GDOT Funding for New Floyd Road Trail on Agenda

New Floyd Road Trail

South Cobb walkers, runners and cyclists will be grateful to the Georgia Department of Transportation, which awarded $500,000 for the construction of a 10-foot wide trail on the west side of Floyd Road from the Silver Comet Trailhead to Hicks Road.

The project is the second phase of the Multi-Use Trails component of the 2005 Transportation Improvements Program. According to the agenda information from the Cobb DOT, the purpose of the trails component is to develop a network of multi-use trails along established roadways to connect residential communities with schools, parks, shopping centers. This trail will help ease congestion, provide alternative transportation routes and provide healthy recreational opportunities.

At Tuesday night's regular meeting, county commissioners will vote on a memorandum of understanding with GDOT. The MOU terms state that GDOT will fund 80 percent of the project, up to $500,000.Cobb County will be responsible for the remaining 20 percent of the construction costs ($125,000), 100 percent of construction costs exceeding State maximum and 100 percent of preliminary engineering, right-of-way ($160,000) and utility costs. The total cost to the county would be $285,000.

South Cobb Implementation Strategy

Additionally, the commissioners will vote on the South Cobb Implementation Strategy, a tool that can be used to help revitalize the South Cobb area and to organize past improvement efforts and studies in one document. The strategic plan will be used to guide the South Cobb Redevelopment Authority and other future redevelopment initiatives in South Cobb.

Beer Tastings

Better not build before you have permission, and watch how many folks are living at your house.

Both of those issues come before the Tuesday night. The county is looking at amending its code, something done periodically throughout the year.

One of the amendments would involve beer tasting. Businesses that host wine tastings could also have craft beer tastings. Craft is beer brewed by independent brewers with an annual production that doesn’t exceed 6 million barrels.

But be careful.

“Right now, there’s nowhere you are allowed to have beer tastings,” Cobb Community Development Director Rob Hosack told the Marietta Daily Journal.

“We wouldn’t be comfortable with saying, ‘You can do beer tastings,” and say, ‘What the hell, you can have Budweiser.’ Because every Tom, Dick and Harry would have Budweiser tastings.”

Roommate Living Situations

Another code amendment looks at who is allowed to live in a residence. The county intended for no more than two unrelated people to live together, Hosack said. The code says a family plus two more unrelated people can live together.

The amendment clarifies the wording.

On another issue, the county is looking at new guidelines to explain development rules around the county’s airport.

Hosack said the rules, crafted by the airport manager and the airport’s advisory board, would prevent numerous buildings from locating near each other. This would cut down on the fallout if there was a plane to crash near the site.

Another proposed change would implement fines of up to $1,000 for developers who start construction before getting a permit, and those who build bigger than originally approved.

“It will affect a couple of bad apples, that, as opposed to asking permission, they seek forgiveness,” Hosack told the MDJ.