Mc Donough City

LAND USE PLANNING

Land Use Planning

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Land Use Planning

Memo

April 2018

To: Council Member, Patricia Johnson.

Patricia Johnson

From: Erica DE Ramus-Smith, Planning Staff

Subject: Brief on Land Use Issues and Natural Resources in of the City of McDonough

It is my honor and pleasure to welcome you to the City Council of the City of McDonough, a

city located in Henry County, Georgia, in the United States. This is a rapidly growing city, with a

population of 22,084, according to the census conducted in the year 2010 (Census.gov, n.d.). It is a

pleasure having you as the new Council Member and we are looking forward to working with you

as we solve issues related to land and natural resources in our city. This memo seeks to bring to your

attention various issues related to land use, alongside the natural resources in the city of the City of

McDonough. This city of McDonough is endowed with many beautiful sceneries, among them are

various watercourses and streams over 356 of them as well as inland water sources and lakes close

to 234 of them. (Michigan,2018). Reactional activities on lakes, rivers and public lands are known

and attract visitors from close city with Grand Rapid and the region around. Its rivers are renown in

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the world for snowmobiling, kayaking, hiking and boating are some among the many options for

recreation across the county. This enhance the protection of the natural resources.

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Overview of the Planning Process

Overview of the Planning Process in the City of McDonough, both current and long-range

planning of activities related to planning of the urban centers are conducted by the Planning and

Zoning Division, in strict adherence to the Zoning Ordinance. Land-use planning is considered with

a high level of regard, where it is seemed as one of the ways through which the City can maintain

order and make sure that it regulates the use of land through ethical ways, and reduce conflicts. The

comprehensive plan was a creation by the county government though there are some parts

specifically situated in the city.

The division does this through by implementing the City’s comprehensive plan, the Livable

Center’s Initiative plan, alongside other expressions by the citizens in the manner they would wish

to see their city grow and progress. In this process, the Council uses several documents and tools.

Among the documents needed are; zoning ordinance as well as a comprehensive plan. Members of

staff in the division are also critical members in the Municipal Planning Commission, the Board of

Zoning Appeals, the Historic Preservation Commission alongside the Planning Commission which

play important roles in land planning. The staff from the McDonough planning division guides any

members of the public seeking information on zoning regulations. These zoning regulations and

policies are key in enhancing the implementation of community goals, alongside protecting the

recourses owned by the community. These zoning regulations influence all the new constructions,

most of alterations, changes in the commercial occupancy, changes in the property lines, alongside

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majority of development of sites. The council seeks to do this through five steps. The steps are dis-

cussed below:

Mapping Data

Data mapping is the process through which data and information related to land use is

collected, analyzed, and synthesized, to give a conclusive guide on the resources that are available,

their uses, alongside the possible uses of these resources. Through data mapping, the council can

identify the people who use these resources, the various uses that they use, alongside other uses

that these people could use the land that is available. The primary aim of this mapping is to give

a clear guide to the council, of how land is and could be used by the people in their jurisdiction

(Talen, 2017). This is a critical aspect, as it helps the council in protecting the interests of several

people in the city, alongside identifying the current and possible uses of land in their jurisdictions.

ELUM (Existing Land Use Map)

Heard (2018), the community development officer who I interviewed, mentioned that this a

map that demonstrates the approximate rendering of the way land is used, in the city.

Through this map, an individual can determine how the land resources in the city are used. These

are critical in demonstrating the current use of land in the city, where an individual can highlight

the exact uses of certain pieces of land through looking at the map. For instance, through the maps,

an individual would be able to highlight the common use of land in the northwestern part of the

city. These are critical, in giving highlights of the current uses of land in the city. Besides, they

could be used in future planning of land in the city, where it is necessary to understand the current

uses before determining the future uses. Once the ELUM is

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drawn, a Future Land Use Plan (FLUM) is then drawn. This is done, after considering the ELUM,

and the ideal uses of this land after considering the land users and the possible uses of the land.

FLUM is often time based, where the council gives an estimated use of land for a certain period.

For instance, the council would give a FLUM plan for the coming 5, 10, or even 15 years. This

plan is often applied as the basis for all economic uses of lands in the city and is reviewed and

updated every five years (Hopkins, 2017).

