submitted by Jeff Watkins, AICP, GPA President-Elect
At the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and on the rise of the Piedmont, the roughly 429 square miles of Cherokee County offer pristine woodlands, beautiful lakes and convenient access to metropolitan Atlanta. Each of the five cities has its own character. Canton has always been the center of government. Ball Ground is known for its gems and minerals. Waleska is home to Reinhardt College. Woodstock has worked to revitalize their downtown with new development. Holly Springs has a quaint downtown surrounded by residential neighborhoods.
Over the past 30 years, the area has undergone a transformation from a primarily rural county to a full-fledged Atlanta suburb because of proximity to jobs, its abundance of vacant land and availability of affordable housing stock. In recent years, Cherokee County and the cities of Ball Ground, Canton, Holly Springs, Waleska and Woodstock have experienced significant growth from 141,903 people in 2000 to 204,363 (estimated) in 2007. The current economic conditions have certainly slowed growth for the moment but the population and employment are still expected to increase significantly over the next ten to twenty years.
These dramatic changes pose a number of challenges to local planning. All of the communities within Cherokee County are grappling with the following issues:
- Balancing development with impacts on quality of life
- Making smart infrastructure investments
- Preserving valuable greenspace prior to development
- Diversifying the local economy to encourage the creating of a sustainable employment base
- Spurring redevelopment in historical community centers
Cherokee County and her cities have long history of spearheading innovative planning initiatives in Georgia. In 1999, the Cherokee County Commissioners adopted the “Township Plan” as the Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Map. Tony Nelessen conducted one of his now trademarked Visual Preference Surveys; One of the first Conservation Subdivision ordinances ever adopted in Georgia was crafted upon consultation with Randal Arendt and adopted in Cherokee County, and the Georgia Transfer of Development Rights enabling legislation was drafted by local representatives as a tool to implement the Township Plan. In the recent past, Growth Boundary Agreements with the cities of Ball Ground, Canton, Holly Springs, and Woodstock and Cherokee County were adopted to coordinate future planning and capital investments.
The legacy of innovation in planning continues in Cherokee County. Between 2000 and 2006, the cities of Canton, Holly Springs, Woodstock and Cherokee County were all awarded Livable Centers Initiative grants by the Atlanta Regional Commission. These efforts have yielded a series of impressive awards; Downtown Woodstock - Development of Excellence by ULI, Holly Springs – 2007 Signature Community by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and Cherokee County’s “Bells Ferry Design Guidelines” - 2007 Georgia Planning Association Outstanding Plan Implementation Award. Besides awards, the different jurisdictions within Cherokee County draw on each other for inspiration and support for these redevelopment areas rather than competing.
More recently, local leaders and planning staff members have updated Comprehensive Plans for all jurisdictions based on character areas. Cherokee County planned jointly with the cities of Ball Ground, Waleska and Woodstock. This process allowed a tremendous amount of coordinated planning and developed mutual understanding between the jurisdictions. The implementation of these plans has begun to yield more examples of innovative Cheorkee planning. The recent vote by County residents in favor of funding greenspace acquisition and parks projects has put Cherokee County is in a favorable position to make an impact on preserving land for future generations. At the same time, Woodstock is working to implement their recently developed greenspace plan. Work is also underway on the Airport Area Master Plan to leverage the groundbreaking federal-state-local partnership on the expansion of
the Cherokee County Regional Airport. This $25 million dollar project is an opportunity to attract significant economic development around the airport and link it to the Bluffs of Technology Park, which is designed to create a major regional employment center along I-575 between Canton and Ball Ground.
Cherokee County and the cities of Ball Ground, Canton, Holly Springs, Waleska and Woodstock are pleased to welcome the GPA Spring 2009 Conference. The members of the host committee look forward to showing you what makes Cherokee County so special.
