Council puts four-home plan for South Gordon Road lot on hold until developer files a site plan

Mableton's City Council voted 6-0 on Oct. 28 to defer a request to build four homes at 1151 South Gordon Road in District 1. The request will come back only after the developer submits a site plan. City staff had recommended denial. The lot does not front a public road.

For now, the parcel stays under limits Cobb County set in 2024: one house and no subdividing. The motion in the meeting minutes holds the request "until a site plan is available for council review." Councilmember Ron Davis made the motion and Councilmember Keisha Jeffcoat seconded it. Councilmember Michael McNeely was absent.

What was requested

Eleven 12 Properties LLC, owned by Felecia Kelley, asked the council to change two conditions of a 2024 Cobb County approval, known as OB-26 of 2024. Planning and Zoning Manager Ledarius Scott told the council that Condition 1 prohibited future subdivision of the parcel and Condition 2 limits it to one single-family home.

Under the zoning ordinance, each lot needs at least 75 feet of frontage on a public road. The 2024 approval reduced that requirement so one home could be built on a lot reached by a private easement. Staff said the property has no public road frontage, and the three additional homes would have none either.

Staff said a four-lot subdivision without that frontage could cause traffic and access problems, and that it could not fully evaluate the proposal without a site plan. According to the minutes, the transportation department (DOT) recommended driveway improvements and shared access.

Staff also said requirements from DOT, Water and Sewer and the Fire Marshal would be handled later, when the developer applies for a land disturbance permit. Because of that, staff said, approving the request would not guarantee the homes would be built.

The hearing

Kelley described the plan as four homes on half-acre lots, sold as workforce housing for under $400,000. She said she had not prepared a site plan because she did not want her clients paying engineering costs before knowing whether the request would be approved. She told the council she would meet all requirements, including widening the road. She offered a conceptual layout but acknowledged that it did not address the recommendations and stipulations. Resident Denny Wilson spoke in favor.

Steve Jugnk of the Mableton Improvement Coalition urged denial. (Elsewhere in the minutes his name is spelled "Jungk.") He said the coalition had supported the 2024 application and found the density acceptable, but that one driveway serving four lots would not work. He also said the lack of public road frontage created an emergency-access hazard for the new residents and for neighboring homes.

What's unknown

No date is set. Staff had suggested continuing the item indefinitely because there was no expected timeline for a site plan. Kelley committed to providing one. The minutes do not say when she will file it, what it will show, or whether it will include the 75 feet of public road frontage she said was also her goal.