Habersham County Commissioners may soon decide the fate of the proposed Soque Scenic Byway. They’re expected to vote in February on whether to continue the county’s public support of the project or withdraw the resolution of support they passed in Sept. 2013. If the county rescinds its support, it’s all but certain that the Georgia Department of Transportation will not proceed with the plan. That’s what many landowners along the proposed route are pushing for. They expressed strong opposition to the byway during a public hearing held Thursday, Dec. 18, at the Clegg Auditorium on the North Georgia Techincal College campus in Clarkesville.
Time rules and moderators
The question and answer portion of the hearing got off to a shaky start when moderators – Habersham County manager Phil Sutton and Mike Hourihan from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at U.G.A. – announced the meeting would be kept to an hour and questions and comments would be limited to two minutes. Many in the audience were upset by the time limits.
Hourihan – who was asked by the county to help moderate the hearing – was questioned by the crowd. People asked him about his position on the byway. He stressed his neutrality. “I don’t represent anyone,” Hourihan said. “I’m on the faculty at the University of Georgia. I’m a neutral third party. I have no position on this whatsoever.” “Then why are you here,” asked one audience member. Hourihan responded, “To help get through the speaker list in a timely fashion.”
Amy Sgro questioned the time rules asking, “How can you give a one hour time limit to something that is of such extreme concern to the county and residents? How is that fair?” Sgro’s words were met with applause and “Amens” from the crowd.
Sutton addressed their concerns saying another public hearing is tentatively scheduled for January 22nd and “…we’ll address the time limit then, but this meeting was scheduled for one hour today.” At that, a visibly upset Joe Breedlove asked, “Who’s schedule is so important they’ve got to go at 7 p.m.?” Sutton replied, “We’re trying to respect everybody’s time. We’ll be back again next month and we can adjust that if it’s necessary.”
Opponents speak out
Those early exchanges set the tone for the rest of the hearing. One by one the landowners spoke out against the plan, voicing their fears and concerns about the possibilities of increased traffic, higher taxes and increased government regulation.
Former Habersham county commissioner Larry Copeland was among them. He has a farm off Hardeman Road in northern Habersham County. Copeland says he’s already in a battle over water rights on the Soque River and doesn’t want to risk more government and environmental regulations that might limit his ability to work his farm. He said of the byway, “I’m totally opposed to this. I have been opposed to it ever since I heard about it. That road, the way it goes up and comes back down, I’m cut off on both sides by 197 and the Soque cuts me off on the other side.”
Pete Davitto has been an outspoken critic of the byway from the beginning. “Next month will be a year since we first appeared in this room to complain and fight against the Soque Scenic Byway. The commissioners don’t appear to have listened to what we said.” Davitto told the crowd he recently visited the Department of Transportation and started “a new line of attack” against the byway. He said the DOT assured him the agency would take public comments and concerns seriously. “They’re going to ask this committee (referring to the Soque Scenic Byway Committee) to prove that they had widespread appeal for this, which we all know they didn’t.”
Davitto was followed by Breedlove who briefly stated his opposition to the byway then used the balance of his time to again criticize the hearing rules and moderators.
“I was intrigued by not only your two-minute rule, which is dumber than dirt,” Breedlove said, “but this gentleman (referring to Sutton) offered up a little card about a third as big as a Christmas card for us to put our comments on. That card ain’t nearly big enough for what I got to say. And two minutes won’t begin to cover what I got to say,” Breedlove said. He encouraged audience members to “stick around” after the meeting if they had more to say. He then addressed Hourihan. “This gentleman has already said he’s going to back to Athens which is wonderful; I think Athens deserves people like you. But for the folks who have in issue with this proposed byway, we really don’t need your help.”
Criticism wasn’t just leveled at the hearing’s moderators. Some in the audience criticized the City of Clarkesville for proposing the byway in the first place. Teresa Tatum lives in Batesville. She said, “The only thing Clarkesville and Batesville have in common is a zip code. It’s worlds apart. Clarkesville should not be dictating what occurs in Batesville.”
