Also, the Board of the Indians Hills Civic Association voted unanimously on Monday against this rezoning application. The IHCA is the home owner's association for the Indian Hills subdivision, which has 1600 homes, and is the largest in East Cobb.
This is just the start of the fight, but with allies like these, we stand a good chance of winning. We still need lots of help. We need people to contact the Cobb Planning Commission and the Board of Commissioners. We need people to sign the online petition (click here). Most of all we need people to show up to the Oct 1st Planning Commission Zoning Hearing, and the Oct 15th Board of Commissioners Zoning Hearing (more info on these coming soon), because the more people who are there in opposition, the less likely it is this will be approved.
We have heard from some government officials that many of the email and petition comments they have received talk about things that cannot sway them at all.
The following arguments, while perfectly valid, will have NO impact whatsoever:
- Traffic - the proposed development is on Roswell Rd/120, which is a Georgia state road. The developer had to get an OK from the state on the traffic impact. That has already happened, and the state approved it. The county has no say on the traffic now that the state has approved it, and talking about traffic will have no impact on the decision. Yes, the development will make the traffic worse, but it is a meaningless argument to try to stop the zoning application.
- Park / Green Space - the county failed to purchase the Tritt land with park bond referendums in 2006 and 2008, you can read about it here. As it stands now, the county has neither the money nor the authorization to buy the Tritt land. It is also private property, and, like it or not, Mrs. Tritt can sell to whomever she pleases. I would personally love to see the land become green space or park, but that argument has zero sway with the Planning Commission or the Board of Commissioners. We can be thinking of creative ways this could become park or green space, but it is not an argument that will stop the rezoning.
Here are talking points that will actually work:
- Density / Intensity - The Isakson Living proposal calls for a density of 21 units per acre, which is 4 to 8 times the density of the surrounding subdivisions. They are trying to get nearly 1,000 units and 1,200 residents (as well as 450 employees) on 46.7 acres of land (when you subtract the 7 acres of flood plain). This is an INTENSE use of the land which is categorized Low Density Residential (intended for no more than 2.5 homes per acre) by the county. It is basically a very urban density in a suburban neighborhood. It will ruin the character or our community.
- Size and Height of Buildings - The Isakson Living proposal calls for 5 STORY, 75 ft tall buildings that are over a quarter mile long. There is no residential building in East Cobb anywhere near this size or height. It will make the Wellstar development across Roswell look like small potatoes. The whole development would sit on top of a nearly 10 acre, 1,250 space parking garage that extends under the building and the courtyards. They want to build up the land where Mrs. Tritt's house now stands by 10 feet, and then build up 75 feet. The floor of the parking garage will by 35 feet higher than Roswell Rd, and the top of the building will tower 110 feet over the road. The size and height of these buildings is totally out of proportion with our community.
- 10 Years of Construction - They plan to build this out over 10 years. My first grader would be a high school junior before this construction is complete. They would be moving thousands of tons of dirt from the big hill to the areas near the creek to build them up above the flood plain. This will require massive equipment, for a very long time. Also, you need at least 100 ft cranes to build 75 ft tall buildings, so these cranes would be part of our skyline for years to come. There would be a great deal of noise and dust at East Cobb Park, not to mention the adjacent property owners. The Wellstar development is giving us a small taste of what this construction would be like.
- Apartment Complex - this proposed development has all the characteristics of a very large apartment complex - size, density, construction, layout, and outward appearance. A visitor driving down Roswell Rd and glancing at this would think, "that's a really big apartment complex." Zoning laws are meant to allow development, but also protect the interests of the community. An apartment complex will negatively impact property values in the surrounding area. Also, should this fail as a retirement community, what else could this be used for, other than apartments? I lived in the Post Lindbergh apartment complex in south Buckhead before I met my wife; it was very nice, but also very big (though nowhere near as large as the Isakson Living proposal). When my wife and I moved to East Cobb nearly 8 years ago, we thought we were leaving big apartment complexes behind. We had the expectation that nothing so large and intense would be allowed to be built anywhere nearby. We do not need Post East Cobb!
USE YOUR OWN WORDS!!!! - The commissioners do not want to see the same thing copied and pasted. Try to include the talking points above, but say it in your own way.
We can defeat this outrageous re-zoning application!