Moratorium issued on new apartments in Marietta

MARIETTA, Ga. - City leaders in Marietta have imposed a six-month moratorium on new apartment construction. The move comes as the city attempts to evaluate the impact of high-density housing on the community. 

"Apartments are pretty much on a roll in Cobb County. We're still trying to balance between rentals and fee simple," said Mayor Steve Tumlin.

Mayor Tumlin says the moratorium will give them time to step back and take a closer look at their current code, if anything needs to be changed and what is most beneficial to the community.

"This review of our code is if you have downtown development what all does that mean? We found we don't know," said Mayor Tumlin.

The decision to impose a moratorium was driven by a surge of building applications that included a 322-unit building at the intersection of Delk and Powers Ferry roads, 300 apartments near Powers Ferry and Roswell roads, and a 135-unit, seven-story complex a few blocks off the square on Polk. 

The moratorium does not affect these projects since it was not in effect when developers submitted their applications. 

Some city leaders think it is all too much.

"It's inevitable we're becoming a nation of renters, big corporate buys, subdivisions," said Mayor Tumlin.

At a meeting before the vote on the moratorium, some residents expressed support for high-end apartments and urged city leaders not to impose a moratorium. 

"We have to move beyond the notion that all apartments are bad," said one man.

"The entire metro Atlanta area is growing, people are coming in, please don't turn them away," said another man.

Mayor Tumlin says Marietta may be going against the trend of building large apartments, but he says he believes in moderation.

"Every city deserves to have its own personality," said Mayor Tumlin.

The moratorium is scheduled to last for six months.