Kennesaw will hold public hearings Thursday and July 20 on rezoning for senior housing on Old Highway 41 at Oak Ridge Drive.

Walton Communities is seeking the rezoning and variances for 93 units on 3.5 acres.

The public hearings will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday by the planning commission and 6:30 p.m. July 20 by Mayor Mark Mathews and the city council, both at City Hall, 2529 J.O. Stephenson Ave.

The 13 variances being requested include:

  • Increase maximum building height from 40 feet to 48 feet
  • Allow a maximum of four stories instead of two stories
  • Increase maximum lot coverage from 25 percent to 30 percent
  • Allow 93 units at a density of 27.71 units per acre
  • Change the city's tree island requirements from a ratio of one tree per six spaces to one tree per 12 spaces
  • Shorten the minimum parking space length from 19 feet to 18 feet for up to 60 percent of the total parking count
  • Change building setbacks to 10 feet for the Old Highway 41 front setback, 10 feet for the side setbacks and 30 feet for the rear setbacks
  • Alter the required parking ratios from 1.25 to one
  • Reduce the required landscape buffer from 25 feet to zero along the Old Highway 41 right-of-way and Oak Ridge Drive right-of-way
  • Reduce the impervious setback at the rear eastern corner
  • Eliminate the impervious setback and stream buffer at the north end of the site where the existing detention facility is located
  • Reduce the required setback for an accessory building in excess of 1,000 square feet of gross space from 100 feet to 30 feet
  • Reduce the minimum spacing off of the driveway from the street intersection from 100 feet to 45 feet.