Backyard cottages could be legal in Cobb. The vote is Tuesday.

Good morning, Cobb.

Next Tuesday night, Oct. 27, Cobb commissioners are scheduled to vote on a package of code changes. Three pieces could touch your street. Here they are in the order most homeowners will care about.

1. Backyard ADUs (accessory dwelling units). Think in-law suite, a place for a grown kid, or a garage apartment for Grandma. Under the draft rules, an ADU in unincorporated Cobb:

The Planning Commission recommended the ADU rules 5-0 on Oct. 6 and asked for three changes: no short-term rental certificate for an ADU, protection for an owner who becomes incapacitated or can't stay in the home, and the sworn covenant affidavit. It also voted to delay the ADU changes until one year after commissioners approve them, to give HOAs time to update their own rules. (The ADU definition itself passed 4-1, with planning commissioner Fred Beloin opposed. Beloin has since left the commission; former Commissioner Bob Ott is filling the seat on an interim basis through December, per East Cobb News.)

2. Up to three unrelated adults. A revised definition would let a single-family home hold one family including up to three unrelated adults, or three or fewer unrelated adults and their children or grandchildren. The Planning Commission recommended it 4-1, Beloin opposed.

3. Cobb's first data-center rules. Yes, these again, but this is the vote. The draft would require a special land use permit, only in light or heavy industrial zoning, for any data center over 30,000 square feet or 3 megawatts. It sets 300-foot setbacks from homes, schools, daycares, churches and parks; 200-foot natural buffers; a 50-foot height cap; noise limits of 65 decibels by day and 55 at night at the property line; closed-loop cooling; the data center pays the full cost of any infrastructure it needs; and a decommissioning bond. The Planning Commission recommended both the definition and the permit section 5-0. The county's moratorium on new data centers runs to Feb. 24, 2027.

Where this stands: these are recommendations, not law. The Planning Commission minutes show the votes above; those minutes are pending the commission's own approval, expected Nov. 3. Commissioners make the call.

How to weigh in: the Oct. 27 meeting at 7 p.m. includes a public hearing, second floor of the David Hankerson Building, 100 Cherokee St., Marietta.

What to watch: the Oct. 27 vote, and whether the one-year ADU delay survives. Sources: Planning Commission Oct. 6 minutes, in the Oct. 20 zoning book / draft rule text, Oct. 13 packet.

Correction: Our Oct 15 issue said the Lodge Road apartment case (Z-39, 280 units) would be heard Oct 20, for about 562 apartments in one morning. The Planning Commission continued Z-39 5-0 to its Nov 3 meeting.

Follow-up: In our Oct 15 issue, Mableton's police car lease was still up for a vote. Council approved the lease for 76 police cars, about $5.1 million over five years, unanimously on consent, and raised the top of the police officer pay range from $72,000 to about $82,000, per the MDJ. (MDJ)

(Next-week-and-beyond pointers.)

Life in the Cemetery - Fri-Sun Oct 23-25, Kennesaw City Cemetery. Guided one-hour tours at 6:00, 6:45 and 7:30 p.m. each night; the last one is after dark. Tickets on Eventbrite. kennesaw-ga.gov

Southern Museum "Haunted Spirits" - Fri Oct 23, 6-10 p.m., Southern Museum, Kennesaw. Ages 21 and up. Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes" at 6:15, costume contest at 8, ghost tours of the museum at 8:30 and 9:15, food from 1885 Grill and beer and a signature cocktail from Reformation. $30 members, $40 everyone else. Pair it with an early cemetery tour and you have a Kennesaw date night. kennesaw-ga.gov

Smyrna Crafts & Drafts Fall Festival - Sat Oct 24, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sun Oct 25, noon-5 p.m., around Smyrna City Hall and the Village Green. Free. About 150 craft booths, food, live music and kids' activities. travelcobb.org

The Wedded Youngs' adults-only Halloween show - Artisan Resource Center, 585 Cobb Pkwy S, Suite G-1, Marietta. Remaining shows Oct 24, 30 and 31 at 7:30 p.m., and Oct 25 at 2:30 p.m. $24. Immersive, music, mystery, and not for the kids. visitmariettaga.com

Silent "Phantom of the Opera" (1925) with the Mighty Allen organ - Sun Oct 25, 3 p.m. (doors 2:30), Strand Theatre. Lon Chaney, an organ pre-show 30 minutes before, and a live organ score through the film. Costumes welcome. Strand tickets

Cobb DPS Trunk or Treat & Fall Festival - Sat Oct 24, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 1285 Al Bishop Dr., Marietta (next to Safety Village). Free. Candy from decorated vehicles, big trucks to climb, food trucks, face painting, and up-close K9, SWAT and dive teams. cobbcounty.gov

Chattahoochee Nature Center Halloween Hikes - 41st year. Fri-Sat Oct 23-24, 6-10 p.m., and Sun Oct 25, 5-9 p.m., 9135 Willeo Rd., Roswell. A half-mile self-guided trick-or-treat trail for all ages, plus the 1.5-mile Haunted Quest for ages 12 and up. Timed tickets: $25 in advance, $30 day-of. Parking is limited, so carpool and arrive 30 minutes early. Roughly 30 minutes from East Cobb. chattnaturecenter.org

