopefully a compromise can be reached that will be a win-win.
The former Trophy shop on Canton at Hawkins Store is in for a zoning upgrade. Its more of a "cleanup zoning" from GC to NRC. The property is adjacent to Emerson Church. Z-58. It was recommended for approval by PC on Consent Agenda.
June and July 2021
Z-14 Pearl River Brothers LLC, from GC to NRC for restaurant, former Rib Ranch site. Planning Commission April 6, BoC Zoning April 20 Approved on Consent.
The restaurant is under renovation.
CRN Update June 2021
Michael Hughes was appointed as District 4 Planning Commissioner. Hughes, Cobb's former Economic Development Director, was chosen to replace Galt Porter on the Planning Commission. Hughes is remembered in this area for working with former ComDev Director Dana Johnson to impose the Enterprise Zone designation on the southern section of Canton Hwy. It was deemed "blighted" and lacking in investment. Census tract data did not support the designation but rules allowed the County to use data from a nearby census tract.is is a very informative presentation on the changes to Georgia's voting law.
It was not well received by CRN or area residents but was adopted over objections. Quality development has taken place in the area over the past few years (in spite of the Enterprise Zone designation) and it is unlikely the area would qualify for Enterprise Zone now.
Sprayberry Crossing (Atlantic Realty ROD 1) was approved by BoC 4-1. Link to AJC article
The Phillips property rezoning, Z-31 on Ebenezer has been continued until July.
Gritters Library is now open to the public. Renovation may be coming soon.
There is a major residential rezoning to be heard in June, on Ebenezer Road. This is the large tract owned by Mr. and Mrs. Tom Phillips. The application is from R-20 to RA-5 & R-15 OSC.
The new Public Storage building has been completed. The building is very attractive and hopefully will set a new standard for development on the Canton Road Corridor.
A new Chinese restaurant will be opening at the old Rib Ranch location. It was approved by the BoC.
Finally, the long awaited improvements on Canton at Shallowford are underway. A new northbound right turn lane onto Shallowford will be built and safety improvements in the southbound left turn will be added.
That's it for now. Have a safe and happy summer.
Carol Brown Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
Planning Commissioner Galt Porter resigns
Link to story Yahoo.com
The resignation comes after Porter and the Planning Commission voted to hold a rezoning on a parcel owned by the County which is to be sold. Porter disagreed with the proposed rezoning on the county property as being too limited, which would lower the value and sale price - and lose money for taxpayers. At the Board of Commissioners zoning meeting on April 20th Commissioner Gambrill took exception to the PC hold and directed the Planning Commission to hear the case and vote on it text month. Commissioner Cupid expressed concern that Gambrill was essentially ordering the PC to proceed in an "adversarial" way, but the motion made by Commissioner Gambrill carried 4-1. Cupid opposed. Porter's resignation was announced at the BoC meeting on April 28th.
The resignation of Porter is a loss for Cobb County. A hardworking and thorough commissioner, in recent years Porter had become one of the most knowledgeable and effective members of Cobb Planning Commission.
Planning Commissioners are appointees who serve at the pleasure of the Commissioner. Porter was first appointed by then-Commissioner Lisa Cupid (District 4) in 2012. He was named Chair of the PC in 2020 and was recently appointed by District 4 Commissioner Sheffield to the Planning Commission after Cupid became Chair of Cobb County.
Earth Day April 22 -
CRN celebrated Earth Day by adding daylilies and iris to the perennial garden. The garden was planted on April 22, 2010, so it is 11 years old. The daffodils have finished blooming and the next feature will be daylilies. Thanks to the Huguleys for the generous donation of flowers. We always welcome volunteers so if you enjoy gardening, let us know.
Link to Perennial Garden archive
Karen Matthews, Cobb DOT project manager for X2602, Canton at Shallowford, said the project will finally get underway on the west side of Canton. Clearing and utility relocation will begin soon since property owners on the west side have signed easements.
Negotiations are still underway on the southeast side of the intersection and until they conclude, work won't begin on the east side of the project.
County enters into Condemnation proceeding to acquire ROW needed for Canton Road SPLOST improvement at dangerous Canton/Shallowford intersection. From the County Agenda:
PURPOSE
To determine that circumstances are such that it is necessary to proceed with condemnation proceedings by Declaration of Taking under O.C.G.A. §32-3-4, et. seq., on eleven parcels on Canton Road Corridor, Project No. X2602.
