The Cobb County Board of Commissioners voted 4-0 Tuesday to deny the application of the SAE School to move to a new location in a high industrial area near Six Flags Over Georgia.
Absent was Chairman Tim Lee.
All of the commissioners commended the school as “great” and “excellent” but not at this location.
School officials were requesting a special land use permit for a building and property owned by Fifth Third Bank at 260 The Bluffs south of Riverside Parkway.
Kent Mason, an industrial developer, said heavy tractor-trailer traffic and 5 million square feet of industrial space are in that area, including Google with Amazon planning to move in.
However, Mason said these and other businesses will move out rather than be faced with the risk of liability lawsuits by parents from trucking accidents.
The Smyrna Academy of Excellence opened in 2013 at 6688 Mableton Parkway in Mableton.
The SAE School, a 501(c)3 nonprofit independent school, is designed for students in preschool through twelfth grade, following the Project-Based Learning model from High Tech High in San Diego, California with a year-round school of 200 days.
Information: saeschool.org.
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