Momoyama Ramen & Hawaiian BBQ, 2615 George Busbee Pkwy NW, Suite 1, Kennesaw (the old Sushi Yu spot near Town Center), opened Sept. 28. Start with the Akamaru Modern Ramen: tonkotsu broth, charsiu, a seasoned soft egg, woodear mushrooms and a spoon of house chili paste. Or go full Honolulu with a plate lunch, two scoops of rice and mac salad next to kalua pork and cabbage, BBQ short ribs or garlic shrimp. Add pork buns and an Aloha Maid or Japanese cream soda. Co-owner Michael Suen grew up in Honolulu, was an original L&L Hawaiian BBQ chef, then spent nearly two decades as Waimanalo's "manapua man." Partner Don Chen runs the ramen side. Two of their Pennsylvania shops made Yelp's 2025 Top 100 Ramen list. Opens at 11:30 a.m. most days. (770) 218-8181. kennesaw.com

KSU's new Grigsby and Menaboni galleries open Sat Oct 24 at 4 p.m., free, at the Arts District at Chastain Pointe, 1200 Chastain Rd., Suite 101. The first show, "Woven Reflections," pulls rugs and hand-painted design drawings from the Karastan archive. One piece by resident artist Rowland Ricketts squeezes about 48,000 yards of yarn into a single square inch of weaving. The galleries come from the Emily Bourne Grigsby bequest, including $1 million from her estate. Exhibition runs Oct 27-Dec 4. KSU

The first paved Chattahoochee RiverLands trail, Riverview Park, 6275 Riverview Rd. SE, Smyrna. A half-mile riverside path through a 12-acre park, shaded and right on the water. It opened Oct. 8, the week the storm hit, so this leaf-season weekend is really its first good one. Urbanize Atlanta

(Agendas = proposed. Minutes = decided. Press-only outcomes = reported.)

The Cobb school board approved five more Vapor Wake dogs and handlers for middle schools, up to about $1.2 million from fund balance, 5-2 per the Sept. 17 minutes (Davis and Sayler opposed; a motion to delay failed 4-3). At its Oct. 15 meeting, the board also approved 37 replacement buses (about $6 million) and a $13.5 million Dodgen Middle renovation, as reported by East Cobb News and MDJ. Sept. 17 minutes

Marietta City Council approved the 1516 West Oak Dr. rezoning 7-0 on Sept. 9, per council minutes, to OI (office institutional) instead of the commercial zoning requested, with use limited to a daycare or nursery school. Minutes

Cobb commissioners approved High Street Atlanta Development's plan for 282 apartments at 175 Ernest Barrett Pkwy on Tuesday, 4-0 with Commissioner Erick Allen absent, per MDJ. Expect two four-story buildings on 9.59 acres with one- to three-bedroom units, a pool and a clubhouse. The developer's attorney, Kevin Moore, said the wooded creek next door stays undisturbed. The go-kart and mini golf park closed in September 2025 (MDJ). We ran this as proposed Oct. 15. MDJ / county packet

Cobb plans to rebuild Fire Station 23 on its current New Macland Road site instead of moving it, through a land swap with the Cobb school board that adds about 1 acre next to Compton Elementary. The swap was on commissioners' Oct. 13 consent agenda, and ZoneWire's meeting summary reports the consent agenda passed 5-0 (minutes not posted). Per the county packet, the old station stays open during construction so nearby response areas aren't disrupted, and both pieces of land were appraised at equal or greater value. The school board was set to vote on its side Oct. 15; we haven't seen that outcome yet. No cost or construction timeline yet. County packet

Mableton City Council approved "Elevating Tomorrow Mableton 2045," the city's first comprehensive plan, on Oct. 14, per the Courier (minutes not posted). From the plan document itself: a new mixed-use city center near Veterans Memorial Highway, Floyd Road and Mableton Parkway; eight mixed-use village areas; an entertainment district built around Six Flags, with a "downtown Six Flags" idea; examining duplexes and triplexes in single-family neighborhoods and ADUs in targeted locations; a goal to preserve at least 20% of currently undeveloped land; and broadband of at least 1 Gbps for every home and business. Why it matters soon: the Queen Mill 98-home rezoning heads to council around Oct. 28 and will be judged against this plan, the same week Cobb votes on ADUs. Plan document, Oct. 14 packet / Courier

Also: Commissioners held Brown Road's 60-home subdivision (5140 and 5180 Brown Rd., southwest Cobb) until next month over stormwater drainage and mismatched project details, per MDJ. Evergreen, 64 mostly affordable senior apartments, breaks ground today, Thu Oct 22, at 11 a.m. at 879 Roswell St. NE, Marietta (City of Marietta). Early voting runs through Fri Oct 30; the roughly $1.15 billion SPLOST renewal is on every Cobb ballot, and Mableton voters also decide the redevelopment powers question. Absentee ballot requests must be received by Fri Oct 23 (Georgia.gov).

Reply and tell us: would you build a backyard cottage if Cobb allowed it? Yes, no, or "only for Grandma." We read them.

See you Thursday.
The Cobb Insider