Concerned Citizens of East Cobb
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Concerned Citizens of East Cobb

Protecting Our Community's Residents, Seniors, Schools and Environment

Help East Cobb Park

5/2/2014

 
The sale of the 53.7-acre Tritt property next to East Cobb Park will impact this community greatly no matter what, whether it becomes a new Park, an 80-home subdivision, or a 748-unit Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC).  The Tritt property is one of the last undeveloped green space areas in East Cobb, and so its sale will have an effect on this area for years to come.
If the Isakson Living East Cobb proposal is approved in the zoning process, the development would overshadow East Cobb Park, both literally and figuratively.  With buildings as high as 5-stories, the large-scale CCRC development would tower over East Cobb Park, nearby Fuller's Park, as well as all the adjacent homes in the area. 

In addition, Isakson Living has stated that their plan is to build this 1.12 million  square foot complex over 10 years. That means for an entire generation of children, construction noise would drown out the relaxing nature of East Cobb: The morning walks and pre-school playground playdates, the afternoon picnics, ultimate Frisbee games, creek wading and bike-riding adventures, each event would be accompanied by the sounds of chainsaws, bulldozers, and hammers. Just the traffic of the Isakson Living CCRC as well as WellStar would be literally more than 4,000 cars a day, and East Cobb Park would be gridlocked by traffic.
Picture
East Cobb Park in Marietta, Georgia
"Green Jewels"
A park is the green jewel of any community, and county planners have an obligation to protect these green spaces for the enjoyment of all citizens. As an example, 100-acre Jim Miller Park has enough space for concerts and other events and doesn't have large buildings bordering it.  The 80-acre Roswell Area Park is a great community park, and no tall buildings of any sort border the park.  Even the 189-acre Piedmont Park located in Midtown Atlanta also has no large buildings next to it; all high-rise buildings are across the street.  Even in the 843-acre Central Park in New York City, all the high-rise buildings are located across the street, not directly next to it.  Development in and around most every park is limited by zoning so that the Parks remain a relaxing place for all community members to enjoy. 

The East Cobb community sacrificed and worked so hard to create the now 20-acre East Cobb Park, which first opened in 2003, and the stated goal of the County at that time was to acquire more land to expand East Cobb Park.  East Cobb Park is a special place to walk, jog or push a stroller; a neighborhood place to walk the dog, to meet friends, relax, and play; a cozy place to have a picnic, celebrate birthdays, and other fun events.  So the loss of the Tritt property green space for such a high-rise CCRC development would be devastating, but so would losing the current relaxing atmosphere of East Cobb Park if towering buildings were allowed to be built next to it. Communities need reasonable development, and that includes parks and green space for everyone to enjoy.
Picture
15.74 Acres is Flood Plain and Stream Buffers, + 3 Acres is too Steep to build on, leaving only 35 Acres. The 18+ acres could potentially be donated to East Cobb Park or put in a conservation easement by any developer. Orange is floodplain, purple is stream buffers outside the floodplain, yellow is the additional 25-ft buffer that can be cleared but not built on. (The black box numbers on the image come from the GIS program used to calculate the areas.)
100 Year Flood Plain
Of the 53.7 acres of the Tritt Property, 15.7 acres is protected flood plain and stream buffers, and no developer can build on that part of the property.  In addition, about 3 acres of the property is too hilly to build on, so that leaves only 35 acres which could be built upon by any developer.   In other words, for any potential developer, at least 15.7 acres and more than 1/3 of the property, 18.7 acres, could be protected by donating it to East Cobb Park or putting it in a conservation easement. Above is an image of the 15.7 acres that is protected from development by any developer.

Therefore, many concerned citizens have asked Isakson Living to find another location  for their proposed CCRC, on land that has already been developed, rather than destroying the last remaining green space in East Cobb.  In other words, building on an already developed parcel of land that is under-utilized or not used any more at all and re-purposing it helps the community a lot more than developing the Tritt property, this last bit of green space right next to East Cobb Park, our community's "green jewel".
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The Norris Wilson Tritt Bridge at East Cobb Park (photo by crashmattb flikr)
What we can do:

1. Sign the Online Petition.  The petition will be presented to the Commissioners at the May 6 and May 20 Board of Commissioners meetings.

