City OKs plan for townhouse project

The Roswell City Council has approved, with conditions, a proposal for 45 townhouses on a 4.1-acre site on the east side of Houze Road between Mansell Road and Houze Way.

The mostly vacant land at 10905 Houze Road has a landscaping business and is zoned NX, Neighborhood Mixed Use. The applicant, Curtis Hicks with Arrowhead Real Estate Partners, requested a conditional use for the project. The Planning Commission had recommended approval, with conditions.

Conditions specified by the Council include access off Houze Way, a right-of-way dedication at the corner of Houze Way and Houze Road, an 8-foot-wide sidewalk along Houze Road, a 20-foot landscaped buffer abutting the Sprouts shopping center to the south and a road to the property line of the Sprouts center, if not an actual connection.

The proposed order of “Type A” buses, discussed at a recent school board meeting, will be incorporated into a recommended budget to be presented to the board for review in May. The vehicles are smaller than conventional buses, lower to the ground and easier to drive, and they run on regular unleaded gas instead of diesel.

Manufactured by Thomas Built Buses, a Highpoint, N.C., subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, the Type A bus can carry 20 preschoolers in integrated child seats with seat belts. It has air conditioning and is built like a full-sized bus with safety cage body construction. and bicyclists, officials said. Jones would get four-footwide bike lanes eastbound and westbound, sidewalks on one side of the street, and a multiuse trail on the other. The trail would be part of the Roswell Loop connecting Leita Thompson Memorial Park to Roswell Area Park.

The design also is intended to reduce driver speeds, improve sight distance for side streets and driveways, and address access requirements of Fire Station No. 3 at Jones and Lake Charles Drive.

UPCOMING Fire department earns re-accreditation

For the third time, Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services recently earned international re-accreditation status from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.

Cobb met the criteria established through a voluntary self-assessment, according to a county statement.

This achievement is the department’s second milestone reached in the past eight months.

In August, Cobb’s Fire Insurance Service Rating changed to Class 1, which is the highest rating possible.

“The department’s achievement of accredited agency status demonstrates our commitment to provide the highest level of service to our community,” Fire Chief Randy Crider said. “We have also been able to use the Commission on Fire Accreditation International’s process as a proactive mechanism to plan for the future of this agency and locate areas where we can improve on the quality of the services we provide.”

The accreditation model includes comprehensive research and information collection addressing topics such as defining the elements of response time, creating standards of response coverage and developing master or strategic plans.

UPCOMING

Drug Take-Back Day by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Free. Marietta Police Department, 240 Lemon St., Marietta and CVS Pharmacy, 2782 Cobb Parkway, Kennesaw by the Kennesaw Police Department. Bring expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs or patches for safe, anonymous disposal. No liquids, needles or sharps. deadiversion. usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/TakeBack.

Smyrna Jonquil City Jog 5K Run/Walk. 7 a.m. registration, 8 a.m. 5K Run/Walk, 9 a.m. Fun Run and Fitness Walk, 9:15 a.m. Tot Trot Saturday. $15 to $35, free for children ages 5 and under. Smyrna Municipal Building, 2800 King St., Smyrna. Register at 770-319-5401 or SmyrnaCity.com/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/10279/953.

Smyrna Jonquil Festival. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Free with free parking. The Village Green, 200 Village Green Circle, Smyrna. More than 175 arts and crafts vendors, Kids Zone, Walking TreeMan, K-9s in Flight, children’s puppet shows, Lady Houdini and singer Scott Thompson with festival foods. 770-423-1330, SmyrnaCity.com.