LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga.- Planning Director Bruce Georgia along with the board of commissioners held a public hearing to lay out the revisions to the framework for the land-use regulations.

The public was invited and able to voice their opinions and concerns on the proposed revisions. This was the first of the public hearings that will be held to go over this matter but the public is encouraged to reach out via email or by phone to the commissioners or Georgia at any time before the vote is held in March.

Bruce Georgia presenting to the framework revisions to the board of commissioners and the public.

Georgia had a PowerPoint where the revisions for the framework were outlined and that is available at http://lumpkincountyga.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1578&Inline=True. The intent of the revisions is so that there are clear-cut guidelines for land use in Lumpkin County. There has been a 180-day moratorium on permits for new commercial developments in three of the character areas.

The first goal of the revisions for the framework is to take out ambiguous language, qualifying terms, look at allowable uses, be more specific on setbacks, buffers, and landscape stripe, revise administrative proceeders, and revise definitions. The next goal has been broken down into eight steps.

Step 1 of the framework is to maintain the current character areas but to change the definitions on those areas. This keeps the areas clearly define on the map while addressing the issue of what can go in specific areas.

The current character area map.

The next framework step is to create a road classification plan. This will identify roads as either arterial which would be considered main roads for example 400 or 52, Collector, or local which are roads that lead to arterial roads. There is also the potential for another category called limited local roads which will be not all-inclusive.

The road map for Lumpkin County.

Once the roads have been properly classified the road plan will be superimposed over the character area map. This will make it easier to see which roads can handle the traffic for new developments in a particular character area.

Step 3 is to establish developmental categories. These will be restrictive development that encompasses agricultural preservation, rural places, and residential character areas. This development area is designed for more residential and agricultural use which means that landowners with activities will have to meet the more restrictive Compatability standards set in place.

The next development category is general development. This encompasses industrial, neighborhood village center, community village center, and commerce corridor. These would have fewer restrictions than the first category however those areas that are considered residential will be given protected status.

The last category is the Gateway Corridor and Overlay District. This is designed to have requirements applied over or in addition to the underlying developmental category.

Next is step 4, which is to define activities. Once the activities have been defined they will be able to be properly permitted and placed in the correct development category.

Step 5 goes hand in hand with steps 2 and 4. This step is to develop a chart to designate the road classification for the activities in the developmental area. Meaning that if an area does not have a road that is classified for the project then another area with the classification will have to be found.

The next step in the process is to develop a chart of performance standards. The standards mean that the components of the ordinance will strive to meet compatibility for neighboring activities. Each activity will have a set of maximum standards that address buffers, setbacks, screenings, odor, noise, light, and glare.

Step 7 is for those unique activities that are not covered by normal requirements. These are activities like wedding venues, event venues, and RV parks to name a few. There will be additional restrictions on these areas to those that are established in the ordinance.

The final step is to deal with the administrative procedures. Included in that list are definitions, variance process, decision appeals, SLUA process, and ambiguous language.

The current timeline for this process is Feb. 18 a legal review of the draft. On Feb. 22 the final public hearing on the matter, on Mar. 1 the final draft goes to the board of commissioners, and later in Mar., the board is set to vote on the framework.

The public that came out for the hearing.

There were serval citizens in attendance in the meeting and a few spoke their concerns on the plan. They also brought up how the new animal shelter will fit into this framework. For more information on the animal shelter visit https://lumpkin.fetchyournews.com/2022/01/19/board-approved-amendment-to-character-area-map/.

“We certainly appreciate everyone being here, this is certainly a task we don’t take lightly if you look at our current land-use regulations I think we all agree there’s some work to be done. They worked for a while but now it’s time to see what we can do to make them better and to strengthen those to reflect what the desire is of our community,” commented Chairman of the Board Chris Dockery.