South Fulton County could be the home of a family-oriented destination if a proposed economic development plan is passed.

That's just one of the proposals offered Tuesday night by Fulton County Director of Economic Development Joseph Johnson.

Johnson emphasized that the hefty proposal handed out to the 40 or so curious spectators in College Park was only a draft, and that residents would have a say in the area's future development.

"This is a liquid document," he said.

After the public responds to the proposal, Johnson plans to take it to the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and MARTA for their perusal.

Johnson said South Fulton has a unique opportunity to plan and develop the type of growth local residents want, instead of reacting to an avalanche of growth like residents in north Fulton did.

One of the recommendations was to develop a family attraction in South Fulton.

"Cobb County has Whitewater and DeKalb has Stone Mountain. We can have something like that in South Fulton," he said.

He emphasized that a major attraction would only come to the area if the residents decided that's the type of growth they wanted.

Other recommendations in the draft included:

Create a new leadership program for South Fulton.

F Support Fulton County's grant program for the beautification of Roosevelt Highway, Old National Highway and other state routes.

F Create a master plan for South Fulton.

F Complete the South Fulton Parkway sewer line construction project.

F Work with the six cities in the area on land use and overlay districts one mile outside of each jurisdiction to create quality development.

F Establish neighborhood equity programs.

F Create incentives for town center and village center developments.

"We might want to have a village center development on the parkway," he said.

F Develop a county-wide project team for various departments to support increased economic development.

Johnson has developed a series of proposals for many of the corridors and communities in South Fulton to spur economic development.

During the next few weeks, The South Fulton Citizen will examine each of the areas and look at specific recommendations.

Residents are encouraged to offer their feedback on the draft and a complete copy can be found at the South Annex in College Park.

Next Tuesday, Edwards and Johnson are staging another meeting at the South Annex to get input from the residents on the proposal. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.