99-Home East Cobb Subdivision Approved By Planning Commission

EAST COBB, GA — A proposal for a new 99-home subdivision advanced to the next stage this week following a Cobb County Planning Commission vote, but not without its issues to still be worked out.

Planning commissioners voted 3-2 Tuesday to recommend approval a rezoning request for the subdivision — under development by Atlanta-based Pulte Homes — which rezoned nearly 50 acres between Ebenezer and Blackwell roads. Commissioners Fred Beloin and David Anderson voted against the approval recommendation.

Tuesday's recommendation was approved for a Cobb County Board of Commissioners vote with conditions: requiring lot sizes to be a minimum of 10,000 feet; mandating that the developer maintains the two lakes on the property in perpetuity; and there must be construction of sidewalks and guest parking.

Earlier this year, Pulte Homes petitioned Cobb County to allow for the construction of a designated "open space community," which allows developers to subdivide a development into smaller lots in exchange for providing significant public green space.

The lot sizes would average about 10,600 square feet, Taylor English Decisions's Rob Hosack said Tuesday, while the homes would be around 2,500 square feet and start at roughly $500,000 each.

Pulte Homes and Hosack made a number of revisions to the plans presented Tuesday after residents voiced opposition to the development at previous zoning hearings. Even with the changes, residents still opposed the rezoning Tuesday — and there's even an online petition from residents against the project with more than 280 signatures.

Chris Lindstrom of the East Cobb Civic Association said Tuesday that the latest version of the plan did not address issues previously raised by the association, and said the density was not consistent with nearby neighborhoods.

However, Hosack said the development is actually on par with surrounding neighborhoods such as Blackwell Chase, Dylans Glen and Magnolia Court, which have densities of 2.08, 2 and 2.06 units per acre. The Ebenezer project would have a density of 2.03 units per acre.

The case will go before the Cobb Board of Commissioners for approval at its Sept. 21 meeting.