[0:00] A little background on this property.

[0:03] In 2007, this these properties were

[0:06] resied

[0:17] for a GC general commercial zoning

[0:19] district with 26,000

[0:23] retail.

[0:26] In 2021,

[0:29] The applicant came before council and

[0:32] had property resc,000

[0:43] square feet of commercial and restaurant

[0:45] space.

[0:47] The applicant is now requesting to amend

[0:49] that site plan and zoning conditions

[0:53] of C21-014

[0:55] for the development of 45 town homes in

[1:00] foot drive restaurant

[1:03] rather than reverting to the original GC

[1:06] zoning district. Uh staff is

[1:10] recommending

[1:12] maintaining the existing mixeduse

[1:15] additional zoning district rather than

[1:18] reverting to DC as that would allow over

[1:21] 100 plus uses that would not be

[1:25] appropriate in this area.

[1:28] This is the site plan that was approved

[1:30] in 2021.

[1:35] There was a four five story multif

[1:38] family building with a parking deck and

[1:41] that had 163 units 25 units per acre

[1:48] and there was 20,49

[1:51] square ft of commercial and restaurant

[1:53] space.

[1:58] I'll go over the proposed site plan

[2:04] on the left side is 45 town home units

[2:10] maintain

[2:14] rear setbacks. There's a side set back

[2:17] on

[2:22] setback reduction.

[2:27] 45

[2:29] simple town homes rather than the rental

[2:32] multif family that was proposed before

[2:37] units on the side will be front entry

[2:42] units facing Oakdale and will be

[2:47] facing a

[2:52] green space.

[2:55] There's underground storm water

[2:57] detention proposed in that area

[3:02] along South Drive. There's a full access

[3:04] drive

[3:08] and then there's access drive

[3:15] the sidewalk sidewalk

[3:19] around the whole properting

[3:32] the setbacks already approved for the

[3:35] previous plan.

[3:41] It's a drive-thru restaurant

[3:43] 5,023

[3:45] ft.

[3:50] There's a detached canopy over

[4:00] storm water detention.

[4:04] Full access

[4:10] on South

[4:17] Oak Road. There will be a 10 landscape

[4:19] buffer street trees

[4:24] that are needed. And then to the town

[4:27] homes, there will be a buffer

[4:40] right.

[4:44] All the improvements on South Drive will

[4:46] be reviewed and approved by GOT

[4:50] Department of Transportation

[4:53] and any transportation improvements that

[4:56] are within the county's jurisdiction

[4:58] will be approved by the county

[5:01] land.

[5:06] There are five variances.

[5:09] One is to allow reduction

[5:12] setback

[5:14] 25 to 12 ft. Two is to allow a drive

[5:18] through restaurant in the zoning

[5:20] district.

[5:22] Three is to allow drive through

[5:23] facilities and queuing lanes be located

[5:26] between the restaurant and the adjacent

[5:28] street.

[5:30] Four is to allow an additional accessory

[5:32] structure for

[5:34] camping and five is to allow a garbage

[5:37] dumpster.

[5:40] However, it will have a closure and will

[5:42] be

[5:45] These are some conceptual elevations of

[5:47] the town.

[5:55] And this is elevations for the

[5:57] restaurant

[6:12] is Recommending approval of the zoning

[6:14] amendment to revise the site plan

[6:16] elevation

[6:20] zoning district

[6:22] 45

[6:24] unit acre 53

[6:29] drive following conditions

[6:32] conditions

[6:35] requiring underground utilities

[6:38] burning of construction debris

[6:42] They will meet our tree ordinance and

[6:43] landscape plans.

[6:46] Special conditions regarding setbacks.

[6:57] They will have to meet all fire access

[6:59] requirements,

[7:00] water sewer

[7:02] improvements, and storm water

[7:04] improvements.

[7:08] Have a foot sidewalk. external

[7:12] sidewalks.

[7:14] 15. They will have to receive approval

[7:16] from GTO.

[7:18] 16 shall not be gated.

[7:25] requires the deceleration lane

[7:31] deceleration property.

[7:50] requires any trees in the sight distance

[7:53] triangles on road.

[7:57] requires a minimum

[8:00] parking spaces combined.

[8:08] Not to require building along the public

[8:12] sidewalk

[8:17] building

[8:22] 31

[8:27] and

[8:30] education

[8:33] 32 is Max

[8:47] 37 and 38 tie this to the site plan

[8:52] with the application.

[8:57] is the variance to allow drive-thru

[9:00] restaurants.

[9:02] 41 is the variance to allowing lanes and

[9:05] drive through facilities.

[9:09] 42 is to allow the additional accessory

[9:12] structure. 43 and 44.

[9:15] 43 is to allow the dumpster

[9:19] be

[9:21] 44. They will be required to replace any

[9:34] 45. They will have to provide

[9:36] documentations of conditions of storm

[9:39] drain systems.

[9:43] landscape buffer

[9:46] external boundaries

[9:49] road

[9:52] 47 any town home elevation visible from

[9:56] a public rightway shall not utilize

[10:02] and that's all I'd be happy to answer

[10:03] any questions

[10:06] >> all right do we have any questions for

[10:07] » all right do we have any questions for

[10:07] Mr.

[10:11] Okay. Thank you, Joey. Well done. All

[10:13] right. This time we like to have the

[10:14] applicant come forward and tell us a

[10:16] little bit about the application.

