Can small towns and cities be intentional about encouraging growth in specific areas while also conserving natural areas? Street Plans recently held a workshop with residents in Senoia, GA with a focus on conservation and growth management that sought to answer this question. As part of our multiyear effort to rewrite the town zoning code, we’ve been working with the amazing team at Georgia Conservancy to help think through conservation tools that the town can adopt to conserve natural areas and encourage compact, walkable growth.
During the workshop, Georgia Conservancy presented a geospatial analysis of areas most suitable for conservation based on multiple datasets including tree canopy coverage, intact bio-habitat, undeveloped/minimally developed land, slope, hydrology, etc. From this, primary and secondary conservation areas were defined. Residents then participated in a mapping activity to identify where new development may occur within and around Senoia taking the conservation data into account.
The aim is to prepare for intentional growth that supports existing development rights, allows for growth, but also protects the small town character that residents love.
