Oconee County Land Use Committee Wants TDR Committee Input

The Oconee County Citizen Advisory Committee on Land Use and Transportation Planning has extended an invitation to members of the county’s Transfer of Development Rights Committee to meet jointly on Tuesday night at the Community Center in Veterans Park.

The Land Use Committee issued the invitation after a discussion of nearly 90 minutes on Aug. 13 in which individual members expressed confusion about their mandate, opposition to a TDR program on the mistaken belief that it involves the federal government, and frustration with the committee leadership.

Committee Chairman Abe Abouhamdan stated personal reservations about TDR programs from the very start of the meeting and slowed down discussion to make sure opponents had a chance to make their case.

He said in bringing the issues to the Land Use Committee he was responding to the request of the Oconee County Board of Commissioners that the Land Use Committee debate whether to go forward with consideration of a TDR program.

Commissioners met informally with representatives of the city of Milton in Fulton County on April 30 to learn about that city’s new TDR program but took no action then and have not even discussed a TDR program for Oconee County in any public meeting since that time.

For more on this story, including a video of the back-and-forth of the Aug. 13 meeting, go to Oconee County Observations.