[10:20] Good evening and welcome.

[10:23] >> Thank you all for the time. My name is

[10:25] » Thank you all for the time. My name is

[10:25] Park Lance. I'm with

[10:27] 1810 Trail is my address. Um, so as Joey

[10:33] mentioned, we are requesting an

[10:35] amendment to our previously approved

[10:37] plan to reduce the density from 163

[10:40] multif family units to 45 units,000

[10:45] retail

[10:47] 5,000 class.

[10:51] So we own this property for a number of

[10:54] years

[10:56] diligently pursued financing and capital

[10:59] markets options and equity options to

[11:01] get the previous

[11:04] way. Unfortunately

[11:08] different

[11:11] markets

[11:14] allowed us to get this project out of

[11:16] the ground. We feel like this this

[11:18] amended plan will allow us to

[11:21] with a project.

[11:36] » Any questions for the applicant?

[11:40] >> Yeah, go ahead.

[11:55] reserve

[12:12] people

[12:13] from the restaurant parking

[12:20] space.

[12:37] allow

[12:40] traffic. I know you might want to

[12:42] connect them with some sort of foot

[12:45] access, but is there anything?

[12:49] >> Right. Right.

[12:50] » Right. Right.

[12:50] >> Yeah, we do. And we do have a home

[12:52] » Yeah, we do. And we do have a home

[12:52] builder that we have discussed with

[12:56] them.

[12:58] We will have

[13:11] Yeah, I don't think

[13:16] into a town home.

[13:22] Just something

[13:41] both sides.

[13:59] » Thank you, Jill. Any other questions?

[14:04] >> All right. Thank you.

[14:05] » All right. Thank you.

[14:05] >> All right. This is a public hearing. At

[14:07] » All right. This is a public hearing. At

[14:07] this time, we'd like to ask if there's

[14:09] anyone in attendance that would like to

[14:10] come forward and speak in favor of or

[14:12] opposition to this application. We just

[14:14] ask that you come forward one at a time.

[14:17] We want to give everybody the

[14:18] opportunity to have their voice heard.

[14:20] Um we do ask that you know we keep the

[14:23] repetitive comments to a um a minimum

[14:27] but we want to hear your voice. So u if

[14:30] you would now

[14:32] come forward.

[14:37] » Good evening and welcome.

[14:41] Thank you for allowing me to speak. My

[14:43] name is Mikey.

[14:45] I'm a property owner of 500311.

[14:57] I'm here tonight to oppose the proposed

[15:00] Chick-fil-A. We all saw the logo. That

[15:03] was Chick-fil-A.

[15:04] And um because of the public safety and

[15:08] neighborhood impact this project would

[15:11] create for people who are living along.

[15:14] Um, this proposal would directly affect

[15:17] approximately 40 long 40 homes along

[15:19] Oakill Road and nearby streets or homes

[15:22] that were not designed to sit next to

[15:24] high intensity, not high density, but

[15:28] drive-thru use.

[15:30] First, it's important to recognize this

[15:32] is not a simple intersection. Oakill

[15:35] Road and South Cop form a fivepoint

[15:37] intersection,

[15:39] which already makes traffic more uh

[15:42] movement more complex and less

[15:43] predictable than a standard four-way

[15:45] intersection.

[15:47] Fivepoint intersections are uncommon in

[15:49] Smyrna. Uh and when the city does have

[15:52] them, they typically require special

[15:54] attention and careful traffic management

[15:56] because of their complexity.

[15:59] Drivers here are already dealing with

[16:01] multiple turning moves, signal phases,

[16:04] and sight line challenges.

[16:07] Couple examples here is as you enter on

[16:09] South Drive to get to Church Road,

[16:12] drivers have to make a semicircle

[16:15] that

[16:17] on Church Road there's no right on red.

[16:21] The reason there's no right on

[16:25] drivers approaching South

[16:27] Church

[16:30] um Chick-fil-A is not a typical fast

[16:32] food restaurant. It's um these locations

[16:35] are well known generating very high

[16:37] traffic volumes, especially in the

[16:38] drive-thru with long lines extending,

[16:41] idling during peak periods. Um, I think

[16:44] that's the case for the current site as

[16:45] well. I mean, that that traffic actually

[16:48] does back up on South Drive at Highland

[16:50] Park as it is. Um, and what concerns me

[16:55] the most is the application includes no

[16:57] traffic impact studies. Uh, no

[17:00] drive-through stacking analysis, no peak

[17:03] hour modeling to show how level of

[17:05] traffic

[17:06] function next to a busy fivepoint

[17:07] intersection.

[17:09] Um the SH plan shows label Q story

[17:12] length but uh doesn't show the measured

[17:15] distance from the intersection curve

[17:17] radius to the drive through entrance

[17:19] itself which is I guess I'd look to be

[17:23] around 125 ft. So as you're entering on

[17:26] the Oak Road, you have to make an

[17:27] immediate

[17:29] entrance.

[17:30] Um the site plan um so there's no clear

[17:34] demonstration that a drive traffic will

[17:36] stay fully on site with cues that won't

[17:38] spill back towards the intersection.

