Planning for Growth in Rabun County
The Issue
Participants in the interviews, focus groups, town hall meetings, and the survey often commented that the county and cities have no public long-term growth plans or goals. As one participant stated, “that increases the level of anxiety about the future and questions about any new development that comes along…”
Several participants also stated that the lack of full-time planners and long-term land use guidelines for the county and the cities make development planning very difficult and can put the developers in an advantageous situation.
Land Use Planning
Land use planning can be defined as the allocation of land to different uses across a landscape in a way that balances economic, social, and environmental values.1 Zoning is the enabling mechanism for this allocation, but land use planning helps ensure that zoning schemes reflect good land use practices. Land use planning has a number of benefits including:
- Helping ensure that land is developed in accordance with its highest and best use to maximize the benefit of development for local residents.
- Encouraging the clustering of like and compatible land uses which can lead to clustering benefits, from, for example, retail shopping districts.
- Discouraging incompatible land use issues such as industrial operations next to residential areas, schools, etc.
Current Situation
The State of Georgia requires local governments to complete some level of land use planning to maintain the Qualified Local Government status. There are two levels of land use planning communities can undertake to meet this requirement: 1) defining “character areas” of compatible or like use that currently exist or can be created; and 2) “land use map and narrative” which more specifically land use classifications and areas. The 2019 Rabun County Joint Comprehensive Plan accomplishes the first of these by identifying and mapping character areas for the county and its cities. However, the county and its cities have not completed the second level of a comprehensive land use plan.
The county has engaged the Pond Company to assess its current zoning classifications and regulations and make recommendations on how to update and improve them; however, the engagement does not include developing a comprehensive land use plan.
Two documents provide guidelines for development in Rabun County. The first is the County’s Code of Ordinances, Section 56-262, which specifies criteria for the county to use when considering a rezoning or variance request. The criteria include considerations such as whether the change will adversely impact surrounding properties, or make unreasonable demands on existing infrastructure. The second document is a Land Use Application form provided by the Pond Company that covers some of the same criteria as the Code, plus other considerations. However, these documents apply only to rezoning or variance situations, and not to new development that is compatible with existing zoning ordinances.
Only the county and the city of Clayton have planning and zoning departments with professional staff members. Their duties include planning and zoning administration, enforcement of zoning ordinances, erosion, sedimentation, floodplain, and related issues.
Recommended Actions
- Develop comprehensive land use plans. The county and other cities in the county that want to do so should invest in the creation of comprehensive land use plans that build on the “character areas” in the Comprehensive Plan. The plans would identify the types of development that are preferred (and not preferred) in certain areas, based on highest and best use, existing surroundings, and potential future development, as well as environmental and other considerations. The county’s GIS system (see section below).
- Provide the necessary resources and direction to the existing planning and zoning departments to proactively support the land use plans. As many participants in the town hall meetings and other venues for public input into this strategic plan noted, the county and its cities should become advocates as well as enforcers for zoning and land use regulations, or as some residents stated, to become a counterbalance to strong, well-financed development pressures. Currently, that responsibility falls on the county and city zoning boards and the governing commissions and councils which normally lack professional training in planning and land use. This advocacy would apply not only to zoning variances but also to proposed developments that do not require them.
Benefits
- Land use planning and economic development go hand in hand. Companies have reasons to support comprehensive land use plans and zoning ordinances that are strongly but fairly enforced. They can help avoid problems of current or future incompatible land use (e.g. industrial use next to a residential area or a school) that can lead to complaints or operational constraints for the company.
- Like a strategic plan for economic development with a vision for the future, a land use plan can help guide the decisions of elected officials and zoning board members regarding development and zoning requests. These decisions can be contentious, but they can be easier and more defensible with a land use plan as a guide.
- A land use plan can also help guide decisions on where to extend water and sewer service, internet service, and other infrastructure.
- An economic development strategic plan and a land use plan can give all residents a little more certainty about the future of their county or city, and more confidence in local government. This will help address the concerns expressed through the public input for this study, including the comment from one town hall attendee as noted above that a lack of such plans “increases the level of anxiety about the future and questions about any new development that comes along…”
1The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization: https://www.fao.org/sustainable-forest-management/toolbox/modules/land-use-planning/basic-knowledge/en/