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Residents urge council to secure parks and oppose school-bus fueling station at Veterans Memorial Highway site
Summary
During public comment at the March 26 Mableton council meeting, residents and neighborhood leaders urged the council to prioritize acquisition of parkland identified in the 2020 feasibility study and objected to a proposed school-bus fueling station adjacent to single-family homes near 440 Veterans Memorial Highway.
Several residents used the March 26 public-comment period to press the Mableton City Council on parks, redevelopment and neighborhood impacts.
Cassandra Brown, a District 4 resident, cited the 2020 Mableton feasibility study conducted by the University of Georgia to urge the council to pursue parkland acquisition from Cobb County at the rates described in the study. Brown said the study identified 13 parks totaling about 534 acres and reported an estimated transfer cost of approximately $100 per acre; she called on the council to “take decisive action” to secure parks that were paid for by county tax dollars.
Rebecca Ford, who chairs the Mableton Improvement Coalition zoning committee, urged the council to oppose a planned school-bus fueling station near 440 Veterans Memorial Highway. Ford told the council the fueling station would be “an industrial use, especially an intense automotive one,” and said it would be inappropriate adjacent to single-family homes because of noise, fumes, lighting and environmental concerns. Ford asked that, if a fueling station is necessary, the city advocate for a location consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan and not immediately adjacent to residential properties.
Other public comments and civic notes
- Samuel Culbreth, chairman of the Austell Community Task Force, invited residents to an April 3 meeting at South Cobb Recreation Center and promoted a March 29 Cobb County District 4 Earth Day cleanup starting at the Walmart off East West Connector. - Bryce Lingenfeller (District 5) raised questions about waste-management vendor listings and driveway parking limits; he thanked volunteers for cleaning Clay Road. Council members and staff indicated 14 approved waste-hauler vendors are on the list and that the website will be updated.
Council response and context
Council members acknowledged the concerns. Councilwoman Patricia Oft (District 4) and others noted the city’s ongoing service-delivery discussions with Cobb County and said parks and related service questions will be addressed as the city’s transition and negotiations proceed. Ford’s objection referenced the city’s comprehensive plan guidance and the comp plan’s recommendations for neighborhood-activity centers; council members explained school districts and the board of education may not be subject to local zoning the same way private developers are, but asked staff to consider community feedback when possible.
Why it matters
Residents framed parks as a core municipal service that was highlighted before cityhood and said the parks identified in earlier studies should be priorities for acquisition. Opposition to the fueling station reflects a common tension in growing jurisdictions between institutional or industrial uses and adjacent residential neighborhoods.
What the transcript records and what it does not
The speakers cited the University of Georgia 2020 feasibility study and a $100-per-acre estimate from that document; the council did not take a formal action on park acquisition at the March 26 meeting. The transcript includes objections to the fueling-station proposal and a request that the city advocate for alternative locations, but it does not describe any formal application or a pending zoning or land-use approval for that specific fueling station in the council packet.
