Meeting discussionsStart with a topic.

So, you know, there there's some offset with respect to what the change is between the plans on that. Yes, you're going to gain more vehicular traffic from the Chick-fil-A, but it may not amount to a net positive or a net plus change in in total traffic volume for the site. Okay, any other questions? Hey, Rusty. Mr. Pickicket. Um, are there any stipulations for making sure the site work is done simultaneously for both sections so we're not maybe stuck with one part of it and then we don't get the other or vice versa? I believe the plan is to have all the site work done for the site um at one time. Okay. But you can have the applicant verify that. With that, it might be time to invite the applicant up. Please come up. You need to be sworn in. Okay. Let our city attorney swear you in. No. Uh first of all, thank you all for the time uh tonight. Um, to answer uh your question, uh, Council Member Pickkins, yes, it will be all done at the same time. I mean, the topography of the site, you have to have to do it all at once. Sorry. Maybe better. I missed your name. I'm sorry. Uh, my name is Park Lambert with Aerys. Uh, we're the we're the owner of the property and developer. Um, and as as Rusty mentioned, um, we are uh the request is to to change the mixeduse zoning to amend it. uh from 163 multif family units and 20,000 square feet of commercial down to 45 town homes which will be fee simple um owner occupied and 5,000 square feet of um class A restaurant drive-thru space. Um we've you know we've owned this property since 2021. Um we have diligently pursued financing and equity options for this this project uh as it stands now.

Um, as you've all probably seen uh in the news, commercial real estate markets have deteriorated u due to interest rates and a number of other other uh issues uh declining rents um and really difficult capital markets. So we have been unable to move forward on this project. Um this plan as amended would allow us to move forward today um get financing and start immediately um as well as lower the density for the surrounding areas and match um a little more with the uh the surrounding residential densities. So uh we would appreciate um approval and certainly would be happy to answer any questions that you have related to this. Any questions of the applicant? Mr. Oglesby? Yes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, and I'm not sure if you will be able to answer this question, but I I did propose it earlier. Will there be any deed restrictions on the current property? I don't know about the Chick-fil-A that they are uh that they're going to to leave and vacate. I don't know. They're here. Uh, David Chick-fil-A's council may be able to answer that though. Come up as well. He's a little bit taller than I am. Uh good evening, Mr. Mayor, Councilman Oglesby, members of council. Uh to answer your question, Mr. Oglesby, um my understanding is that the current site is a leased site. So when Chick-fil-A vacates that site, it would be up to the the current property owner to to retenant that space. Great. And I'm I would assume, and Daniel Lomax, the operator, is here. Uh, I would assume the the uh the current owner is aware of these proceedings uh and may already be may already be looking for for other tenants for that for that location. Um, for the record, my name is David Kirk. Uh, I'm a partner with the law firm at Chopman Pepper Lock here and I'm representing Chick-fil-A.

I'm not representing Aerys, but I'm here representing Chick-fil-A. We've got the entire Chick-fil-A team here with us uh this evening. uh staff has done a very good job of of evaluating and presenting this matter to you. Uh and I'm just going to re-emphasize a few points. First, and I think this has been said a couple of times, this is effectively a downzoning of the property. It's about 25% of the number of of residential units and about the same in terms of of of the the commercial space. And granted, it it is quite possible that a Chick-fil-A of 5,000 ft would generate more traffic than a 5,000 ft, you know, just dining in restaurant only without the drive-thru. Uh, but I I think Rusty is correct that that's likely to be offset by the fact that it's 5,000 square feet instead of of 25,000 or 20,000 square feet. Uh second, while we understand the concerns that some neighbors expressed during the planning commission of the visibility of the site, I think when you combine the the elevation change that that's on the site, which is quite significant, as well as um the landscaping that that we're committed to and required to install. I think that provides a very effective uh screening of the site from view particularly from Oakdale Road. Uh third, um the proposal addresses the traffic and safety concerns uh that that uh a number of people uh expressed. We've got the deceleration lanes uh at both restaurant entrances as well as at the entrances to uh to the town home property um to allow for safe access uh to the site. Uh the drive-thru itself uh is designed to accommodate about 60 vehicles. Uh that's more, you know, more vehicles on site that you can handle on site means less likelihood that those vehicles are going to queue up back into adjacent roadways.

