Marietta Daisies Garden Club
- mariettadaisies
- Feb 12
- 4 min read
The Issue
Mark your calendars for Tuesday February 17th, 9:00am at 100 Cherokee Street.
UPDATE 2/3/2026
Cobb Planning Commission recommends Board of Commissioners to DENY Z-5-2026 after heated discussion.
Mark your calendars for
Tuesday February 17th, 9:00am
at 100 Cherokee Street.
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Stop Cobb County Rezone Case Z-5-2026: Protect Our Wetlands and Our Community Safety
We, the residents of the Horseshoe Bend community and surrounding neighborhoods, are calling on the Cobb County Board of Commissioners to DENY Rezoning Case Z-5-2026. This proposal isn't just a crammed development of 43 houses on 10 acres; it is an ecological and financial threat to our existing homes and our quality of life.
Protecting the "Kidneys of Our Landscape"The property in question is a high-risk FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area featuring natural streams and essential wetlands. This land serves as a vital system that acts as the "kidney of our landscape," naturally filtering runoff and serving as a biological sponge for our entire community.
By developing, grading, or changing elevation in or near this ecosystem, we lose:
The Multi-Layer Canopy & Natural Cooling
Both the overstory (nesting habitats for migratory birds) and the understory (critical for soil stability) will be annihilated. Beyond habitat, this dense vegetation provides a critical "Urban Cooling Island." During dangerous summer heat, these wetlands lower local temperatures through shading and evapotranspiration, providing a life-saving buffer for the surrounding neighborhood that asphalt and concrete would only exacerbate. Mature Canopy Trees also clean the air that we humans are required to breathe.
Aquatic Life & Natural Pest Control
The healthy streams on this site support a complex food web of aquatic life, including native fish and amphibians. Crucially, these wetlands are the breeding grounds for predator insects like dragonflies and damselflies. Known as "mosquito hawks," these insects hunt mosquitoes at both the larval and adult stages. Destroying this habitat removes our community’s most effective natural defense against pest populations and West Nile risks.
The Vital Wildlife Eco-Corridor
This whole site is a rare, connected passage for local wildlife. Unlike isolated pockets of green, this corridor allows animals to migrate safely between larger habitats. Without this path, local wildlife—including deer, foxes, and small mammals—become "trapped" by main roads. This fragmentation inevitably leads to increased vehicle-wildlife collisions, resulting in preventable roadkill and dangerous conditions for local drivers. The entirety of Horseshoe Bend Rd and surrounding areas all integrate mature, forested, natural Eco-corridors. It is a pillar of our character and defining factor of our community.
Once this ecosystem is turned into a parking lot, these interconnected services—filtration, cooling, pest control, and safe passage—cannot be replaced.
The "Stormwater" Liability TrapOur entire neighborhood naturally sits upstream of the Powder Springs Road ridge and Barrett's artificially raised elevation. creating a natural "bowl" where water aggregates, hence the FEMA Hazard Floodplain classification with streams and wetlands on the parcel. If the developer is permitted to raise any of the site elevation, grade, or compact the earth to build in or around this floodplain, wetlands, or streams therein, then gravity will force that displaced water back onto our existing properties instead of percolating naturally. Even if the developer digs out a "Stormwater pond", the compaction of the earth will create a "pottery" effect effectively preventing water to percolate. (get ready for mosquitos and subsequent poison applications!)
Even more alarming is the recent "sh*tshow" of new stormwater legislation in Cobb County. Under the recently passed laws (effective in 2026), if natural runoff or streams—blocked by this new development—cause any drainage issue, the Board can declare an "emergency" and execute maintenance on our private property at our expense. We are being asked to hand the developer a profit while we take on the permanent financial liability for the flooding they create by their unwise development near a FEMA Hazard Flood wetland.
Yes, you read that right. Established members in our humble community potentially may be personally be facing tens of thousands of dollars each in liabilities if this development goes through.
Traffic Misinformation and Community ErasureThe transparency of this application is non-existent. The submitted traffic study is fundamentally flawed, having analyzed an intersection over a half-mile away while ignoring the dangerous 45mph artery of Barrett Parkway and Powder Springs Road.
Furthermore, this plan threatens to connect the quiet, residential loop of Old Horseshoe Bend Road to Barrett Parkway or the development's parking lot. This would; annihilate our walk-able and safe horseshoe bend sanctuary; invite cut-through thru-traffic into a family-oriented residential community; and create a permanent safety hazard for our children and elderly neighbors.
11 (ELEVEN) Variances: A Clear Sign of IncompatibilityThe developer is asking for 11 separate variances alongside this rezone. If a project requires a rezoning PLUS an additional 11 exceptions to the law to exist, it is proof that the project is fundamentally incompatible with the land. We the people will not allow profiteers to sneak an oversized, high-density project into a sensitive environmental zone through obscure drawings and inconsistent plans.
Our DemandWe urge the Cobb County Board of Commissioners to put the safety, financial security, and environmental heritage of current taxpayers above the speculative interests of out-of-town developers.
VOTE NO ON Z-5-2026.
Protect our canopy, our wetlands, our homes, and our future.
Further reading and information including links to easily submit an online comment to the county:
Thank you for your attention to this matter
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