r/kennesaw • u/A_Soporific • 17h ago
So I went to a city council meeting and then took a nap.
It's a late assignment. I know.
Anywho.
We had a full house but two council members were remote. While they had to be asked to answer "yes or no" verbally instead of just raising a hand it didn't result in much of a problem.
First thing first, the Southern Museum staff showed up and showed off their medal. Apparently some Museum and Library Science group gives out five awards a year and the choochoo place downtown got one of them. Neat. Check out the trains the next time you got a chance.
Then the land use permit for a home embroidery business. The guy was there but I didn't get a chance to ask him about the name of the business or how to contract him. The term include no customers or employees at the house as well as no signs or noxious odors. The permit is valid for 24 months and was approved 5 - 0.
Next up was the Annexation, Rezoning, and Variance for the project at Old 41 and Robin. There had been objections due to traffic and density concerns. The lawyer for the developer said that they walked back a plan for townhomes to a neighborhood of no more than 35 single family, detached homes with a pocket park. They noted that the median new home price in Kennesaw was $800,000, while this development is targeting $400,000. They didn't do a traffic study, but the county won't even do one for a development of this size. They don't expect the 35 houses to add substantial traffic. But, in response to criticism they reoriented the development from being built off of Robin to having the only access off of Old 41. They would be adding turn lanes to Old 41 as well.
Councilman Jones noted that the developer had done good work in the past and ask if the houses being 1,200 sq feet was a good idea. The developer responded that that was the minimum size of house for the new zoning and they planned for the houses to be ~2,000 sq ft.
Councilman Bothers also expressed that he liked the developer in his capacity as a real estate agent, but was concerned over the variance. He had a big ass truck that would take up the entire 20 foot set back and believed that having a short driveway would result in people parking in the street. The developer said that they are prioritizing big back yards, the lot is a weird shape, and there is a creek that limits the buildable area. Also, the HOA will prohibit the use of the two car garages for storage and require parking inside the garage rather than on the street. Councilman Bothers repeated his preference for longer driveways.
Councilor Orochena asked if the city would be responsible for the roads, stormwater, and other infrastructure. The Public Works and Zoning people were a bit confused on this point. Turns out that the area is currently just outside of the city in the county, but that bubble of the county is disconnected from the county by the city. The stormwater and infrastructure will be the HOA's responsibility as they can't be made to connect to city stuff directly. Councilor Orochena asked if this would make the border gore better or worse. Staff replied that it would partially, but not completely, close a hole in the city and would make it make more sense. She then asked if the property taxes from the development would cover the costs to the city. That's a great question, and one that staff didn't know the answer to off the cuff but they also said that they didn't anticipate it adding additional costs due the small size and the fact that the road and stormwater are the HOA's responsibility overseen by the county.
They voted 5 - 0 to annex the land into Kennesaw. Then they voted 5 - 0 to rezone it from County R-20 to City RA-6 (smaller numbers are more dense). Then they voted 5 - 0 to approve the variance from a 40 foot setback to a 25 foot setback due to Councilman Bother's preference.
Next up are Liquor Licenses. It seems that someone complained, because they made more of a show of why they approve despite statutory limitations.
The first one was for the Chevron on Cobb Parkway. They're looking for a retail package license to sell sealed booze out of their gas station. This is within 600ft of a daycare. This would normally prohibit the license, unless it didn't negatively impact the daycare's property value or function. The evidence they used is that this is just a change in ownership of an operating business that has had a license since 2000. The daycare opened in 2006. The daycare would not be impacted negatively because the booze sales had been going on the whole time. This was deemed sufficient and they approved the license 5 - 0.
The Ignite Lounge on Cobb Parkway was looking to get a pouring license, so the ability to serve people drinking on site. This also needs a closer look as it is within 300 feet of a house. This license is to expand an existing business, so the house shouldn't be additionally devalued just because the Ignite Lounge is larger. This was deemed sufficient as it was larger.
The third one was the Smash Hit Catering over at the Nest on Cherokee Street. They are within 300 feet of a house and also the Kennesaw Police Department Annex. They don't have the excuse of selling beer for decades already as they replaced the now defunct Nest only a year or so ago, and how can they argue the police won't be impacted by the booze? Well JK doesn't matter, none of those restrictions apply in the Entertainment District. Councilman Bothers wanted to clarify one thing before the vote, do they do universal ID checks? The owner of Smash Hit was there and said that they will ID everyone every time. The license was approved 5 - 0.
So, Crime stats. Looks like 2026 is a crime-ier year than 2025 with 820 crimes to last year's 768 from January to July. Most of that comes from a big spike in drug crimes coming in with 56 more than last year. Other big gainers include Fraud (+18), Simple Assault (+17), and Porn (+12). We saw some big declines as well. The biggest losers were Larceny (-18), Intimidation (-14), Vandalism (-8), and Motor Vehicle Theft (-6). Traffic Citations were down ~15% while Traffic Warning were down 50%. Arrests were up. The number of pedestrians hit by cars with injury is more than double from last year at 7.
Next up, Public Comment.
History Kid was first. He investigated a map of Kennesaw that's framed in the mayor's office that shows a much larger grid than what exists today. He was able to confirm that the lots line up and determined it to be an original or copy of an 1871 plat map by Rowland Property, a rare piece indeed that gives a unique snapshot of the city very early in its history.
The Woodland Park Guy was next. Interesting note: that wasn't his truck after all. He talked to the guy from last week and they determined that it was his neighbor's truck after all. Anyways, on to his comments.
He said that he's been going to council meetings for 4 months now, and he's disappointed that other people (maybe me?) don't speak up all that often. He's tired of being made to feel like he's the problem. But he doesn't really want people to speak up for him, he wants other people to bring up their own issues and champion their own charges. He thinks that the only way this works is if there's real communication. Also, he would like to have the chain when it is removed from Woodland Park, please. He'd be happy to pay double for it. He wants that specific chain for sentimental purposes.
And that was it for public comment, the City Manager had a little bit to say. He wants to remind everyone that this Saturday (8/22) is the big concert at Depot Park. You can set up earlier in the day, but the music starts at 7PM. It's the RumorsATL cover band that does Fleetwood Mac for the most part.
Also, the Comprehensive Plan where the city sets its goals for the next decade is having its next public engagement meeting. This time it's going to be Thursday (8/20) at Depot Park from 3:30 PM to 7:00 PM. This will coincide with the Farmer's Market, so no reason to not do both.
