St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church will be allowed to continue its farmers market for the next two years.
The Farmer’s Atlanta Road Market will open 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays, starting April 5 through October, in the church parking lot on the east side of Cooper Lake Road, the west side of Atlanta Road and north of Cumberland Boulevard.
The Cobb County Board of Commissioners approved the market last week over the objections of Mary Rose Barnes of the Oakdale Community Association.
Barnes expressed criticism of the church for wanting to use “the horror of bouncy houses” (twice this year) that she said could cause injury to small children, for allowing parking at their school across from the church on the “very busy” Cooper Lake Road, sign violations and “continued failure for vendors to obtain business licenses,” representing “a clear and present danger to the health of our community.”
Commissioner Bob Ott included in his motion a stipulation that vendors must provide proof to county officials that they are in compliance with business license regulations.
Ott also said he has met with the church’s rector, the Rev. Brian Sullivan, and Cobb Department of Transportation officials about a safety crossing between the school parking lot and the church.
Sullivan said the market is a fund-raiser for Path To Shine, a ministry of the church to provide after-school tutoring programs for at-risk children.
After several signage complaints, Sullivan said he asked Cobb code enforcement officials to approve the placement of their signs to be sure they were in compliance with the county’s new sign laws.
Information: FarmSmyrna.com, MySaintB.org, PathToShine.weebly.com.
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