It’s scenes such as this that supporters of the Soque Scenic Byway hope tourists will enjoy along the proposed route.
The Habersham County Board of Commissioners heard from more opponents of the proposed Soque Scenic Byway last night. Some landowners are concerned that regulations governing the byway will strip away their property rights. Proponents repeatedly have assured them that won’t happen but their assurances have not been enough to deter critics.
Several people voiced their disapproval of the plan during public comments at the Oct. 20 Habersham County Commisison meeting. They asked the commission to withdraw its support for the byway.
District 2 Commissioner Andrea Harper says that’s unlikely. “The proposal has already moved on to the DOT (Georgia Department of Transportation),” she says. “We’ve already given our support and we passed a resolution last year. So,” Harper says, “it’s already moved beyond that point.”
Now Habersham asked District 4 Commissioner Natalie Crawford if it is possible the commission could or would rescind its support of the byway and Crawford responded by saying, “Anything is possible.”
Official discussion of the byway was not on the agenda for last night’s meeting and commissioners say they will not take any further formal action until at least November.
“We are waiting on a report from the DOT (Georgia Department of Transportation). They were doing a survey that we thought would include information about the economic impact of the scenic byway but it did not,” says Harper.
Commissioners are waiting on that information and on the return of Clarkesville Main Street Director Mary Beth Horton who is out on maternity leave. Horton is one of the key local organizers behind the effort to establish the Soque Scenic Byway along nearly 48 miles of roadway in north Habersham County.
