North Point Ministries' east Cobb complex heads to BOC for final vote
Aug. 14—The Cobb Board of Commissioners is set to consider Tuesday a development which could change the face of the Johnson Ferry and Shallowford Road corridor for years to come.
North Point Ministries' sprawling east Cobb development — a 125,000-square-foot church and 129 single-family houses and townhomes, all on 33 acres of prime real estate — has engendered no shortage of controversy since its proposal last year. Tuesday may be the day when its fate is finally decided.
The project was advanced to the board earlier this month when it received a recommendation of approval from the county's Planning Commission. Before a divided audience of dozens of supporters and detractors, all but one commissioner (west Cobb's Fred Beloin) voted to give the project a thumbs up.
The effort was spearheaded by east Cobb Planning Commissioner Tony Waybright in what would be his final zoning hearing. Appointed by previous Commissioner Bob Ott, Waybright stayed on under Jerica Richardson through the first half of 2021 to shepherd a number of in-progress developments through the zoning process, including North Point.
Taking direction from Waybright at several prior hearings, North Point's design for the property evolved significantly over the course of eight months. A commercial strip along Johnson Ferry Road was downsized to a single parcel, and a number of townhomes were retooled into single-family detached houses.
Waybright laid out a host of stipulations atop North Point's revisions in his recommendation two weeks ago. He imposed a 10% cap on the number of units which can be rental, prohibited a drive-thru restaurant from occupying the commercial parcel, laid out traffic restrictions for Sunday morning church, and mandated precise conditions for landscaping, lighting, and outdoor common areas.
A motion by Beloin, meanwhile, to cap the site's density at five units per acre failed (the density currently is 5.82 units per acre).
While North Point turned out dozens to the Planning Commission meeting this month in support of its proposal, groups like the East Cobb Civic Association remain staunchly opposed, arguing the density and variances (deviations from the zoning code) requested by the developer are a bridge too far.
"Medium density in east Cobb is rare," said Jill Flamm of the East Cobb Civic Association at the previous hearing. "High density ... is unheard of."
In recent months, Richardson has demurred on whether she'll end up supporting the development. She's said she's pleased with the changes which have been made thus far, and told the MDJ she's reserving her judgment until Tuesday's hearing.
"Thats what's proper in the eyes of the law, is to give everyone that chance to be publicly heard. So I'll refrain from making any comments prior to them," Richardson said.
If Richardson elects to call for approval of the development, the decision may yet provoke a flurry of anger in east Cobb, as with the Sprayberry Crossing development approved earlier this year.
"In any public position there's always going to be backlash ... so I'm prepared for that either way. At the end of the day, I'm focused on listening to the community and incorporating everything that I possibly can in whatever decision that I make," she added.
