Regional Comprehensive Plan

The Georgia Planning Act of 1989 provides that coordinated and comprehensive planning is of vital importance to the State and its residents.  County and municipal governments were required to complete local comprehensive plans by 1995. Each regional development center is also required to prepare a regional plan, using local plans as a guide.

Regional planning provides an opportunity to take a broader perspective than is taken in local planning, to identify problems and opportunities that are evident from a regional perspective, and to focus on issues that are beyond the abilities of individual governments to address.  The regional plan is used to coordinate the activities of the regional development centers, local governments, state government, other public agencies and the private sector in furtherance of mutually agreed upon regional goals and objectives.

Since northwest Georgia has many economic and natural resources that cross RDC boundaries and growth and development issues are similar in most jurisdictions throughout the area, the Coosa Valley Regional Development Center and North Georgia Regional Development Center agreed to prepare a joint regional plan for the entire 15 county northwest Georgia area.

The Joint Regional Comprehensive Plan consisting of two documents was completed this past year and adopted by each RDC Board of Directors.  The Technical Staff Report contains an analysis of conditions and trends regarding population, economic development, natural resources, historic resources, public infrastructure, housing, human services, and land use.  In addition, it contains the RDC's assessment of  issues, problems, and opportunities that face the region in the future.  The  Regional Agenda contains the goals, objectives, policies and implementation strategies for addressing the needs of the region.   A copy of the complete Plan can be obtained from the North Georgia Regional Development Center.

The Regional Agenda also contains a Conceptual Development Plan for the region.  It consists of  two maps:  one illustrating the preferred future development pattern for the region, and the other showing areas or unique features which are of such importance to the future development and quality of life of the region that they warrant special planning, management, or allocation of governmental resources.  In addition, the Conceptual Development Plan also contains goals, objectives and implementation strategies for attaining the preferred future development pattern of the region.
 

Improved transportation corridors are vital to the region.

Significant Civil War trenches and stoneworks exist in Whitfield County.

Conceptual Development Plan for the Region

Four generalized patterns of future development for the region are depicted on the Conceptual Development Plan map The map shown here illustrates these features for the North Georgia RDC area:

Developed: Built-up concentrations of land where urban services such as public water or both public water and sewer are currently provided are classified as developed.  Approximately 77,791 acres or 8 percent of the North Georgia area is in the developed category.

Developing: Some land areas are projected to become more intensely developed over the next 20 years due to population and economic growth.  These areas will require substantial improvements to existing water, sewer, transportation and other urban services or the extension of these services into new territory.  The North Georgia RDC area is projected to add 93,781 people between 1995 and 2015. Employment is projected to increase by 46,240 employees over the same period. As a result, approximately 118,700 acres or 11 percent of the region's total acreage are projected to be in the developing category.

The Plan recommends that the region's primary urban service centers  (Dalton, Chatsworth, Jasper, Ellijay/East Ellijay, Blue Ridge and McCaysville)  define future urban service boundaries and prepare capital improvements plans and budgets for extending services to these areas. In this manner, utility extensions  can pro-actively lead and be a major factor in determining future development patterns.  The Plan also recommends that local governments coordinate their efforts to provide future urban services through multi-jurisdictional planning, funding and administrative arrangements whenever feasible.

Rural: Large areas are projected to remain relatively undeveloped and will not require the provision of urban services during the 20 year planning period. Approximately 654,973 acres or 60 percent of the region fall within the rural designation.

The Plan recommends that productive agricultural land, expansive open spaces, and unique natural areas that characterize the area's rural areas be preserved.  This can be achieved by limiting the extension of urban services into these areas, and through use of growth management techniques such as open space conservation zoning, transfer of development rights, cluster development design,  and development  incentives to encourage preservation. Successful implementation of these techniques will require considerable efforts to educate elected officials, developers and citizens.

Conservation: Natural resource or environmentally sensitive lands are recommended for no development.  Instead, these areas are recommended for preservation.  Approximately 231,422 acres or 21 percent of the region are within this category. The North Georgia area is fortunate to have a considerable amount of conservation land already contained within the publicly-owned Chattahoochee National Forest and thus is preserved through U.S Forest Service policies.  Other conservation lands consist of proposed green way corridors in the Dalton urban area.

Areas Targeted for Special Consideration

There are several resources in the region which are unique and will be important  to the future development and quality of life of the region. These include the many steeply sloped mountain ridges, which comprise the significant views of the region. Although some of these areas fall within the National Forest ownership and receive protection, many other prominent ridges are in private ownership and are subject to development. Cooperative efforts among both public and private sectors will be needed to reach a reasonable balance between development and protection of these unique and environmentally sensitive features.  The Plan recommends that these features be protected via local implementation of the Mountain and River Protection Act and by creating private/public partnerships such as land trusts to acquire prominent resources through conservation easements or similar methods.
 

Riparian habitat is important for watershed protection

The many public water supply watersheds are also important to the development of the region. Since some of these resources cross jurisdictional lines, cooperative efforts among local governments will be needed to preserve the environmental integrity of these watersheds.  Protecting these resources through cooperative watershed assessments and water quality management plans,  including local implementation of the State required Public Water Supply Watershed  Protection Criteria and Source Water Protection measures is recommended.

There are several transportation corridors that are and will continue to be vital to the future development of the region. In the North Georgia region, these include I-75, U.S. 411, Ga. Hwy 5, Ga.Hwy 515, and the proposed east-west Appalachian Scenic Parkway.  These highway corridors are likely to receive a substantial amount of development in the future. Efforts are needed to coordinate the extension of basic infrastructure with desired development patterns along these corridors. Detailed planning is proposed to assure that an appropriate relationship occurs between development activity and preserving the primary function of these roads, which is to move traffic efficiently.

The region's urban service centers are those highly developed urban areas that contain the region's primary residential, industrial,  business, civic, and cultural activities.  These urban centers are also the principle locations from which basic services such as public water and sewer and similar urban type services are provided throughout the region. These urban service centers will need to make substantial improvements and extensions to this basic infrastructure in order to accommodate future growth and development. More detailed planning and technical assistance will be needed to facilitate coordination between the urban service centers to assure that future developing areas will be adequately and efficiently served.

The Region contains a number of significant historic resources; however, unique among these are the many Civil War Battlefield sites. Of eighteen battlefields identified in Georgia and still considered to have fair or good integrity, ten are located in northwest Georgia. These are located in Bartow, Catoosa, Gordon, Paulding, Walker and Whitfield Counties.  Eight of  the ten sites cross jurisdictional lines. These sites face unprecedented threats from inappropriate land use. Preserving these sites simply for their historical significance is important.  However, they also represent a substantial tourism potential and could become an important contributor to the region's economic development.  The Plan recommends that more concerted planning efforts be undertaken to fully identify and delineate these sites, to educate the public regarding their significance, and create public/private partnerships to begin preservation efforts.
 
 

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