A decision on whether to approve the expansion of a Christian school in Marietta was postponed 7-0 Aug. 8 by the Marietta City Council for further review by its Public Works Committee on Aug. 28.
For 3.7 acres at 521 Atlanta St., the rezoning request - from Light Industrial to Office Institutional - came from Waymon Ahart, trustee of the James L. Housin Family Trust in Fayetteville, the landowners.
Applicant attorney Kevin Moore said the applicant, The Stonehaven School, is seeking to build a campus across the street from GracePointe Marietta Baptist Church, 505 Atlanta St., where the school has been housed since 2012.
Now the “Christ-centered classical education” school has 120 students in K-8 with plans to expand to the twelfth grade by 2024.
The school’s 10-year plan is to have 300 students on the new property that once was the site of a circa 1850 antebellum home later used as a hospital during the Civil War and burned down in 2006.
During the public comment portion, Larry Wills, who said he did the original research on the Root House and its move from Lemon Street, advised the Council to conduct further historical research on this property since it is “the largest undisturbed area since the Civil War era.”
Following up, Councilman Grif Chalfant said to Moore, “I’d hate to start to lose the history of that area.”
Agreeing, Moore said they can supply answers to those historical questions by consulting R. S. Webb and Associates to provide historical surveys for recording and preserving.
Speaking about the residences surrounding the property, Councilman Johnny Walker said, “A school is the best neighbor you can have. I bought my house to be next to a school, and my value has gone up.”
Information: GracePointeMarietta.org, StonehavenSchool.org
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