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MARIETTA - Two of the District 2 Commissioner Republican candidates squared off over what type of development is appropriate along Johnson Ferry Road.

It was a two-way debate in a three-person race Wednesday night at the Atlanta Country Club.

Although he was invited, District 2 Commissioner Joe Lee Thompson declined to participate in the debate. Delta pilot Bob Ott and homeowners association president Ron Sifen bounced ideas back and forth during the two-hour debate.

On Thursday, Thompson would not comment as to why he was absent from the debate. The other two candidates referenced his absence several times in the course of Wednesday's debate.

The Chattahoochee Plantation Community Association and the Hampton Farms Homeowners Association sponsored the debate.

The future revitalization of the Johnson Ferry corridor was a hot topic of discussion.

The Cobb Commission has imposed a moratorium on new zoning applications along the Johnson Ferry Corridor until September. During the time a committee has been meeting with residents and business owners along to the corridor to solicit ideas on what can be done to improve the area.

The corridor extends from the Chattahoochee River to Roswell Road.

Ott said the revitalization is two-fold. The traffic congestion along Johnson Ferry needs to be dealt with, including more inter-parcel access and reduced curb cuts. The second part would be improving the quality of developments.

Sifen said while he agrees with Ott, he's worried about discussions of high-density, mixed-use developments along the road.

"I'm adamantly opposed to any redevelopment that would increase traffic on Johnson Ferry," he said. "I have nothing against redevelopment. I just don't want to wind up with development that would make traffic worse."

Sifen said if the county continues to overdevelop like it has in recent years, the county would get to a point where the infrastructure exceeds its capacity. If that happens, he said the county would start seeing a need for more taxes.

"We need to identify where we have the infrastructure to accommodate higher density development and those places that do not have infrastructure to accommodate higher density development," Sifen said. "We are at a crossroads. We need to put the brakes on over development."

Ott said community input and having a plan for the development, complete with traffic solutions, could ensure that quality developments are put in the appropriate place, regardless of its density.

"I don't necessarily believe over development is the root of all evil," Ott said. "Yes, density is a measure of development, but it can't be the only measure for you to use to determine if its appropriate … if you build a project that meets the needs and desires of the community, what does it matter what the density is?"

He said he doesn't advocate using more tax dollars to accomplish changes in the district. He suggested looking at the way the county manages its resources, looking for alternative sources of funding and deciding what's important are ways to accomplish things without increasing taxes.

"The county has been know for innovation," Ott said.

Talks of over development also spilled into discussions on code enforcement.

Sifen said the limited personnel in Code Enforcement cannot perform all the tasks they're assigned.

"We're going to need more people in code enforcement," he said. "We have too much over-development in Cobb County. It's straining our resources."

Sifen also said the commissioners need to follow the code when making zoning decisions. And if need be, Sifen said the language in the codes should be improved to prevent code violations.

Ott, a former member of the planning and zoning board, said he's familiar with the issues regarding code enforcement. He said the problem is sometimes developments get too far along before an inspector notes the violation, and the board is then forced to approve a variance.

A solution Ott proposed is training the Cobb inspectors to look for all code violations. He said if the inspector is sent to check out the electric, they should also look to see if the buildings footprint is larger than what was approved.

"The way to solve the problem is how we conduct our inspections," he said.

Both Ott and Sifen expressed a desire to work for the entire district they would represent, and be more accessible.

Sifen said he plans to hold regular town hall meetings in the district. He said his years of experience working with neighborhood issues made he adept to being available for people.

"I plan to be there for you," he said.

Ott even went as far to committing to be in his office at least one Saturday a month. And he said he would change his assistant's hours around to have them there at least some days after 5 p.m.

"Some time during the week, my assistant would be available when you're available," he said. "I would make myself available because that's part of the commitment when you sign up."

ahungerford@mdjonline.com

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