Sprayberry Crossing is a commercially zoned area across the street from Sprayberry High School and adjacent to several businesses.  Over the past several decades, the property has increasingly becoming a public and private nuisance to those of us that are affected by it.  From the parents that send their children to Sprayberry for school or activities, to the homeowners that have to deal with the effect of blight on their ability to enjoy their own homes, Sprayberry Crossing is the proverbial stain on an otherwise beautiful community.

Due to various reasons, despite repeated pleas by the community, the Cobb County government has done little to change the downward trajectory of Sprayberry Crossing.  Only just last year did the Cobb County government start blight tax proceedings after the enactment of the Community Improvement Tax Incentive Program.  A letter was sent to the owners of Sprayberry Crossing, noting that the following sections were applicable: unihabitable, unsafe, or abandoned structure; repeated illegal activity of which the property owner knew or should have known; and is conducive to ill health, transmission of disease, or crime in immediate proximity of the property.  And the problem appears to be getting worse.  Police reports show that the number of reports of criminal and nuisance activity is on the rise.

Further, the actions of the owners has now pitted those of us that are worried about safety against those of us that have loved ones buried in the cemetery at Sprayberry Crossing.  Despite the owners purchasing the property with the cemetery, we have been informed numerous times that the cemetery is a primary issue in selling the property.  It is a no-win solution on all sides except for the property owners who will reap significant monetary benefits, potentially in the millions.  This should tell you something about just how bad the situation has become for us.

At this point in time, to protect our children, our families, and our homes, and with the little power that Cobb County can assert, we are faced with two options: ignore the problem and hope that Cobb County or the owners do something, or, take this matter into our own hands.  There are a significant number of people that choose to not sit by and watch an area degrade into a de facto homeless shelter, one riddled with crime and secluded enough to be a haven for drug activity.

A number of the citizens affected by Sprayberry Crossing are gathering together to try to have the Court force the owners to do the right thing.  We need your help to subsidize court fees for citizens that cannot afford court fees and to hire legal counsel to file lawsuits in magistrate court.

Each dollar counts, and will be a dollar spent to help clean up our community.

On behalf of those affected by Sprayberry Crossing, we thank you for reading this and thank you for any donation that you can spare.  Any consideration matters to us.