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Community Agenda Table of Contents
Introduction and Purpose 1 Previous Planning Efforts 1 Issues and Opportunities 2 Community Vision 3 Character Areas 3 Urban Community 4 Rural Community 6 Historic Downtown 7 Interstate Gateway 9 Special Tourism Corridor 10 Rural Corridor 11 Lake Dooly 13 Environmental Conservation 14 Rural Preservation Area 15 Future Land Use 17 Byromville 17 Dooling 19 Lilly 20 Pinehurst 21 Unadilla 23 Vienna 24 Dooly (unincorporated) 25 Implementation Program 28 Goals and Policies 28 Housing 28 Economic Development 29 Natural Resources 29 Cultural and Historic Resources 29 Community Facilities and Services 30 Land Use 30 Intergovernmental Coordination 31 Short Term Work Program 31 Dooly County 32 Byromville 34 Dooling 36 Lilly 38 Pinehurst 40 Unadilla 42 Vienna 44 Appendix A - Summary Review Aid 47 Report of Accomplishments 2002-2006 Dooly County 54 Byromville 56 Dooling 57 Lilly 58 Pinehurst 59 Unadilla 60 Vienna 62 Introduction and Purpose
The Community Agenda portion of the Greater Dooly Comprehensive Plan is probably the most important part of the local planning process prescribed by the State of Georgia. It is the third and final main element in the process --- following the Community Assessment and the Community Participation Program. Its purpose is to lay out a road map, or plan, for the future of the community. Whereas the Community Assessment addressed the question: “Where are we?”, the Community Agenda addresses the questions: “Where do we want to be?” and “How do we get there?” It is developed through a public process of involving community leaders and stakeholders in making key decisions about the community’s future. It includes the community’s overall vision for the future, a listing of issues and opportunities the community desires to undertake during the planning period, and an implementation program for achieving the overall vision and addressing the issues and opportunities.
As a term used in this Comprehensive Plan, the planning period shall be 25 years into the future. Many of Greater Dooly’s visions and goals are broadly described and portray a picture of the community that will likely take many years (perhaps all 25 or more) to achieve. However, some of them can be achieved in much shorter timeframe and consequently, the plans for these are laid out in greater detail.
As with the other components of the Greater Dooly Comprehensive Plan, this Community Agenda portion is prepared in compliance with the “Standards and Procedures for Local Comprehensive Planning” as set forth by the rules of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (Georgia DCA), effective May 1, 2005. It is prepared as part of a multi-jurisdictional (countywide) Comprehensive Plan for Dooly County and its six (6) municipalities of: Byromville, Dooling, Lilly, Pinehurst, Unadilla, and Vienna. Throughout these planning documents, the term “Greater Dooly” is used, and this is defined as “countywide Dooly” or all 7 of these communities/governments collectively. This Community Agenda is prepared through a collaborative effort of various staff and officials from each local government, planners from the Middle Flint Regional Development Center (MF-RDC), and special assistance from Planning Edge, Inc.
Previous Planning Efforts
As previously mentioned in the Community Assessment, individual Comprehensive Plans were prepared and adopted for Dooly County and each of its six (6) municipalities in 1990 and 1991 pursuant to the Georgia DCA planning standards that were in effect at that time. Since then, each of the Plans’ Short‑Term Work Programs (STWPs) have been updated as required by the State, but no other changes or amendments have been made to these Plans. The Georgia Planning Act of 1989 required that local comprehensive plans be updated at least every 10 years as part of a major Plan Update cycle. However, the official State schedule of these Plan Updates was adjusted for many of Georgia’s counties (including Dooly) to allow more timely use of the 2000 Census data. This change in the State schedule shifted Greater Dooly’s Plan Update deadline from October 31, 2001 to October 31, 2007. Consequently, Greater Dooly’s local comprehensive plan (for all 7 governments) has now been updated to meet the new deadline and it has been reformatted and re‑prepared under the current Georgia DCA planning standards. The decision was made to combine all these planning efforts into one countywide document, in order to provide better consistency among the local planning efforts and promote more intergovernmental coordination.
ISSUES and OPPORTUNITIES
At the beginning of this comprehensive planning process, community leaders and stakeholders compiled a listing of potential issues and opportunities that they believed were facing Greater Dooly. Many of these were stimulated from discussion of sample issues and opportunities found in Georgia's "State Planning Recommendations". The compiled list was analyzed and amended as a result of preparing the Community Assessment portion of this Plan. It was then presented and discussed at the various local Town Hall meetings with stakeholders and community leaders conducted with the County and each of the six (6) municipalities. The finalized listing is a product of collaboration and agreement among the citizens and community leaders, and represents the items that Greater Dooly wishes to focus upon first during the planning period. Each of these listed items is addressed either within the following Future Growth and Development, Goals and Policies, or Short-Term Work Program sections of this Community Agenda. As with other portions of the Comprehensive Plan, this listing should be periodically amended and kept current with the issues and opportunities that will change over time.