BACKGROUND
Canton Road Corridor is an approved roadway safety and operational improvements project in the 2016 SPLOST Transportation Improvements Program (TIP).
The project consists of roadway and traffic operational improvements on Canton Road, beginning at the Canton Road/Canton Road Connector intersection and ending at Jamerson Road. Improvements will include the addition of turn lanes, raised medians, access revisions, sidewalks, signal upgrades, and drainage improvements.
Additional rights-of-way and easements are needed to construct this project. Right-of-way funding for this project is available in the 2016 SPLOST TIP Fund approved budget.
Negotiations with the property owners are ongoing; however, in order to ensure project deadlines are met, the Department is requesting condemnation approval by the Board of Commissioners in the event negotiations are unsuccessful, and the Land Acquisition Review Committee, consisting of the Department’s Development Services, Right-of-Way and Construction staff, and the County’s Legal personnel, recommend condemnation actions be filed.
Under appropriate circumstances, as are more fully set forth under the provisions of O.C.G.A. §32-3-4, the County is authorized to acquire real property interests by the Declaration of Taking method for reasons including, but not limited to, a desire for judicial ascertainment of all issues pertaining to the acquisition.
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New appointments to Planning Commission and BZA
Chairwoman Lisa Cupid has appointed Stephen Vault to the Planning Commission in an at-large capacity. Barkley Russell was appointed to the Board of Zoning Appeals, replacing long term member Murray Homan.
Former County Attorney Deborah Dance has returned to the county but not to the legal department. Ms. Dance will serve as the new District 3 Planning Commissioner.
Ms Dance is very familiar with zoning code and with the County's zoning procedure. She was often present at BoC zoning meetings to advise the Commissioners on technical issues.
Commissioner Birrell has appointed Brian O'Malley to the BZA.
There may still be one additional Planning Commission appointment for District 2. Tony Waybright, who was appointed by Bob Ott, continues to serve as Planning Commissioner. Bryant McDaniel is the BZA member for District 2.
Galt Porter will remain in place for Planning Commission District 4 and Fred Beloin continues to represent District 1.
See our Contacts page for email addresses.
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2020 Archive
CRN 2020 year in review and a look ahead
CRN focuses on planning, zoning and other development issues that affect the community therefore this blog will stick to those topics. We know that the lives of many neighbors have been impacted by the Covid 19 virus and many of us know those who have been unfortunate enough to experience it. We hope 2021 will begin a time of healing for our friends, neighbors and the country.
Covid 19 changed the way the County held zoning hearings; after postponements of 2.5 months, meetings resumed virtually. Participation by the public declined and the hearings had an impromptu feeling as Commissioners, staff and the public tried to adapt quickly. Kudos to Cornelius Pope, Cobb’s TV 23 Senior Producer, for staying on top of technical challenges and delivering meeting videos to the public on schedule.
Zoning
The zoning caseload for the Canton Road area did not lighten up in 2020, however there were only a few cases that could be considered significant in impact. Only one will have a positive impact on the area. There were 16 cases addressed by CRN in the Canton Road area, with another four in the City of Marietta in 2020. Of the 16, most were minor, either upgrades of zoning category or change of business use.
Several industrial and service businesses required more attention because of their close proximity to residential properties. One applicant demanded no limitation be put on their operation even though zoning code was explicit in what was permitted and not permitted. This was one of two cases that will have a significant impact on the area, but likely not in a positive way. Special Land Use Permit 7, Quikrete, at 4960 Canton Hwy just north of the Jamerson commercial node, was approved by a 3-2 vote to move into a site previously occupied by a concrete plant. Quikrete applied for a dry bagging operation which they said would have little impact on the nearest neighbors. They were able to secure operating hours of 24/7 in violation of Code. Their plan for at least 30 daily round trips of deliveries to Home Depot using semi tractor trailers, as well as multiple deliveries of aggregate material from Vulcan Materials to their Canton Hwy operation will likely have the greatest impact on the community and on the roads.
The recently updated site plan amendment to the Smith Douglas Homes development on Canton Road at Kensington, is the zoning most likely to have a positive impact on the corridor. It was approved as RA 6 (Z-66 2019)for a town home community. Development should begin this spring.
Past zoning approvals finally underway
The 5.8 tract at the corner of Shallowford Connector and Shallowford is finally underway. Zoned RA 6 for Pearson Communities in 2015 and updated in (Z-80) 2016, it will conserve green space and feature attached dwellings targeted to 55+. The stipulations mandated right in right out at the main entrance on Shallowford, with open access on the less heavily traveled 2nd entrance on Shallowford Connector.