[17:41] U for high volume drive-thru immediately

[17:43] next to a complex intersection. That's a

[17:45] critical that's critical missing

[17:46] information there. U when Chick-fil-A

[17:50] when Chick-fil-A sites get overwhelmed

[17:52] and many do. We've all been there. We've

[17:54] all eaten there. The lines do not stay

[17:56] on the property. They spill into the

[17:58] nearby streets. at five point at a

[18:01] fivepoint intersection. This means

[18:02] sudden stops, block turning movements,

[18:04] and distracted drivers. Um, for the 40

[18:08] households along Oakdale Road, this

[18:10] directly affects their ability to safely

[18:12] enter and exit their neighborhood.

[18:16] Oakdale Road is also part of a local

[18:18] school bus school bus routes. Um, within

[18:21] the proposed development corridor, there

[18:24] are three uh school bus stops along all

[18:27] of Oakdale. seven stops and they all

[18:30] entered through South Cob onto Oakell

[18:32] Road.

[18:35] Um,

[18:36] so buses on the road in the early

[18:38] morning and afternoon hours, the same

[18:39] times as Chick-fil-A experiences heavy

[18:41] demand. The uh school bus times are

[18:44] between 6:30 and 8:30 in the morning, in

[18:46] the afternoon between 2:30 and 4:30.

[18:50] Um, so navigating a fivepoint

[18:52] intersection is already challenging

[18:53] enough for a large bus, adding

[18:55] unpredictable drive-thru traffic.

[18:58] increases for bus drivers and the

[19:00] children. There's no analysis in this

[19:02] application addressing school bus

[19:04] operation or state or student safety.

[19:07] Um to me this is a step backwards but uh

[19:10] I also want to talk about the noise the

[19:12] noise the air quality and the quality of

[19:14] life especially because this proposal

[19:16] removes protections that were previously

[19:17] included on their plans um

[19:21] of a sound wall.

[19:24] In the old site plan, the sign wall was

[19:26] a sound wall was included.

[19:28] On the current plan, there's no sound.

[19:31] Removing the soundwall allows these

[19:33] impacts to reach further into Oakdale

[19:35] Road neighborhoods in the 40 nearby

[19:37] homes. There's also an issue of air

[19:39] quality. Stop and go traffic and idling

[19:43] concentrate exhaust in one location,

[19:46] including fine particulate pollution

[19:48] that is extremely harmful for children,

[19:50] seniors, and people with asthma. These

[19:52] impacts are daily. They're not

[19:53] occasional.

[19:56] Approving um from the planning

[19:58] standpoint, this may reduce parking, but

[20:00] there is more intense use that was

[20:02] previously considered for this site.

[20:04] Yet, it comes with fewer mitigation uh

[20:07] mitigation measures and no supporting

[20:09] studies.

[20:11] So, this is a moving in the wrong

[20:12] direction. Approving this with without

[20:14] solid analysis places the burden on the

[20:17] neighborhood first and ask questions

[20:18] later.

[20:20] And once it's built, these impacts can't

[20:22] cannot be undone.

[20:24] So I respectfully ask the board to deny

[20:27] the application or at least defer it

[20:28] until there's a clear evidence will not

[20:31] compromise safety at the fivepoint

[20:33] intersection disrupt school bus routes

[20:37] or become a daily nuisance for the 40

[20:39] homes along road and until protections

[20:42] like the previously proposed sound wall.

[20:48] Thank you for your time.

[20:49] >> Thank you, Mr.

[20:52] Anybody else?

[21:01] » Good evening and welcome.

[21:03] >> Good evening. My name is Glen Parish.

[21:06] » Good evening. My name is Glen Parish.

[21:06] I've lived off of Oakdale Road in the

[21:08] Oakdale Estates subdivision for almost

[21:12] 20 years now. So, I have a ton of

[21:16] experience with traffic back and so

[21:18] forth on Oakville Road.

[21:22] Mike

[21:24] mentioned briefly how traffic backs up

[21:27] under normal circumstances, but if

[21:29] there's a hiccup somewhere on I85 until

[21:33] you get to the I20 interchange, people

[21:36] bail out on Atlanta Road, cut through

[21:40] West Village,

[21:42] and then come back down Oakdale Road

[21:44] where I've seen cars back up as far as

[21:46] 25 or 30 in depth. It's impossible to

[21:50] make a leftand turn onto road under

[21:53] current circumstances.

[21:56] Having said that, I'm also concerned

[21:59] about the impact of the traffic in the

[22:01] five point intersection. I understand

[22:04] that Cobb County or G do have approved

[22:07] any changes to lanes andor traffic

[22:10] controls.

[22:12] If that's not the case, then I

[22:14] apologize, but that's what I believe at

[22:16] this point in time.

[22:20] The impact

[22:23] is a nuisance to all of us and affects

[22:26] the quality of life for people that have

[22:29] enjoyed living in a somewhat quiet

[22:32] community for a number of years which

[22:35] under these current circumstances if it

[22:37] is allowed would change the complete

[22:40] complex city of that area. And I oppose

[22:45] that and

[22:47] That is all I have to say at this time

[22:50] and would sign up afterwards with our

[22:52] address.

[22:53] >> Yeah, if you could you state your

[22:55] » Yeah, if you could you state your

[22:55] address for the record, please, Mr.

[22:57] Paris.

[22:57] >> 2159.

[23:01] » Thank you very much for that, sir.

[23:03] >> Thank you.

[23:03] » Thank you.

[23:03] >> Yes, sir.

[23:06] » Yes, sir.

[23:06] >> Anybody else?

[23:12] » Good evening and welcome.

