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About 60 people turned out for a meeting on the Rabun County Comprehensive Plan Monday night in Rabun Gap.
RABUN GAP— Preserving the agricultural integrity of Rabun Gap and minimizing change was the focus of discussion at a meeting for the Rabun County Joint Comprehensive Plan held at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee Middle School on Monday.
Adam Hazell, planning director for the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission, facilitated the meeting.
“We’re very, very appreciative to him [Hazell] for making a special trip for us,” said Rabun Gap resident Cherie Faircloth, who noted that this was the first time a comprehensive plan meeting has been held in Rabun Gap.
Hazell thanked the attendees for their involvement in the planning process by attending the meeting.
“Thank you for your activism,” Hazell said.
He noted that it makes the job of elected officials easier when residents express their thoughts and concerns about what they want to see in their community.
Hazell said that the comprehensive plan is the vehicle used to show the shared vision of the community and that the county is required to have it in order to be fully eligible for state funds.
“This is your opportunity to say exactly how you feel about Rabun Gap,” Faircloth said and thanked government officials in attendance.
Hazell opened by asking attendees if they wanted what is best for their hometown and said that it’s important to have open dialogue in order to form an accurate vision statement.
“So that way there’s clarity and consistency that’s going toward a shared vision for the community,” Hazell said.
Hazell said that this is an update to the current plan and that it should be updated about every five years.
He said that it will be sent to the state for approval, but it will also be put in front of local governments for adoption.
“It is a living document,” Hazell said, noting that it can be amended and changed in the future.
Hazell said that community members should evaluate what matters the most to them in the community when creating the vision statement and consider what will be feasible with available resources.
Part of the comprehensive plan includes addressing the geography of the region and being detailed with the location of any problems, according to Hazell.
Hazell said that the implementation part of the document relays how these ideas will come to a resolution and asks, “what do you need to do to make that happen?”
“Once we know the vision, you can figure out what you have to do to make that vision a reality,” Hazell said. “If you affirm it, then you can act upon it.”
Hazell encouraged attendees to download the existing copy of the plan and look over it to see if the vison and goals in this version were met and what should be done differently the updated version.
Hazell than gave the floor to attendees to express their thoughts and ask questions.
Someone said that they do not want fast food places to pop up in Rabun Gap and that the agriculture of the area should be preserved.
Another member was concerned about the obstruction of ridge tops with new developments.
Because Rabun Gap is unincorporated, someone questioned who enforces regulations on development and how they go about doing it.
Hazell said that it is the job of county officials to regulate and enforce laws in unincorporated areas.
Hazell said that the document covers “character areas” and can specifically state where development can and cannot happen in an area. This would protect Rabun Gap’s asset of being an agrarian region.
Environmental issues were a concern for many residents, specifically improving water quality and addressing floodplains in the area.
Hazell said that it’s important to address these things in a very specific vision plan.
A community member said that there are a lot of “unsightly” areas with empty and unoccupied buildings that are not visually appealing.
Another attendee wanted to include doing more to protect wildlife.
Someone questioned how much weight the comprehensive plan document actually has when building new structures and in government decisions, and Hazell said that cities are required to abide by the plans outlined.
Hazell said that officials cannot simply pick and choose what parts of the plan they implement and the purpose of its creation in 1989 was for protection during a lawsuit.
This document is used “as the backbone of legal challenges,” Hazell said.
One community member addressed the congestion on Highway 441 near the farm stand, Osage Farms.
They said that this area is very dangerous, especially with people trying to turn left and that something needs to be done to regulate traffic control.
There was an argument that government officials have been informed of this problem, but that the answer is always that it will be resolved once the highway is widened.
Hazell said that the general consensus seems to be that Rabun Gap wants to stay rural without much growth and that the best way to do this is “don’t get water, don’t get sewer.”
He said that it doesn’t make sense for developers to come in if they do not have water and sewer systems to support the businesses.
“I like things like they are,” said an attendee who agreed with preserving the agricultural assets of the community.
Another member said that they want any development to be in a location that is hidden from the main roadway and one member said that they want to see development happen closer to Clayton.
“I’d like to see stuff put where you can’t see it,” an attendee said.
“Sensible growth, sustainable growth,” another member said.
The general consensus was that the community needs to work together in order to keep the aesthetics of Rabun Gap as an agricultural, beautiful location.
Hazell ended by giving everyone homework and told them to carve out a vision statement and go online to take the survey.
The survey can be found by going to http://rabuncounty.ga.gov/ and scrolling down to click on the link labeled “2019 Joint Comprehensive Plan Survey.”
Faircloth thanked Rabun Gap-Nacoochee Middle School for providing the venue for the comprehensive plan meeting.