The Comprehensive plan establishes a clear vision of the kind of place a community wants to be in the future and provides a course of action to build what stakeholders envision. A Comprehensive Plan shapes decisions such as:
– Location of commercial, office and residential land uses
– Necessity of infrastructure expansion
– Areas of environmental or historical significance that should be protected
– Identify needs and appropriate land use controls such as zoning and development standards
The Comprehensive Plan includes unincorporated Bulloch County, Brooklet, Portal and Register and was adopted in June, 2019. A Steering Committee, including representation from throughout the County, assisted in the creation of the Comprehensive Plan.
While the Comprehensive Plan generally anticipates and plans for the growth of a community based on a 20 year time horizon, changes with growth patterns or large economic development projects can change the trajectory of a community. This webpage will serve as a public outreach opportunity for citizens to stay informed of the progress related to the update of the Future Land Development Map as adopted in the Smart Bulloch 2040 Joint Comprehensive Plan.
The Comprehensive plan establishes a clear vision of the kind of place a community wants to be in the future and provides a course of action to build what stakeholders envision. A Comprehensive Plan shapes decisions such as:
– Location of commercial, office and residential land uses
– Necessity of infrastructure expansion
– Areas of environmental or historical significance that should be protected
– Identify needs and appropriate land use controls such as zoning and development standards
The Comprehensive Plan includes unincorporated Bulloch County, Brooklet, Portal and Register and was adopted in June, 2019. A Steering Committee, including representation from throughout the County, assisted in the creation of the Comprehensive Plan.
While the Comprehensive Plan generally anticipates and plans for the growth of a community based on a 20 year time horizon, changes with growth patterns or large economic development projects can change the trajectory of a community. This webpage will serve as a public outreach opportunity for citizens to stay informed of the progress related to the Smart Bulloch 2040 Joint Comprehensive Plan.
What is a comprehensive plan?
A Comprehensive plan is a state mandated planning document used to guide community growth and resources for the next 20 years. Local governments are required to have certain elements within the plan to ensure an adequate planning effort has been performed and the document has adequate public involvement. The current Smart Bulloch 2040 Joint Comprehensive Plan contains the following elements: Executive Summary, Economic Development, Transportation, Broadband, Land Use, and the Community Work Program. It is important to note the plan serves as a guide for development and does not bind zoning decisions of the Board of Commissioners.
How often are comprehensive plans updated?
Each local government in the State of Georgia is required to update a portion of their Comprehensive Plan elements every 5 years. The Land Use and Community Work Program Elements are REQUIRED to be updated in 2024and will be updated in 2024 regardless of the proposed action for amendment.
What is a character area?
A character area is presented in narrative form and depicted on the Future Land Development Map. The information contained within the Land Use element provides an overview of the desired development patterns in relation to design standards. Each character area describes policies, development patterns and design strategies to help achieve the community vision for future land uses.
What is the relationship between character areas and zoning actions?
Character areas serve as a general guide for consideration in zoning decisions. Over the course of time and as growth occurs, it is the intent for zoning decisions to be made which steers the community and growth toward the realization of our community vision. The legislative body (Board of Commissioners) carefully considers the policies included in the Comprehensive Plan and generally makes zoning decisions meeting those policies; however, the Board of Commissioners are not legally bound to make zoning decisions strictly adhering to a character area.
The Comprehensive Plan is supposed to anticipate growth for 20 years, why is the plan needing an update now?
The future population growth projected in the SMART Bulloch 2040 Plan assumed an annual volume of growth that has been consistent since 1980. While Georgia remains one of the fastest growing states in the country in terms of population, Bulloch County has consistently been in the top 20% of Georgia’s fastest growing counties for more than three decades.
The announcement of the new Hyundai facility in Bryan County is certain to create population, housing and economic growth in the greater Savannah region, including Bulloch County. Hyundai’s proposal to create 8,100 jobs on-site in north Bryan County far overshadows Volvo’s proposal in 2015 that would have created 1,500 on site jobs. Bulloch County will be home to two tier one as well as additional facilities locating adjacent counties. These factors will be considered in the 2024 update. Although we completed a land use amendment in 2023, this update will review all aspects of the community.
Where will water and sewer be available to serve residents or other land uses?
Currently, four major wells are proposed to be located in Bulloch County to primarily serve Hyundai. Meanwhile, a proposed County water system with additional smaller wells, tanks and mains were already being planned, along with prospective sewer service from Bryan County. Bryan County is building an 8.0 million gallon per day plant (MGD) and has offered Bulloch County up to 0.5 MGD one-half a million gallons per day) capacity. Preliminary plans estimate that initial system capacity could serve the equivalent of 2,000 households. Hyundai’s objective is to be up and running no later than January 1, 2025, which will accelerate planning and construction of new infrastructure.
How does the County plan to balance agricultural use and residential development?
This process allows the County to study and implement policies that will balance a growing population while preserving productive farmland. Both housing and agriculture are necessary. Residential development and intensive agriculture can both have environmental impacts. Land use control must strike a balance between private property rights and the public interest. If the County applies the character area concept, then the challenge will be to steer residential development into such areas. This approach is an alternative to doing nothing and risking the approval of “leapfrog” development proposals that cause inefficient land distribution and increases the cost of public services.
How will the planned growth accommodate an increase in services and infrastructure such as EMS, Fire, Roads, etc.?
Planning early and continuing to consider land use changes with a set of standards will enable Bulloch County to control the pace of growth with minimal burden to taxpayers. Public Safety will be improved with water connections. Bulloch County may also realize safety improvements with future locations of Fire/EMS equipment in growth areas. The combination of water availability and additional public safety locations would provide cost savings to homeowners in the form of lower insurance rates for their homes or businesses. Other public amenities including roadway improvements, parks and walking trails will be considered with an update to the Bulloch County subdivision regulations. This plan update will allow the County to thoroughly study current operations and service capabilities. Once our assessment is complete, the steering committee and county staff can make recommendations for projects which may involve all aspects of county government. Knowing our deficiencies and creating goals now ill allow the Board of Commissioners and other organizations to take appropriate action when needed and properly allocate resources (tax dollars) in a transparent way.
