Have you seen new subdivisions going up around you? I have two going up in my own neighborhood. I am concerned about population growth in our County, not because of people moving here (which is inevitable), but about the character of that growth.
Madison County is in a growth corridor that stretches from Atlanta to Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina. We have not been affected by this growth in the past, but that is beginning to change. Jackson County/Jefferson area is in second place among the top ten micropolitan areas in the entire United States! (A micropolitan area is a county between 10,000 and 50,000 population) Growth is coming to Madison County especially from the south and west. That’s District 1 and 3, but it’s just a matter of time before nearly all of our districts will be impacted.
I lived in Gwinnett County from 1980 to 2002, and witnessed up close and personal the urban sprawl that occurred there. As soon as I could retire, I moved to Madison County to avoid it. We will soon be threatened with that same type of growth unless we start taking action RIGHT NOW!
I believe that we still have a chance to avoid the loss of our farmland and open spaces. To see the threat to our farmland, go to this link: https://development2040.farmland.org Click on the “scenarios” tab and follow the to see what the Farmland Trust has predicted under three different scenarios — business as usual, unplanned sprawl, and build better cities.
You can locate Madison County (and other counties) on the map and see the predicted loss of our farmland under each scenario. Under “business as usual” (which is what we are doing now) Madison County will lose 8,200 acres of farmland, and under “unplanned sprawl” (which is where we are headed without smart growth policies) Madison County will lose 11,200 acres of our farmland by or before 2040. This is a conservative estimate. I get texts, emails, and letters every week from land speculators and investors around the country who are making an offer on my farmland.
Ordinances and zoning will not save us. It will take a concerted effort by our county leadership and our citizens to PRESERVE and PROTECT our farmland, especially our best farmland. If you elect me to the commission, I will lead the charge to do this. I will help initiate or encourage us to join a Land Trust to perpetually preserve farmland and open spaces in the county. We should use all available State and federal resources, such as PACE and ACEP-ALE, to place our farmland off-limits to development.