[23:13] >> Thank you. Uh I am Amy Schaer and I

[23:15] » Thank you. Uh I am Amy Schaer and I

[23:16] reside 2133 Park Avenue.

[23:18] >> Can Can you say your name again? I'm

[23:19] » Can Can you say your name again? I'm

[23:19] sorry.

[23:20] >> Amy Schaer.

[23:20] » Amy Schaer.

[23:20] >> Amy Schaefer. Thank you.

[23:23] » Amy Schaefer. Thank you.

[23:23] >> And um not to be the point, but I also

[23:27] » And um not to be the point, but I also

[23:27] would like you guys to oppose the um

[23:30] fast food portion of this development um

[23:32] for a few reasons, mostly related to the

[23:35] traffic and the quality of life as a

[23:36] resident who has to drive up and down

[23:38] the Oakville corridor to access my home

[23:41] every day from work. Um the issue that

[23:46] mostly is that replacing the apartments

[23:49] with town houses does reduce the density

[23:51] in theory, but then adding a 5,000 or

[23:54] 5,000 square foot um fast food

[23:56] restaurant of the magnitude of a

[23:59] Chick-fil-A does not negate that density

[24:02] decrease. It actually increases the

[24:03] amount of traffic that will be accessing

[24:06] that fivepoint intersection and Oakdale

[24:08] Road. Um Chick-fil-A is considered a

[24:12] high volume traffic generator by design.

[24:14] They design their to bring extra traffic

[24:16] through and get people through quicker,

[24:18] which brings more people to the

[24:19] restaurant. Um, we estimate from

[24:24] research online, since there hasn't been

[24:26] a traffic study to support this at this

[24:28] intersection, that it will be

[24:29] approximately 2,300 vehicle trips per

[24:32] day is what is used by the IT land use

[24:34] code for fast food restaurants of that

[24:36] size. So, when you add in 23 thou or

[24:39] 2,300 more vehicles in that

[24:41] intersection, there's not capacity for

[24:43] that at this point. and it's going to

[24:45] spill over onto Oakdale. Additionally,

[24:47] when you're adding in a turn on Oakdale

[24:50] that doesn't currently exist, you're

[24:51] going to have two way turning traffic at

[24:53] an intersection that can't accommodate

[24:54] the current traffic that's only going

[24:57] one way and turning onto South K. And

[24:59] now you're adding an additional turn

[25:01] that'll be left and right turning

[25:02] through this backup of Q traffic, which

[25:05] is also going to cause additional

[25:07] traffic nightmares, um, traffic

[25:09] incidents and whatnot. And my

[25:11] understanding, which may be wrong, but

[25:13] my understanding is that previously um

[25:15] Oakdale Road was not allowing commercial

[25:17] development um to have access on Oakdale

[25:21] as evidenced by the dentist office and

[25:23] the surveying offices not having access

[25:25] on Oakdale to their businesses. They

[25:26] only can be accessed from South. So for

[25:29] those reasons, I request that you guys

[25:30] review this and at the very least do

[25:33] request a traffic study before you

[25:34] approve it.

[25:36] >> Thank you, Miss Schaefer. Um and Joey

[25:40] » Thank you, Miss Schaefer. Um and Joey

[25:40] Rusty, y'all correct me if I'm wrong.

[25:42] Uh, at there will be a traffic study

[25:45] done for this project. Is that correct?

[25:50] Is is it am I correct in saying that

[25:57] » the project will be reviewed by the

[25:59] jurisdictions that are in charge of the

[26:01] rightways. So, Cobb County will look at

[26:04] this.

[26:05] >> Tot will review it.

[26:07] » Tot will review it.

[26:07] >> Okay.

[26:07] » Okay.

[26:07] >> The you can talk to the applicant and

[26:09] » The you can talk to the applicant and

[26:10] them for clarification, but I believe

[26:12] they've already started those initial

[26:14] conversations and preliminary meetings

[26:15] with with those jurisdictions to have an

[26:19] idea of what is needed from an

[26:20] improvement standpoint before they get

[26:22] all the way through the process and find

[26:24] out they do something else.

[26:26] >> Right. Right. Okay. So to make this

[26:29] » Right. Right. Okay. So to make this

[26:29] thing a little bit more complicated, we

[26:30] have three ent three uh government

[26:33] involved, right? Um G dot which state

[26:38] obviously Cobb County and the city of

[26:40] Smyrna, right? Um so when we get we're

[26:43] done with the public component part,

[26:45] we'll ask the applicant to come back and

[26:47] and speak to it as much as they can at

[26:49] this point. Um

[26:51] >> and and just from a clarification

[26:53] » and and just from a clarification

[26:53] standpoint,

[26:55] they will not If this gets approved,

[26:57] there will not be the issuance of the

[26:59] development permit until all

[27:02] jurisdictions are satisfied. So, we will

[27:05] not issue a permit for development until

[27:07] we receive approval from

[27:10] >> Got DOT and we receive approval for from

[27:13] » Got DOT and we receive approval for from

[27:13] Cobb County on those portions of

[27:16] development.

[27:17] >> Got it. All right. Thank you. And thank

[27:20] » Got it. All right. Thank you. And thank

[27:20] you guys for letting me take that to

[27:21] just try and try and help with there

[27:24] will be more work done on this plan. Um,

[27:26] so who's next?

[27:35] [snorts]

[27:40] » Good evening and welcome.

[27:43] I would request the council if you can

[27:45] put up on screen.