The manner in which each of these Issues and Opportunities is addressed, is articulated in Appendix A.
COMMUNITY VISION
The following sections detail different aspects of the overall future vision for Greater Dooly. It is intended to portray a picture of what the community desires to become, and provide a description of the future development patterns throughout Greater Dooly. In a very general sense, the Greater Dooly community desires to maintain itself as a primarily rural community with strong ties to agriculture with a clear separation of urban uses from the rural environment. It also recognizes opportunities for economic growth and prosperity by virtue of its location along I-75, proximity to larger urban communities in some of the adjacent counties, and also having two major railroads traversing the county. It therefore desires to maintain its strong agricultural base but also utilize other economic opportunities as appropriate to increase quality of life and prosperity for all its citizens.
FUTURE GROWTH and DEVELOPMENT
Future growth and development patterns of Greater Dooly are described in terms of Character Areas and Future Land Use categories. Character Areas represent the broad and descriptions of a particular area, while the Future Land Use categories represent more specific delineations between different classifications of land use. Both of these are useful tools in describing future growth and development patterns, and they graphically depicted together on the various “Future Development Maps” herein. As with other components of this Comprehensive Plan, it is fully intended that both the Character Areas and Future Land Use designations be routinely amended over time to reflect the changing needs of the community and the latest State planning guidelines.
CHARACTER AREAS
The following Character Areas were identified through the Community Assessment process and further defined through a series of workshops and discussions with community leaders and stakeholders. All of these are based on a countywide planning approach designed to highlight the most important areas needing attention, as well as identify those types of areas that several communities in Greater Dooly have in common. This helps to prioritize the needs of such areas on a countywide basis and helps to encourage the county and municipalities to continue joint discussions regarding them and work together in implementing their plans. It is intended that after specific plans are implemented for these Character Areas, that additional Character Areas will be identified at a latter date on a more local scale that is specific to each municipality or rural area of the county.
Greater Dooly’s Character Areas are further described as follows, and they are graphically on “Map A Greater Dooly Character Areas”. They are also graphically depicted on the various Future Development Maps (for each municipal community area, and the unincorporated area) along with specific future land use categories. Each Character Area is intended to be used as a guideline for the general style of growth and development patterns, with the specific land use types being guided more specifically by the different future land use categories. All new developments and redevelopment projects should adhere to these guidelines and land use categories.
Each of the following Character Area narratives contain a general description of the area and its desired development pattern, guidelines for development strategies, allowable land use types, how each Area relates to the State’s “Quality Growth Objectives”, and a listing of identified implementation measures related to the Area. It should be noted that since many of the communities in Greater Dooly do not as yet have zoning or other development regulations, and the communities that do have zoning are contemplating some significant updates to their regulations, references to permitted land use types are made instead of references to permitted zoning districts. This listing of land uses is not intended as an all‑encompassing list, but rather as a sample listing and guideline to describe the intended range of uses for each Character Area. Most Character Areas are planned to have varying land use types in different areas within them; such as both residential and commercial areas, for example. Therefore, determination of specific land uses for Character Areas should be used in conjunction with the specific future land categories as also depicted on the respective Future Development Maps.
Urban Community
Description: Municipalities and adjacent developed areas characterized by a mixture of all land use types, but at moderate to high density and intensity levels that are customary for an urban environment. These are only found in Dooly County’s larger urban centers of Unadilla and Vienna, and are generally described as those portions of the city limits (and perhaps immediately surrounding area) that are not already included in another defined character area. Vienna will serve as the urban anchor for southern portions of Dooly County and Unadilla will serve as the urban anchor for northern portions of the county.
Development Strategy: These areas will continue to function as Greater Dooly’s centers of urban development and activity, and offer major employment opportunities and government services not customarily found in the smaller municipalities or the unincorporated area. Public water and sewer systems will be maintained in these areas with such capacities to accommodate both existing and proposed development at high densities and potentially high intensity of use. Adaptive reuse of existing abandoned buildings and appropriate infill development, will be given priority over new development on periphery lands. Development or redevelopment in the Urban Community will not interfere or compete with such development in the Historic Downtown. Development regulations will be put into place which ensures quality development in keeping with good standards. Developments will be well‑connected to each other in other parts of the community through use of roads, sidewalks, and other pathways.