Application

Application Once the ELUM and FLUM are drawn, a team of planners is assembled to make

an analysis and review of these pieces of information. Their primary aim is to identify whether the

recommendations accruing to the FLUM are compactable with the interests of the landowners, the

city council, people living in the city, alongside the other stakeholders in the city, with the

resources, current, and possible uses of this land (Heard, 2018). This is a critical step, especially

considering that the city council is tasked with a role of making sure that all the interests of the

stakeholders are considered, and that there is an equitable share of resources in the city.

1) Report

Once the team of planners is through with their work, they draw a report. This report gives

de- tails of their research on whether the existing land use as demonstrated by the ELUM is true

and whether the future uses of land as demonstrated by the FLUM are reasonable or whether they

are applicable – considering the situations at hand. This gives the city council a guide on

which they will come up with policies, laws, and different pieces of legislation that will be used

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to support the land use plans that are drawn (Williams, 2017).

City council

Once the report is ready, it is presented to the city council. Here, it is presented to a public

hearing. The members of the public are notified on the report through signs, along with legal

advertisements that are done for at least 15 days, but not more than 45 days. A hearing is then con-

ducted, where a review of the report is done, and members of the public are asked to either sup-

port or oppose it. After a public hearing where their criticism is taken, a close meeting is called to

offer the council a note recommendation. Finally, the council takes a vote which is used to give the

final direction of the report on whether to adopt, amend, or drop it (Moote, McClaran, &

Chickering, 2017).There are other various land use planning tools that ought to be highlighted as

well .These plans have to be in line with the Zoning Ordinance and Comprehensive Plan that’s in

association with a variety of board commissions to maintain a livable City and still balancing the

residents and business’s needs. The division staff also play the role of staffing in the Municipal

Planning Commission as well as its planning commission in its desires. The planning Commission

and the Historic preservation commission in its dual role as the Municipal Tree Board. This division

has also to play the role in relation to development application including: exterior façade, variances,

signs, rezoning, annexations and conditional uses.

Residential subdivision

This is a residential subdivision whereby a substantial amount of the site still exist

permanently secured open space while homesteads are situated in the other portions of the site .The

developments so proposed is in acceptance with the residential character in existence and setting

.This standard shall make consideration of its neighborhood function and design architectural

compatibility with inclusion of roof type and style of units ,pitch and building materials ,privacy

and screening as well as other factor that are right .

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Neighborhood design: at situation where appropriate style and density of development, the

development proposed should have an inclusion of features for enhancing walkability as well as

features of appropriate neighborhood design such curbing and sidewalks, bike paths, pedestrian’s

paths, street lights and public spaces.

Environmental compliance: smaller lots size and increase density of the proposals

development will end up in non-compliance attached to any applicable town or state environmental

ordinance. And regulations included but not minimized to septic device siting, wetland, well radius

and shoreline limitations.

Traffic impact: The density that is of the proposal development will not unrealistically affect

the nearby corridors and intersections, nor end up in adding future expenditure from the town and

far beyond that of standard density development.

Historic and Cultural resources: An increase in density will not automatically end up in the

impairment or loss of historic buildings, landscape or settings beyond that of standard density

development.

Municipal services and facilities: The proposals density increase. A title is a wide group in

which ordinance that are on a similar common issue are put together. This code entails close to 15

up to 20 titles. The first title is the title number one (1), The general provision, which may entail

ordinance relation to general penalty, definitions as well as adoption. Other municipal ordinances

in the title number 14 that talks about the development impact fee which is among the very vital

elements. Other sections include the title number 15 is vital as well as title number 16 which caters

for subdivisions (residential development). The title number 17 cover zoning and finally the title

number 18 which cuts across natural and environmental resources’ resources include: soil erosion,

watershed protection, stream buffers and wetland protection. The titles that are in this code are

distinctly separated by some divider pages

which are tabbed to enable quick referencing. Other titles are reversed to be used in the future.

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Key Planning Issues

Loss of critical aspects of land

There is a notable increase in the loss of critical aspects of land, including the scenic areas,

open spaces for future developments and land for agricultural use (Henry County, 2009).

Neighborhoods lack these critical aspects of land, something that poses a great danger to the well-

being of the people living in these areas. Besides, these aspects are critical for the historic

preservation, for the future generations. The newspaper as well entailed so information

concerning how the land had been misused before and what ought to have been done to redevelop

the area.