[27:53] » I don't know if we have that technology

[27:54] available, but will you do me a favor

[27:56] and state your name and address for the

[27:57] record to get started?

[27:58] >> Absolutely. My name is Deborah Stallman

[28:00] » Absolutely. My name is Deborah Stallman

[28:00] Forsman and I live

[28:07] directly across

[28:09] site. Um,

[28:13] >> thank you.

[28:18] » Yeah. Can we can do Do we have this the

[28:20] proposed site plan that we can throw up

[28:22] on the screen?

[28:24] >> Yeah, it's right in front of me.

[28:31] It does exhibit more like a satellite

[28:34] view of it. I don't know how to change

[28:36] it.

[28:52] So, I'd like to address a little bit

[28:54] more of a human element to this that the

[28:59] site plans don't necessarily

[29:02] highlight the fact that the residential

[29:04] area off of Oakdale is single that have

[29:08] been there for decades, almost a

[29:12] century. And building on this street

[29:15] would create where the bus stops are.

[29:19] Okay. Where the site plan is proposed,

[29:22] the

[29:23] drive-thru, which is now a double drive,

[29:26] will be located approximately 30 to 40

[29:29] feet, maybe 50 feet away from bus stops

[29:33] where our children stand. And they stand

[29:36] there in the morning. the highest

[29:38] traffic at a Chick-fil-A, double

[29:40] traffic. And these children may even be

[29:42] tempted to walk across Oakdale so that

[29:44] they could get into the Chick-fil-A and

[29:46] have chicken nuggets. So we are talking

[29:49] about children from elementary, middle

[29:51] school, and high school walking across

[29:53] Oakdale during hightra peak areas as

[29:57] well as traffic trying to get in and out

[29:59] of that area while our kids are standing

[30:01] at their bus stop if they're not trying

[30:03] to get to.

[30:05] I'd like to note that that that's not

[30:07] necessarily being highlighted. I'd like

[30:09] to make sure that's highlighted.

[30:13] That is basically

[30:16] 83% of the parcels. So, six out of eight

[30:20] of the parcels are actually up against

[30:22] bus stops.

[30:23] And I believe that this presents a

[30:25] safety hazard for our children as well

[30:28] as pedestrians in that area. Like to

[30:31] note right here that recently the

[30:34] Silver comet trail was connected to

[30:36] Oakdale which creates a larger

[30:38] pedestrian traffic as well as well as

[30:41] bicyclists. So there are people out

[30:43] there who are walking that are going to

[30:44] be interfering or a part of this high

[30:48] intensity traffic area for a double for

[30:50] the proposed double drive-thru.

[30:57] So I do want to note for the council

[31:01] that this is a plan that I do not

[31:05] want approved. I do oppose it. And that

[31:08] is all I have to say about it. Thank

[31:10] you.

[31:13] >> Thank you.

[31:24] » Good evening and welcome.

[31:25] >> Evening, council.

[31:26] » Evening, council.

[31:26] >> All right. For the record, we're we're

[31:28] » All right. For the record, we're we're

[31:28] the zoning board. The council is a

[31:30] completely different group. They they

[31:32] see me letting you call us counsel. I'll

[31:34] get in trouble later.

[31:36] >> Okay. My name is Kate Shaw. You call me

[31:38] » Okay. My name is Kate Shaw. You call me

[31:38] the walking wounded if you want. I live

[31:41] on Lane. I live two homes down from the

[31:44] proposed site. Um I'd also like to note

[31:47] that this morning I entered into the

[31:49] record a legal memo for review. I have

[31:52] additional comments that I won't bore

[31:56] you with repeating everything that's in

[31:57] that legal memo. Um but I do want to

[32:02] I remain concerned that the planning

[32:05] commission is being asked to approve a

[32:06] defective commercial resoning based on

[32:10] staff variances.

[32:13] I remain concerned that this is not a

[32:15] zoning amendment

[32:17] but rather a functional reasoning

[32:20] to high intensity commercial use.

[32:24] I previously shared safety concerns

[32:27] about the school bus stop which is

[32:29] directly ent to the order taking portion

[32:33] of the drive-thru lane.

[32:37] An assessment of child pedestrian safety

[32:40] or bus route safety was not addressed in

[32:43] the planning memo. Despite my concerns,

[32:48] I believe that evaluation of those

[32:51] safety facts are required and that the

[32:54] risk of child pedestrian safety adjacent

[32:57] to a drive-thru

[32:59] rest on your shoulders as well.

[33:05] In referencing the applicant statement

[33:09] and the staff memo, I'd like to also

[33:14] look at exhibit B. And in the response

[33:17] to question one, I'd like to note that

[33:20] describing these parcels as being

[33:22] adjacent to commercial town homes and

[33:26] multif family is a bit of a

[33:29] mischaracterization.

[33:31] If you look along these five parcels on

[33:33] the east,

[33:35] you look at the bottom of that

[33:36] triangular piece

[33:39] where all those trees are 40 homes.

[33:43] Misty Lane is 20 homes. Oakdale is 20

[33:46] homes. And if you do the math on these

[33:49] parcels, you will find that 83% of the

[33:54] but single family residential.

[33:57] This project is being characterized as

[33:59] the South

[34:01] commercial.

[34:02] It's a residential.

[34:08] In question three, the applicant and

[34:11] staff

[34:12] comment on reasonable use, making many

[34:15] comments about market conditions and

[34:17] economic use.