Another Pearson property on Sandy Plains at Ross Rd. received final approval to proceed with a Phase I and II subdivision of detached town homes. Phase II for 49 town homes on 8.21 acres was approved as RA 6 in November. This will add access to the signal on Sandy Plains in addition to the entrance on Sandy Plains across from Hasty Rd. Phase I on Sandy Plains was approved in 2015 for RA 5 as Z-90. The owners sued Cobb County and a settlement was reached and approved in 2019. Phase I was approved as RA 6 with a total of 41 town homes. The community is targeted to ages 55+.
Prior year rezonings completed
Racetrac’s new main driveway alignment with the signal at Liberty Hill, and the new access road at Westerly Way finally opened in February 2020 with a well attended ribbon cutting ceremony. The zoning, Z-21 2016 requested the infrastructure improvements with costs shared by the County and Racetrac. It was worth the four year wait.
Zoned as Z-50 and SLUP 10 in 2017, the new storage facility just south of Racetrac on Canton Hwy is the corridor’s most expensive project and only the second commercial four-sided brick structure built since Heath Linebeck in 2006. Hopefully the new development and the Racetrac improvements will raise the bar for future commercial development in the area. Progress in that area is welcomed and long overdue.
Area development
The 55+ detached town home community on Piedmont at Morgan is nearly completed.
A new detached single family community developed by Loyd Development Services and Heatherland is nearly complete. It is on the corner of Suholden and Embry located just off New Chastain and Canton Road. Just up the hill, development on Hilltop Dr. is scheduled to begin this spring. Homes will be priced in the $500,000 + range.
Homeowners in the Bells Ferry/Turner Road and White Circle area in the City of Marietta saw rapid improvements on White Circle and parts of Bells Ferry. The northeastern and southeastern side of White Circle have been transformed from overgrown, heavily littered vacant tracts by attractive new industrial development (CII) and a new residential subdivision by Venture Homes.
At 1691 Bells Ferry near Williams Drive, Loyd Development Services is building a new subdivision of affordable homes on a 5 acre tract.
A proposed mixed use development application by Atlantic Realty Acquisitions for Sprayberry Crossing will finally be heard on February 2, as ROD 1. The fire station on Brackett Rd off of Canton will be relocating. The new fire station is planned for construction on Canton at Chastain Corners and should get underway this spring. It was approved by the BoC in early 2019.
The large tract at the SW corner of Chastain Rd and Chastain Meadows will be developed as Piedmont Medical Center. An intense mixed use zoning at that location(Z-71 Pope and Land) was denied by the BoC last year. The Medical Center is being built out as currently zoned with permits.
Looking ahead
There is interest by developers in the Piedmont Village site (SE corner of Piedmont and Canton) for a potential mixed use development. This is the former location of the Drivers License branch. There may also be interest in new development at Blackwell Sq at the vacant Walmart site.
The planned improvements on Canton at Shallowford,funded by SPLOST, which include an eastbound right turn lane and a narrow apron in the SB center lane at the signal, are still on hold. We have heard that negotiations over County acquisition of right of way from an owner are causing the delay. This is a very dangerous intersection and area residents hope this is resolved and that work can begin as soon as possible.
People
This election year has brought many changes to the County Commission. Incumbent Chairman Mike Boyce lost his bid for reelection and Commissioner Lisa Cupid will become Cobb County’s new Chairman. We wish Mike Boyce well and thank him for a job well done. We look forward to Chairman Cupid’s term and know that the County will continue to be in good hands.
The District 2 Commission seat formerly held by Bob Ott has a new Commissioner, Jerica Richardson. District 4 Commissioner Monique Sheffield was sworn in on Dec. 22, replacing former Commissioner Lisa Cupid in that seat.
There will likely be new Planning Commission appointees, and we will post that information when announced.
Local elections continue in 2021 with the City of Marietta Mayor and Council Member seats up for reelection in November. Ward 6 Councilwoman Michelle Cooper Kelly has announced that she will challenge Steve Tumlin in the race for Mayor. The Mayor and Council races are nonpartisan.
Voters in Cobb approved the 2022 SPLOST to everyone’s relief, ensuring that roads and bridges will be repaired and repaved in the future as needed.
For specifics on zoning cases described please check out our updated website at www.cantonroadneighbors.org. There are also links to our two earlier websites which provide information on zoning cases and area development going back to the CRN incorporation in 2005.
