Henry County commissioners have a called meeting on Monday morning, October 30, to consider final adoption of the 2023 comprehensive plan. The latest draft of the comp plan and future land use map are now available.
Please note the county’s comprehensive plan covers unincorporated areas only. Each city chose to develop their own plan this year.
Board Tables Final Adoption
First, what is the future land use map? The FLUM provides a policy guide for new development to follow. If a land owner wishes to develop their land, then they must typically seek a rezoning request. Staff will evaluate the rezoning request against several factors. One such factor is consistency with the future land use map.
Consistency with the map does not guarantee an approval. Staff can recommend approval with conditions, an alternate zoning district or denial. Often, the elected officials will negotiate additional conditions if they approve a request.
County commissioners tabled adopting the new map at their October 17 meeting. This occurred after a full house of residents turned out in opposition to high-density development. Since then, staff have made additional revisions to the map. These revisions lowered the allowed densities in some areas.
Map Categories
This year’s map has added more categories than the previous map. The new categories add better delineation between uses and densities. The density thresholds are also different from previous maps.
For example, high-density residential development has historically been up to 16 net units per acre. Now, high-density stops at eight units per acre. Think single-family homes on small lots, duplexes or townhomes. The comp plan specifically states high-density residential is not intended for apartments.
Medium-density residential saw a similar downward change. It now supports 0-4 units per acre. This could be single-family homes on quarter-acre lots.
Be sure and review the various categories, and their density thresholds:
Future Land Use Map
The 2023 future land use map is available below.
The comprehensive plan in its entirety is available to view on the county website. Visit here (PDF link – 206 pages).
Called Board Meeting
The board of commissioners have a called meeting on Monday, October 30, at 9 am. They meet at the county admin building in McDonough. There, board members will consider final adoption of the new comp plan.
The state’s deadline for Henry County to adopt its new plan is October 31.
Featured image shows an excerpt of the 2023 future land use map. Henry County photo.