[34:21] The city record reflects that recently

[34:24] proposals were reviewed for a 250 multif

[34:26] family unit, a three to four living

[34:32] market conditions are no different for

[34:34] this site and other recent proposals you

[34:36] have.

[34:39] This amendment stems from an economic

[34:41] preference of the developer only.

[34:44] Economic preferences do not

[34:48] constitute reasons to approve

[34:50] amendments.

[34:55] Section four,

[34:57] a burden on streets

[35:01] may be repetitive to

[35:04] it may be repetitive to address this

[35:06] again as I think that some of the other

[35:08] neighbors have already commented on it.

[35:11] Um

[35:12] I would add that uh in the staff memo it

[35:15] does not say anywhere that it's subject

[35:17] to Cobb County approval. It also doesn't

[35:19] mention the Cobb Department of

[35:20] Education. also doesn't address any of

[35:23] the bus stops and whether or not um Cobb

[35:26] County has been contacted. I myself

[35:29] contacted Georgia and Cob County not

[35:32] long ago and they had not heard of this

[35:34] proposal. The developer may have to

[35:42] in regards to future land use.

[35:47] This is zone CAC.

[35:51] medium intensity.

[35:53] I think no question exists about whether

[35:55] double drive through Chick-fil-A

[35:57] constitutes high intensity use. This is

[36:00] fundamentally incompatible with the 2040

[36:03] future land use.

[36:07] Policy number six of CAC states

[36:10] transition scale and intensity is

[36:12] expected between the central CAC uses

[36:15] and surrounding lower intensity

[36:17] neighborhoods.

[36:19] No transition exists. We have

[36:22] no mitigation exists. We have trees 40

[36:26] ft apart. None of those mit

[36:30] according to CAC policy number six.

[36:36] With regards to the memo number six,

[36:40] both developer and staff claim that this

[36:43] is actually reduction in density

[36:46] when I think that it's already been

[36:48] spoken to that the true metric

[36:50] is trips per day and traffic intensity.

[36:58] Respectfully,

[37:00] kicking the responsibility of safety

[37:03] studies to other jurisdictions or other

[37:06] departments.

[37:09] It allows this project to move forward

[37:11] and shifts the risk to the children, the

[37:14] homeowners,

[37:16] and does not guarantee

[37:19] the mayor and council do not have the

[37:21] ability to enforce once it's passed that

[37:26] the applicant seeks a commercial

[37:27] drive-thru use. I believe the

[37:30] appropriate path is a commercial

[37:32] resoning.

[37:34] I respectfully request to recommend

[37:36] denial or at a minimum to send us back

[37:39] through the proper reasoning process

[37:42] rather than approving functionally

[37:45] commercialing

[37:47] through SAP varian.

[37:50] >> Thank you so much for your time.

[37:52] » Thank you so much for your time.

[37:52] >> Thank you Michelle. Anybody else?

[38:05] Good evening and welcome.

[38:08] » My name is Walt Robu. I live at 2150

[38:12] Oakdale Estates Court.

[38:15] I've lived here [clears throat] for 20

[38:17] years

[38:19] and I can tell you right now when you

[38:23] try to drive on Oakdale Road

[38:27] heading towards the light on South Cobb

[38:30] Drive between 4 and 6:00, you're going

[38:34] to sit in that lane for four light

[38:37] changes before you could even reach

[38:39] where my house is because of the

[38:41] traffic. And we don't have anything

[38:43] there now but trees.

[38:46] You start running people through there

[38:49] going to Chick-fil-A and believe me,

[38:51] they're popular. You're going to have a

[38:54] problem that's going to be out of this

[38:55] world.

[38:57] So, you really need to consider that

[38:59] when you're looking at this. That's the

[39:01] big problem. And it's been brought up

[39:03] about the children and the buses. That's

[39:06] all part of it, too. But not even

[39:08] counting that. Just trying to get home

[39:10] at that time.

[39:12] It's a chore.

[39:15] So, please don't forget that.

[39:20] » Thank you, Mr. Robu. Did Did he state

[39:21] his address? Okay, got it. Anybody else?

[39:32] Hey, we prefer quality of content over

[39:34] volume. I promise. Like, you guys have

[39:37] done a great job. You've been very

[39:38] civil. We totally appreciate it. We're

[39:40] all neighbors, right? We're all here

[39:42] because we want Smyrna to be a better

[39:43] place and you got a you got a a stake in

[39:46] that claim, right? So, if that's all the

[39:50] neighbors that want to speak, I'm going

[39:51] to call it call the public hearing at

[39:53] 6:46.

[39:55] As far as the public hearing component

[39:58] in my meetings, I like to balance it out

[40:00] as much as possible. Anytime we have a

[40:02] disparity where the applicant speaks for

[40:04] two or three minutes and we have, you

[40:05] know, 15, 20 minutes of public comment,

[40:07] I want to give them an opportunity to

[40:08] answer any questions. All right? So, at

[40:10] this time, I'm going to let the

[40:12] applicant come back and see if they can

[40:14] address and allay any of the fears,

[40:15] concerns uh of of the neighbors.

[40:19] [snorts]

[40:21] And if you ever watch one of my

[40:22] meetings, I don't don't suggest it. I

[40:25] try to do this every time. So, this is

[40:27] not something special for the

[40:30] >> Welcome back.

[40:31] » Welcome back.

