Harry Johnston

BY HARRY JOHNSTON

Cherokee County is a fabulous place to live, and we haven’t kept that a secret. We’re close enough to Atlanta to take advantage of the tremendous economic opportunity it provides. Yet, we are far enough away to enjoy a small-town and semi-rural lifestyle. Add to that great schools and public safety, beautiful geography and low taxes, and it’s no surprise we’re the second fastest growing county in the state.

So, what are the keys to keeping Cherokee County great, and making it even greater as we continue to experience growth?

Of course, we have to keep up on roads and county services, while keeping taxes low. We’re playing catchup on some state highways, and that will continue for several years. Otherwise, infrastructure and services are excellent, and the tax burden controlled by the Board of Commissioners is among the lowest in Georgia.

There is, however, a bigger issue. We all know what it is, although we may differ in exactly what it looks like and how best to achieve it. It’s controlling and shaping the rapid growth of our county, so we can retain the qualities that make Cherokee a great place as we continue to grow. Easily said, but extremely hard to do.

The competing political and economic forces around growth and development are tremendous. Many who moved here for the rural, small-town character would like to stop most or all growth. But, many large property owners and investors, plus an army of builders, developers, lenders and other business people, want the economic benefits of growth. And the law is mostly on their side. Written laws and court rulings have been clear that property owners are entitled to a reasonable economic use of their property.

In many counties, it’s been like the Joni Mitchell song “Big Yellow Taxi:” “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” However, in Cherokee, we realized what we have sooner than most, maybe because so many residents came here from places that didn’t. Controlling growth moved from radical to mainstream 15 to 20 years ago. For the past 14 years, we’ve had a responsible-growth majority on the county’s Board of Commissioners. Canton’s and Woodstock’s city councils shifted that way soon after, and Holly Springs has moved significantly in that direction in recent years.

But the growth has continued. We’re literally still seeing new development from rezonings 15 years ago. The zoning process is sometimes difficult, leading to compromises. And, of course, the law says we must allow the reasonable economic use of property.

Significantly, developers sometimes negotiate between the county and cities, trying to get the highest density possible. While the county and cities are now more on the same page, it still happens.

I believe the most important thing we can do to keep Cherokee County great is a unified county/city comprehensive development plan we can all adhere to closely. We’ve been distracted from that goal by other issues affecting city/county relations, but I hope we can soon get back to this goal and complete it, helping Cherokee County continue to be the best place to live in the metro region.

Harry Johnston is chairman of the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners. He's a retired CPA and accounting manager, and a former district commissioner.

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