Allowable Uses: Residential uses will include both traditional and non‑traditional single-family neighborhoods with typical lot sizes of less than one acre, as well as apartment complexes of medium/high density. Commercial uses will include the full range of retail sales and services and offices. The use of commercial centers will be encouraged in appropriate areas to promote land efficiency and planned connectivity between developments. Mixed uses and planned unit developments will also be encouraged where appropriate. Industrial uses will include all forms of warehousing, processing, and manufacturing in areas deemed appropriate for the intensity of such use. Very heavy industries will be generally discouraged and only located in isolated areas away from residential neighborhoods. Public/Institutional uses will include large facilities such as area schools and full‑size churches as well as various county, state and federal/regional government type offices. Parks and recreational uses will be encouraged and may include large facilities to serve the citizenry beyond the respective communities. Agriculture and forestry uses will be continued on lands not immediately planned for other development.
Quality Community Objectives:
(1) Growth Preparedness Objective: Each community should identify and put in place the prerequisites for the type of growth it seeks to achieve. These may include housing and infrastructure (roads, water, sewer and telecommunications) to support new growth, appropriate training of the workforce, ordinances to direct growth as desired, or leadership capable of responding to growth opportunities.
(2) Appropriate Businesses Objective: The businesses and industries encouraged to develop or expand in a community should be suitable for the community in terms of job skills required, linkages to other economic activities in the region, impact on the resources of the area, and future prospects for expansion and creation of higher-skill job opportunities.
(3) Educational Opportunities Objective: Educational and training opportunities should be readily available in each community – to permit community residents to improve their job skills, adapt to technological advances, or to pursue entrepreneurial ambitions.
(4) Employment Options Objective: A range of job types should be provided in each community to meet the diverse needs of the local workforce.
(5) Housing Opportunities Objective: Quality housing and a range of housing size, cost, and density should be provided in each community, to make it possible for all who work in the community to also live in the community.
(6) Traditional Neighborhood Objective: Traditional neighborhood development patterns should be encouraged, including use of more human scale development, mixing of uses within easy walking distance of one another, and facilitating pedestrian activity.
(7) Infill Development Objective: Communities should maximize the use of existing infrastructure and minimize the conversion of undeveloped land at the urban periphery by encouraging development or redevelopment of sites closer to the downtown or traditional urban core of the community.
Implementation Measures:
Public water and sewer systems: The Cities of Vienna and Unadilla will evaluate their systems and make improvements as necessary to ensure sufficient excess capacity to accommodate potential growth and redevelopment at urban densities.
Transportation and Public Safety: Existing road systems will be maintained or enhanced to accommodate greater levels of traffic while maintaining a high level of safety. Activities will include installation of more sidewalks, improved signage, and diligent efforts for identified street repairs and resurfacings. Fire and police protection will be maintained as a full-time service with efforts made to continually improve ISO ratings.
Development regulations: These will be evaluated and updated to ensure all forms of potential urban development are addressed, development standards are adequate for the community’s needs, community and natural resources are protected, and to include special design guidelines where appropriate.
Rural Community
Description: Municipalities and developed areas characterized by a mixture of all land use types, but at lower density and intensity levels that are customary for a rural environment. These are only found in Dooly County’s four smaller municipalities of Byromville, Dooling, Lilly and Pinehurst, and are generally described as those portions of the city limits (and perhaps immediately surrounding area) that are not already included in another defined character area.
Development Strategy: These areas will continue to function as Greater Dooly’s centers of suburban and rural activity, and offer only secondary or minor levels of employment or services in comparison to the Urban Communities. Public water systems will be maintained in these areas with such capacities to accommodate existing and proposed development at planned low densities and low intensities of use. Existing public sewer systems will be maintained in Byromville and Pinehurst with such capacities to accommodate existing and proposed development, but at slightly higher densities/intensities than is allowed in Dooling and Lilly which have no existing sewer systems. Public sewer will be encouraged in Dooling and Lilly, but only as it is deemed physically and economically feasible by these two communities. With anticipated slow growth of all these Rural Communities, it is deemed particularly important that infill development be given priority over new development on periphery lands. Basic development regulations will be implemented to help ensure quality development in keeping with good standards. Given the smaller sizes of these communities, appropriate mixed‑use developments will be encouraged as will pedestrian‑oriented development with good connections to adjacent areas.
