Cobb County looking at Braves parking again

MARIETTA — Cobb officials are taking another swing at regulating the use of private parking lots around SunTrust Park and other tourist attractions around the county.

At a work session at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Cobb commissioners are set to hear about proposed revisions to a county ordinance they approved earlier this year governing these lots, an ordinance critics have said limits the rights of property owners who want to set up temporary parking areas for special events, such as Atlanta Braves games.

The ballclub will begin play in Cobb County in April.

Commissioners passed the “accessory special event parking” ordinance in February, but in July, after the ordinance received widespread criticism, they voted to suspend the ordinance and asked staff to revisit the issue. According to a July email from the county, the ordinance’s changes would “ensure its language reflects the original intent of public safety and does not produce unintended consequences for private property owners and citizens.”

One of the proposed changes to the ordinance would eliminate “limited access zones” in which parking licenses could not be granted. These zones, under the current ordinance, consist of a half-mile radius of events with seating capacities or attendance for 2,000 or more people.

In addition to SunTrust Park, these zones also applied to the Cobb Energy Centre, the Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre and Kennesaw State University’s Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

“The big part of (the changes are that) we took out the half-mile limited-access zone, but it would still require people come through to get a license,” said Dana Johnson, director of the county’s community development department. “The purpose for that is to ensure that we are doing our best to manage traffic and pedestrian flow in the area, and the way that they operate these will help in ensuring safety for everybody who comes to these special events.”

Another proposed change would require those seeking parking licenses to provide the county with a statement detailing how their parking operations would mitigate potential impact to traffic, incorporate safety features for pedestrians and address crime prevention and other safety concerns.

Johnson said the required impact statement would not be a standard form or application, but rather a freeform submission.

“They can talk about how they’re going to operate the business in a manner to not impact traffic flow or pedestrian safety. They just have to write something to go over how they’re going to manage that aspect of the business,” Johnson said. “A lot of people who do this type of work or this kind of business hire private companies. Either they themselves or the private company they’re going to hire could submit the required impact statement.”

Under the current event parking regulations, applicants are required to pay a regulatory fee of $1,000, which Johnson said covers the county’s costs for regulating the lots, just like Cobb’s regulatory fees for other industries. For instance, fees for alcohol licenses cover the cost of the county’s compliance checks to make sure businesses aren’t selling to underage customers.

Johnson said commissioners will also consider a measure to remove the $1,000 regulatory fee and require applicants instead pay a “minor application fee,” though the dollar amount of the “minor” fee has yet to be set because the issue has not yet been put before commissioners.

Under the ordinance, only nonresidential properties or parking areas can be utilized for special event parking, and the county’s community development department would be allowed to deny parking licenses if a parking offering would adversely affect traffic management or public safety.

If community development officials deny a license, the application would then be taken up by the Board of Commissioners at its next available meeting, when county staff and the applicant would argue their case before commissioners. The commissioners would then make a final decision on the application.

Community members will be able to weigh in on the proposed ordinance during public hearings held at the commission’s 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday and the Oct. 4 Cobb Planning Commission meeting. A final public hearing is scheduled for the commission’s meeting at 7 p.m. Oct. 25, when commissioners could consider the ordinance for final approval.

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