Even if we have more than 60 vehicles, if you look at the site plan, and is it possible to pull this up? Thank you. If you look at the site plan, you see particularly like South Cobb Drive, that entrance has a significant amount of of of storage area, if you will, as people approach the site. So, in the rare event and the unlikelyhood that the drive-thru were to back up, there's still plenty of room on site uh for additional vehicles. Um the sidewalks uh as staff mentioned we're required to put sidewalks uh on the frontages of of the property where they do not exist today. Uh and um condition number 49 uh that we uh that we've agreed to with the developer uh and in consultation with with u your staff uh both in terms of the planning staff and the engineering staff uh installing the pedestrian beacon uh on Oakdale at a at an appropriate location uh that we're going to work closely with your staff to determine where that is. Uh, importantly, all of these will uh will go through an additional uh review, extra sets of eyes at at Georgia DOT, and we believe we meet all the DOT standards now. Uh, but they will officially look at the plans and and uh have to sign off on them before we get our permits. Um, even post opening. Um, uh, Kendra with Interplan is our engineer. She's here. She's had conversations with your city engineer, Mr. Wolf. And after the Chick-fil-A were opens, uh, they're going to look at the signal timing at the Oakdale and South Cobb Drive intersection to make sure that works uh, works effectively. So, in closing, uh, working, excuse me, working with Aeros and your staff, we believe we've worked in good faith, uh, to address the concerns about traffic, uh, pedestrian safety, visibility.

I will continue to work with your staff and others going forward if this request is approved tonight. And so, I'd respectfully request you accept the recommendation of staff and of your planning commission and approve this zoning amendment. Uh again, the whole team is here to answer any questions you might have uh at the appropriate time. I appreciate your time. Uh and we're h again, we're happy to answer any questions. Any questions? Mr. Gold. Thanks so much for being here. Just a question. Um point of clarification, will your uh who who's going to own the property where the restaurant's located? Aris owns the property. just wasn't sure if you We'll be We'll be leasing the property from from Aerys. Okay. Thank you. We meaning Chick-fil-A, not me personally. Anybody else have a question? Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. All right. This is a public hearing and we have, I think, seven people signed up to speak. um all in opposition. Uh everybody who is signed up to speak or anybody else who didn't get a chance but wants to say something, come on up and be sworn in by our city attorney now. And then um we'll start with K. Barker from there. But everybody that signed up, come on up and get sworn in. Or even if you didn't sign up and want to speak or think you might want to speak, come get sworn in now. Thank you, Scott. Um, we'll start tonight with K. Barker, 4665 Oakdale Road. First of all, thank you all for for being here tonight, taking your time out of your schedules to to be at the council and speak. Thank you. Um I'm Kay Barker at 4665 Oakdale Road and I If you can speak into the microphone. Thank you. And I am in opposition of the Chick-fil-A portion of the reasonzoning amendment.

Um and also the reasonzoning amendment application does not honestly answer the analysis questions. Chick-fil-A the proposed Chick-fil-A is not compatible with the surrounding neighborhood and will be a nuisance. This parcel cannot be compared to the commercial industrial area where the Chick-fil-A is now. There are no drive-through restaurants on this side of South Cub Drive. It will also be a nuisance because people lord around the dumpsters at Crystal and the Chick-fil-A at night and that transferring those people over to our residential areas not a safe environment. Also, with the fast food parcel having a driveway on the Oakdale Road will cause additional traffic concerns at the five-point intersection at Church Road, Kenwood, Oakdale. More town homes would be agreeable to that area and they've been very successful in that area. So, I request that you deny the Chick-fil-A portion. Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Mike Kennedy, 5003 Oakdale Road. Good evening, Mayor and members of council. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. Um, I want to be clear about why I'm here tonight. Uh, this is not opposition to Chick-fil-A as a business. It's a request that this specific site be approved with conditions that reflect how it will actually operate once it opens. Um, if the location is approved and it's busy, that won't be a surprise. High demand is expected. And when demand is high, operations matter. The site is at a nonround five-point intersection very unique to Smyrna at Oakdale Road and South Cobb Drive. The visual the visuals before you show the existing traffic movements and crossing conflicts at this intersection and operates with a limited margin of error. Five-point intersections are more complex than standard intersections. They work safely only when nearby uses behave predictably. This proposal adds a high throughput drive-thru immediately adjacent to that geometry. That means peak hour queuing, stopand go movement, idling engines, and exterior speaker activity.

