Marietta council eyes apartment freeze
Apr. 11—The Marietta City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a six-month moratorium on new apartments in the city as Mayor Steve "Thunder" Tumlin and council members seek to pump the brakes on multifamily housing.
The proposal comes after the city has received a raft of applications to build new apartments. Recently proposed residential buildings include one in downtown Marietta, one at the corner of Delk and Powers Ferry roads, and one at the corner of Roswell and Powers Ferry roads.
But the moratorium would not apply to any of those proposals, since developers are entitled to city law as it stands when they submit their application.
Per city attorney Doug Haynie, jurisprudence requires the city's moratorium to be as short as possible, and for the city to have a valid reason (such as conducting a study of zoning rules).
To that end, the proposed moratorium calls for a study of zoning categories, and allows staff to hire a consultant if needed.
"We'd be examining the current code, examining where apartments are allowed, where they're not, conditions for apartments," City Manager Bill Bruton said at a Monday night work session. "... The situations that apartments would be in, in the current way the code's written, and the way it could be written going forward, that may be more beneficial to the public."
The council is scheduled to host a public hearing on the matter at its Wednesday meeting.
If passed, the apartment freeze would begin Wednesday and last for six months. Haynie said it could be extended, but cautioned the council against extending it without need, or for too long.
Councilman M. Carlyle Kent suggested the council look at requiring certain architectural standards, such as four-sided brick, if the freeze is approved.
Councilman Joseph Goldstein, however, pointed out that state legislators have weighed banning cities from having such standards, in order to keep housing costs down.
"We may need to be careful on that," Goldstein said.
Three proposed projects
The proposed freeze comes as separate developers are proposing three new apartment complexes in the city.
Most controversial is Bridger Properties' plans to build a 135-unit, seven-story building off Marietta Square. The land is already zoned for a category which allows the building, and Bridger does not plan to seek variances from the city. Tumlin and some council members have said they don't want it to be built, but it's unclear if they can stop it.
Before construction begins, Bridger must receive approval from the Marietta Historic Board of Review, then the City Council. But those bodies will only be voting on the building's appearance, not its use as apartments or condos.
The council has more power over two other pending proposals, however.
One from Atlanta-based developer William Casaday calls for the construction of a 322-unit building, plus 6,000 square feet of retail and a parking deck, to replace a Kroger slated for closure. The council must approve a rezoning for the 4.8-acre site for the project to move forward.
The proposal was tabled at last month's council meeting but is scheduled to be heard at Wednesday night's meeting.
Another proposal, from Atlanta-based Westplan Investors, would add 28 townhomes and 300 apartments on just over 19 acres of land where Powers Ferry and Roswell roads meet, the former Harry's Farmers Market site. Though the developer is not requesting rezoning for the property, as it is already zoned for a mixed-use development, the city requires applicants to gain approval of site plans for mixed-use proposals.
Westplan's proposal had been scheduled for hearings at the April 4 Marietta Planning Commission meeting, but the meeting was canceled. The commission's next meeting is May 2.
The council's Wednesday meeting is set for 7 p.m. at City Hall, 205 Lawrence Street.