Allowable Uses: Residential uses will include both traditional and non‑traditional single‑family neighborhoods with typical lot sizes greater than one‑half acre, and greater than one acre in areas where there is no public sewer available. Higher density residential development will be allowed only on a planned limited basis. Commercial uses may include the full range of retail sales and services, and offices, but with limited sizes of each establishment – typically less than 10,000 square feet. The use of commercial centers will be discouraged (except for the Historic Downtowns, see above). Mixed uses and planned unit developments will be encouraged where appropriate but at reduced scales customary to a rural setting. Industrial uses will include limited sizes of warehousing, processing, and light manufacturing. Industries related to agriculture will be encouraged. Public/Institutional uses will include smaller churches, schools, city/town or county government offices. Parks and recreational uses will be encouraged on limited scale that is planned to only serve the respective community and its surrounding rural area. Agriculture and forestry uses will continue on lands in the periphery areas of the community.
Quality Community Objectives:
(1) Growth Preparedness Objective: Each community should identify and put in place the prerequisites for the type of growth it seeks to achieve. These may include housing and infrastructure (roads, water, sewer and telecommunications) to support new growth, appropriate training of the workforce, ordinances to direct growth as desired, or leadership capable of responding to growth opportunities.
(2) Appropriate Businesses Objective: The businesses and industries encouraged to develop or expand in a community should be suitable for the community in terms of job skills required, linkages to other economic activities in the region, impact on the resources of the area, and future prospects for expansion and creation of higher-skill job opportunities.
(3) Traditional Neighborhood Objective: Traditional neighborhood development patterns should be encouraged, including use of more human scale development, mixing of uses within easy walking distance of one another, and facilitating pedestrian activity.
(4) Infill Development Objective: Communities should maximize the use of existing infrastructure and minimize the conversion of undeveloped land at the urban periphery by encouraging development or redevelopment of sites closer to the downtown or traditional urban core of the community.
Implementation Measures:
Public water and sewer systems: The smaller municipalities will evaluate their systems and make improvements as necessary to ensure sufficient capacity and operation to accommodate existing and potential growth and redevelopment at rural densities.
Transportation and Public Safety: Existing road systems will be maintained or enhanced to accommodate existing levels of traffic while maintaining a high level of safety. Activities will include installation of more sidewalks, improved signage, and diligent efforts for identified street repairs and resurfacings. Fire and police protection will be maintained as adequate for a rural community and opportunities will be sought to improve ISO ratings.
Development regulations: These will be implemented at a basic level to help ensure quality development and redevelopment, community and natural resources are protected, and to include special design guidelines where appropriate.
Historic Downtown
Description: These areas are characterized by existing historic buildings and sites, contain a mixture of land uses but dominated by commercial and public/institutional type uses, and serve as the cultural center or economic core of the community. Development patterns are pedestrian-oriented and reflect quality community design which promotes tourism. Such areas are found in each of Greater Dooly’s municipalities except Dooling.
Development Strategy: In an effort to maintain the Historic Downtowns as a healthy and vibrant economic core of the community, they will be given priority consideration for new development or redevelopment over the rest of the respective city. These areas will foster an appropriate mixed-use development pattern that is compatible with the established historical patterns of the area, and encourage pedestrian activity with strong connections to the rest of the community. Existing historic buildings will be maintained and preserved, while new development will be made historically compatible through the use of appropriate design guidelines and community oversight. Emphasis will be on community streetscape design and aesthetics with special attention given to the use of landscaping, appropriate signage, lighting, and street furnishings such as benches, planters, historic markers, etc…
Allowable Uses: Residential uses will continue in any existing single-family homes but will be encouraged in the form of mixed‑use apartments or townhomes primarily in the upper floors of existing commercial buildings. Institutional uses will be in the form of churches and schools, and cultural facilities such as museums and libraries, but also in the form of governmental offices and facilities that are appropriate in scale to the surrounding development pattern. Commercial uses will be the dominant land use type and will consist primarily of various retail sales and services, or offices. Examples of allowable commercial uses include: small restaurants or food stores, antique stores, boutiques and other specialty shops. A mixture of such uses will be encouraged to cluster together as much as practical, and individual business sizes will be limited to less than 10,000 square feet in most cases. Larger commercial establishments will be encouraged to locate elsewhere. Industrial uses will be limited to only those related to agriculture or otherwise deemed historically significant or important to the community. Limited warehousing or storage operations will be allowed as long as they are reasonably masked from public view and resemble more of a commercial type use. Any negative impacts from existing industrial uses will be reduced or mitigated as much as possible through redevelopment efforts. Pedestrian‑scale passive parks will be encouraged while active recreation facilities will be encouraged to locate elsewhere. Agriculture and forestry uses will be prohibited in the Historic Downtowns.