Reduced community gathering areas

There is a decline in number of neighborhood parks and other recreational areas for walking and

riding bikes. This leads to a situation where there are no roads for pedestrians to use, with exception

of the major roads and highways ("Issues and Opportunities", 2009). These are critical aspect of

land, which are used for recreational purposes. Without these aspects, the people have no places

to exercise, or engage in other recreational activities. Therefore, a s a result there was need to

reorganize the are to pave way for all different activities to be undertaken.

Available funding for development

In the interview conducted (Heard ,2018) mentioned that the division lacks enough finances for

its projects. This means that most of the projects by the division are underfunded, an aspect that

could reduce the chances of success for these projects. These projects include; cemetery addition,

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Avalon park, parking lot repair, HOPE park at Big Springs, Alexander Park West Trail, Polk

Building Interactive Museum, water treatment plant catch Basin and Filter, Phillips Dr. Road

Improvement, wastewater plant digestion and many others. Most of these are complete but there

are as well those in progress such as sidewalk connectivity and One-Way Pair. The land use

development is majorly centered on the private sector therefore it is funded by private developers

Who build new residential and commercial or industrial areas with the intention of gaining money.

There is also other project funded by the city administration. These projects are those that are aimed

to assist the public.

Outdated regulations

In the recent past, the city has struggled in updating its zoning and development regulations. For

instance, there are no sufficient standards and sign controls. As such, there is the need for the city

to come up with regulations, policies, and zoning that enables the development of historical

areas. For instance, the current codes do not allocate room for mixed-use developments ("Issues

and Opportunities", 2009)

Coordination of the uses of land

There is the need for a well-coordinated and efficient use of land, including the infrastructure,

schools, alongside other facilities owned by the communities. This will reduce sprawl, congestion,

alongside enhancing the delivery of services ("Issues and Opportunities", 2009). There are a

variety of changes that and development plans that need to be considered. There is need to plan

well on where to invest in sewerage and water based on the environmental situation. Some project

should be done in a quite far in the outskirts of town as well as places where residents stay to avoid

risking the health of the residents. These include the dumping sites.

Indented Downtown Development Plan

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Redevelopment of the infrastructure around the town square area to complete vehicle traffic

and to assist the use of land patternlike to bring strength as viewed by the public. The use of frontages

that are along the streets at a level that stresses the pedestrians as well as enabling the residents of

McDonough to accomplish various day to day requirements within distance use for walking. Raise

the living standards of the people around through heritage, cultural and economic benefits that aims

at upholding a sustainable and healthy economy. This includes improved services and amenities in

the community, business opportunities, new jobs, robust diversified local economies, appealing

storefronts, an equal mix of assessable property values and public spaces. Create an important

neighborhood and downtown that holds current day lifestyle as it remains firmly rooted in their

cultural heritage.

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Reference

Census.gov. American FactFinder - Community Facts. Factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 7 April

2018, from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/commu-nity_facts. xhtml?

src=bkmk

Heard, R. (2018). Land Use Planning in McDonough. McDonough.

Hopkins, L. D. (2017). Urban development: The logic of making plans. Island Press.

Issues and Opportunities. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.co.henry.ga.us/portals/0/Plan

Ning Zoning/pdf/CompLandUse/Community Agenda/ HenryAgendaSection5.pdf

J., Godschalk, D. R., & Chapin, F. S. (2015). Urban land use planning (Vol. 4). Urbana, IL: Uni

versity of Illinois Press.

Kaiser, E. J., Godschalk, D. R., & Chapin, F. S. (2015). Urban land use planning (Vol. 4). Urbana,

IL: University of Illinois Press.

Moote, M. A., McClaran, M. P., & Chickering, D. K. (2017). Theory in practice: Applying

participatory democracy theory to public land planning. Environmental management,

21(6), 877-889.

See www.mcdonoughga.org, available at http://www.mcdonoughga.org/city-departments-ser-

vices/community-development/planning-and-zoning-division

Talen, E. (2017). Success, failure, and conformance: an alternative approach to planning evaluation.

Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 24(4), 573-587.

Williams, J. (2017). American Land Planning Law: Case and Materials, Volume 2. Routledge.

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