At one point a speaker asked opponents to the byway to raise their hands. Arms filled the air. He then asked supporters to raise their hands. No one did.
A plan two years in the making
The issue dates back nearly two years. Clarkesville filed an application with the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) in May 2013 to designate 46.9 miles of roadway in Habersham County as a scenic byway. Early adopters viewed the designation as a potential boon to tourism and the local economy.
The Habersham County Chamber of Commerce board of directors unanimously voted in favor of the project and Chamber president Judy Taylor penned a letter of support. In the letter Taylor noted that tourism is Habersham County’s number two industry and, “The Soque Scenic Byway designation will enhance the marketing for scenic Highway 197 and attract more visitors to the county.”
9th District GDOT board member Emily Dunn also submitted a letter of support. In her letter Dunn wrote, “I believe the natural beauty of Habersham County should be preserved for future generations to enjoy and, also, to preserve the historical integrity of a place that is so significant to Georgia’s history.”
The State Transportation commissioner notified the byway committee that a resolution of support would be required from the Habersham County Commission since the bulk of the proposed byway runs through unincorporated areas. On September 16, 2013, commissioners passed a resolution of support on a 4-1 vote. Commissioner Sonny James was the lone hold-out. Today he remains steadfast in his opposition to the Soque Scenic Byway.
Commissioners’ stance
James told the crowd Thursday, “As far as I am concerned, whether it’s the state, federal or any other government that comes in and tries to tell me what to do, we got a problem. I represent the people of Habersham County. I’m not interested in what the state wants. I’m interested in what the people here want.” James firmly staked his stand on the issue when he told the audience, “There are five commissioners and, as I’ve told a lot of people, it takes three votes to get anything done and my vote will not be one of those three.”
James and Andrea Harper were the two commissioners present at Thursday’s hearing. Harper, who was among the four commissioners who voted to support the byway, told the crowd she is open to changing her mind. “This is why we have these meetings. That’s why my phone number is listed so that you all can call me and tell me how you feel.”
Harper and James stayed at the meeting after the 7 p.m. cutoff time to talk with constituents and answer their questions.
Afterwards, Harper sat down to talk with Now Habersham. She said when the byway process started she and other commissioners had no idea it would become so controversial. “It has surprised me. It’s good to hear from the people but I am surprised over the passion of it.”
This was the third public hearing held on the proposed byway. Commissioners called the hearing after it was brought to their attention not all landowners were properly notified of the first two.
“A lot of these people, it’s the first time we’ve heard from them.” Harper said. “At our commission meetings, where everybody can come and speak if they like, it’s been the same people over and over and over and one of the reasons I was here tonight is I wanted to hear from people I haven’t heard from.” Asked if what she heard Thursday changed her mind or her vote on the byway Harper said, “In the past I have been very supportive of it but I think you have to keep an open mind. I think it would be irresponsible now for me to say how I feel one way or the other until we have the next public hearing and I get to hear from some people who maybe could not make it tonight.”
County vs. City perception
Three people who did not attend Thursday’s hearing were county commissioners Ed Nichols, Natalie Crawford and Chad Henderson (whose term expires at the end of this month). Harper explained they were out due to illness and prior commitments. The fact not all five commissioners were there bothered some in the crowd, as did the lack of representation from the City of Clarkesville.
City Council members told Now Habersham they were unable to attend because they were in a meeting, working on revitalization plans for a section of buildings on the Clarkesville Square that was heavily damaged by fire in March. (see Clarkesville rebuilds)
City leaders are aware of the growing public perception that this has become a county versus city issue but insist it was never intended that way. They say it was meant to be a good thing for both the City of Clarkesville and Habersham County.
What next?
Another public hearing on the Soque Scenic Byway is tentatively scheduled for January 22nd. Commissioners are expected to vote on the issue during their regularly scheduled meeting on February 16, 2015.
