Marietta City Council Special Called Meeting & Committee Meetings - July 28, 2026
Marietta City Council Special Called Meeting & Committee Meetings - July 28, 2026
The Marietta City Council held a special called meeting and multiple committee meetings on July 28, 2026, beginning at 10:30 AM. The session covered numerous agenda items including a memorandum of understanding for a homeless shelter, a contentious rezoning case, millage rate ratifications, financial reports, and various policy discussions. Key decisions included approval of the Hope House MOU (6-1), approval of a rezoning from light industrial to PRDSF for 136 homes (6-1), and adoption of the 2026 Cobb County Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Consent Calendar
- Meeting Minutes: Approved minutes from June 23, 2026, for multiple committees (Finance, Public Works, Public Safety, etc.).
- City Club Contract Renewal: Approved a four-year extension with Classic Golf Management through September 30, 2030 (unanimous consent).
- Harvest Fest Additional Street Closures: Approved a level three street closure for South Park Square, portions of Atlanta Street, Roswell Street, and Winter Street on October 17, 2026 (3-0 committee vote, moved to consent).
- Art in the Park Light Post Banners: Approved placement of banners around the Marietta Square from August 19 to September 8, 2026 (unanimous consent).
- Comcast Overlashing Variance: Approved a variance for fiber installation along Canton Drive (3-0 committee vote, moved to consent).
- Golf Cart Donation: Accepted a 2023 low-speed vehicle donated by Bowls to the police department (3-0 committee vote, moved to consent).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Zoning Case Z-2024-26 (Wilshire Drive/Horizon Lane): The public hearing included testimony from the applicant (Brian Dodal, Freeman Growth, Piedmont Residential) and multiple opposition speakers. The applicant presented a revised plan reducing density from 190 to 136 units, all detached single-family homes. Opposition speakers raised concerns about traffic, stormwater, tree preservation, floodplain impacts, and the adequacy of the easement on Horizon Lane. Specific speakers included:
- Cynthia McTaggart (759 Seminole Place): Questioned lack of engineering reports for culverts and floodplain.
- Samuel Proctor (Alpine Way owner): Highlighted risk to large trees near property line.
- Susan Reyes (737 Bothwell Place Road): Noted traffic issues and prior denial.
- Hakeem Hilliard (attorney for Marietta Luxury Homes): Requested time for further negotiation on road maintenance agreement.
- Valerie Stevens (761 Delta Circle): Raised environmental concerns about fecal coliform in Soap Creek and potential release of contaminants from sediment.
- Jim Wheels (60 Oak Mega Drive): Requested a noise survey and tree survey.
- The applicant used 15 minutes for presentation; opposition used 15 minutes total (approximately 2.5 minutes per speaker). The applicant used 4 minutes 32 seconds for rebuttal.
Discussion Items
- Hope House Emergency Shelter MOU: The city considered a memorandum of understanding with Must Ministries to support their application for Georgia Rehouse Program funding. The MOU formalizes existing partnership, requires no city funds, but documents in-kind contributions (police department time, staff coordination). The city manager recused himself due to employment with DCA. Discussion focused on the blank in-kind contribution amounts; council amended the motion to base estimates on FY2026 budget and cap at $100,000, with certification by the city manager and police chief.
- Zoning Case Z-2024-26: Council debated the substitute motion to approve the rezoning with conditions including a multi-use field, vegetative screening, and compliance with four-sided architecture. Councilmember Sims expressed concern for children's safety on streets without sidewalks. Councilmember Grimes questioned the lack of a tree survey and discrepancies in site plan (125 vs. 136 units). The city attorney clarified that the project must meet all floodplain, tree save, and fire codes during subsequent permitting.
- Sunday Sales for Specialty Beer/Wine Markets: The finance committee discussed a proposed ordinance change to allow consumption on premises on Sundays. The city attorney advised that state law may not permit it, and the committee decided not to advance the item, citing legal concerns.
- Convention Center Funding Allocation: The finance committee discussed reallocating the 19.75% hotel-motel tax share previously paid to the Cobb Galleria. The mayor proposed using funds for local capital projects (e.g., parks, civic center). Discussion included options for a DMO or other eligible entities. The item was moved to the August 10th agenda work session for drafting language.
- Tree Recompense Fee Increase: The finance committee reviewed a proposed increase in the tree replacement fee from $220 to $400, based on inflation and actual replacement costs calculated by the city arborist. The committee voted to move the item to the full council meeting with an annual review recommendation.
- Custer Park Lacrosse Field Usage: Councilmember Anderson requested a seasonal rental policy similar to Franklin Gateway Park for Marietta Lacrosse (MacLax). The parks department noted that current policy limits rentals to three dates per team per week. Council expressed support for a seasonal schedule; staff will present a policy proposal at the next committee meeting.
- Kirby Park Playground: Councilmember Richardson proposed using remaining 2009 parks bond funds ($78,634.80) to install a playground at Kirby Park, which currently lacks play structures. The committee voted to rebalance funds and proceed with design.
- Emanuel Village – Georgia Rehouse Program: The economic development committee discussed options to strengthen the city's partnership for a $1.8 million DCA grant application. After debate, the committee chose to use opioid abatement funds ($50,000) tied to prevention programming, and direct staff to bring back an amended MOU for the August 10th agenda work session.
- Cobb County Hazard Mitigation Plan: The public safety committee reviewed the proposed 2026 plan. Staff confirmed it is non-binding and required for federal disaster assistance eligibility. Council moved to adopt the plan at the August 12th meeting, with a correction to the title page.
- E-Bike Regulations: The public safety committee discussed enforcement of existing laws prohibiting e-bikes and bicycles on sidewalks (except for multi-use trails). Staff will coordinate with schools to educate students and parents on safety rules.
