Developers Eye Open Land Near Kennesaw Battlefield
Feb./March 2004
MARIETTA, Ga. - Development pressure on Kennesaw
Mountain National Battlefield increased recently with plans
to annex and develop 14 acres adjacent to the park and to construct
houses on another 60 acres on the Hays Farm in Cobb County on
what the Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls the "largest
available property" bordering the battlefield park.
The National Park Service unsuccessfully tried to buy the Hays
Farm as far back as the 1930s. According to the newspaper an
acre near the park "can sell for $100,000 to $175,000,
and the price of houses can reach $3 million."
The Marietta Daily Journal called the 14-acre parcel "one
of the last remaining undeveloped tracts adjacent to the park."
That's the problem, says Marietta resident Peter Popham about
the site. Since 1865 the tract on Kennesaw Avenue on the northeast
side of Kennesaw Mountain "has never been anything but
park land," he says. Although the land is not within the
federal park boundaries, "it has always been a public area
for the park."
Popham describes a site with breastworks, old trees, a stream
and beautiful birds that overwinter there. According to the
newspaper, the tract shares a border of more than 1,500 feet
with the park and many walking trails are nearby.
Popham is doing what he can to persuade the city council to
table its Feb. 11 vote on the annexation so that preservationists
have time to see if purchase is feasible.
Zoning allows single-family houses. The Daily Journal described
32 lots, 15 of which back up to the national park, on which
will be built "quality smaller homes" in the $400,000-$600,000
range in an "environmentally sensitive neighborhood"
with tree-lined walks and an early 1900s look.
Developers say a 3.5-acre tract will be deeded to a land preservation
trust. It will be a buffer with trees and trails separating
the project from the Park Manor subdivision.
Anyone interested in preserving the land slated for annexation
is invited to call Popham at (770) 425-3400.
