HISTORIC ASSETS• Railroad tunnels and Tunnel Hill• The Pinhoti Trail• Reed's Bridge• Ringgold Gap Historic Area• Crawfish Spring• The Hamilton House• Chatsworth Depot• Resaca Confederate Cemetery• Catoosa County Courthouse• Ringgold DepotSource: Northwest Georgia Regional Commission
CALHOUN, Ga.-Northwest Georgia leaders approved a plan Thursday that would give guidelines to developers who want to build within a mile of Civil War battlefields, Cherokee removal sites or a host of other "natural, cultural and historic resources."
The Northwest Georgia Regional Commission voted unanimously to send the plan to the state's Department of Community Affairs. The plan includes a map of the sites, as well as guidelines for developers and local governments to use "in making decisions that affect regionally important resources."
"Our regionally important resources are facing threats," said Kevin McAuliff, senior planner with the commission. He said the guidelines are meant to preserve the resources and make certain new buildings don't take away from the area's natural and cultural settings.
The plan lists more than 180 specific sites, but also includes five less defined areas including river corridors, steep slopes, wetlands and water supply watersheds. The list includes many well-known sites such as state parks and historic sites, as well as less-obvious resources such as Dixie Highway in Catoosa County, the Pinhoti Trail and the Lower Coosawattee River Valley.
Walker County Commissioner Bebe Heiskell said her county probably has most of the guidelines already in place, but she said the suggestions could steer development on the steep slopes of Lookout Mountain. She said action could preserve views of the mountain for the future.
"I think in some instances it could be useful to us," she said of the list.
Whitfield County Commission Chairman Mike Babb said the map and list should help leaders know what they have.
"It pinpoints important resources in your county," he said.
Dade County Executive Ted Rumley said he thinks most developers in the county would respect the guidelines - which are not mandatory - but that might not be the case everywhere.
"In some counties they're going to pitch a fit," Rumley said.
Larry Armour, the developer who owns the land around Fort Oglethorpe's Costco, said he would give the guidelines a look but would have to see the details. He said Northwest Georgia always has been very developer friendly.
"As a developer I would certainly look at them," he said in a phone interview after Thursday's meeting. "I can't imagine [leaders] would put up anything that would be a hardship."
Catoosa County Commissioner Ken Marks said the guidelines should have come in years ago and that developments need to "enhance, not take away."
He said that if developers don't like the rules they can build elsewhere.
"I don't really care," he said of developers' complaints. "They can live with it or not."