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Senoia moves forward on new vision

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizen.com

A curious crowd of more than 30 residents showed up Tuesday night to try and help determine what Senoia will look like in the next 20 years.

Mayor Bob Hannah told the residents that he wanted involvement in drawing the city’s vision. During the two-hour meeting, residents would get the chance to say what they liked and disliked about the city and also offer suggestions for what the future growth should look like.

Consultant Jonathan Lewis showed the assembled group how quickly the city had grown in the last few years. In 1980, the city had 900 residents. By the 1990 Census, the city had only added a little over 50 new residents.

But the real growth spurt occurred in the 1990s, when the city’s population nearly doubled to more than 1,700 residents.

Today, more than 2,500 residents call the city home, and it doesn’t look like the growth will stop anytime soon, he said.

“You’re now part of metro Atlanta whether you like it or not,” he said.

The consultant asked residents to consider what changes they liked or disliked since they moved to town. Many of the residents said the downtown are looks better and the town seems safer.

The biggest complaint was the traffic.

“There’s just too many people,” said Jim Rogers.

During the meeting, the residents broke out into three sessions to offer suggestions on how the city should grow. One of the more interesting questions asked of residents concerned their favorite place, outside of Senoia.

Most of the responses were for other historic cities, such as Savannah and Charleston.

One of the more interesting parts of the meeting was the visual preference survey. The consultants flashed pictures of developments, streetscapes and commercial centers for the residents to rate. Responses ranged from very appropriate for Senoia’s future to not appropriate at all.

Lewis told the residents his consulting company would compile the results and present them at an all day session in November, which will be the next step in creating the city’s vision.