NEWS - Economic Development

By Lou Phelps

SBJ Staff

With a new governor in power, a Republican-controlled General Assembly changing the laws in Georgia and a state budget out of balance, the power of the state’s 12 regional commissions are becoming a subplot in Georgia political power dynamics.

The regional commissions date back to 1989 when the Georgia Planning Act of 1989 reconstituted the APDCs as Regional Commissions (RCs), and required counties to have master plans for economic and infrastructure development. The RCs underwent another transition in 2009 as a result of House Bill 1216, becoming Regional Commissions, a hallmark of the Sonny Perdue administration.

But new legislation now moving rapidly through the General Assembly, including Senate Bill 86, will reduce the RC’s authority by eliminating the requirement that counties even have comprehensive Master Plans. Currently, counties must develop a Master Plan every 10 years, and update it every five years, plans that must comply with overall state planning requirements administered through the RC’s.

Counties will also no longer have to have qualified local planners on staff – it will be up to each county to decide on what they want to invest in planning.

Both the Georgia Municipal Association and the ACCG are promoting the bills, according to Allen Burns, executive director of the Coastal Regional Commission.

“If this carries on through, and comprehensive planning becomes optional, you need to recognize the needs,” Burns told CRC Council members at their March meeting last week. “Your zoning ordinances are based on your master plans,” he explained. The council members are made up of representatives from the 11 county commissions of Coastal Georgia and the mayors of the region’s main cities.

Burns said that he and other economic leaders in the state met with members of the General Assembly to express their concerns, including the suggestion that only very small counties not have to have master plans updates, where the cost of more sophisticated planning was a financial burden.

Mayor Otis Johnson, in attendance, said after the meeting that Savannah and Chatham County would have a master plan, even if not required to do so.

In other business, the council decided not to move forward with its previously announced multi-million dollar regional transportation center and new CRC offices. General concerns about funding sources dominated the discussions, despite having accepted federal money last year to hire consultants to develop a workable plan for the center.

The actual regional transportation system developed by the CRC over the past two years will remain in place, however, Burns said, just without a center to manage the program and house the vehicles. The CRC now operates out of offices in Brunswick.

Board member Sean Register said he was concerned about the long-term viability of the transportation system “because of challenging economy. And I wonder about the incubator space in light of what’s available,” in funding, he added. In the new center, there was a plan to build a building large enough to manage the regional transportation administration, the CRC staff, and have incubator space for new companies interested in locating in the region.

Burns explained that the council members needed to accept the consultants' work, however, even if they did not want to move forward.

“We got stimulus money that got us started in this. Georgia DOT said that ‘we would like you to build a center where you’re going to run your transportation system.’ But, we couldn’t find anything (a building lot) in a suitable price range,” said Burns.

“Tiger I funding was used up to now; GDOT said they would like us to apply for the Tiger II funds. There had to be a job creation aspect to apply for Tiger II funds.”

Burns explained that the board members needed to close out the contract with Clough, Harbor & Associates (CHA), the consulting engineering firm hired by the CRC to develop the transportation center and strategy. “It’s completely done,” said Burns. “Until potential funding becomes available, we cannot go forward…it goes on the shelf.”

“DOT would like us to have a facility for transit – that’s long-term. If they give us the money, I’d be happy to build it,” Burns said, “but right now, there’s no way I’m going to come to this body and say we need to borrow $20 million or even $10 million.”

Members, including Sean McVeigh from Glynn County and Register, were willing to accept CHA’s work as long as they were not endorsing it as the final plan for a regional transportation center or a commitment to carry it through.

Register said that he wanted to be sure that there “was not a dime of local money in that, only federal money. We approved their work and basically we’re done,” he said.

But others were concerned that the CRC accepted what one termed “a sizable amount of federal money that we approved in the process. I think it opens a lot of questions,” because the CRC is not following through and coming up with the money to build the center, which could be raised from the 11 counties in the region, in theory.

“I think everyone here is showing some concern about the scope of the project,” said Pete Liakakis, representing Chatham County.

Tom Ratcliff from Hinesville added that he, “did want to even imply that he approved. We as leaders have to stand up and say where we can optimize resources. This may be a case in point. The amount of debt of this country makes this out of the question.”

The Tybee Island shuttle, kicked off last week, is part of the CRC regional transportation system. “It’s something that GDOT has given us a lot of flexibility on - they are promoting our transit program as the model for the state,” he said. “They want 12 regional transit operations in the state, and they want what we are doing for rural regional transportation.

Member Sean McVeigh asked that the CRC’s monthly financials break out the transportation system on its own, so that council members could study its viability.

In other business, the CRC approved what was termed “a guidance document” on the protection of natural land, groundwater recharge areas and cultural & historic resources within the eleven counties of Coastal Georgia that make up the area of the CRC’s responsibility.

The CRC document includes “recommended development practices and policies for protective measures, what we should recommend to local governments to protect the resources within their jurisdiction,” explained Chris Emmer, the CRC’s environmental planner.

According to Emmer, “the rules require us to refer to the resource plan when we’re working with a local government on a development plan.” A local government may or may not follow the recommendations to promote the resources from an economic development standpoint as they work with developers, such as low-impact development standards, he explained.

Liakakis asked if there were federal or foundation funds that might be available to help counties protect resources. Emmer responded that the CRC does not have a grant writer, but that they were having success in helping some counties with projects, such as in Riceboro where they have secured private foundation money to protect a historic structure. “And we’re going in the same direction on the St. Simons.

Burns also reported that in fiscal 2012, there will not be funding for a historic preservation position, with only $14,000 available annually. The CRC’s planning staff will be picking up some of those duties. “If there’s no money, there’s no mission,” he said.

The next meeting of the Coastal Regional Commission Council will be held on Wednesday, April 13, in Richmond Hill at the Quality Inn at 10:00 a.m.