Because demand is expected to be high, peak hour vehicle activity will concentrate at the most constrained parts of this intersection. Oakdale Road serves the nearby homes, including the 45 additional town homes proposed in this application. Uh carry school bus routes and function as an emergency access corridor. Each of those functions depend on a predict on predictable operations, not assumptions. The planning and zoning board recommended approval by a nar a narrow 3 to2 vote. That matters. It shows that concerns remain unresolved. staff has recommended approval subject to 49 conditions and that work is appreciated. But under the zoning ordinance, the the restaurant use is permitted, but the drive-thru is a design element approved through conditional zoning. That gives council the authority to require operational safeguards. What those conditions do not address is how the site will operate once it's once it's open. The original 2021 zoning included a traffic impact study, but the analysis was not updated for this high throughput drive-through request. There's no requirement to verify that these cues stay on site. No prohibition on spill back into the intersection. No post occupancy operational review. And no requirement to address ongoing operational noise, including sustained exterior noise above approximately 55 dB. State and county agencies will review driveway access, and that's appropriate, but they do not evaluate drive-through Q behavior, noise, neighborhood noise, or postoping performance. I'm speaking tonight as a nearby resident who has reviewed this proposal carefully. These impacts are foreseeable, not speculative. This is not about trusting the applicant. It's about how the operational risk is managed once once approved if it's granted. But once this site is built, the location, the layout is fixed. If problems arise, the city's op options become reactive instead of preventative. So tonight, we respectfully ask for one of two outcomes.

Either defer approval to address these operational issues or approve the project with enforceable conditions that keep cues fully on site, prevent spill back, require noise require a post occupancy operational review. These are basic safeguards for a highintensity use at a constrained location. So, economic development does not require blind approval. Public safety does not require opposition. Good governance requires both. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Kennedy. Next, we have Kate Shaw, 2209 Misty Lane. Good evening, mayor, council, staff. Thank you for your time. Your code is clear that drive-th through restaurants are prohibited in mixeduse districts. Your code is clear that drive-through lanes cannot be on the outside of the buildings along a residential edge. You are thoughtful and experienced decision makers. And out of respect for your time, I'm not going to debate whether this is a land use or a design feature tonight. For the record, I have to state that myself and many residents consider this an unpermitted land use and preserve all rights. Also, for the record, the 2040 land use plan designates this as CAC, which is low to moderate intensity. This is a highintensity use by any planning design standard. Setting that aside, the site raises serious safety concerns. Please see exhibit B for the school bus stop routes. This is a school bus route and child pedestrian environment. Oakdale is a bicycle and pedestrian corridor. It is a neighborhood street that does not contain businesses. Of note, 83% of the parcels on this site plan abut single family residential. On February 3rd, just 13 days ago, there was a crash involving a school bus at this very intersection of South Cobb and Oakdale Road. A bus trying to turn left onto Oakdale was struck by oncoming traffic. for a 40turn bus. Please take a look at that turning radius. That is a less than 60 degree angle skew.

Essentially almost a U-turn left for a 40ft bus is an already difficult maneuver before any additional traffic is introduced. Now those 60 cars may quue on site and not stall back, but they have to get off the site somehow. I called Smartipedia this morning to confirm this bus crash after hearing about it selling Girl Scout cookies this weekend. And without much info to offer, the staff said immediately, quote, "I know that intersection." Quote, "Because that intersection is crazy." Quote, "Accidents happen there all the time." I spoke to the city engineer this morning who sent me a document that there have been 110 crashes at this intersection in the last three years. The math on that is one every 10 days. Please see exhibit C that I've entered the record of the bus crash. I continued to speak with Mark in great detail today and he confirmed that no one would be studying the safety on Oakdale. He confirmed he does not remember receiving a single safety study request despite months of my boy's concerns over child pedestrian and school bus safety. None of the 49 conditions require Cobb County DOT signoff. I believe council member asked that question and was given a different answer. You do have one condition that says it's got to be reviewed by G DOT. And although DOT has jurisdiction over South Cobb Drive, it does not have any jurisdiction over Oakdale Road where this curb cut and bus stops are located. This cannot be punted to GDOT because they have no authority over Oakdale and they're not there to catch the ball. You are now publicly unnoticed that a school bus crash happened at this exact location less than two weeks ago. We know you care about us because you are our neighbors. And nothing about denying this application deprivives the applicant of a use of this land.

