Georgia Department of Community Affairs

1. Planning & Zoning Best Practices for Rural Areas “Burn down our cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country.” - Williams Jennings Bryan Georgia Department of Community Affairs

2. Why Best Practices? • Build Communities • Healthy and Safe Citizenry • Sustainable Quality of Life • Protect and Enhance What We Have: • Historic Resources • Natural Resources • Industry/Jobs • Sense of Place Georgia Department of Community Affairs

3. Why Best Practices? Georgia Department of Community Affairs

4. Why Rural? Georgia Department of Community Affairs

5. Why Planning? • To guide local decisions about land use and growth patterns • To identify and care for the unique characteristics of your community • To give citizens an active role in visioning the future of their community • To help allocate revenues (taxes!) through responsible resource management Georgia Department of Community Affairs

6. What’s the Difference between Planning & Zoning? • Planning focuses on future and establishes community vision • Planning identifies where and how development will occur • Planning is a process that helps community prepare for change Georgia Department of Community Affairs

7. What’s the Difference between Planning & Zoning? • Zoning is a tool to implement the community’s vision (the comprehensive plan) • Zoning is for protection of public health, safety, welfare of citizens • Zoning divides community into districts imposing land use controls/restrictions on each Georgia Department of Community Affairs

8. What’s the Difference between Planning & Zoning? • A local government comprehensive plan will be more successful if the plan and zoning ordinance are well integrated • Zoning is a regulatory tool used to regulate and enforce comprehensive plans • The development of a comprehensive plan ensures effective and consistent zoning decisions at the local level • . Georgia Department of Community Affairs

9. Other Tools to Implement Community Vision? • Policies • Investments • Incentives • Regulations Georgia Department of Community Affairs

10. Bookmark this Page: www.georgiaplanning.com Georgia Department of Community Affairs

11. Develop Your Vision First Georgia Department of Community Affairs

12. Potential Goals • Preserve farmland, scenic views • Adequate services • Mobility/Transportation Options • Jobs • Small Town Feel • Housing Options • Educational Opportunities Georgia Department of Community Affairs

13. Best Practices • Agricultural Use Notice and Waivers • Agricultural Buffers • Agricultural Marketing • Rural Clustering • Conservation • Very Large Lot Zoning • Development Nodes • Infrastructure Placement • Historic Preservation • Infill Development • Compact Development • Subdivision and Land Development Standards • Urban Growth Boundaries • Environmental Protection • Signage • Downtown Revitalization • Cottage Zoning • Big Box Redevelopment Georgia Department of Community Affairs

14. Best Practices Georgia Department of Community Affairs

15. Best Practices In Agricultural Areas • Very Large Lot Zoning • Agricultural Use Notice and Waivers • Agricultural Buffers • Agricultural Marketing • Rural Clustering • Infrastructure Placement • Subdivision and Land Development Standards • Environmental Protection • Signage Georgia Department of Community Affairs

16. Best Practices Georgia Department of Community Affairs

17. Best Practices in Developed/Developing Areas • Cluster Development • Infill Development • Compact Development • Subdivision and Land Development Standards • Urban Service/Growth Boundaries • Development Nodes • Infrastructure Placement • Downtown Redevelopment Georgia Department of Community Affairs

18. The Three Rules for building in new areas to create “communities” fromwww.citycomforts.com • Build to the sidewalk • Make the building front permeable (lots of windows) • NO parking lots in front of building Georgia Department of Community Affairs

19. Try Best Practices!www.dca.state.ga.us/toolkit

20. How does the BP Toolkit Work?

21. The Whole List of Tools in the Toolkit(many have model ordinances) Georgia Department of Community Affairs

22. The Model Code a.ka. ALT-Z • They think zoning is a pinko-commie invention • They don’t want all the stuff that comes w/ zoning (maps, variances, rezonings…) • They only have a couple of issues to address • They don’t have any staff—or the coroner/dog catcher/planning director—doesn’t have the time! Georgia Department of Community Affairs

23. and now…The Starter Code (=the bare minimum)… Georgia Department of Community Affairs

24. Even More Alternatives!(to Conventional Development)www.dca.state.ga.us/qgp

25. “All this worldly wisdom was once the unamiable heresy of some wise man” – Henry David Thoreau • Appropriate School Siting • Compact Development • Context Sensitive Street Design Solutions • Infill and Redevelopment • Innovative Subdivision Development • Mixed Income Housing • Nodal Commercial Development • Smart Parking Solutions • Smart Septic System Solutions Georgia Department of Community Affairs

26. Pictures!Benefits! Strategies! Office of Planning & Quality Growth Georgia Department of Community Affairs

27. Why Best Practices? “The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created--created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them, changes both the maker and the destination.” - John Schaar Georgia Department of Community Affairs

28. Chrissy Marlowe Office of Planning & Quality Growth cmarlowe@dca.state.ga.us 706/425.3077 voice 706/621.3764 mobile Georgia Department of Community Affairs