2.
Email the Commissioners to Protect the East Cobb Community from Overdevelopment.
 
3. Attend the Tuesday, May 6 at 9:00 AM and Tuesday, May 20 at 9:00 AM zoning meeting in the Cobb County Government 100 Cherokee Street /2nd Floor/ BOC Meeting Room in Marietta Please plan to attend these meetings if possible because united we can make a difference!
This grassroots effort to protect the Tritt property from overdevelopment also wants to protect East Cobb Park from urban encroachment.  Please join this effort to save East Cobb Park from the urban sprawl of the Isakson Living plan.
Jan miller
5/2/2014 07:22:13 am

Behind you all the way!

Laura Buttimer
5/2/2014 09:35:56 am

Please leave Tritt as greenspace.

Ann Gorman
5/2/2014 10:50:49 pm

As a Cobb County resident of almost 30 years -I support this 110% !

Sara Spitz
5/3/2014 01:13:01 am

Just say NO to this encroachment on the East Cobb quality of life!

C.L.
5/3/2014 07:10:54 am

Why do we need more development? How would a 1.12 million sq.ft. complex improve quality of life? Our kids need a place to play. Besides, all the accommodations I need are a mile away, on Johnson's Ferry. Development here would make no sense.

Susan Barnett
5/3/2014 08:13:12 am

It would be such a shame to have this happen to the park! We desperately need green space.

Rachel Nix
5/3/2014 10:33:02 am

We need the park for quiet peaceful downtime. Leave it be!

Cari Pirello
5/3/2014 01:09:55 pm

Please, no. But I fear greed will prevail...

Valerie Paige
5/4/2014 12:46:53 am

Find somewhere else to build. This is our park!!!

Te Obeidat
5/4/2014 12:49:20 am

I'm against the proposed development. Please help protect our park!

Laura quiza
5/4/2014 01:54:32 am

Just drive by the park on a nice day and see how busy it is. We need our green space. Go build somewhere else.

J Corby
5/4/2014 02:42:12 am

It would be heartbreaking to find East Cobb Park surrounded by development! Please find an area to build other than here. NO ONE wants you to build here!

David
5/4/2014 04:44:40 am

I am for private land owners doing as they wish. But I am disturbed by this land proposal. The council should not approve any development on this land until Wellstar's development impact has been vetted over a period of 5 yrs. Afterwards the community will better understand what the future impact for this development.

G. Whiteside
5/4/2014 04:46:15 am

Where does Mrs.Tritt stand on this matter?

Molly
5/4/2014 05:40:29 am

for the love of god and nature please leave this land be.

Joy B. Llewallyn
5/4/2014 06:36:29 am

Please, please do not develop this parcel as proposed. Consider the quality of living in this area. Our residents need this quiet, natural park.

Alexis Mallis
5/4/2014 09:48:29 am

Maura Tapley
5/4/2014 10:59:30 am

My family and I love this park! so many good memories happened there! don't take it away!!!!

Ken meissner
5/4/2014 12:05:44 pm

Enough is enough. Find another spot...

Just sayin
5/4/2014 10:58:09 pm

Read the article, folks. This isn't REPLACING or FILLING East Cobb Park. NO PUBLIC GREEN SPACE is being taken for this proposed development. People keep saying that we need to leave the park alone or that we need the public green space, because it's always so active. THAT space will not be touched! Mrs. Tritt has every right to sell her property. If someone would like to offer her a suitable price for her property, then so be it. I would offer that all of these concerned citizens should raise the funds to buy it and donate it to East Cobb Park. It's a win-win; she can sell her property and the park can expand. However, please dno not try to make it sound like East Cobb Park would cease to exist if this were to go through. Also, 5-story buildings would hardly "tower" over anything. Come on.

CCEastCobb
5/5/2014 01:54:02 am

This development would definitely tower over East Cobb Park: First of all, it would be built on top of the Tritt property hill, 40 feet above Roswell Road with a 15-foot retaining wall due to the flood plain, and then 5-stories built on top of that, so the development would be about 100 feet tall. East Cobb Park would never be the same. For all the details provided so far, see: http://www.cceastcobb.com/1/post/2014/04/new-isakson-living-plan-dwarfs-mrs-tritts-home.html

A 1.12 million square foot development is hard to imagine, but it is more than all the retail in Cumberland Mall. The scale, size and density of the Isakson Living plan have not been lowered substantially in their revisions, and it's still 10 years of construction, many times more traffic, including ambulance traffic, than a park or subdivision.

Clark
5/5/2014 04:01:06 am

I grew up in East Cobb and now every time I return to visit my friends and family its more and more congested. Please, we do not need another subdivision, CVS, Walgreens, or assisted living community. Protect the area's quality of life, schools and accessibility.

jason
5/5/2014 07:14:48 am

Get rid of this atrocious building. Leave it as green space or build a mattress firm

TE
5/5/2014 12:29:09 pm

Do not build anything nearby that would take away from this greenspace

Exercise for seniors
5/5/2014 11:18:16 pm

What a great location for our mothers and fathers to retire to. They can walk and see the children playing. Seems like a good plan to me. I know that if my parents ever need to go to a retirement home, I would want them here in East Cobb.