Quality Community Objectives:
(1) Growth Preparedness Objective: Each community should identify and put in place the prerequisites for the type of growth it seeks to achieve. These may include housing and infrastructure (roads, water, sewer and telecommunications) to support new growth, appropriate training of the workforce, ordinances to direct growth as desired, or leadership capable of responding to growth opportunities.
(2) Heritage Preservation Objective: The traditional character of the community should be maintained through preserving and revitalizing historic areas of the community, encouraging new development that is compatible with the traditional features of the community, and protecting other scenic or natural features that are important to defining the community’s character.
(3) Traditional Neighborhood Objective: Traditional neighborhood development patterns should be encouraged, including use of more human scale development, mixing of uses within easy walking distance of one another, and facilitating pedestrian activity.
(4) Infill Development Objective: Communities should maximize the use of existing infrastructure and minimize the conversion of undeveloped land at the urban periphery by encouraging development or redevelopment of sites closer to the downtown or traditional urban core of the community.
(5) Sense of Place Objective: Traditional downtown areas should be maintained as the focal point of the community or, for newer areas where this is not possible, the development of activity centers that serve as community focal points should be encouraged. These community focal points should be attractive, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly places where people choose to gather for shopping, dining, socializing, and entertainment.
Implementation Measures:
This will include all the same implementation measures as the Urban or Rural Community Character Area that the respective Historic Downtown is located within. However, particular attention will be given to the implementation of special design guidelines and development standards and the use of downtown overlay districts. Historic Preservation Commissions will be implemented, historic district boundaries reevaluated, and National Register Nominations will be encouraged. Plans will be developed to promote tourism and coordinate activities with other communities.
Interstate Gateway
Description: These areas are characterized by commercial and industrial development, both existing and potential, that is oriented toward interstate traffic and commerce along I‑75. Such areas also serve as the major entrances to the Cities of Pinehurst, Unadilla and Vienna, and function as a means of linkage to the historic downtowns and central portions of these cities. They are therefore recognized as important in portraying a good community image and making a good “first impression” to visitors coming to the community. Interstate Gateways are found around all 5 of the I‑75 interchanges in Dooly County. They include the areas within a radius of about ¼ mile around each interchange and along each intersecting highway corridor (approximately 1,000 feet wide) to each of the respective downtown areas. In Vienna, these areas associated with both interchanges (Exit 109 and Exit 112) are linked together and also include the business/industrial park area to the NW of Exit 109.
Development Strategy: These areas are planned for intensive development oriented toward I-75 commerce, but they currently contain a lot of vacant or undeveloped lands, as well as many abandoned buildings and sites. Therefore, the abandoned buildings will receive first priority for new development or redevelopment. Second will be the vacant properties adjacent to each interchange, and then ideally in a staged progressive manner along the connecting corridors to the interior sections of the cities. All development and redevelopment activities around each interchange will be coordinated with Georgia DOT’s future plans for interchange improvements including road widenings and possible intersection realignments. Development regulations will be put into place which address special development needs of these areas, such as: signage controls, traffic circulation & access, landscaping, and perhaps special urban design guidelines for buildings. Public utilities and roads will be upgraded in these areas to accommodate capacities needed for anticipated future growth.
Allowable Uses: All residential development will be excluded from these areas, except for possible medium or high‑density multi‑family development (apartments) on parcels exceeding 5 acres. Commercial uses will include all those that are supportive of I‑75 commerce such as: restaurants, lodging, automotive gas/service stations and truck stops, tourist specialty shops, and possibly some large retail uses. Other commercial uses that are deemed necessary for healthy economic growth of the community, but not oriented toward the I‑75 traveling public, will be allowed on a limited basis but will be heavily discouraged. Public/Institutional uses will be limited to certain cultural facilities related to tourism such as museums. Any industrial uses will be located away from the main roadway corridors and will be limited to primarily warehousing and truck terminal type uses. Light manufacturing will be greatly discouraged, but allowed only in select locations after very careful consideration. Parks and recreation facilities will be greatly discouraged from this area since there are no nearby neighborhoods to serve and they are not needed to accommodate tourist-related commerce along I‑75. Agriculture and forestry uses will continue on lands not immediately planned for other forms of development.
