Residents raise skate‑park request, housing concerns and calls for more public input on Roswell planning

Dozens of Roswell residents used the city’s open forum on June 30 to press a range of municipal issues beyond Mimosa Hall, from a new skate park to housing and the city’s comprehensive plan update.

A rising Centennial High senior described her experience at Georgia Girl State and urged the council to consider the voices of young voters. A teenage skater asked the city to site a closer skate park and several residents asked for improved trail connectivity at 7 Branches Park so people can walk safely from Kroger toward Martin’s Landing. Recreation staff said they are exploring skate‑park opportunities and will coordinate with the trails team on potential in‑house connectivity projects.

Housing and social service issues drew sustained attention. A resident who said she lives in Roswell housing told the council maintenance and emergency response had been slow and asked for more outreach and support. City staff said they would follow up directly to connect the resident to the party overseeing that location and to resolve immediate needs. Several speakers urged the council to revisit the events leading up to the Economy Hotel closure; staff described arrests tied to human‑trafficking investigations, said the city coordinated with Fulton County Schools and county services to rehouse people and that they had conducted debriefings and would continue to monitor similar properties.

On planning and public engagement, several residents urged the city to expand public outreach for the 2045 comprehensive plan and to publish housing and demographic data gathered by consultants. Community development staff told the council and residents that more public hearings and technical memos are planned, that the city will update web content with housing and demographic information, and that staff will present policy options for council consideration.

Other items: a resident described a successful Roswell Empowered “bridal walk” (a Pride walk), thanking police and city staff; another raised the loss of large trees along Canton Street and asked what permitting and replacement rules apply; staff said tree removal follows the tree ordinance in the Unified Development Code and that tree removal permits and support documents are tracked through Community Development. Several residents called for better, earlier public notice on decisions that affect the historic district and neighborhood character.

Ending note: staff pledged follow‑up on several items — more comp‑plan public sessions and published data, specific outreach to the housing resident and further review of trails/connectivity — and encouraged residents to use posted channels to access records and project web pages.