The Georgia coast should be rural and undeveloped, according to a survey taken by the writers of a comprehensive state plan for the coast.
The rural and undeveloped settings were the most preferred options in a community choices survey taken at public meetings and online.
The Coastal Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee and the Department of Community Affairs held a public workshop in Midway on Thursday to report progress on the plan and get citizens’ comments.
Local committee members include Liberty County Commission Chairman John McIver, Mayor Tom Ratcliffe of Hinesville, Mayor Don Emmons of Midway and Paul Michael, the director of land resources for the Hampton Island development.
Points raised
• Concerns about access to water,
• Governmental failure to enforce land-use regulations,
ª The three Es: education, enforcement and economics and
• Building a constituency for controlled growth.
The DCA staff reported a question arising during other meetings — with high tech developments in meteorology; the public now has increased advance warnings of a hurricane’s approach. There is thus no need to expand and improve highways to accommodate a hasty last-minute evacuation, proponents say.
The committee and its staff are doing an audit of the ordinances of the 28 government jurisdictions in the six-county coastal area. By late summer they hope to report how the ordinances measure up to Smart Growth standards.
The audit compares local land use regulations against recognized best practices in the field.
Thursday’s workshop was part of a process started in 2005 when Gov. Sonny Perdue signed an executive order directing the Department of Community Affairs to prepare a plan for sustainable future development without compromising the region’s valuable and vulnerable natural environment.
DCA appointed a 35-member Coastal Comprehensive Planning Advisory Committee to study tourism, economic development and environmental management, housing and transportation issues affecting Georgia's coastal area as it develops the plan.
Information about the plan is available at www.georgiaplanning.com
The rural and undeveloped settings were the most preferred options in a community choices survey taken at public meetings and online.
The Coastal Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee and the Department of Community Affairs held a public workshop in Midway on Thursday to report progress on the plan and get citizens’ comments.
Local committee members include Liberty County Commission Chairman John McIver, Mayor Tom Ratcliffe of Hinesville, Mayor Don Emmons of Midway and Paul Michael, the director of land resources for the Hampton Island development.
Points raised
• Concerns about access to water,
• Governmental failure to enforce land-use regulations,
ª The three Es: education, enforcement and economics and
• Building a constituency for controlled growth.
The DCA staff reported a question arising during other meetings — with high tech developments in meteorology; the public now has increased advance warnings of a hurricane’s approach. There is thus no need to expand and improve highways to accommodate a hasty last-minute evacuation, proponents say.
The committee and its staff are doing an audit of the ordinances of the 28 government jurisdictions in the six-county coastal area. By late summer they hope to report how the ordinances measure up to Smart Growth standards.
The audit compares local land use regulations against recognized best practices in the field.
Thursday’s workshop was part of a process started in 2005 when Gov. Sonny Perdue signed an executive order directing the Department of Community Affairs to prepare a plan for sustainable future development without compromising the region’s valuable and vulnerable natural environment.
DCA appointed a 35-member Coastal Comprehensive Planning Advisory Committee to study tourism, economic development and environmental management, housing and transportation issues affecting Georgia's coastal area as it develops the plan.
Information about the plan is available at www.georgiaplanning.com