Habersham County neighbors opposed to the construction of a Dollar General store on Highway 17 got some disappointing, but not altogether unexpected, news on Monday. Members of the Habersham County Commission made it clear that there is precious little the government can do to change the planned retail location.
VIDEO: Neighbors on both sides of the Dollar General issue address Habersham County Commissioners
County Attorney Tommie Hunt explains that the land, just past The Amish Red Barn and just before you get to Georgia 255 Alternate, is designated for commercial development already, “It’s been mapped as HI since 1992. There are certain things which are allowed in that and a retail establishment is one of those.” He’s talking about the land use or zoning restrictions along the road. If the planned store doesn’t conflict with the existing rules, Habersham County leaders are nearly powerless to change those plans.
That does not necessarily mean that concerned neighbors are powerless.
Habersham County transplant Lew Oliver is an expert in urban development having worked with projects throughout Georgia and Florida. He says developers could build a store on their chosen site and still maintain the road’s rural look and feel. “You can make a Dollar General fit into the local scenery. Use gravel for the parking lot instead of pavement. Do a general store type building with a pitched roof. Use corrugated tin for the roof and local materials for the fencing and wood siding.”
This week, Oliver is meeting with like-minded neighbors here to come up with a list of items they want included in the design of the new Dollar General. Next week, he plans to sit down with Brian Sullivan, the owner of the land, “I’m very hopeful. Mr. Sullivan sounds like he’s very open to input from the community.”
Tom Braswell, Habersham County Planning Director, agrees, “This developer is very good to work with. This will be the fourth Dollar General that they’ve (Sullivan|Wickley) built in Habersham County and he has worked really well with the community on the previous three. I think there is hope of getting some changes into the plans.”
While there is optimism about making this project “fit in,” Oliver and other concerned neighbors say Habersham County needs new land use rules in place to help with future developers who might not be so accommodating. “It will hurt the economy of the county not to promote the right land use,” says Oliver. “It tells any progressive industry, employer or entity – don’t come to Habersham.”