It merely asks them to seek a tenant or use that does not violate your own code or policy statements on the very definition of mixed use. You are being asked to approve a highintensity commercial use at a constrained bus intersection with a high volume of traffic accidents. This is a foreseeable hazard and the city owns the dirt on both sides of this Oakdale curb cut. You are inviting municipality risk and it would occur after this council was placed on notice tonight of the risk. Someone please make a motion to deny or at a minimum remand this to add conditions like a Cobb DOT sign off, pedestrian safety analysis, line of sight studies, and a meaningful buffer that will actually protect us. Thank you. We appreciate your hard work. Thank you for being here. Uh, next we have Glenn. Is it Paritch? Yes. Got it. Yes. Welcome. Good evening, Mr. Mayor and board members. I have lived at 2159 Oakdale Estates since June of 2006. So, I have 20 years of experience with Oakdale Road and the intersection with South Cobb Drive. And on the best of days, it's misery because the light only changes and allows five vehicles at a time from Oakdale Road to go either north or south on South Cobb Drive because there's no additional turn lane at that point. That wasn't really what I wanted to speak to you about tonight, but it's important that you understand the dynamics of Oakdale Road prior to the inclusion of all the cars that are expected to go to the Chick-fil-A for either in in restaurant service or for the drive-thru, which I understand it's going to be a double lane drive-thru, which is typical. Um the the traffic intensity study would appear to comply with the industry standard. The 5,000 square foot restaurant is expected to generate about 2300 additional vehicle tricks per day.

and the current infrastructure for traffic just is not designed to handle that kind of volume. I've also looked at the uh buffers that they will allegedly put onto uh Oakdale Road. They're not allowing enough space for a five-foot ADA compliant sidewalk, a two-foot buffer between the sidewalk and the street. And simply there is not enough space to put up the types of trees for natural buffers that I'm sure you would prefer to be versus concrete walls and such to grow. I mean, if you put a just a normalsiz plant in the ground, think of the ball that comes from the nursery and they expand rapidly and that that in my view is going to be quite an issue. Um, and there's the fact that they want to put the uh retaining wall and in some ca passes it appears that it'll even be higher than the 10 ft foot mark that's been currently recommended in the development phase. We are also concerned about the deliveries of night for food, beverages and also the uh waste management companies for reming out the uh dumpsters even if they are hidden behind a corral the noise doesn't go away for that matter it may not go away any point in the day. So, the landscaping that's been recommended does not allow for any of that to be hidden from sight by anybody driving down Oakdale Road. So I would like you to consider upholding the standards and policy the mayor and council keeping in mind that how would you view this and how it would affect your life with the additional traffic concerns and all of the exhaust fumes which comes with such an increase in vehicle traffic. So I want you to consider right now and even though I understand uh it's being recommended for approval by the city of Smyrna staff u that there's still the 49 conditions that do not appear to have been met.

And additionally, um, the claim of the reduction of 163 apartments to 45 town homes does not make sense to me. It just doesn't pencil. While it may mean less traffic from onsite residents, it certainly will not diminish any traffic from people going into a fast food restaurant for in dining room service or drive-thru. Uh I thank you for your time and please uh vote to oppose this. Thank you. Thank you for being here. Um, thank you very much. Next we have uh Debbie Stallman, 2228 Misty Lane. Good evening. Thank you. In consideration of approving this plan and allowing it to go forward, I am adamant that it should not be approved. And here's why. The land is zoned as mixed use and according to code, drive-throughs are not allowed. However, it has been stated that drive-throughs can be deemed design features rather than use features, which I find to be very convenient for Chick-fil-A. Um, I will say it for the record. Chick-fil-A is a restaurant fundamentally built around its drive-thru. It is not merely a design element. It is actually a primary function of the business. And using a turn of phrase like design feature as opposed to use feature is simply a convenient way to shoehorn in a variance that has should have never been approved in the first place. But setting the past aside, we, the residents of a highly residential street of Oakdale, are now faced with the very real and impending consequences of a double drive-thru Chick-fil-A restaurant that for all practical purposes is being plopped directly into our front yards. The very situation that zoning laws are meant to protect protect the residents from. These impacts include, but are not limited to, high intensity traffic that in our existing infrastructure just simply cannot sustain. Increased danger to our children and the pedestrians, disruption to our buses, bus routes, and emergency vehicles, and the inevitable reducing and lowering of our property values.