Quality Community Objectives:
(1) Growth Preparedness Objective: Each community should identify and put in place the prerequisites for the type of growth it seeks to achieve. These may include housing and infrastructure (roads, water, sewer and telecommunications) to support new growth, appropriate training of the workforce, ordinances to direct growth as desired, or leadership capable of responding to growth opportunities.
(2) Appropriate Businesses Objective: The businesses and industries encouraged to develop or expand in a community should be suitable for the community in terms of job skills required, linkages to other economic activities in the region, impact on the resources of the area, and future prospects for expansion and creation of higher-skill job opportunities.
(3) Infill Development Objective: Communities should maximize the use of existing infrastructure and minimize the conversion of undeveloped land at the urban periphery by encouraging development or redevelopment of sites closer to the downtown or traditional urban core of the community.
Implementation Measures:
Public water and sewer systems: The Cities of Vienna, Unadilla and Pinehurst will evaluate their systems and make improvements as necessary to ensure sufficient excess capacity to accommodate potential growth and redevelopment in these areas.
Transportation and Development: Coordinate road improvements and design with DOT’s plans for upgrade of I-75 interchanges. Prepare corridor master plans specific for each gateway which address design guidelines including signage, landscaping, sidewalks, traffic access and interconnectivity among developments. Special development regulations that implement appropriate overlay districts will be considered.
Economic Development: Plans for recruitment of new businesses will be developed and coordinated between the local development authorities and the Cities of Pinehurst, Unadilla and Vienna as well as the local Chamber of Commerce.
Special Tourism Corridor
Description: Areas characterized as lands in the unincorporated areas adjacent to US 41 forming a transportation corridor (approximately 500 feet wide) consisting of mainly agricultural and forestry type uses, and are essentially the same as the rest of the unincorporated area. However, these corridor areas are the subject of future plans and discussions to create an alternative tourism route running parallel to I‑75 which would serve as another mechanism to draw economic benefits from tourists traveling through Dooly County on I‑75.
Development Strategy: Initiatives will be taken to preserve and enhance the rural character and scenic qualities of this corridor, and promote the corridor for tourism stemming from I-75 travelers. Agriculture and forestry uses will continue to dominate the corridor land use pattern, with occasional farm-related residential uses, and rural businesses with ancillary uses. All forms of urban or suburban style development will be greatly discouraged. Appropriate development regulations will be implemented to protect this corridor from incompatible or inappropriate land uses that are out of character with a rural scenic route or not related to rural tourism. Physical maintenance of this corridor or improvements along the roadway, will be coordinated with Georgia DOT. Plans will be made for construction of additional lanes (passing lanes) in order to increase the carrying capacity of US 41 as a secondary route in the event of closures along I‑75. Specific plans for each segment of the corridor, regarding appearance and appropriate land use design as well as transition into adjacent cities and towns, will be prepared and implemented.
Allowable Uses: Residential uses will be limited to farmhouses and other rural-residential uses on large lots. Residential subdivisions and other forms of residential will be greatly discouraged. Commercial uses will be limited to small tourist shops or lodging facilities, and sales of agricultural products (such as a fruit stand or farmers market), and only as an ancillary use to a farm residence or a farming operation. Industrial uses will be prohibited. Public/Institutional uses will be limited to small churches or cultural facilities. Any parks will be limited in scale and passive in nature.
Quality Community Objectives:
(1) Growth Preparedness Objective: Each community should identify and put in place the prerequisites for the type of growth it seeks to achieve. These may include housing and infrastructure (roads, water, sewer and telecommunications) to support new growth, appropriate training of the workforce, ordinances to direct growth as desired, or leadership capable of responding to growth opportunities.
(2) Heritage Preservation Objective: The traditional character of the community should be maintained through preserving and revitalizing historic areas of the community, encouraging new development that is compatible with the traditional features of the community, and protecting other scenic or natural features that are important to defining the community’s character.
(3) Transportation Alternatives Objective: Alternatives to transportation by automobile, including mass transit, bicycle routes and pedestrian facilities, should be made available in each community. Greater use of alternate transportation should be encouraged.
Implementation Measures: These include the preparation of a US 41 master plan to add passing lanes in designated locations, improved signage and intersection designs, regular road resurfacings, and designation of special roadside tourism facilities and uses. These may also include the implementation of special development regulations (such as corridor overlay district), and canopy road designs. The road will be marked with tourism route signage and promoted through brochures and other advertisements to I-75 travelers. The road will also be considered for addition under a local adopt-a-road program. Planning efforts for this corridor will also be coordinated with potential similar efforts in adjacent counties along US 41.
