Committee adopts Cobbs Hill Park Preservation District map; public hearing set for Sept. 18

The Neighborhood Jobs and Housing Committee voted to amend the zoning map to designate Cobbs Hill Park and Washington Grove as the Cobbs Hill Park Preservation District and scheduled a public hearing for 6 p.m. on Sept. 18, 2025.

Council member Gruber said neighborhood stakeholders had initiated the idea and asked the administration for the purpose of the designation. A staff member described the designation as focusing on the park area itself and said residential parcels where housing already exists would not be included in the preservation district.

Members discussed several specific features on the map. Staff said the Cobbs Hill Reservoir (already a local landmark) is in the southern portion of the district and would not be affected in ways that limit separate landmark-based decisions. The administration said work done through other studies or capital projects would not be precluded by the preservation district. Regarding Cobbs Hill Village—the private parcel in the center of the map—staff confirmed that parcel is not included in the preservation district.

Council members asked whether the city’s lodge building adjacent to Lake Riley would be impacted; staff said smaller repairs and in-kind replacements would not be required to come before the preservation board, but larger, significant changes would. Staff also said the district was developed in collaboration with the Department of Environmental Services and neighborhood stakeholders.

The committee voted in favor of the zoning-map amendment and closed the committee’s business for the session.