Henry's Future Land Use Plan

Half-Baked Land Use Plan

On December 5, 2005, the Henry County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a resolution to transmit the Interim Land use Plan Amendment to the ARC and DCA for review. Warren Holder mounted the opposition saying the Plan was not ready and cited improperly mapped water and sewer lines and examples of conflicting zoning.

Guess what. Warren was right. Although I love to spar with him on growth issues, the proof is on his side. Watershed protection is near and dear to Warren’s heart and maps on his office wall attest to his focus on our reservoirs and drainage areas. Something as simple as comparing overlay maps of our six regulated Watershed Protection Areas (WPA) against the Future Land Use Map show the problems. For example, county code defines water quality critical area and Limited development area and sets requirements for development. The Future Land Use Map virtually ignores all standards in regard to industrial, commercial and residential zoning. It shows all of the Tussahaw Creek WPA as one zoning district (loosely defined as 1 housing unit per acre), not the multiple-layered district required by county code Sec. 3-7-35: Zoning district TUWPD: Tussahaw Watershed Protection District.

Information about Henry County 2030 Comprehensive Plan and the maps are available at the county administration building. All county codes, codified through August 2005, are online at www.municode.com. Sifting through the large amount of information and laws is a big job. That is why the county has hired so many consultants and spent so many years getting to this point. We have had public meetings and county staff reports and consultant input – again and again. But remember the “finished product” for a 2030 Plan is not expected until sometime next year.

Chairman Harper is reported as saying, “It's not supposed to be perfect, that's why it's called interim.” We know there is no crystal ball to know the future, but we also know this Plan, in its current form, was rushed and too much is left out. An interim plan, for use until the “real” 2030 Plan is completed serves no tangible purpose. It will be modified. It will be changed to meet whatever zoning or land use the Board decides. Citizens are no better off with it or without it.

Stormwater management is a linked and essential part of long range planning. For years the board of commissioners has fought the logical course of asking the Henry County Water & Sewer Authority (HCWSA) to participate. There are functions the county is best at providing, like site review and planning. But the HCWSA is in the business of providing water, sewer and overseeing legal requirements for development. The HCWSA can provide much needed input for watershed protection and stormwater management. It just makes sense for the two agencies to setup an intergovernmental agreement to share authority and responsibility. Removing politics and ego will best serve Henry County as well as surrounding areas affected by our watershed and drainage areas.

So what is the rush to seek approval from the ARC and DCA on a Plan that is admittedly half baked? A commissioner recently told me that “no one person has all the answers.” So we should believe the HCWSA would provide some pretty good answers. We should also believe that another Plan that fails to include essential components and the best possible alignment of resources is worthless. Please take this message as a wake up call. Things are not as they appear, and some big problems need to be fixed.

Larry Stanley
McDonough, GA
January 7, 2006