To stay current on pending issues and zoning cases please visit www.cobbcounty.org and sign up for e newsletters from the County and Commissioner Birrell. You can also sign up for zoning analysis notification by email. (This is available to the public in part due to the CRN effort in 2012-2013 for a Neighborhood Notification Initiative program in Cobb).
Wishing you a safe, healthy, prosperous and Happier New Year.
Carol Brown, M.R.P.
Chairman, Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
Here is the status of area zoning cases: December 27
Z- 65 in December was the last case in CRN area this year.
Z-57 2165 Canton (former GH Horseshoe) BoC Approved on Consent GC to NRC for Georgia Clean.
Z-60 2120 Canton (Petroplex, Tom Mitchell) Approved by BoC Deletion to NRC for use by Tailgate.com only RVs stored behind the fence with one outside for demonstration and pickup during the day only. Right in Right out for RV traffic on Canton. The owner, Tom Mitchell, owner of the site (Petroplex) has filed suit against Cobb County.
SLUP 9 Crawford Landscaping Fowler Circle Approved on Consent No chipping or grinding of tree stumps
SLUP 8 Lockhart Holdings aka Property Masters Lee Waters Rd Approved on Consent.
OB 53 Smith Douglas Homes Canton Hwy at Kensington Approved on Consent for site plan modification re landscaping and sidewalks on Kensington.
Z-44 Peach State Salvage (Rustique) Approved by BoC on Consent GC deleted to NRC
OB 59 2558 Canton Approved on Consent for Granite Countertops
OB 61 760 Hawkins Store to amend stipulation 4 (1997) to allow other business
Z 65 3481 Canton at Blackwell OI to CRC to allow RV trailer sales Continued until December Planning Commission
LUP 18 east side of Piedmont Drive south of Umland Single-family residential Proposed Use To allow more adults and vehicles than the code allows BoC Denied
Carol Brown Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
SLUP 7 Quikrete application approved by Commissioners 3-2.Boyce, Cupid opposed. Birrell, Ott, Gambrill supported.Link to YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJjQvLfJHwISLUP 7 starts at 1 h r 41 minutes 25 seconds into the video.Outcome of SLUP 7 Quikrete at 4960 Canton Hwy.Commissioners voted to approve it 3-2, with Commissioners Birrell, Gambrill and Ott supporting. Chairman Boyce and Commissioner Cupid opposed. Commissioner Cupid discussed the case at length.The hearing lasted just over 1 hour. There were two speakers in opposition, Carol Brown of Canton Road Neighbors and Dr. Charles Highland of the Etowah Veterinary Clinic.The Code for Concrete plants has two important requirements:They should not be located less than 1,000 feet from residential property and they should be limited to daylight hours only.Other regulations concern worker safety and the environment and are subject to State and Federal oversight. Quikrete has numerous OSHA violations across the US and EPA violations as well. They currently have open cases at their Lithonia Plant, at San Antonio and at Paxinos in Pennsylvania.Here is the motion made by Commissioner Birrell which was adopted in a 3-2 vote.Quikrete will limit truck deliveries to the hours of 5:00 am to 7:00 pm (Monday-Saturday); Quikrete will not operate the plant on Sundays; Quikrete will not use the adjacent railroad line for delivery or dropoff of materials. Should Quikrete choose to seek to use the adjacent railroad line for delivery or dropoff of materials in the future, Quikrete agrees to limit the hours of loading and dropoff to 7:00 am to 7:00 pm Monday to Saturday.Quikrete will plant a single row of Emerald Arborvitae planted 4' apart in a 10' landscape strip that runs along the west side of the west side of the property shown as a cross-hatched on the drawing hereto attached and Quikrete will cease outdoor activities on the yard between the hours of 11:00 pm and 5:00 am and will cease the use of backup alarms between the hours of 9:00 pm to 5:00 am Quikrete also agreed to work with Cobb DOT Maintenance to keep the northern end of the access point to the private Spur road clear of brush.Staff comments and recommendations will also apply to Quikrete in the plan review process.Here is what was not adopted or addressed. The plant will operate indoors 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. The BoC should only have approved for daylight operations. Residents closest to the plant will probably be able to hear the backup alarms onsite operating in the evening until 9:00 pm and at 5:00 am Monday – Saturday. Loading pallets onto trucks may be heard until as late as 11:00 pm.There was discussion about the fact that because the plant was built many decades ago, the code requirement that a concrete plant should not be closer than 1,000 feet to residential property did not apply. The plant was built before the homes and the code limiting the distance to homes and daylight hours of operations was adopted in the late 90s. However Commissioner Cupid said that there were reasons why those policies changed – and that there was greater awareness of the environmental impacts on people near concrete plants. She voted to oppose the SLUP. The operation will be “90% indoors”, according to Quikrete, but the 10% of outdoor operations between the early evening hours to 11:00 pm and from 5:00 am to 7:00 am will probably be audible to nearby homeowners.The other issue is the volume of heavy truck traffic. This issue was not addressed at the hearing or by Cobb DOT. Quikrete plans to have 8 to 10 tractor trailers which will make two to three deliveries daily. This will result in approximately 60 round trips. Additionally there will be deliveries of aggregate material of sand and rock from the quarry at McCollum airport which will come from Big Shanty to Chastain and then turn north on Canton Road. This will add to the volume of heavy truck traffic on Canton Hwy. There was no discussion about requiring a merge lane for northbound trucks on Canton or installation of signs stating “Trucks entering the Highway” or an on demand signal.We will keep you updated on any new developments.Carol Brown M.R.P. Canton Road Neighbors, Inc.
