Traton Homes has reduced the number of townhomes it wants to build on a corner of Lower Roswell Road and the South Marietta Parkway, but some living in the adjoining Sewell Manor neighborhood are still opposed to the project.
The home builder delayed a rezoning and annexation request with the city of Marietta last month (see previous ECN coverage here), and has submitted the new plans ahead of Tuesday’s Marietta Planning Commission meeting.
Traton’s request is for the Planned Residential Development Single Family (PRD-SF) zoning category, and the land is adjacent to smaller, older single-family homes in unincorporated Cobb.
(Here’s the revised zoning case file for Z2019-04.)
The original plans called for 63 townhomes and a single-family home on 7.48 acres. The number of townhomes now is 52, but William Watkins, who lives in Sewell Manor, said that other issues with the project remain along with density, including traffic access, short driveway lengths and a lack of preserving natural surroundings.
Watkins lives on Indian Trail, in one of two homes that’s directly fronting the land area. It includes three parcels of former commercial property in the city of Marietta, and six parcels in Cobb that were part of Sewell Manor, which dates back to the 1950s and 1960s.
The proposed density of the revised townhome project would be nearly seven units an acre, down from 8.56.
“There is no reason to annex residential lots into the City of Marietta to force high-density housing into a low density neighborhood,” Watkins said.
The three city parcels were annexed by Marietta in 1998. They formerly housed automotive businesses but were torn down.
The planning board meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday with a work session, followed by its business meeting, where it will make recommendations. The Marietta City Council will make a final decision on April 10.
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No! NO! and NO! To the new Townhomes on Lower Roswell Rd. This will only cause more congestion and heavier traffic in that area.
Many of us, in East Cobb, moved the Cobb County to get AWAY from the terrible traffic and crime of densely populated areas, especially areas that Marta touches.
Also, Town Homes are more likely to invite a population that is more transient – which would only provide a decrease in home values and thus increase the crime rate in that area.