East Cobb Subdivision Gets Initial OK

The Cobb Planning Commission said yes to one proposed East Cobb residential rezoning request this week, and put another one on hold.

The commission approved a request that would include 16 homes on 7.2 acres on Steinhauer Road, near Dover Crossing Drive and Mabry Middle School and Sweat Mountain Park.

That application was made by Alpharetta-based KM Homes LLC, which has named the development Coventry. The homes will cost in the high $400s and will include around 4,000 square feet. It will be the first Cobb development for KH Homes, which has built communities in Gwinnett and Forsyth and is expanding to North Fulton.

The KM Homes rezoning request for Coventry will be heard by the Cobb Board of Commissioners on March 19.

A request to rezone 10.5 acres for 23 homes on Roswell Road west of Robert Road is being held for further study. A stream runs through the middle of the property that could reduce the number of homes.

The application by Arrowhead Real Estate Partners LLC has been delayed before, since it was initially heard by the planning commission in December.

At last week's East Cobb Civic Association meeting, members voted to recommend a delay in the application.

The Marietta Daily Journal details those rezoning requests in the context of larger real estate developments in the East Cobb area.

In November, East Cobb Patch reported on a presentation by Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott about residential and commercial development trends in his District 2, which also includes Smyrna, Vinings and the Cumberland Mall area.

He said nearly $500 million in new construction projects were approved during his first term, and the pace has picked up in recent months, especially on the residential front.

The commissioners voted last month to rezone 32 acres on Johnson Ferry Road for a high-density single family and townhome development.

The KM Homes development is located in District 3, which is represented by commissioner JoAnn Birrell, and the Lassiter High School district.

The MDJ story quoted Traton Homes senior vice president Chris Poston as saying that subdivision plans held up during the recession are starting to move forward, especially in the north metro Atlanta area.

"In the last 60 to 90 days, it was like somebody flipped a switch and said, 'you’ve got to start buying land to develop,' " he told the newspaper.