Key Outcomes
- Hope House MOU Approved: Motion carried 6-1 (with the city manager recused). The MOU includes in-kind contributions capped at $100,000, based on FY2026, with certification by the city manager and police chief.
- Zoning Case Z-2024-26 Approved: Substitute motion to rezone from LI to PRDSF with conditions (multi-use field, vegetative screening, four-sided architecture, 136-unit cap) passed 6-1.
- School Board Millage Rate Ratified: Approved 17.97 mils (same as prior year) by 7-0 vote.
- City of Marietta Millage Rate Ratified: Approved 4.692 mils (same as prior year) by 7-0 vote.
- Franklin Gateway Bridge GTIB Grant Application: Approved to submit application for $1,419,000 in grant funding (3-0 committee vote).
- Cobb County Hazard Mitigation Plan: Moved to full council meeting for adoption on August 12, 2026 (3-0 committee vote).
- Tree Recompense Fee: Moved to full council meeting with recommendation to increase to $400 and review annually.
- Kirby Park Playground: Committee voted to rebalance 2009 parks bond funds and proceed with playground design.
- Custer Park Seasonal Rental: Staff to develop policy proposal similar to Franklin Gateway Park for presentation at next committee.
- Emanuel Village MOU: Staff to bring amended MOU using opioid abatement funds to August 10th agenda work session.
- Convention Center Funding: Motion to move to August 10th agenda work session for drafting of enabling language.
Meeting Transcript
I'd like to call the city council special meeting to order, please. First item of Bennett is the Hope House Emergency Shelter. Reason is on this rather than the committee is the third straight partnership we've been invited to join it. We had to sign the contract by the 30th. So we couldn't wait until uh the August meeting. So I apologize for the rush, but Mr. Brain, will you present? Mr. Mayor, if I may, real quick, I need to disclose that I'm an employee of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and as such, I need to recuse myself from discussion and voting on this item. Thank you. Sir, uh, so yeah, you've got actually the memorandum agreement before you. It was laid at the table. Uh so everybody could probably take a look at that and see what we're talking about here. Uh basically, as the mayor said, uh, there is a grant process which is ongoing, uh, has different layers uh throughout the process. Must ministries is applying or wanting to apply for this particular layer of that process. They did not do it in the first one. Uh the first one dealt with two of the other projects that if y'all remember um one was CFR and what they were pursuing with homeless issues, and then also Emanuel's village. Uh so you had both of those. Uh this one is uh the prelim uh part of the process where they have to get pre-qualified, and as the mayor said they have to submit that very shortly uh before our next meeting. And so they need to have a government that is uh working with them on whatever project they're talking about. And so as you can see here, it's a memorandum of understanding it will be between Must and the City. And the key important point on this is they're not asking for any money. Um, this is actually to formalize the existing partnership between the parties in support of their application to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for the Georgia rehoused program under the homeless services funding category. And so basically uh as it goes through, it talks about when you see existing partnership, they're just talking about what MUST does, but what also we do currently, uh mainly with our police department uh in trying to help individuals uh find resources uh that are out on the street, and so we do have our community response unit and other police uh that are involved in that and must also have uh their individuals that are out in the field doing the same thing. Uh and so the key part with us is uh when you get down to uh responsibilities, it says uh must will uh operate the Hope House emergency shelter, which they currently have. They'll provide emergency shelter to eligible individuals and families, they'll deliver housing focused case management and supportive services to try to get people into housing. They'll coordinate referrals with city personnel, assist participants in obtaining permanent housing and increasing self-sufficiency, and maintain communication with city partners regarding collaborative efforts. They're doing this now. This funding would support their current efforts if they were to receive it. And for us, the city will continue its existing partnership through the Marietta Police Department and the Community Response Unit, refer individuals experiencing homelessness to Hope House when appropriate, coordinate outreach efforts with Must Ministries and participate in collaborative planning and communication regarding homelessness within the city, and lastly, continue to provide existing staff resources that support the city's homeless response efforts. And by that it basically means the uh individuals that we have in the police department that are doing that right now. So as it says also the financial obligations, there are none uh for the city. It would just be identifying the in-kind contributions we're giving to this effort currently, and so you can see that we've got a description of in-kind contribution. Uh, that's blank right now, but you do see the different uh areas that we would be documenting. Married to police department staff time related to homeless outreach, community response unit staff time to homeless engagement, other city staff time coordination, meeting participation and collaborative activities, which um we have through our C D BG office, uh, and currently um that takes place on a basically a daily basis. Um, and so then we've got uh total estimated in kind contribution. We would add all that up. Uh we would fill this out in the next two days and go ahead and put the dollar amounts that we believe uh we're devoting to that effort right now. And so the agreement would actually go two years uh from the signing by both parties, and uh it could be amended by modification by both parties. Um it's a non-binding agreement, um, and so basically it is not intended to create legally enforceable financial obligations between the parties, which it says. So basically it's something that they have to do in order to apply, uh, as we stated with the other two organizations that we brought forward, and there is no monetary obligation by the city, and we can basically just continue doing what we're doing right now. Uh, but it documents the fact that we are doing that uh and working with them. So assuming I have a question. So with that, is Shady Grove Church a part of it? It is not. I mean, they are separate organizations, and uh they they do separate things. Uh I don't know that Shady Grove is receiving financial uh support from the state or the federal government. Um must does receive a lot of that money currently, and uh this would be enhancing the dollars that they have to be able to do their services. Um I I know that they communicate back and forth, uh, but this doesn't have anything to do with their activities. Yeah, I just wanted to get clarification.
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