Canton Road Neighbors zoning update August and September 2020 The three cases discussed below will have the most impact on residents north of Chastain, Hawkins Store and the Jamerson Canton area.Three industrial zoning cases will be heard in August and September. Two of the three are intense uses which will push the Canton - Jamerson commercial area back towards the heavy industry that defined the area decades ago. The problem is that residential development and infrastructure improvements have been built in the area near Kell High School and East Cobb Baseball. The other problem is with a lack of visibility of these applications and with the process to date in the Quikrete case. Special Land Use Permit 7, The Quikrete Companies, 4960 Canton Hwy, zoned HI, to repurpose the existing concrete plant for production of bagged concrete. BoC Zoning Tuesday August 18th at 9 am. Until recently, zoning and special land use permit signs were bright yellow (now gray) and they are required to be posted on the nearest public street in right of way for 30 days prior to the hearing and until after the hearing. Quikrete's sign was posted on a for sale sign adjacent to the fence, and at some point became missing in action. The lack of a sign caused the BoC hearing to be held until August 18. The sign still is not posted on, or visible from Canton Hwy so we are giving it a little publicity. Such an unobtrusive sign for such an intense use.Private spur road off of Canton Hwy leading to Quikrete and other businesses.The SLUP application was not included in the original July Preliminary Zoning Analysis and appeared in a revised July package. Quikrete met with several Cobb County officials to discuss the application and on June 4th I received an email from Commissioner Birrell with information about the SLUP. June 4th was the day Quikrete closed on the 5.27 acre tract. The property is zoned Heavy Industrial appropriately, and they plan to renovate the old concrete plant to produce bagged concrete. Their application requests that no restrictions be placed on the hours of operation so that they can meet demand for product. This request violates the code and the location violates the required 1,000' distance from residential property.Below are comments and recommendations from Staff analysis, followed by the applicable Heavy Industrial zoning code which permits asphalt and cement plants as a special exception.“Summary of the applicant’s proposal The applicant is seeking a Special Land Use Permit, SLUP to operate a concrete plant at the site of an existing concrete plant. The operation of the plant will be for a waterless, dry concrete packaging facility. The existing building will be renovated and retrofitted for the operation as a dry concrete packaging plant. Materials, such as sand and gravel will be delivered and stored in the exterior yard until they are ready for use in the process. The final product will be transported offsite by pallet. The applicant requests that no limitations are placed on hours of operation so that they may vary their operations according to seasonal demand.” “Based on the analysis of this case, Staff recommends APPROVAL subject to the following: 1. Site Plan received by the Zoning Division on May 14, 2020, with the District Commissioner approving minor modifications; 2. Fire Department comments and recommendations; 3. Stormwater Management Division comments and recommendations; and 4. Department of Transportation comments and recommendations.” Sec. 134-231. - HI heavy industrial district. (11) Special exception uses for industrial areas only. b. Asphalt plants or concrete plants, subject to the following minimum standards: A special land use permit is required as provided in section 134-37. Compliance with all applicable state and federal laws is required. All necessary state and federal permits shall be obtained. A spill containment plan shall be approved by county staff. Minimum acreage is five acres. No use shall be located closer than 1,000 feet to any residential dwelling or school. Hours of operation shall be limited to daylight hours.Noise abatement and air pollution abatement plans shall be approved by county staff.Industrial sites surrounded by residential community