Rural Corridor
Description: Areas characterized as lands in the unincorporated areas adjacent to selected road segments forming a transportation corridor (approximately 500 feet wide) consisting of mainly agricultural and forestry type uses, and are essentially the same as the rest of the unincorporated area. However, these corridor areas are the subject of future plans and discussions to create a rural areas driving tour for the purpose of promoting agricultural tourism and limited economic development in the rural communities and connected areas of Dooly County.
Development Strategy: This corridor will differ from the Special Tourism Corridor in that all roadside tourist type uses will instead be redirected to within the Rural communities themselves, and that it will be planned for very low volumes of traffic (i.e. not a backup route to I-75). An even greater emphasis will be placed on the appearance of the viewshed and the corridor itself in maintaining a pure quality of rural and farming landscapes and vistas. Initiatives will also be taken to preserve and enhance the rural character and scenic qualities of this corridor, and promote the corridor for agricultural tourism stemming from I-75 travelers. Roadway improvements may include the construction of small roadside parks with agricultural exhibits or viewing areas. Agriculture and forestry uses will continue to dominate the corridor land use pattern, with occasional farm-related residential uses. All forms of urban or suburban style development will be greatly discouraged. Appropriate development regulations will be implemented to protect this corridor from incompatible or inappropriate land uses that are out of character with a rural scenic route or not related to agricultural tourism. Specific plans for each segment of the corridor, regarding appearance and appropriate land use design as well as transition into adjacent cities and towns, will be prepared and implemented.
Allowable Uses: Residential uses will be limited to farmhouses and other rural-residential uses on large lots. Residential subdivisions and other forms of residential will be greatly discouraged. Commercial and industrial uses will be prohibited or severely limited. Public/Institutional uses will be limited to small churches or cultural facilities. Any parks will be very limited in scale and passive in nature.
Quality Community Objectives:
(1) Growth Preparedness Objective: Each community should identify and put in place the prerequisites for the type of growth it seeks to achieve. These may include housing and infrastructure (roads, water, sewer and telecommunications) to support new growth, appropriate training of the workforce, ordinances to direct growth as desired, or leadership capable of responding to growth opportunities.
(2) Heritage Preservation Objective: The traditional character of the community should be maintained through preserving and revitalizing historic areas of the community, encouraging new development that is compatible with the traditional features of the community, and protecting other scenic or natural features that are important to defining the community’s character.
(3) Transportation Alternatives Objective: Alternatives to transportation by automobile, including mass transit, bicycle routes and pedestrian facilities, should be made available in each community. Greater use of alternate transportation should be encouraged.
Implementation Measures:
These include the preparation and implementation of special corridor plans to address roadway and intersection design improvements, signage, road maintenance schedules, and the creation of special development regulations (such as a corridor overlay district) and canopy road designs. The road segments will be marked with signage as a rural scenic route or byway, and promoted through tourism brochures and other advertisements. These road segments will also be considered for addition under a local adopt-a-road program.
a US 41 master plan to add passing lanes in designated locations, improved signage and intersection designs, regular road resurfacings, and designation of special roadside tourism facilities and uses. These may also include the implementation of special development regulations (such as corridor overlay district), and canopy road designs. The road will be marked with tourism route signage and promoted through brochures and other advertisements to I-75 travelers. Planning efforts for this corridor will also be coordinated with potential similar efforts in adjacent counties along US 41.
Lake Dooly
Description: Area located in the southwestern corner of the county adjacent to the Flint River, and upstream along portions of Turkey Creek and Pennahatchee Creek. It is still characterized by mainly agricultural and forestry type uses, and is essentially the same as the rest of the unincorporated area. However, this area is identified as a potential location for development of a large lake (potential boundaries still unknown) that would have major impacts on the development patterns and character of the surrounding area. Therefore, this particular Character Area is based on a possible major development concept with very significant and long-term impacts.
Development Strategy: The concept of the proposed lake is still in its exploratory and preliminary planning phases. It is also still possible that the project will be deemed unfeasible and never constructed. Therefore, the planning for this area is still uncertain and it is being held in reserve pending the final outcome of the Lake Dooly geologic and feasibility study. If the results of the study are positive and decisions are made to move forward with construction of the lake, then the parameters of this Character Area will be further analyzed and determined in accordance with the anticipated scope and other details of the proposed Lake. It is recognized that the magnitude of the impacts from such a lake, and the nature of its surrounding future land use pattern, will be directly related to the physical dimensions of the lake and its exact location.
