Live. Work. Play.
Cobb County officials are hoping a downtown redesign and new zoning system can turn the often-used catchphrase into reality for residents in the Mableton area.
The county is working with a Miami-based design firm to turn historic Mableton into a mixed-use, walkable community.
"Mableton has gotten sort of run-down. This is a great place to live with great people, but there really needs to be something done to bring the community feel back," said Russell Holbrook, who is in his early 30s and has lived in Mableton since he was 10.
Beginning with a series of design workshops next week, residents can help craft the future community based on the implementation of a form-based zoning code. Traditional zoning codes are based on how buildings will be used by designating them into a specific zoning area, such as residential and commercial. The form-based code is based on how buildings will look and whether they are compatible to surrounding developments, said Scott Ball, senior project manager with Miami’s Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company.
“Mableton has a deep sense of history and pride, and they have a historic area that is intact,” Ball said. “Our code will help guide builders to build in such a way as to help preserve that fabric.”
The proposed redesign area includes 500 acres centered around the community’s historic district. The process developed out of an Atlanta Regional Commission study last year of lifelong communities -- or areas in metro Atlanta with aging populations that could be redesigned to accommodate seniors and allow them to age in place. Mableton was chosen as one of five lifelong communities.
Almost 18 percent of the residents in the community were age 60 and older, according to 2009 statistics collected by Onboard Informatics for real estate companies. About 8.5 percent of Cobb County's population is made up of people age 65 and older, according to 2008 census figures.
“For seniors, form code does exceptionally well because it orchestrates all aspects of community design including [street design, landscaping] and lighting standards,” Ball said. “As a person ages, those things that make a community more accessible is the ideal way to also make that community more livable.”
County officials are counting on the form-based code to appeal to developers who will have to abide by the design standards but will have more flexibility in how buildings are used.
From the redesign, Holbrook would like to see an emphasis on increasing pedestrian traffic, which would be likely in the redesigned area, Ball said.
"We could have mixed-use areas with older and younger folks living side by side," said County Commissioner Woody Thompson, whose district includes Mableton. "The idea sounds warm and fuzzy, but I think it will work."
DPZ’s work for the county is being funded through a South Cobb Development Authority grant, and the company is receiving $220,000 from the grant. No money is being spent from the county’s general fund, said Dana Johnson, planning division manager with the county’s Community Development Agency. The company has more than 30 years of experience using form-based code, and it has worked with about 350 communities on similar projects.
“We have been trying to redevelop Mableton for over 10 years and had not been very successful,” Johnson said, noting the economic downturn.
Once the design workshops are complete, the form-based code for the area will be developed and presented to the County Commission in January. The code could go before the commission in February for final approval.
"Mableton has a high population of seniors relative to other parts of the county; it’s in need of some redevelopment, and the community has tended to welcome that," said Ben Clopper, president of the Mableton Improvement Coalition.
Not welcomed would be delayed action on the proposed redesign, he said. "We'd hate for another study to be done and get put on a shelf."
Four workshops are scheduled next week, with a final presentation June 21.
Mableton workshops
The community workshops will be held June 15-17 and June 19 at Mableton Elementary School, 5220 Church St., Mableton. A final presentation is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 21 at the county government building, 100 Cherokee St., Marietta.
For more information, visit http://comdev.cobbcountyga.gov/mableton, or call the Cobb Community Development Agency at 770-528-2018.
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