CCEastCobb
5/6/2014 04:25:27 am

The Isakson Living plan as designed has been unreasonably large from the first 5-story 987-unit proposal to the current 5-story 748-unit proposal. Everyone agrees that it is just too big for any Low Density Residential area. Today the Cobb County Planning Commission said that any future proposal must be less than 500 units and lower than 3-stories, in addition to other stipulations regarding the view shed and cottages use. Also, please note that 10 senior living housing options, including Sterling Estates, exist in East Cobb just within a 5-mile radius of the Tritt property: http://www.cceastcobb.com/1/post/2014/01/affordability-issues-for-isakson-living-east-cobb.html

Realistic
5/6/2014 06:12:38 am

Your very first sentence in this article basically summed this up. ANYTHING built here will impact East Cobb. And let's not kid ourselves. Something will be built here. Why is everyone so naïve to think no one else will buy this? Tritt wants to sell, and Cobb doesn't have the money. So shouldn't we be thinking about a 'lesser of evils' scenario? Personally, I think a new neighborhood of single family homes with zero lot lines and every single tree cut down (a la Parkaire style) is far worse for the community. All those drivers (cause families will buy those houses) and all those poor trees. Why won't anyone look at this for what it is? She wants to sell to make money. We just need to pick the best of the buyers and nothing in Isakson's proposal leads me to believe that it's even close to the worst thing that could be built. And if I'm not mistaken, the land is already zoned residential. So no hearings necessary if someone like Weiland wants to come in, buy and bulldoze. Be careful what you wish for. Who's next in the bidding line if you all chase Isakson out of town?

CCEastCobb
5/6/2014 07:25:11 am

Any development's site plan must be approved, and as mentioned above, at least 15.7 acres cannot be built in by any developer, due to the flood plain and stream buffers. We stand ready to protect the East Cobb area from overdevelopment, and specifically as it would impact East Cobb Park.

Park Aire is quite different, and you can read about it here: http://www.cceastcobb.com/the-tritt-property-compared-to-the-perkins-property.html

In terms of school children, adding so many housing units to any community would definitely impact the schools, and you can read about that here: http://www.cceastcobb.com/number-of-school-children-if-this-property-were-a-subdivision.html

The traffic of a CCRC as Isakson Living proposed would be much more intense than a subdivision, and you can read about that here: http://www.cceastcobb.com/1/post/2014/05/an-unrealistic-traffic-study.html and here: http://www.cceastcobb.com/traffic-impact-on-major-roads.html

Bill
5/6/2014 10:51:23 am

I'm happy to see development that provides taxes for schools but no new students. I don't see any negative effect on East Cobb Park. Welcome old people.

Chelsea
5/6/2014 03:33:54 pm

no one over the age of 62 pays property taxes. so it doesn't help our schools at all.

CCEastCobb
5/7/2014 05:21:27 am

When seniors move out of their homes and into a senior living CCRC, new families will move into their homes, so potentially the number of new families added to the school district could equal to the number of CCRC housing units built. It is virtually impossible to add so many housing units to an area and not impact the schools in some way.

The development as proposed would impact East Cobb Park: with towering buildings, a very large footprint with urban buildings, a 10-year build out, and traffic. It would also impact East Cobb Park in the loss of green space in general, and potential land for an expansion of East Cobb Park in particular.

The Planning Commission on Tuesday, May 6 put a hold on the IL proposal and said that any new Isakson Living plan must:

- reduce the total number units to fewer than 500 units.

- cap the height at 2 stories, as stated in the CCRC code, or as high as 3 stories

For all the details, please read: http://www.cceastcobb.com/1/post/2014/05/may-6-planning-commission-meeting.html

Maureen Dreeman
5/10/2014 03:05:37 am

Why dont they build on the corner of east piedmont and sandy plains? That is essentially an abandon area that had a grocery store, bowlung alley, shopping center and day care that are essentially abandon. That area has already been developed......


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    The Concerned Citizens of East Cobb

    The Concerned Citizens of East Cobb represents thousands of East Cobbers who want the 54-acre Tritt property next to East Cobb Park to be fully conserved as a park.

    ​Read more blog posts from this website here,
    and read previous blogs posts from the first CCEastCobb website here.

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