Allowable Uses: For now, the future development patterns for this Area will continue to be dominated by agriculture and forestry type uses. There will continue to be scattered single-family residences, generally associated with the farms themselves. However, there will also continue to be residences and vacation homes along the lower shores of the Flint River in proximity to the northern tip of Lake Blackshear. Development of any commercial uses or organized subdivisions, as well as any parks or recreational uses, will be put on hold until the outcomes of the study are made known and the future land use patterns of the area are further planned. Industrial uses will be prohibited and larger scale institutional uses will be strongly discouraged.
Quality Community Objectives:
(1) Open Space Preservation Objective: New development should be designed to minimize the amount of land consumed, and open space should be set aside from development for use as public parks or as greenbelts/wildlife corridors.
(2) Environmental Protection Objective: Air quality and environmentally sensitive areas should be protected from negative impacts of development. Environmentally sensitive areas deserve special protection, particularly when they are important for maintaining traditional character or quality of life of the community or region. Whenever possible, the natural terrain, drainage, and vegetation of an area should be preserved.
Implementation Measures: Any implementation measures will be determined by the outcome of the project study, at which time the entire scope of this Character Area will be re-addressed and necessitate an amendment to this Community Agenda. However, possible implementation measures may include the creation of a special development overlay district in the County’s development regulations, the implementation of a rural water and sewer system for the area, or even a planned new community in the area as well.
Environmental Conservation
Description: Areas characterized as primarily agricultural and forestry type uses, but located in proximity to significant environmentally sensitive lands --- particularly river floodplains and wetlands. These areas include the floodplains of the Flint River and adjacent Hog Crawl Creek, the Flint River Wildlife Management Area, Oakbin Pond Preserve, and the Pennahatchee Creek corridor in Vienna.
Development Strategy: These areas will be recognized as environmentally significant and protected from all forms of incompatible development. Provisions of the adopted Flint River Protected River Corridor will be implemented for its area. Federal regulations and guidelines will determine the development pattern of the Flint River WMA. The Pennahatchee Creek corridor in Vienna will be developed as passive recreation with a greenway trail in accordance with the 2005 City of Vienna Master Plan. The Oakbin Pond area is privately owned and will be preserved as a natural and undisturbed habitat.
Allowable Uses: Agriculture and forestry uses will continue and will utilize best management practices to minimize impacts on environmental features. All forms of conventional urban development will be generally excluded. However, development of walking trails and boardwalks, boat ramps, campgrounds, hunting preserves, nature exhibits and a few ancillary uses associated with passive recreation may be developed.
Quality Community Objectives:
(1) Heritage Preservation Objective: The traditional character of the community should be maintained through preserving and revitalizing historic areas of the community, encouraging new development that is compatible with the traditional features of the community, and protecting other scenic or natural features that are important to defining the community’s character.
(2) Open Space Preservation Objective: New development should be designed to minimize the amount of land consumed, and open space should be set aside from development for use as public parks or as greenbelts/wildlife corridors.
(3) Environmental Protection Objective: Air quality and environmentally sensitive areas should be protected from negative impacts of development. Environmentally sensitive areas deserve special protection, particularly when they are important for maintaining traditional character or quality of life of the community or region. Whenever possible, the natural terrain, drainage, and vegetation of an area should be preserved. Implementation Measures: These include the implementation of the already-adopted Flint River Protected River Corridor and coordination of activities with the Nature Conservancy and federal agencies overseeing the WMA. Plans for the Pennahatchee Creek corridor will be refined in greater detail and funding assistance will be sought for construction of the greenway trail and ancillary uses. All of these areas will be promoted through brochures and advertisement for environmental tourism.
Rural Preservation Area
Description: This consists of the remaining balance of the vast unincorporated area which is not designated as another Character Area. It is dominated by agricultural and forestry type uses and kept free from urban densities or intensive development. Rural landscapes and features are managed and preserved as an important land use.
Development Strategy: The emphasis will be to preserve the very low density pattern and strive to enhance the vitality of the agriculture and forestry uses. Therefore, agriculture and forestry operations will be given priority over all other land use types. There will be no public water or sewer systems, and local roadways will be planned and maintained for very low traffic volumes. Urban and suburban forms of new development will be encouraged to locate instead in other Character Areas as appropriate. The only exception to this may be the siting of a future large industrial use that is too heavy or intensive for an urban or rural community environment and needs railroad access. Such use would be carefully chosen by the local development authority and its site would be heavily buffered from surrounding lands. Development regulations will be implemented to preserve the very low density pattern and rural character of the area.
Allowable Uses: All forms of compatible agriculture and forestry type uses will b | ||||||||||||||