[40:31] >> Yeah. Thanks again. So, a couple things

[40:40] But um we have

[40:44] Joe's comment we have reached out

[40:50] to channels to make sure.

[40:58] So that process will take place

[41:05] but all

[41:08] distances

[41:11] that has been addressed. I know there

[41:13] was a comment

[41:17] for us

[41:35] facing commercial site that has

[41:40] foundh

[41:58] standpoint. So

[42:00] I guess the only other thing on the

[42:03] screening and

[42:10] Chick-fil-A. I will say that Chick-fil-A

[42:19] along there.

[42:28] I'm sure

[42:34] all comments

[42:40] I appreciate that, Mr.

[42:49] » Good evening and welcome.

[42:51] >> Good evening, Mr. Chairman, members of

[42:53] » Good evening, Mr. Chairman, members of

[42:53] the of the commission. My name is David

[42:55] Kirk. I'm an attorney practicing at the

[42:59] firm of Ch Pepper Lock 600 Peach Tree

[43:01] Street [snorts] Northeast in Atlanta

[43:04] here representing Chick-fil-A. Um I'm

[43:08] not the technical expert, so if you have

[43:10] technical questions, we have we have a

[43:12] bunch of folks here who know a lot more

[43:14] about that than than I do. Um let me

[43:19] speak to just a couple of things. Uh

[43:21] first, you have a great staff. They have

[43:25] looked at this very carefully. They've

[43:27] looked at your plan. They find it's

[43:30] consistent with your plan. They find

[43:34] that it meets all the criteria for

[43:36] approval. And I would strongly suggest

[43:40] that you rely on your staff uh and their

[43:43] work uh and approve this. Uh second with

[43:49] regard to the concerns about uh traffic

[43:53] uh and this being a double drive through

[43:55] and therefore would have more traffic

[43:57] and more impact uh on Oakdale Road.

[44:01] That's actually the exact opposite of

[44:04] what this is intended to do. The current

[44:07] uh Chick-fil-A has a single drive-thru

[44:10] if I'm not mistaken. The operator is

[44:12] here so he can answer that more detail

[44:15] if you want.

[44:17] this design, the proposed site plan that

[44:20] you have before you tonight effectively

[44:23] triples that the ability to have

[44:26] cars on the site. So that will eliminate

[44:31] likely eliminate the uh any sort of

[44:33] backup into the site beyond the

[44:35] drive-thru and certainly onto

[44:37] neighboring streets.

[44:39] In addition, there's a new Chick-fil-A

[44:41] that has recently opened uh on is it

[44:44] Mapleton Road

[44:46] in Mapleton, which will

[44:50] somewhat reduce the demand,

[44:52] take the pressure off this this

[44:54] particular site. So, I would

[44:57] respectfully suggest that this in fact

[44:59] will

[45:01] the design will keep traffic on site,

[45:05] allow for much more efficient use of

[45:10] Um

[45:14] there was a mention of landscaping.

[45:16] Certainly we can work with staff to

[45:19] enhance the landscaping along road

[45:24] that would be helpful. They believe it

[45:25] would be helpful. Uh and as Mr. Martin

[45:29] pointed out with regard to coordination

[45:32] with Georgia DOT

[45:35] Kendra who's our expert here uh has had

[45:39] those preliminary discussions with them.

[45:42] If you have specific questions about

[45:43] that I'm going to have to defer to her

[45:46] but again the staff has looked at this

[45:49] very carefully. This is effectively

[45:53] it's essentially

[45:55] has the effect of a down going

[45:59] 163

[46:01] residential units to about a quarter of

[46:03] that. We're going from 20,000 square

[46:06] feet of retail and restaurant space to

[46:09] again about a quarter of that. So I

[46:12] would respectfully suggest that in fact

[46:15] reduce the intensity and reduce the

[46:17] impact properties. Thank you very much.

[46:21] If you have any questions for the team

[46:23] again we have whole range of experts

[46:26] here.

[46:26] >> Gotcha. Thanks so much for skirt. If

[46:28] » Gotcha. Thanks so much for skirt. If

[46:28] anybody else wants to add anything,

[46:30] feel free.

[46:39] » Good evening and welcome.

[46:40] >> Good evening. Thank you all for your

[46:42] » Good evening. Thank you all for your

[46:42] time. My name is Kendra Lewis. My

[46:45] address is 220 East Central Parkway.

[46:51] [snorts]

[46:52] Came

[46:54] to be here tonight. Um, so the only

[46:58] additional things that I wanted to add

[47:00] um was that the south co drive entrance

[47:04] will likely be the primary entrance that

[47:08] most vehicles will be at least entering

[47:11] the site. Um and then um as mentioned um

[47:17] the traffic study was a big point of

[47:20] concern and there there is at least a

[47:23] preliminary study that has done so that

[47:27] was taken into consideration

[47:34] which included those deceleration lanes

[47:37] to assist traffic um [clears throat]

[47:41] as Mr. already mentioned the um the

[47:45] drive-thru stacking from the existing

[47:48] store down the street

[47:53] only.

[47:55] So this drive is

[47:59] not only um does it hold more about the

[48:03] amount um it's from

[48:09] where you know many of you

[48:13] and seeing the drive just continue to

[48:15] wrap around the building and then

[48:18] prevents

[48:20] you

[48:22] in general. So that's also this design

[48:26] addresses that with an isolated

[48:31] um

[48:52] » Thank you so Sure.

