Imagine Henry 2040 comprehensive plan adopted by commissioners

Imagine Henry 2040 Future Community Map
Imagine Henry 2040 Future Community Map (Henry County photo)

The Imagine Henry 2040 comprehensive plan has been adopted by the board of commissioners and is now in effect. Thank you to the residents, community stakeholders and county staff that contributed to the update.

A public hearing was held on October 16, 2018 at 6:30 pm during the Henry County Board of Commissioners meeting to adopt the Imagine Henry 2040 comprehensive plan. The document serves as the guiding principles for future development and is updated once every ten years.

Over the past eighteen months, Henry County has worked with the cities of Hampton, Locust Grove, and McDonough to update the comprehensive plan. Public feedback on land development practices was collected through two rounds of open houses, an online survey, and a stakeholder’s committee comprised of local residents.

Goals and objectives for the entire county include:

  • With new infrastructure, care should be taken to account that it sets the standard for creating a great sense of place and identity, with decorative mast arms, incorporating Green Infrastructure and public art if applicable.
  • Ensure excellent roadway maintenance including striping and signals for the use of autonomous vehicles and driver aids.
  • Ensure new developments meets corridor overlay requirements.
  • Ensure that new trails and roadways are developed or not precluded by development.

The plan also identifies specific policies for several categories of land use. The categories are:

  • Henry Global Gateway (also known as SR 155 Freight Cluster)
  • Activity Centers (important commercial nodes throughout the county)
  • Town Centers (historic downtown’s)
  • Main Street Henry and Major Corridors (US 23 / SR 42 and other state highways throughout the county)
  • Henry County Speedway Megasite (previously known as Hampton Megasite)
  • Suburban Areas (low and medium density residential developments)
  • Rural Areas (rural residential areas of the county)

Some highlights from the category land use policies include:

  • Develop a master plan for the Henry Global Gateway
  • Encourage mixed use developments within activity centers and town centers
  • Take advantage of the upcoming widening along US 23 / SR 42 to transform the corridor into a signature street with appropriate investments into walking and biking infrastructure
  • Prepare a master plan to support appropriate high-quality development around the Atlanta Motor Speedway and Atlanta Speedway Airport, discouraging traditional warehousing / distribution within the area
  • Create a transfer of development rights program to preserve the most rural areas of Henry County
Future Land Use Map 2040Future Land Use Map 2040 (Henry County photo)

The future land use map is part of the overall comprehensive plan. The FLUM is the most important document in land development. When a rezoning request is submitted, one of the criteria considered by planning staff is to check for compliance against the future land use map before making their recommendation of approval or denial to the respective governing board. The four municipalities have maps separate from unincorporated Henry County.

An interactive version of the unincorporated map is available on the county website. All maps are viewable on our Facebook page linked here.

The Imagine Henry 2040 comprehensive plan may be viewed here [PDF – 126 pages]. The city of Stockbridge conducted their comprehensive plan update separate from the rest of Henry County; the Stockbridge plan is available to view here [PDF – 55 pages].

About Clayton 1738 Articles
Clayton Carte is the founder and owner of The Henry Reporter. He founded the site in 2017 to highlight transportation projects. Over time, he began covering other topics like new development so residents can best know what’s happening in our community.

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