Blog for Concerned Citizens of East Cobb Over Isakson Living

Zoning Procedure Letters

3/13/2015

Counting the Number of Concerned Citizens

We had heard that many Concerned Citizens supporters were not counted in the overflow room at the March 3 Planning Commission hearing. Below is an email from a Concerned Citizen to Commissioner Ott, and the response from Cobb County, saying that they will have extra staff on hand to accurately count the number of attendees at the March 17 Board of Commissioners meeting. Let's all be aware of this counting error as we go into the meeting on March 17, so that we may all be counted. This would mean the number of Concerned Citizens at the March 3 meeting was actually about 200, nearly double the number of Isakson Living supporters.

From: [Concerned Citizen]
Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2015 12:14 PM
To: Ott, Bob
Subject: Re-zoning

Dear Mr. Ott

On 3/3/2015 I attended a re-zoning hearing regarding the Isakson development on Roswell Road in East Cobb. I arrived at the posted time (9am), but was unable to enter the meeting room due to an overflow crowd. Unbeknownst to those of us in the overflow crowd, the vote took place and the meeting was adjourned without allowing us to cast our votes. Once we realized what had happened, we asked the officer on duty to please inform the people in the room that there were additional citizens who wished to cast their votes. The officer was exceptionally rude and offensive, refusing to make anyone aware that there were additional citizens who wished to exercise their rights to vote. An informal poll of some in the overflow crowd indicated that there were at least 18 uncounted votes opposing the re-zoning. Many people left without voting.

I am writing to inform you of the events that occurred at the meeting because it is important for you to know that as property owners and taxpaying citizens of Cobb county, it is unacceptable that we were denied the right to voice our opinions by being denied the right to vote. Furthermore, I question the validity of a decision that was made without considering the opinions of everyone present. The outcome is not accurately representative of the community of voters. I am aware that the re-zoning was approved, but I question whether the uncounted votes would have resulted in a different outcome.

Sincerely,
[Concerned Citizen]

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Hosack, Robert" <Robert.Hosack@cobbcounty.org>
Date: Mar 6, 2015 2:52 PM
Subject: Your concern about Zoning Hearing
To: [Concerned Citizen]

Good afternoon [Concerned Citizen] Commissioner Ott was kind enough to share your concerns about the hearing with our agency. I am sorry that you had a bad experience. In order to address your concerns, please know that we will make sure to have additional staff (above and beyond the number present on Tuesday) present at the upcoming BOC hearing on 3-17-15 to assist with counting and noting the opposition for the official record. Thanks for participating in the process. Please accept our apologies.

Have a good day. Rob

Rob Hosack, AICP
Cobb County Community Development

Zoning Signs Down Between May 2014 and Nov 2014 Hearings

A zoning procedure error occurred when Isakson Living took down the zoning signs on the Tritt property after the May 2014 hearing, and the signs did not go back up until 30 days prior to the November 2014 hearing. This in violation of Cobb Code Sec. 134-121, (b), (1):
"The applicant shall be required to post and maintain signs supplied by the zoning division on or near the right-of-way of the nearest public street, so as to be visible from the street, for at least 30 days immediately preceding the date for any public hearings on the application, which shall remain posted until a final decision by the applicable boards."

From: [Concerned Citizen]
To: [County Official]
Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2014 11:08 AM

... I also have concerns with the zoning signs being down. I realize the zoning is in a Staff Hold and IL was told to take them down, however, as the paper states it is still slated for a September hearing date. I would think it advisable to have the signs still posted and just the hearing date changed to reflect September (regardless of if IL is actually ready then or not), to insure transparency to the community at large. The rules may not "require" it, but it would seem an appropriate action to keep dates posted concerning this property because it is still under the same zoning application and does have a posted hearing date.

Sincerely,
[Concerned Citizen]

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: [County Official]
Date: Sat, Jun 21, 2014 at 3:09 PM

John & Kevin,
Please see [Concerned Citizen's] comments below.... What are your thoughts concerning her request concerning the signs on the Tritt site? I would support signs staying on the sight, and in fact most continued cases have signs left on site until the case is heard...why not this one as well? ...

thanks,
[County Official]

A Last Minute Zoning Sign

Isakson Living zoning signs on Roswell Road with view of subdivision houses through the trees in winter

Zoning signs were also down before the May 2014 Planning Commission hearing. From a previous Concerned Citizen blog post: "Before going into the first argument, we should note that today (April 5, 2014), the zoning signs went up in front of the Tritt property, to notify the public of the May 6 Planning Commission Hearing and the May 20 Board of Commissioners Meeting for this zoning case. The signs went up on the very last day possible, even though the hearing dates have been known since January 3, 2014. Certainly in keeping with the letter of the law, though maybe not the spirit."

From March 3 to March 17

3/4/2015

The Cobb County Planning Commission

Here's what happened on Tuesday, March 3 & what comes next to prepare for Tuesday, March 17.

