Case Z-7-2025
Up-to-date information as of June 1st about Rezone Case Z-7, including the community meeting information.
I learned about this rezone case one of the only ways the public can, via the zoning notice sign pictured below. The only other notice required to be provided is to the residences that live within 1000 feet of the rezoning lot. These yellow notice signs are not large enough to read from your vehicle so I had to park and walk over to view it.
Thanks to the notice on the left, I was made aware of a specific case, Z-7-2025, in late April. This lot is located on Powder Springs Road where it is crossed by Wood Meadows Drive and Pair Road SW.
Rezoning notices are sometimes other colors, but they always contain the information about the rezone as well as the date and time of the hearing where it will be discussed by the Planning Commission and the Board of Commissioners.
On the Cobb County website I was able to find the case plan thanks to the case name (Z-7) that is written in the corner with sharpie with no other information included in the signage as to its significance.
After utilizing the search function and scrolling until I found the highlighted Z-7, I finally found site plan for case Z-7-2025.
This plan outlines a vision for 24 townhomes with the sewage and water provided by Cobb County. This plan also outlines its inclusion of 99 additional parking spaces to accommodate these residents and their guests.
A significant portion of these 99 cars will be entering Powder Springs Road. This made me very concerned about traffic and the impact an increase can have on emergency response times. Longer response times also increase home insurance premiums which raises the cost of living for the local homeowners already in the area. Because the plan only includes 24 homes and 99 parking spaces, the developer is not required to conduct a traffic study to assess the local traffic impacts.
In addition to the traffic increase, a quick glance at a topographic map shows that the Z-7 lot is significantly higher than the surrounding residential areas. When the pavement for the road and the 99 parking spots are added, the concrete will send the runoff downhill towards the surrounding residences. More concrete increases flood risks and water runoff in the lower areas towards Barrett Parkway, even with drains installed on site.
If this area is kept as a residential area, there will be plenty of exposed soil to absorb the runoff from Kennesaw Mountain. The naturally absorbent soil creates a crucial barrier for protecting the floodplains closer to Barrett Parkway.
All rezoning cases have the option for public comments to be made on the record and there is also two 10 minute time slots allowed for comments. The first 10 minutes belong to the applicant and the second 10 minutes is for the opposition. The 10 minutes are shared between the entire opposition so if one person speaks for 8 minutes, that is the only comment that will be heard. In my case, it was just a single lawyer for the first 10 minutes and then I shared the 10 minutes for opposition with three other individuals.
On May 6th at 9:00am, I spoke to the Cobb County Planning Commission about these concerns in opposition to rezone case Z-7. All rezoning cases have the option for public comments to be made on the record online as well.
I had spent the ten days or so prior to this meeting after gathering petition signatures of my neighbors and listening to their concerns regarding the rezone. It was very painless to attend since my case happened to be reviewed early on the agenda.
A representative from the Cobb County School District also spoke and stated his opposition to this rezone due to the fact that Cobb County schools are already over capacity. This information was further expanded in this article released by the Cobb County School Board. You can find similar articles from last year which indicates this ongoing issue remains unaddressed.
Case Z-7 was deferred for 30 days until the next hearing (scheduled for June 3rd at 9:00am) so the applicant could address some of these issues brought to the planning commission as well as contact the concerned citizens to address problems. It was pointed out a few times that there was not any opposition on this case previously so I am thankful for these tiny yellow signs that finally caught my eye.
At time of posting, rezone case Z-7 is not on the agenda for the Planning Commission meeting on June 3rd until a community meeting occurs to address these concerns.
The Community Meeting
I contacted the district 4 Commissioner, Monique Sheffield, and shared my perspective that the rezone was not based on the desires of the citizens. She offered to arrange a virtual meeting with the community and the Z-7 lawyers, as well as the zoning manager to answer rezoning questions. A poll was sent out for the citizens to select a time for the meeting. In this email. Monique outlined that the meeting would be hosted on the platform WebEx.
The Google Calendar Invite for the meeting was sent out on May 27th listing the event as a Microsoft Teams meeting that would occur at 6:30pm on June 3rd.
To access this community meeting, you must contact Monique Sheffield’s office. This concerned me regarding accessibility so I contacted Monique Sheffield’s office and expressed my concerns. They have yet to respond.
On June 1st I reviewed the meeting time to ensure my neighbors had the correct time and found a notification that the previous invitation had been updated. The time of the meeting is now scheduled for 10:30pm without any communication that I have recieved.
Final Thoughts
Personally, I am concerned about the accessibility of this virtual meeting. This is partially due to the fact that even the poll just to plan the meeting has had multiple issues.
The original link sent out was incorrect and, even with the correct link, I had difficulty accessing the poll. I asked for instructions from Monique Sheffield’s office but the instructions I received did not resolve my issue. Thankfully I found the additional steps required to access the poll independently. I can’t help but conclude there has to be a way to engage the community with less room for technical malfunction and data issues that seem to be a current problem in Cobb County due to circumstances outside of their control.
I am also concerned about deliberate changes being made to the platform and time in order to prevent the community from accessing the meeting. Monique Sheffield is an elected official who is required to represent the best interests of her constituents. She cannot do that if she remains inaccessible to concerned citizens. She is required to vote on this rezone and that vote MUST represent her constituents.
How can you help?
Contact Monique Sheffield‘s office and request additional in-person meetings before case Z-7 can be reviewed by the Board of Commissioners. She works for her constituents and has to accommodate the reasonable request for consistent and correct information.
The Board of Commissioners listen to 20 public comments at all Regular Meetings of the Board of Commissioners. Each comment is allowed 3 minutes to address Chairwoman Lisa Cupid. At the meeting on 5/26 comments were shared by individuals who got there an hour early to ensure they were able to sign up and make a comment but they do not even live in Cobb County.
Get there early and share your comment as a citizen of Cobb County.
- Tuesday, 6/10 at 9:00am (2nd Tuesday)
- Tuesday, 6/24 at 7:00pm (4th Tuesday)
Do you see a zoning notice in your neighborhood and want more information? Email me a picture of the sign or the case number and I will send links to the public information!
Contact: Email mariettacrier@gmail.com or find @MariettaCrier on Instagram
