A new business - Kasbah Bar & Bistro – is seeking zoning approval to open in the old Donny's/Pizza Hut location in the Sandy Plains Village shopping center located on Sandy Plains & 92 in Roswell (across from Yeero Village). This area is zoned as NRC (neighborhood residential commercial) and the business is seeking approval to operate as a restaurant/bar. The proposed drawings for this new establishment include a dance floor, VIP lounge, DJ booth and bar areas in addition to seeking late hours of operation of 1am weekdays and 2:30am weekends. In addition to the nightclub atmosphere, the business initially promoted online it was also to offering Hookah (Hookah is a flavored tobacco and is smoked out of a ‘hookah’ water pipe). The proposed plans and late-night hours suggest that this business will ultimately operate at a night-club. Because of this, a group of concerned citizens and neighbors are opposing its opening. While a family-friendly restaurant is welcome in the area, a nightclub IS NOT. The nightclub aspect of this establishment, as well as the proposed late night hours are the MAIN reasons concerned citizens OPPOSE this zoning request and seek support from the community in the form of this petition.

Reasons for opposition include;

1. Kasbah Bar & Bistro's plans suggest they will operate as a nightclub and not a restaurant: Although this business has only recently removed all references to “hookah” from its website and now proclaims its intention to be “family-friendly”, the establishment's plans/drawings suggest otherwise as it includes a dance floor, DJ booth, VIP lounge and Hookah smoking stations.
2. Potential decrease in home values: The addition of a nightclub does not fit within the other business models in the area. Homeowners are concerned that increased traffic, crime, noise pollution, intoxicated drivers on roadways and other disturbances associated with a nightclub will negatively affect home values. This business may potentially attract other similar establishments better suited for a city/commercial environment and not a suburban area with a strong family-friendly presence.
3. Late night hours may add danger to our roadways, increase noise and tax our police resources: The business has asked for closing time of 2:00 am on weekends and 1:00 am during the week. That means patrons will be leaving this establishment and on our roadways - otherwise quiet b/c most businesses close by midnight or earlier - after consuming alcohol and Hookah. Added drivers to roadways who may be under the influence not only will make roadways treacherous, but also likely to increase the need for police presence.
4. Dangerous traffic flow: Due to the restricted access to the location (Right hand entry/exit ONLY), there will be additional burdens from increased U-turns from patrons wishing to enter from the east (left from Sandy Plains are forced to make a U-turn) and exit to the west (left on Sandy Plains are forced to make a u-turn at Sandy Plains & 92). Mabry and 92 is congested enough, and both directions are allowed entry into the businesses on either side of Mabry. Traffic incidents and any potential fire hazard that may come from this location — the nearest Cobb County Fire Station is 3.2 miles away.
5. Limited Parking: Because of the way the parking lot is configured, patrons will be forced to drive around the building to exit. This will increase traffic noise/pollution in the back of the establishment and have a direct impact to homes in the Chatsworth subdivision. Reminder: School days are mainly during the fall/winter/spring months where there is a lack of tree cover and both our homes have elementary aged children who may be impacted by lights shining into homes.
6. Hookah prohibits this business as being "family-friendly"
   1. Hookah has a negative influence on teens: More than one in five high school students (20.9%) in one study first learned about hookah by seeing a hookah bar in their community. Among high school seniors, 17% have smoked a hookah in the past year. There are area Hookah lounges in Atlanta, Marietta, and Alpharetta and many host youths under the age of 21. Do we want this type of influence within 5 miles of our top rated high schools and students (Lassiter, Pope, Blessed Trinity, Fellowship, & Roswell)? ( https://www.acscan.org/pdf/smokefree/hookah-facts...)
   1. Hookah lounges/bars/nightclubs have a history of attracting criminal activity to communities: In 2015, the mayor of Seattle closed 11 Hookah lounges and in a public statement called them "hotbeds of crime". A public safety official also noted, "hookah lounges are creating criminal activity that wouldn’t otherwise exist in the city. These lounges are criminal hot spots not only during hours of operation, but hours after closing as well." http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/sea... Attracting this type of negative element and potential activity will most certainly create an unsafe environment, but also dramatically affect our property values.
   1. Hookah lounges pose potential fire hazard. The water pipes used for Hookah use coals to warm/heat the smoke. In the lounge proposed, there can be ask many as 30 Hookah stations with active coals for each. The National Fire Protection Association has determined that smoking materials cause 2 percent of building fires but 39 percent of fire-related deaths. http://www.nfpa.org/news-and-research/fire-statist... Read about a fire at a fraternity house in Florida related to Hookah http://www.gainesville.com/news/20101117/fire-at-f.... This establishment is within 250 feet of residences along Sandy Plains Road and in the Chatsworth subdivision. This poses a serious fire hazard not only to residents, but also area business in the Sandy Plains shopping center. An establishment with at least 30 live fire stations (active coals) used by patrons under the influence of alcohol poses a severe threat and safety for our community. Local fire departments will have to bear the burden of tending to these potentially hazardous conditions.
   1. Hookah poses a serious health risk in our community. According to the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC): "Using a hookah to smoke tobacco poses serious health risks to smokers and others exposed to the smoke from the hookah." http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sh...
   1. Increased Air Pollution: A study from the Institute of Global Tobacco Control at Johns Hopkins University states that "Smoking water pipes, or hookahs, creates hazardous concentrations of indoor air pollution and poses increased risk from diminished air quality for both employees and patrons of hookah bars.” http://hub.jhu.edu/2014/06/04/hookahs-air-pollution-smoke. The article goes on to discuss the hazards of water pipe use. If the indoor smoke is so extreme, outdoor seating seems the only opportunity but is that the position we want to allow? It will open the door for every restaurant to have an outdoor smoking section. This represents a dangerous precedent.

IMPORTANT EVENTS/DATES:

JULY 19th : Zoning meeting: 100 Cherokee Street (2nd floor) Marietta GA 30090 @ 9am. We urge as many people to show up as possible who wish to oppose this business. The zoning board will take into consideration the number of people who show up to oppose it!