Commission holds temporary housing request after neighbors cite street parking and safety concerns

Cobb County planning commissioners on Thursday held a temporary land‑use permit request from Robin Fowler that would allow more unrelated adults and additional vehicles at her Orchard Valley Drive home, giving staff 30 days to inspect existing carports and return with findings.

The request, filed as LUP 32 of 2025, seeks short‑term permission for Fowler to house a mother and daughter who fled domestic violence and have been living in the home while they rebuild. ‘‘This is a short term situation,’’ Fowler told the commission, adding she planned to modify the front yard to create off‑street parking and expected the mother to move by August or September and the daughter to need “at least another six months.”

Neighbors opposed the permit in large numbers. Tine Hildebrand, who said she and 16 other households on the dead‑end street signed a petition, told commissioners the neighborhood is R‑30 single‑family zoning and that cars regularly parked on the street create blind spots and pose a potential emergency‑access problem. ‘‘There’s over 80 signatures … 80 percent of the homeowners on our street have signed the petition,’’ Hildebrand said. She showed photographs of multiple cars parked on the road and said a neighbor with serious health issues was particularly concerned about access for emergency vehicles.

Staff explained the code now allows up to four vehicles outside (it had been three in 2012). Planning staff member John Peterson told the commission that vehicles parked under a qualifying carport generally do not count toward the outdoor vehicle cap: ‘‘It would not count against the cars that are parked outside. We would consider that an indoor car,’’ he said. Commissioners asked staff to inspect whether two covered parking areas the applicant described meet county definitions of a carport.

Commissioner Anderson, who led the discussion, said the board wanted a fuller picture before acting: ‘‘My recommendation would be to hold for 30 days, but with assessment of whether the carports are indeed carports.’’ The board approved a motion to hold LUP 32 for 30 days, 5‑0, and asked Fowler to return with a parking plan, a timeline for clearing the garage and moving vehicles off the public right‑of‑way, and an estimate for how long she would need to house the daughter.

Discussion vs. decision: commissioners did not approve the permit; they directed staff to inspect the carports and asked the applicant to provide a written parking plan and a timeline. The commission also encouraged the applicant and opposing neighbors to meet and discuss screening and parking plans before the next hearing.

Next steps: Development Inspections will inspect the carports; the applicant will submit a parking plan and a garage‑clearance timeline for the commission’s September meeting. If the carports are found nonconforming or additional vehicles remain in the public right‑of‑way, enforcement options were discussed (parking on the right of way is enforced by the police department).