When you’re confronted with the fact that Coweta County may soon have 200,000 residents, you start thinking about different strategies to manage the growth.

According to one estimate presented by consultants from Jordan Jones & Goulding, the county’s population could cross the 200,000 barrier in 20 years.

“If you keep developing like you are, in 20 years you’ll look like Gwinnett did 10 years ago,” said Dr. Steven French at a recent meeting of the Coweta County Commission.

With that scenario squarely in their minds, Coweta’s governmental leaders are trying to figure out the best way to manage the growth and maintain the quality of life.

One proposal being bandied about is adjusting the current lot size for development in the unincorporated county. For years, the 1.6-acre minimum has stood as an almost sacred cow for the County Commission. But confronted with growth projections, the county’s leaders are trying to envision some innovative solutions.

County Administrator Theron Gay said there is some thought to developing a conservation subdivision classification.

The conservation category seems to be the new darling of land planners with nearby Fayette County and Tyrone adopting the classification. Instead of having all the lots built on the same lot size, development is clustered in one area of the property. A minimum amount of the property, such as 25 percent, is left as undeveloped greenspace.

“We’ve had a lot of positive comments on that proposal,” Gay added.

Any change in the county’s lot size would have to be approved by the County Commission, and Gay said, it’s not a decision the board is taking lightly.

“One of the board’s main concern is how best to manage density throughout the county,” he said.

The county’s update of its comprehensive plan is due to state officials in 2006. The county has conducted surveys and held public meetings to try and get a better feel for how the county should be developed in the future.

Before any decision is made on adjusting the lot size, the public would have far more opportunities to give their opinion, Gay added.

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