------------------------------------------------------------------------The two Special Land Use Permits to be heard in September are:SLUP 8 (Property Masters) located at the terminus of Lee Waters Road, Zoned HI Current use of property: Special Contractor, Landscaping Proposed use: Transfer Station, Outside StorageSLUP 9 Crawford Landscaping, Fowler Circle zoned LI Current use of property: Farm and Garden SupplyProposed use: Chipping, grinding, or reduction of tree debris and vegetative waste transferPlanning Commission Hearing September 1 at 9 am. BoC Zoning Hearing September 15th 9 amZ-44 Peach State Salvage GC to LI, on the southern end of Canton Hwy will be heard in September as well. This is the site of Rustique. The case was continued from August. Staff recommended deletion to NRC.V2020-21 1705 White Circle, will be heard by the Marietta BZA on August 24th. This site will add an expansion and make significant upgrades to the buildings.We will keep you updated.Carol BrownCanton Road Neighbors, Inc.CRN. UPDATE JULY 2020CRN incorporated in June 2005 and our 15th year of community service has been busy in spite of the pandemic.On the southern end of Canton Hwy., the new signal at Liberty Hill and Racetrac is one of the best roadway improvement installations we have had. It took four years of effort on the part of the County, Racetrac and a lot of nudging by area residents but was well worth waiting for.Just south, construction on the new Extra Space storage facility stalled in early March, at least partly due to a need to restructure financing. They appear to be back on track and hopefully will be able to complete the building this year.The building owned for many years by Mr. Hill (G&H Horseshoe) on the west side of Canton at Kurtz Rd. sold in March.The property at 2120 Canton, owned by Petroplex and rezoned to LRO is now parking RV and a tour bus. The owners might want to review the LRO ordinance and zoning stipulations.Also on the southern end, at 1053 Sandy Plains, a Variance in the City was approved with a good outcome for residents who live behind the lot which is between the former Wendy's and the Carwash. It will be developed as a two story commercial building in the future and the owners agreed to build a privacy fence and install a tree buffer.Rustique is up for sale and has a potential buyer: a furniture design and assembly firm who want to move in and are asking to rezone to Light Industrial. Z-44 will be heard in August. We met with Attorney Parks Huff and the buyer recently and believe that concerns will be addressed. It looks as though there will be some improvements made to the facade of the old Rustique building, the use will be less intense than first thought and hopefully the LI zoning designation will be lowered to something more neighborhood friendly.This is a work in progress, but heading in a good and equitable direction for all concerned.The 6 acre property at the corner of Canton and Kensington which was rezoned last year to RA 6 is getting underway this summer. Smith Douglas Homes is the developer.Quikrete plans to open a new bagged concrete plant on the northern end of Canton Hwy (4960) not far from the County line. It will repurpose and upgrade an old concrete plant. Quikrete acquired the property last summer. SLUP 7 was on Consent for the Planning Commission meeting but to the surprise of all, our Planning Commissioner changed the agreed to Consent Motion to give the applicant leeway to operate 24/7. The HI zoning code allows cement plants as a Special Exception and one requirement is that operation must b limited to daylight hours. Additionally, the required zoning signs were not posted and so, the case will be continued until the August BoC meeting. Residents need to be informed about this intense use and the chance to give input to the Commissioners.On Bells Ferry Rd. several developments are underway that are or will be hard to overlook. A new Town Home development, the Overlook at Bells Ferry (1691) is being developed by Loyd Development Services.These attached townhomes will be marketed in the $300s. Density is the necessary downside for the relatively affordable price points. Further west, at 1401 and 1411, next to the Cottages of Marietta, Mr. Hrib, owner of CII will be developing a new office park with three buildings. The property is zoned CRC but needs a Variance from the City to develop the land. That will bring improvement to a previously challenged tract. There is another development around the corner on White Circle on a property owned by Mr. Hrib.1705 White, the old furniture factory, now with different uses is expanding with a 12,000 ft new building.This will also bring a considerable improvement and upgrade to the site. Finally in this area, a new single family detached subdivision, Heritage Ridge, is still under construction on White Circle. It will also feature homes in the $300s.Don't forget to check out the 2022 SPLOST renewal. A vote to extend the 1% sales tax will be on the ballot this November. The SPLOST funds capital outlay projects in the County.
