Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Rezoning Townhomes Z7 topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning commission delays vote on 24-unit townhome rezoning after neighbors cite traffic, schools and tree loss
Summary
A proposal to rezone a nearly 5-acre Powell Springs Road site to allow 24 fee‑simple townhomes was held for 30 days so the applicant can meet neighbors and revise stipulations after residents raised concerns about traffic, school capacity and preservation of mature tree canopy.
Fort Cole Street LLC asked the Cobb County Planning Commission on May 6 to rezone a 4.9‑acre parcel at Powder Springs Road and Wood Meadows Drive from R‑15 to FST for 24 fee‑simple townhomes. Commissioners held the case for 30 days to give the applicant time to meet nearby residents and to amend stipulations addressing private‑street maintenance and traffic questions.
The applicant’s attorney, Kevin Moore, said the project is intended as a fee‑simple townhome community with ranch‑style units and that the plan keeps net density below the county’s medium‑density threshold at about 4.9 units per acre: “This property is shown as medium density residential on the land use plan and it’s shown as being developed in the future,” Moore said. He said the project includes a 60‑foot setback from Powder Springs Road, private streets built to county standards and a covenant limiting leases so no more than 10% of homes can be rented at once.
Neighbors’ concerns: Five residents spoke in opposition, saying the project would increase traffic, strain utilities and schools and remove mature trees that form a continuous canopy. Steven Swanson, a neighborhood speaker, argued the community’s “urban forest” provides water‑quality, heat‑reduction and other benefits that cannot be quickly replaced. Another resident, Crystal McDowell, listed recent development nearby and said the area has seen nearly 1,500 units over two years in the broader four‑mile radius; she said the property owners have a right to develop but asked that it be developed under existing zoning rather than rezoned to higher density.
Staff and technical notes: Planning staff recommended approval with typical engineering and planning conditions; Cobb DOT had technical comments and asked for additional review of a revised traffic submission. Stormwater staff flagged standard drainage and stormwater management issues given the site’s topography and ridge lines and the need to avoid creating drainage transfers across divides.
Commission action and conditions: The commission’s District 4 member said he favored holding the item to allow the applicant to meet residents and to revise its stipulation letter to include language about a third‑party maintenance fund for the private streets. The commission voted 4‑0 to hold the case for 30 days; commissioners asked the applicant to return with a traffic‑generation analysis and revised stipulations addressing private‑street maintenance and resident concerns.
What’s next: The applicant and staff will work with DOT on the revised traffic materials and will prepare an updated stipulation letter and additional community outreach before the case returns to the commission.
