After a year's worth of work, Hall County is ready to submit its Comprehensive Plan Update - entitled Hall County Forward - to the state.
In a special voting session Monday morning, commissioners voted unanimously to approve the 130-page document, but they did make one edit.
After hearing again from The Chimneys Homeowners Association in northwest Hall County, commissioners decided to remove the Sardis/Ledan intersection as a so-called Community Crossroad, small areas of the county where commercial development has cropped up around neighborhoods - typically at an intersection.
"It's one of 15 such intersections with that designation," Chimneys HOA President Marc Eggers told commissioners during the public comment period before the vote.
"I began to dig a little bit and I learned that of those 15 designated Community Crossroads, 14 of them have in place right now - at this moment - some sort of a retail presence...I'm sure you've guessed which one doesn't have a retail presence - the Sardis/Ledan intersection."
Residents of the neighborhood began petitioning county officials earlier this year to stop any development at the intersection because of heavy traffic and the potential for a new road in the area.
Commissioners agreed that it would be best to wait to see what the Georgia Department of Transportation will do with the planned Sardis Connector - a road that would connect Highway 53 with Thompson Bridge Road. According to county planners, that road is not in GDOT's funding plan anytime in the next four years. Currently, a roundabout is under construction at the intersection to alleviate traffic in the area.
Hall County Planning Director Srikanth Yamala assured commissioners that removing that one designation would be a simple edit to the map and would not delay transmission of the document to the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA).
The only other comment on the Comprehensive Plan update came from Judge John Girardeau, who leads the Green Space Initiative for the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce's Vision 2030.
"I was greatly pleased with the breadth and the depth of public interest in green space as represented by the public comment period," Girardeau said. "The language in the proposed plan with regard to green space is good and we are eager to work with the county in its implementation."
Sarah McQuade, Principal Planner for Hall County, said the plan update will be submitted to DCA immediately. The agency is required to complete its review within 30 days. Hall County would formally adopt the update after the DCA review.
Follow this link to see the complete report for Hall County Forward.
