Opposition throws in the towel before north Cobb townhomes recommended for approval

Jake Busch, Marietta Daily Journal, Ga.
·2 min read

Oct. 4—After nearly a year of wrangling over traffic, density and stormwater management, a north Cobb townhome proposal got the green light from the Cobb Planning Commission.

The motion by Commissioner Deborah Dance passed 5-0.

KM Homes is proposing to build 32 townhomes on 8.4 acres along the 4000 block of Wade Green Road, across from Pitner Elementary. The land is zoned for single-family residences on 20,000-square-foot plots, and commissioners recommended rezoning to a category allowing for single-family attached homes adjacent to low or medium density residential areas. Units would begin at around $400,000, according to Parks Huff, an attorney representing the developer.

Unlike previous hearings for the KM Homes application, Tuesday's saw no opposition present at the meeting. The reason? They gave up.

In an email shared with the MDJ, the Bells Ferry Civic Association told planning commissioners it had opted to stay home during Tuesday's zoning hearing.

"Frankly, the BFCA has never encountered a zoning case such as this one, that has continued for 9 months with very little, if any, progress made," the group said in the email.

The civic association said KM Homes demonstrated its unwillingness to further reduce the number of proposed units prior to Tuesday's meeting, a sticking point for the group. It said economics was the primary motivation for KM Homes keeping the number of townhomes at 32, adding, "That is their prerogative."

"However, in regards to the zoning process, the profit margin that the developer would make is of no relevance to deciding if a case should be approved or not," the association said.

At last month's hearing, Dance moved to hold the case until October, requesting the developer consider further reducing the number of proposed units. No such reductions were made.

The Bells Ferry Civic Association made clear in the email its fatigue over the case, asking planning commissioners to make a decision Tuesday so the Cobb Board of Commissioners can consider the case at its Oct. 18 meeting.

Dance, in her motion recommending approval of the application, said she appreciated numerous changes made to the site plan to address traffic and stormwater concerns. However, she indicated more should be done by the applicant before the Board of Commissioners hears the case, including once more considering a reduction in density.

Dance, just prior to making her motion, acknowledged those not in attendance who had actively engaged with the case.

"I don't think that we should take ... any implication from the fact that other individuals are not present today who have participated in the process and who have appeared before this board previously, so all of those comments and input have been taken into consideration," Dance said.