Cobb commissioners hold decision on Vanderlandes request to add EV chargers after community raises broken stipulations

The Cobb County Board of Commissioners held Other Business item 6 on Feb. 18, 2025, a request by Vanderlande to install three additional electric-vehicle charging stations (bringing total chargers at the site from five to eight), after residents and the board raised concerns that Vanderlande has not met prior stipulations attached to its 2022 rezoning approval.

The item matters because residents said Vanderlande failed to complete several binding commitments tied to its earlier approval, and commissioners directed staff to seek clearer compliance steps before approving the charger expansion.

Bianca Sanderson, who identified herself as an employee of the EV-charging company handling the installation, told the board, "We currently already have 5 chargers out there that were installed about 3 years ago ... Now every single day, all 5 chargers are being utilized at the same time, which means that if we have any visitors or anyone else has an EV, they cannot charge their cars. That's the reason why we're trying to install 3 more." Her presentation described current utilization as the immediate operational rationale for the expansion.

Members of the Bells Ferry Civic Association urged the board to delay approving more chargers until Vanderlande fulfills prior commitments. Toulon Abart, speaking for the association, summarized outstanding items from the 2022 approval and told the board: "We are very disappointed that a billion euro company would establish its US headquarters in this location and subsequently fail to fulfill its promises to the community by not adhering to many of the binding stipulations imposed by you, the board of commissioners." Abart asked that Vanderlande implement the 2022 stipulations and remove new "no trespassing" signs from land she said is county-owned before adding chargers.

Board members discussed enforcement options and agreed there was insufficient evidence in code-enforcement records that county staff had received complaints about the unfulfilled stipulations. John Peterson, Cobb County zoning manager, said he forwarded residents' letter to Brent Ferrer, the county's code enforcement manager, and that no code-enforcement cases had been opened about Vanderlande in the prior three years.

Commissioners and staff identified two distinct threads: the narrow technical request to add chargers, and broader compliance questions tied to the property's 2022 rezoning. Jessica Glenn, Cobb County Community Development director, said zoning stipulations are case-specific and suggested the county could consider adding clearer timelines to future stipulations or assigning an inspector to follow up. Several commissioners expressed support for a stronger, timelined process for enforcing stipulations.

Given the outstanding community concerns, the board voted to hold the Vanderlande request until the next zoning hearing and asked staff to contact Vanderlande, verify which stipulations can reasonably be completed in the short term, and report back. The board's motion to hold the item passed 4-0. The board also directed staff to consider engaging code enforcement and plan-review/inspection staff to identify which outstanding items are enforceable now and which depend on future building or site work.

Next steps noted during the hearing included a request that staff (1) contact Vanderlande and request a substantive response to the association's list of unfulfilled stipulations, (2) have code enforcement and inspections inventory outstanding items that are actionable prior to final permits or certificates of occupancy, and (3) report back at the next zoning hearing. The board did not approve or deny the charger installation at the Feb. 18 meeting.

Votes and formal motions recorded in the hearing file related to this item include the board's 4-0 vote to hold the request to the next zoning hearing and the staff request to withdraw a separate temporary land-use permit without prejudice (LUP 6).