Cobb to take up 80+ home development near Austell
Dec. 6—In their final meeting this year, the Cobb Planning Commission is expected to take up a proposed subdivision of more than 80 homes just outside the city of Austell.
The roughly 19.5-acre parcel where Drapac Investments has asked to build the development is wedged between several subdivisions east of Maxham Road and south of US-78.
Drapac, an Atlanta-based real estate investment group, proposes to build 57 townhomes and 24 single-family houses. That's down from an original proposal that included upwards of 70 townhomes.
At a hearing last month, attorney Garvis Sams said Drapac was faced with an "oddly configured" parcel that's currently undeveloped and wooded. Drapac has owned the property for a decade, and it sits next to a county-owned 39-acre property.
Renderings provided by the developer indicate the single-family houses would be accessed from Oak Hill Drive on the property's south end, while the townhomes would be reached from Linda Drive to the east.
"You may say, well, why not all single-family detached?" Sams said at a Nov. 1 hearing. "Well, it's pretty clear to a layperson or someone with a trained eye — and certainly to an engineer — that the topographical aspects of this property, particularly on the eastern side, are daunting."
Residents in the adjoining neighborhoods, however, complained to the Planning Commission that the density of the development and its few access points were likely to cause traffic problems. A commissioned traffic study, Sams said, was not yet ready at the time of the hearing.
"It's a very nice quiet subdivision ... The neighborhood just can't handle the traffic. I mean, it's going to be crazy," said Mike Bowen, who lives next to the parcel.
Patricia Orr, another nearby resident, echoed the traffic concerns and added that the construction of the new homes would have adverse impacts to wetlands on the property.
"It's just not going to be anything at all like anybody would want to live in, having 200 cars going up and down that little street all day long," Orr said. "That is not going to work."
Sams was prodded by some of the planning commissioners as to whether the number of townhomes could be reduced, or scrapped altogether, but he suggested that course of action wasn't workable.
"We're not tied to a business model. We are tied to some density in terms of contractual issues. I see you're concerned, but with the price points of these, the way they're going to be oriented ... I think it's ensured to be a development that has great maneuverability and pedestrian connectivity," Sams said.
Planning Commissioner Deborah Dance said she was sympathetic to neighbors' worries, and the commission ultimately decided to hold the proposal for a month.
"You've got an older neighborhood without upgrades, (and) you're going to attach it to a new neighborhood with upgrades. I was persuaded by their concerns about safety and increased traffic," she said.
The Planning Commission meets beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday at 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta.
