The Habersham County Development Authority has withdrawn its request for proposals for the old county courthouse on Monroe Street for 90 days.
The decision was made during a meeting Wednesday and came in response to a recent vote by the Clarkesville City Council to impose a moratorium on apartments inside the city.
According to a press release, development authority members said they don’t want to do anything that imposes a burden on Clarkesville’s service delivery but also want to ensure that Habersham County taxpayers receive the best return on their investment.
The release also stated that County Manager Alicia Vaughn said county officials would like to have an opportunity to meet with Clarkesville officials to discuss city leaders’ concerns regarding the growth and make sure county leaders have a clear picture of any potential issues development on the property might place on the city.
The development authority wants to balance the city’s concerns with protecting the county’s investment.
“This is important to Habersham County because taxpayer property is involved,” Development Authority Chair Dr. Gail Thaxton said. “We want to ensure these measures are going to support or strengthen potential redevelopment proposals, we want to see not only what’s best for downtown Clarkesville, our county seat, but also for the taxpayers of the county.”
Vaughn said this pause is important to allow time for review of any unknowns.
“We want to make sure we’re putting our best foot forward and ensuring success of any partnership we may possibly form between a developer, the county, and the City of Clarkesville,” Vaughn said. “The last thing we want is to find we have challenges we did not properly communicate.”
