Cobb County BOC: Please DENY Z-71, Application of Pope & Land Enterprises, Inc to rezone 62 acres on the Southwest corner of Chastain Rd and Chastain Meadows Pkwy and east of ramp from I-575 to REGIONAL Retail Commercial (RRC) with the intention of building 1,064 residential units (900 apartments, and 164 townhouses), 190,500 SF of commercial space (retail, restaurant, supermarket), 190,000 SF of office space, several multi-story parking decks and 250 hotel rooms (two 125-room hotels – brand and type unknown). The average building heights will be between 5 and 6 stories tall and many will be located along Chastain Road, overshadowing residents' homes just across the street. The aim is to make Chastain Road an entertainment district and a regional attraction! This is just phase 1 of the plans. Once the additional 30 acres are added under phase II, this development will be bigger than the Braves stadium area and Battery combined.

The following petition signers are strongly opposed to this zoning case because a High-Density, Mixed-Use Development does NOT belong in a residential area! This change to an RRC zoning will have a negative impact on our home values and desirability of our residential neighborhoods and it will lead to their decline. Bells Ferry Corridor should be kept residential. This mega “mini-city” is too intense for this area and will not only add to current traffic congestion but change the character of the corridor by setting a precedent that will spread commercial throughout the residential area. In addition, more stop lights would be needed along Chastain Rd and Chastain Meadows Pkwy and a traffic study urges the widening of Bells Ferry Rd which will ultimately lead to more traffic. KSU, on average, draws on a weekday 45,000 cars to the area. That is equivalent to a sold-out Braves Game. Other developments of this size have added an additional 25,000 cars every weekday. How can this area handle all the additional traffic?

The property does contain some wetlands and will contain up to 70% impervious surface. The run-off will end up, once again, in Noonday Creek, which was only 1/2 foot from flood stage last month, thus threatening all the neighborhoods that lie downstream of the Chastain Regional Detention facility. In addition, the current infrastructure cannot support this. Increased levels of density increase the demand for public infrastructure, facilities and services and increases crime. Tax payers – not the developer- would be paying for additional services such as police, fire, new schools and widening projects to support this “regional” development whose aim is to attract people, not just from this county, but from other counties as well.

The developer claims that they need a high-density development in order to make it financially worthwhile – that is not our problem. Mixed-use developments are all the rage now because of the high profit margin for the property owners and developers. They can cash out with their generous profits after the project is built, but the impact on the community is permanent. This area does not need more retail, commercial and office buildings as well as more apartments, grocery stores and hotels! There are already plenty of empty commercial space in the immediate area and the City of Kennesaw is in the process of building several similar large developments that will be in direct competition. 

We, the undersigned, want our voices to be heard by our elected officials. This rezoning request MUST be denied due to the high density, setting a precedent for commercial in the area, increased traffic, demands on existing infrastructure, pollution, noise, increase in crime and cost to tax payers. We will not stand by and watch our neighborhoods and quality of life be seriously devalued.