On Thursday, September 13, 2018, MIC will hold a Community Meeting, with the focus on protecting yourself and your family against personal and property crimes. Major Scott Hamilton, the commander of Precinct 2 (which includes Mableton), will be our featured speaker along with other police officials.

Facebook posts and other social media posts make it clear that this is a topic of concern to many Mabletonians. Some of you have formed neighborhood watch programs in your areas and MIC has helped with some of these new groups.  Our police officials can provide you with meaningful tips to be safe. The Q&A offered is more than you’ll find online, so plan now to be at the meeting.

The meeting will be held at 7 pm at the South Cobb Community Center, 620 Lions Club Drive, Mableton.

Need to renew your membership or join MIC for the first time? click here!

If you are interested in forming a neighborhood watch program, please get in touch with Joel Cope, MIC President and Chair of MIC’s Public Safety Committee.

Have you seen a lot of yellow zoning signs around Mableton recently? Six of those applications could be heard by the Cobb County Planning Commission when they meet on Tuesday, September 4 at 9am at 100 Cherokee Street in Marietta. Postponements are always possible, but as of today, the MIC Zoning Committee has submitted comments on these applications:

Z-49, KO Development, for a small subdivision on Mableton Parkway

Z-51, Silver Manor, an event facility on Floyd Road

Z-54, Gregory King, 488 Veterans Memorial Highway

Z-55, Hawthorne Plaza

Z-59, OBurien, for a daycare center near Lindley Middle School

SLUP-10, Buckner Crossing, for a self-storage facility

Follow the links above to look at the application, the county staff analysis, and letters or site submitted by applicants, and MIC’s letter stating our position on the application.

Attend the hearing or email the Planning Commission with your opinion on these zoning cases. For email addresses and more information about how to participate in the Cobb County zoning process, click here.

The Mableton Improvement Coalition is working with County officials in exploring the possibility of creating Cobb’s fourth community improvement district (CID) centered on Mableton. The Mableton Community Improvement District Partnership is a cooperative effort among Cobb District 4 Commissioner Lisa Cupid, Cobb Community Development Agency staff and the Mableton Improvement Coalition.

A CID is a self-taxing district established by commercial property owners to improve local infrastructure and public safety. The property owners that make up the CID’s membership agree to tax themselves and leverage that revenue to obtain state and federal funds for projects that improve the area and to implement project directly.

There are more than two dozen CIDs in Georgia, according to the Georgia Municipal Association. Cobb’s three existing CIDs are centered on Cumberland, the Town Center area and the Gateway area of Marietta. All three CIDs levy a 5-mill property tax on their commercial properties that comprise their membership.

“We have seen firsthand in Cobb that CIDs are an excellent way to leverage public-private partnerships to best benefit the community,” Cupid said in a news release announcing the partnership Wednesday. “I look forward to working with all partnership members to determine current and future needs and our most productive course of action.”

Mableton CID projects may include decorative street lighting, gateway and wayfinding sign-age, landscaping, public safety initiatives, infrastructure projects and recreational improvements. Retail market analysis and studies on redevelopment, planning and engineering may also be included, according to the release.

“CIDs in Cobb County have a track record of helping stimulate growth and providing needed stimulus for projects within area boundaries,” said MIC President Joel Cope. “This particular proposed CID has the potential to provide a real shot-in-the-arm for development in the Mableton community.”

For more information, contact Joel Cope.

Barry Krebs, Mableton resident, Lions Club leader and “Mr. Adopt-A-Mile,” contacted MIC recently with the results of the Litter Index, conducted annually by Keep Cobb Beautiful.  Teams of Keep Cobb Beautiful employees, Cobb DOT employees and volunteers tour the roads of Cobb County and grades each road on litter, illegal signs,  bus stop conditions, sidewalk conditions, and graffiti.  The best rating is a 1 while the worst rating is a 4.  Below is the results of the 2018 Litter Index:

1.46        District 1 Commissioner Ott – Smyrna and East Cobb

1.57        District 4 Commissioner Cupid – Mableton, Austell, Powder Springs & parts of Marietta

1.63        District 3 Commissioner Birrell – Northeast and North Cobb

1.66        District 2 Commissioner Weatherford – West and Northwest Cobb

Cobb County overall was 1.58.

South Cobb has shown a dramatic improvement over the previous several years.  In 2015, the South Cobb Litter Index was 3.17.  So, in a short period of time, we have reduced our litter by 50%.  Barry credits the Adopt-A-Mile volunteers who have stepped up to clean up the litter in our area by adopting over thirty miles of roadways in the recent years.  It is because of these efforts that our community looks much better than we did in 2015.

MIC has adopted two stretches of Mableton roadways – Floyd Road from the Post Office to Hicks Road & all of Old Powder Springs Road. Our next clean up will be Saturday, October 13. More information here.

