First Draft of Land Use Plan Under Review in Stephens County

Stephens County’s Land Use Regulation Committee continues to move closer to having a proposed land use plan to put on the table.

The committee met Tuesday at the historic Stephens County Courthouse in downtown Toccoa.

Committee members received an updated draft of the current proposed plan, which is now headed for review by the county attorney.

Land Use Regulation Committee Spokesperson Cynthia Brown said the committee has reached this point after nearly a year of hard work.

“It has come with a lot of discussion and a lot of education and we have come to the conclusion that it is necessary,” said Brown.

The committee first met last September and in March, Stephens County Commissioners voted to have the committee move forward with drafting a proposed land use plan, adding more members to the group at that time.

The expanded committee then began meeting in April.

Brown said the next step is to create a map of the county based on the draft proposal that the committee has put together.

“We will take the tax map as it stands today and put our provisions down in different colors so we can see exactly what the county looks like by acres and by districts,” said Brown.

According to Brown, the goal is to have a proposed land use plan for the county commission to consider in November.

Brown also said public hearings will take place to allow citizens to learn about and speak on the proposal.

“What people are going to find is that there are no surprises,” said Brown.  “This is just putting on paper what needs to happen for us to be good neighbors.”

She also said that the proposed plan takes into account what is already in place.

“What is in effect today will be grandfathered in,” said Brown.

The committee will meet next later this month to continue its work.