“We do not voluntarily agree to have our behavior controlled by or refined by restrictive covenants”

Yellow Creek Resident Wesley Weaver called for Planning Commission member Phil Anderson’s resignation this week. The call came at the end of a petition Weaver read aloud at the February 6th meeting. According to Weaver, 381 residents signed the petition criticizing potential proposed guidelines associated with The Pickens County Comprehensive plan. Weaver called for Anderson’s resignation for allegedly introducing a Character Plan Proposal, which the petition opposes, calling for its elimination.

“We do not voluntarily agree to have our behavior controlled by or refined by restrictive covenants,”

Weaver recited,

“We did not agree that we could only paint our houses a certain color; we did not agree that we could not put signs in our yards; we did not agree that we could not have old cars in our yards; we did not agree that we are prohibited from cutting trees in our own yards.”

News of the plan outlining proposed and seemingly oppressive restrictions was printed in a January edition of a local publication. The article stated that Anderson was told the plan would be approved. During the February meeting, however, Anderson said he was misquoted, explaining that he was told the application to begin the process would be approved, not the plan itself.

Following Weaver’s recitation of the petition, more comments shot from the crowd, now in an uproar, shifting in seats and standing confrontationally, arms crossed, lined along the wall.

“You want to tell us how we’re going to live and you want to tell us what we’re going to do, when we’re going to do it and how we’re going to do it,”

William Blackwell bellowed, asserting,

“I’m not going to do it!”

Pickens County Public Relations and Information Director Norman Pope explained that Georgia passed the Georgia Plan Act in 1989. According to Pope, the legislation requires every county and city in the state to provide a comprehensive plan every five years. Conceivably, the plan is designed to account for population growth in accordance with infrastructure, specifically with roads, sewers, and water. When citizens asked more questions about the required comprehensive plan, through, Pope revealed the plan is only necessary in order for the county to receive grants and loans from the state or federal government. If a county does not comply with this plan,

“then you’re not labeled as a qualified local government, which means you get no grants, no loans, or anything of that nature,”

Pope said.

Responding to this statement, one citizen named George asked,

“What in the world would be wrong with that?”

Continuing, George said that he (and the citizens) did not need grant money and that the comprehensive plan with character areas forces citizens to spend money, calling the scheme a

“form of Communism; that’s what it is: communal ownership of our properties and theirs.”

In the face of fierce criticism, Commission Member Phil Anderson explained his position.

“What I brought to the Planning Commission on the 12th of December was a discussion about a process,”

he said,

“a process for developing a character area plan and I have no proposal for what that character area plan should look like.”

He said the commission approved the recommendation to bring subject matter experts in to hear more about the character plan before any decisions were made.

“The development of any plan is a consensus building process,”

he said. As clarified in the meeting, the Planning Commission does not have the authority to approve the comprehensive plan or character areas; Sole Commission Robert Jones is the only one with this authority, which will change when the county shifts to a three member board following this summer’s election.

In light of public opposition to the plan, Commission Member Clayton Preble made a motion to defer any formal consideration of the Character Use Plan until after the 2013 Comprehensive Plan has been adopted and considered and the input of the citizens heard. The motion was approved unanimously. The commission encouraged the public to attend the update meetings on the comprehensive and character plans, which will begin this summer. A finalized version of the Pickens County Comprehensive Plan is due to the state by 2013.