The head count at the Tuesday, March 3 Planning Commission meeting was 171 opposed to rezoning Z-2 (our team yellow) and 107 for Isakson Living (wearing red). Thank you East Cobb, through two years of this zoning battle, our Concerned Citizens numbers have remained so strong, and we are very encouraged about that! You can order a Yellow shirt for the March 17 meeting here!

At the March 3 Planning Commission meeting, several Concerned Citizens presented on the height of the apartments buildings, worsened views, how surrounding properties would be affected by such an intense development, protection of wetlands and streams, and the timing of the potential park donation.

In the end, the Planning Commission voted to recommend approval for the Isakson Living CCRC, but with several important changes, such as lowering building height to 2-stories as recommended by zoning staff, lowering the overall number of units to 450, and removing 7 of 65 CCRC homes planned within protected stream buffers. A number of stipulations were also either added or strengthened to further protect the community.

The Planning Commission can only make recommendations, and the final decision on the rezoning will be made in 2 weeks on March 17th, same time, same place, at the Cobb County Board of Commissioners (BOC) zoning hearing. We don't know if Isakson Living will present their current plan, the Planning Commission's recommended plan or some other version at the Board of Commissioners meeting on March 17.

Slide from March 3 meeting

On March 3, the Planning Commission recommended these streams be more protected, and recommended that the houses Isakson Living planned to build in the stream buffer not be built. We would have liked even more concessions for our residential community, but we can be proud that the conditions put on the approval recommendation were the result of the local community fighting hard for their rights as homeowners, tax payers, and voters. We must keep up the momentum to make the County Commissioners hold to these concessions at the very least.

Property owners have the right to sell, but developers do not have the right to develop anything they want. Commercial should not be put in Residential zones, especially a development the size of Cumberland Mall! (Air-conditioned floor space of Isakson Living's proposal is greater than the combined floor space of all retail at Cumberland Mall). Zoning laws exist to protect communities from inappropriate development or overdevelopment. The Board of Commissioners makes the final decision on March 17, which is why it is important that we continue to show up and press for the right thing to be done.

Slide from March 3 meeting

The topic of wetlands was not adequately addressed at the March 3 Planning Commission, and we still request that an independent environmental survey be allowed on the Tritt property, before any rezoning takes place. Federal and state guidelines on the protection of wetlands must be adhered to on any property development, especially this 54-acre property, which was on the top of the Park Bond 2006 and Park Bond 2008 lists. Read a powerful Letter to the Editor, Deny Isakson zoning; carry out public’s order on parks bond vote, in the Marietta Daily Journal published on March 3.

When viewing the Walking the Tritt property video, many East Cobbers are just now understanding how near the planned 4-story CCRC apartment buildings would be to East Cobb Park, and what the future views would be if we don't continue to press for this rezoning case to be denied on March 17. Start at minute 4:30 to see what the view would look like from proposed Building F and Building G. Here is a map to understand where the proposed buildings would be in relation to East Cobb Park.

School bus in traffic by East Cobb Park near proposed CCRC

School bus in traffic by proposed CCRC near East Cobb Park

In the Marietta Daily Journal article this morning, the lawyer for Isakson Living is quoted as saying that this plan is not designed to overwhelm schools. However, it must be pointed out that the project is so large, it could overload the Walton school district: if even 100 retirees from East Cobb moved into this 481 or 450-unit retirement community, that would mean 100 more houses on the market in East Cobb for new families to move into, and that could overwhelm the schools more than if the property were an 80-home subdivision, which is what the property is zoned for. Traffic would still be more intense with a CCRC than an 80-home subdivision, just because of the high number of units planned, and this would affect how children get to school.

The commercial WellStar building across the street did not go through the zoning process, and traffic can be affected by that too. The square footage of the proposed CCRC is equal to 6.5 WellStars.

We cannot allow the BOC to water down any of our hard-won concessions. We must make the county hold firm! The zoning game works like this: a developer asks for 100 houses, and lots of people attend the Planning Hearing to oppose the developer's plans. The Planning Commission recommends approval, but with only 80 houses. Then the developer presses ahead, and fewer people in opposition show up at the Board of Commissioners hearing two weeks later. The developers count on this! With no community pressure at the hearing, the developer asks for more than the Planning Commission recommended, and the BOC approves 90 houses.

The right of communities to protect zoning categories is being challenged with this zoning case. As we gear up for the final BOC hearing on March 17th, plan to attend and be counted. We did not get everything we want on March 3, but we will continue to press for less intensity and impact on the community.

If the developer cannot or will not compromise, we will continue to push for denial. But we need your help at the BOC hearing on March 17th, to attend and be counted. With our huge strength in numbers, we can motivate the Commissioners to do the right thing for the citizens of East Cobb!

We can keep sharing the Petition with our friends and neighbors and keep writing the Board of Commissioners before March 17.

Concerned Citizens of East Cobb

Zoning Procedure Letters

From March 3 to March 17

The Concerned Citizens of East Cobb

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