The draft of the Cobb County 2040 Comprehensive Plan 5-Year update will be posted online by the county on Tuesday June 28 for a mandatory public comment period that ends with a final public hearing on July 26, 2022.

The following public notice announced a public hearing on the day the draft will be posted:

Notice is hereby given that on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. the Cobb County Board of Commissioners will be holding a second Public Hearing on the Cobb County 2040 Comprehensive Plan 5-Year Update per state regulations. This Public Hearing will be held in the second floor Commissioner’s Meeting Room, Cobb County Building, 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta, Georgia 30090. After the Public Hearing a copy of the proposed 2040 Comprehensive Plan 5-Year update can be found online at www.cobbcounty.org/comdev for the purpose of examination and inspection by the public for 30 days.

The purpose of the plan update is described in an agenda item for the upcoming Board of Commissioners meeting as follows:

The Community Development Agency initiated a 5-year update to the Cobb County 2040 Comprehensive Plan on October 12, 2021. The 2040 Comprehensive Plan is a long-range, community-designed growth strategy that will continue to make Cobb County an attractive place to invest, conduct business, and raise a family.

The current plan, adopted in 2017 with subsequent annual amendments, covers the time period between 2017 and 2040.

The 5-year update, which is mandated by the State of Georgia, ensures the existing needs, goals and polices of the plan are still relevant and the five-year community work program is current. The 2040 Comprehensive Plan 5-Year Update will continue to help the County manage anticipated population and employment growth and help guide investments in land use, transportation, housing, and other important elements that make Cobb County a great place to live, work, and play.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs describes the state’s role in the local planning process, and the incentives for local governments to take part in the process, as follows:

To encourage local governments’ engagement in comprehensive planning, Georgia incentivizes it by allowing cities and counties with DCA-approved comprehensive plans access to a special package of financial resources to aid in implementing their plans.  This includes Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), water and sewer loans from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA), economic development funding from the OneGeorgia Authority, and a variety of other programs from DCA and partner agencies …  Eligibility for this package of incentives is called Qualified Local Government (QLG) status.

What has happened already in the planning process

The following steps have already taken place.

Community Meetings/Workshops:

• January 24, 2022; Virtual Meeting; County wide
• February 3, 2022; Virtual Meeting; District 4
• February 10, 2022; Virtual Meeting; District 3
• February 24, 2022; Virtual Meeting; District 2
• March 3, 2022; West Cobb Senior Center; District 1

Community Open House Meetings:

• April 18, 2022; Cobb County Civic Center; County wide
• April 21, 2022; Tim D. Lee Senior Center; District 3
• April 25, 2022; South Cobb Community Center; District 4Page 11 of 389 April 28, 2022; West Cobb Senior Center; District 1
• May 5, 2022; Windy Hill Community Center; District 2

Stakeholder Meeting/Interviews

• December 16, 2021; Parks Administration Building
• January & February 2022; Stakeholder Interviews (virtual)

Public Hearings

• October 12, 2021; Kick-off
• June 28, 2022; Notify community of public review
• July 26, 2022; Notify community of submittal to Regional Development Center for review

What happens next?

The deadline for the Cobb Board of Commissioners to adopt the plan and submit it to the Atlanta Regional Commission is September 12, 2022. Missing that deadline could jeopardize the county’s Qualified Local Government Status, which is the mechanism by which Cobb County is eligible for Federal
and State funding.

After the ARC reviews the plan, it will come back to the Cobb County Board of Commissioners for adoption.