Friday, December 28, 2001
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Friday, December 28, 2001 |
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South side development finally taking off By JOHN
THOMPSON South Fulton County residents learned last year that the long-awaited economic renaissance should finally start happening south of Interstate 20. In fact, the area 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 by Fulton County Director of Economic Development Joseph Johnson. 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. Support Fulton County's grant program for the beautification of Roosevelt Highway, Old National Highway and other state routes. Create a master plan for South Fulton. Complete the South Fulton Parkway sewer line construction project. Work with the six cities in the area on land use and overlay districts one mile outside of each jurisdiction to create quality development. Establish neighborhood equity programs. Create incentives for town center and village center developments. "We might want to have a village center development on the parkway," he said. 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. In the upcoming year, many of the county's leaders will further study the proposals and decide which ones are the best fit for the region.
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