Update To Oconee County Comp Plan Offers Changes To Land Use

Citizen members of the Stakeholders Committee working on an update to the Oconee County Comprehensive Plan have received a draft of the plan for review that makes a number of changes to the county’s land use map.

Included in those changes is an increase from 12 to 20 in the number of Character Areas for the county.

The character areas specify the kinds of development expected in the designated area and thus have the potential to alter land use in the county in the future.

The draft plan also designates the intersection of Hog Mountain Road and U.S. 78 in the west of the county as a future Civic Center, which allows for a high-intensity mix of businesses, retail shopping, offices, sports and recreational complexes.

Overall, the proposed 2018 land use map is not radically different from the one adopted in 2010, and it isn’t clear whether the suggested changes will satisfy those on the citizen committee who have advocated for spreading commercial development around the county.

For more on this story, go to Oconee County Observations.

Pictured: Proposed Land Use map.