[48:55] Miss Lewis, you mind if get one question

[48:57] out of you?

[49:20] One jurisdiction.

[49:34] Has there been any discussion?

[49:38] to this

[49:39] homeowners

[49:50] proposing more.

[50:35] Someone trying to

[50:37] concerns of the homeless

[50:47] homes.

[50:56] Not allowing

[51:01] everybody who wants to go

[51:06] try to

[51:10] speak.

[51:27] » Yeah, that's a great question and um

[51:31] there's been some minor discuss Of

[51:35] course I believe would be to have full

[51:39] access on on both roads. Um and as you

[51:43] mentioned yes there are multiple

[51:45] agencies. So um Georgia Department of

[51:48] Transportation has jurisdiction over

[51:50] South

[52:00] um and then Mr. Sts mentioned Oakdale

[52:06] Roads jurisdiction is a combination of

[52:10] um city jurisdiction and county

[52:11] jurisdiction. So once we get past this

[52:15] initial planning phase um then we would

[52:18] get into the nittygritty of the civil

[52:22] engineering plans and I think that's

[52:24] when more discusser

[52:32] design

[52:36] I believe from what I'm hearing you're

[52:37] proposing right

[53:00] schools.

[53:05] finally

[53:19] take.

[53:28] » Thank you, Jill. Thank you, Kendra.

[53:32] All right, we're going to go ahead and

[53:33] close it off now. That gives about 25

[53:37] minutes to the public hearing and

[53:39] another

[53:41] 12 or so um from the for the applicant.

[53:45] All right. Um at this time, I'd like to

[53:48] entertain a motion.

[53:55] I'd like to make a motion to approve

[53:57] Z25-015

[54:00] as presented.

[54:02] >> And motion to approve, Mr. Carter. Do I

[54:04] » And motion to approve, Mr. Carter. Do I

[54:04] have a second?

[54:08] » I second that.

[54:10] >> I got a second from Ian.

[54:13] » I got a second from Ian.

[54:13] [snorts]

[54:14] Uh, all in favor of the motion, please

[54:18] vote.

[54:26] Really? So [snorts] the

[54:29] the motion is approved three to two. Is

[54:32] that right?

[54:35] Earl, did you vote?

[54:38] Okay, Earl's an A. Jill's an A. So we

[54:42] have an approval three to two. [snorts]

[54:46] Sorry, guys. I'm slow counting up here,

[54:48] especially when I'm having to go back

[54:49] and forth. Um clearly there's, you know,

[54:52] some work to be done on this. I do

[54:54] appreciate you guys um all your patience

[54:58] and and u professionalism.

[55:01] We live in a world that's devoid of that

[55:04] far too often. [snorts] Um the next item

[55:07] on our agenda is the approval. Is uh Mr.

[55:11] Phillips or Mr. Howard still here?

[55:16] » Hold on.

[55:16] >> Mr. Mayor, can I just reiterate that

[55:18] » Mr. Mayor, can I just reiterate that

[55:18] mayor and council meeting is February

[55:20] 16th. That will be a final vote. This is

[55:23] a recommendation.

[55:24] >> Yes. The final the final uh vote will be

[55:27] » Yes. The final the final uh vote will be

[55:27] uh May 16th. Uh

[55:30] oh Jesus. February 16, 2026.

[55:34] [snorts] Um in this chamber. Thank you.

[55:38] All right. I'd like a motion to approve

[55:40] the minutes as presented.

[55:43] We had a motion. Mr. Rice to have a

[55:45] second.

[55:47] Second. Uh, and this is going to be a

[55:50] fun one.

[55:51] Vote to approve the minutes. You guys

[55:53] are going to have to abstain.

[55:55] Abstain. So, we have a motion to approve

[55:58] 402.

[56:00] That's a vote we've never had before.

[56:02] All right. Um, as a matter of um, well,

[56:06] not even there's no procedure associated

[56:08] with it. Uh, this this application was

[56:10] in Ward 7. Um recently, [snorts]

[56:14] um Henriette Estraga, who has served

[56:17] here, uh for many years, uh fantastic

[56:21] member of this commission, uh did an

[56:23] excellent job, uh of studying what we

[56:27] were working on, visiting the sites.

[56:29] She's not here tonight because she is

[56:31] being replaced, but as a public record,

[56:35] I want to thank her for her time here. U

[56:38] she did an excellent job and she will be

[56:40] sorely missed.

[56:42] Um there is one other thing that I want

[56:44] to uh well one I want to thank Ian and

[56:47] Jeff. There are new members. Welcome

[56:49] tonight. You got your your bath of fire.

[56:52] Um

[56:54] not all meetings are this civil and

[56:56] that's a credit to you guys. Uh so

[56:58] welcome to the commission and uh thank

[57:00] you for your service. And then finally

[57:03] um [snorts]

[57:05] uh city has had a a rough week. Uh we

[57:08] mourn the loss of a good friend and a

[57:11] great steward of our city. Um Eric

[57:14] Randall, the public works director who

[57:16] passed away on uh Wednesday. [snorts] Um

[57:20] he will be sorely missed and thoughts

[57:22] and prayers to his uh his family. With

[57:25] that, are there any other comments?

[57:28] All right, the meeting is called at

[57:29] 7:03.

[57:42] Jeff's replacement.

City of Smyrna, Georgia Public Meetings

Transcript