There are still opportunities to improve our litter situation – and maybe in 2019, District 4 will be the best in Cobb County!  If you, your homeowners’ association or your organization is interested in Adopting-A-Mile, please reach out to Keepcobbbeautiful@cobbcounty.org or call Dawn at 770-528-2504.  They provide all of the tools and training.

Commissioner Lisa Cupid and Planning Commissioner Galt Porter will hold their monthly Community Zoning meeting at 6pm at the South Cobb Community Center on Lions Club Drive in Mableton. All zoning cases on the agenda for September will be discussed and everyone is welcome.

Mableton applications pending for September are:

• OB-35 and SLUP-10 – Buckner Crossing (corner of Veterans Memorial and Buckner Road)
• Z-49 – KO Management (small subdivision on Mableton Parkway)
• Z-51 – Silver Manor (event facility on Floyd Road at the Silver Comet Trail)
• Z-54 – Gregory King (commercial building on Veterans at Pebblebrook Road)
• Z-55 – Hawthorne Plaza (shopping center on Veterans Memorial near Austell)
• Z-59 – Oburien (day care center on Veterans Memorial near Cooks Road)

Use the links above to find out more about each application. Click here to learn how you can voice your opinion during the zoning process.

Questions? Contact Robin Meyer, Zoning Committee Chairman.

This is one of the zoning cases that MIC’s Zoning Committee is involved in. For more information about MIC’s process and other zoning cases, click here.

This application is for a new child care center.

Case Number: Z-59

Location: 130 Veterans Memorial Highway

Applicant: Oburien, Inc.

Future Land Use Map Category: Neighborhood Retail Commercial

Current Zoning Category: Light Industrial

Requested Zoning Category: Low Rise Office

Hearing Dates:

Planning Commission: September 4, 2018

Board of Commissioners: September 18, 2018

Application as Filed: Click Here

Stipulations Letter: Click Here

MIC’s Position: Recommend Approval with Conditions

Final Staff Analysis: Click Here

Board of Commissioners Decision: APPROVED

This Post Last Updated On: September 26, 2018

Questions? Email MIC’s Zoning Committee

This is one of the zoning cases that MIC’s Zoning Committee is involved in. For more information about MIC’s process and other zoning cases, click here.

This application is to allow Hawthorne Plaza shopping center to include an assembly hall in suites 29 & 30

Case Number: Z-55

Location: 1245 Veterans Memorial Highway SW

Applicant: Vishal Hawthorne Plaza, LLC

Future Land Use Map Category: Community Activity Center

Current Zoning Category: Planned Shopping Center (obsolete category)

Requested Zoning Category: General Commercial

Hearing Dates:

Planning Commission: September 4, 2018

Board of Commissioners: September 18, 2018

Application as Filed: Click Here

Stipulations Letter: pending

MIC’s Position: Recommend Approval with Conditions

Final Staff Analysis: Click Here

Board of Commissioners Decision: NONE – Application Withdrawn

This Post Last Updated On: September 26, 2018

Questions? Email MIC’s Zoning Committee

This is one of the zoning cases that MIC’s Zoning Committee is involved in. For more information about MIC’s process and other zoning cases, click here.

This owner of this property would like to use this vacant retail building for a new tenant. The property has lost its “grandfathered” status.

Case Number: Z-54

Location: 488 Veterans Memorial Highway

Applicant: Gregory King

Future Land Use Map Category: Neighborhood Retail Commercial

Current Zoning Category: General Commercial

Requested Zoning Category: Neighborhood Retail Commercial

Hearing Dates:

Planning Commission: September 4, 2018

Board of Commissioners: September 18, 2018

Application as Filed: Click Here

MIC’s Position:  Recommend Approval with Conditions

Final Staff Analysis: Click Here

Board of Commissioners Decision: APPROVED

This Post Last Updated On: September 26, 2018

Questions? Email MIC’s Zoning Committee

This is one of the zoning cases that MIC’s Zoning Committee is involved in. For more information about MIC’s process and other zoning cases, click here.

This application is for the conversion of existing warehouses into climate-controlled self-storage. A Special Land Use Permit is required.

Case Number: SLUP-8

Location: 381 Veterans Memorial Highway

Applicant: Home Star Storage, LLC (prospective purchaser)

Future Land Use Map Category: Community Activity Center

Current Zoning Category: General Commercial and Community Retail Commercial

Requested Zoning Category: no change requested

Hearing Dates:

Planning Commission: August 7, 2018

Board of Commissioners: August 21, 2018

Application as Filed: Click Here

Stipulations Letter: Click Here

MIC’s Position: Recommend Approval

Final Staff Analysis: Click Here

Board of Commissioners Decision: APPROVED

This Post Last Updated On: August 22, 2018

Questions? Email MIC’s Zoning Committee