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BY KATHI STEARNS
Staff Writer
MARIETTA--Catholic Education of North Georgia, Inc., has received the
approval of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners for a “special land use
permit” (SLUP-18) to build a 1,000-student Catholic elementary and middle
school in west Cobb County.
Faced with an overflow crowd of Catholics wearing orange tags stating
“I Support Catholic Schools” and holding placards that read
“Vote Yes for SLUP-18,” the County Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve
the permit Oct. 28.
“We are very grateful to all who made this possible,” said Msgr.
Peter Dora, vicar general. “We thank the pastors, parish organizers and
parishioners who supported SLUP-18 by signing petitions, visiting
commissioners, making phone calls to the County Commissioners and sending
letters and e-mails to these elected officials. We are especially grateful to
those who were present at the hearing.”
Once some sewage issues have been resolved, the archdiocese hopes to begin
construction on the new elementary and middle school in the next year.
The planned location for the proposed school is at a 40-acre site at the
intersection of the new West Cobb Loop Road, which is scheduled to open in
2001, and Villa Rica Road. The archdiocese plans to move St. Joseph’s
School, Marietta, from its current site at 81 Lacy St. to this new location.
St. Joseph currently has an enrollment of 482 students with a capacity for 500.
The school has outgrown its physical location and has no room for expansion.
The archdiocese believes that construction of this school is necessary to serve
Cobb’s 19,000 Catholic families.
With SLUP-18 the archdiocese hopes to build a 145,000-square-foot school by
2001, a 35,000-square-foot church sometime in the future and a 750-space
parking lot.
Over 150 people crowded into the boardroom of the Cobb County Commissioners.
More than 100 of those supported the proposed school. Approximately 50 people
who opposed SLUP-18 were from Morgan’s subdivision, Cheatham Hill Farms,
the neighborhood in which the houses closest to the proposed school site are
located, and representatives from People Looking After Neighborhoods. An
overflow room held approximately 350 people who watched the hearing on
closed-circuit television. This room was also filled with many Catholics who
had been bused in by neighboring parishes. Archdiocesan officials including
Msgr. Terry Young, Secretary for Education; Sandra Smith, Ph.D., superintendent
of Catholic schools; George Barrie, president and CEO of Catholic Construction
Services; Father Jim Harrison, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Church,
Kennesaw; Father Daniel Fink, OFM Conv., pastor of St. John Vianney Church,
Lithia Springs; and Father Pat Bishop, pastor of the Church of the
Transfiguration, Marietta, were present at the hearing.
Both sides had approximately 30 minutes to present their arguments for or
against the granting of SLUP-18. Opponents feared that the proposed school
would cause traffic jams and that the impervious surface from the building and
parking lot would worsen flooding in the Noses Creek basin. They feared
pollution from overflowing septic tanks and that the Archdiocese of Atlanta
would be the first in a string of commercial developments. Neighbors argued
that the archdiocese had not met the minimum requirements for SLUP-18. Most
said the school was the “right thing, but it was in the wrong place.”
To alleviate the fears of the neighborhood, the archdiocese made last-minute
concessions to win the approval of the commissioners. The archdiocese agreed to
place a $200,000 physical security bond to protect downstream properties from
water damage. The archdiocese will also provide extra protection against storm
water runoff, pay for 50 percent of the cost of a traffic light, increase
buffers from 50 to 100 feet and place a property line on the side of the
buffer. The archdiocese will also not allow cell towers, lights on the athletic
fields or any future commercial developments on this site. They also agreed not
to lease the fields to third party users.
“We followed the suggestions of the County Commissioners in making
reasonable concessions that demonstrate our desire to be a good neighbor,”
Msgr. Dora said. “While some of them were not easy to make, none of them
will impede the educational mission of this new school. We appreciated the calm
and professional advice of the Cobb County Commissioners, especially Chairman
(Bill) Byrne, in their efforts to bring about practical solutions to a
contentious process.”
The Archdiocese of Atlanta also demonstrated that the proposed school would
benefit Cobb County directly. Parents of children in Catholic schools pay taxes
that support public schools even though they are not receiving a direct
benefit. Cobb County spends approximately $5,700 per year per student in public
school. The 1,000 students at the proposed Catholic school could translate into
a windfall of $5.7 million to Cobb County for children it would not be
responsible for educating.
Chairman Byrne was first to speak in favor of the school stating that the
archdiocese had met the requirements for SLUP-18. Byrne said the county’s
planning and zoning staff had previously said that the proposed school was
consistent with the land-use plan for west Cobb County and recommended that the
zoning be permitted.
Byrne said that the decision was a difficult one and recognized the fact
that both parties would not leave the hearing happy.
“No matter what we do, someone is going to sue us,” Byrne said.
When it came time for the vote, only Commissioner Louie Hunter, who
represents the west Cobb district, voted against the proposed school.
“Mama said there would be days like this,” he said, as he began to
explain why he was going to vote against the proposed school.
Hunter said he knew this was a highly charged emotional issue and that he
and his secretary had been overwhelmed with phone calls, letters and e-mails
supporting and opposing the proposed school. He said that even though he
supported private school education he felt that the burden was too great on the
people who lived in the nearby neighborhoods.
Hunter then put forth a motion to deny the proposed school. Commissioner Joe
Lee Thompson voted with Hunter to deny the archdiocese’s application for
SLUP-18. The motion was defeated by a margin of 3-2.
Once this motion was defeated, Chairman Byrne made the motion to grant the
Archdiocese of Atlanta SLUP-18. Joe Lee Thompson switched his vote resulting in
the 4-1 victory for the archdiocese. Commissioners Samuel Olens and G. Woody
Thompson also voted in favor of the proposed school.
“Special thanks should be extended from our supporters to Commissioner
Chairman Bill Byrne, who negotiated with the opposition’s interests as
well as our interests, leading to major revisions in our plans,” said
Barrie. “This was vital to the approval process because the
opposition’s position was and is ‘the school should not go on this
site.’ It’s nearly impossible to negotiate with that position. Some
of Commissioner Byrne’s revisions were painful but necessary to getting
the special land use permit approved.”
Barrie said that Commissioner Olens also added several
conditions to the application that were of a compromise nature.
“I found Commissioner Olens knowledgeable and fair-minded,” Barrie
said. “His input added protection and benefit to the immediate neighbors
and helped the approval process.”
Gary Shirley, a parishioner at St. Catherine of Siena Church, Kennesaw, who
has two children currently enrolled at St. Joseph’s School, Marietta, said
the commissioners’ decision to approve SLUP-18 was the right thing to do
for Catholics in west Cobb County.
“We have believed from the beginning that this was the right
thing,” Shirley said. “We walked in thinking this school is the right
thing and that this location is the right place. We weren’t surprised when
the commissioners agreed with us. We were joyous that their vote confirmed our
optimism.”
Shirley began petitioning the archdiocese in 1996 for a church in west Cobb
County.
“You could say that we got our wish tenfold,” Shirley said.
“It was a win-win situation for us. We not only get a place to worship,
but we also get a place to educate our children in the faith. We received a
bountiful answer to our prayers.”
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