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Commissioners report UGA planning training, discuss 2028 comprehensive‑plan update and vacancies
Summary
Members who attended a planning and zoning training through the University of Georgia reported takeaways emphasizing adherence to the comprehensive plan; the commission discussed starting an update process ahead of the plan’s 2028 due date and noted several upcoming board openings.
Several members of the Pickens County Planning Commission reported returning from a planning and zoning training hosted by the University of Georgia and recommended that the commission use the comprehensive plan as the primary guide for zoning decisions. A commissioner who attended described the instructor from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia as "engaging" and said the training repeatedly emphasized the importance of aligning actions with the comprehensive plan.
"Always go back to the comprehensive plan," the commissioner said, summarizing the training. Another commission member said the county’s current processes are moving toward best practices and said they intend to champion the comprehensive plan within commission deliberations.
Commissioners discussed the timeline for the next comprehensive plan update and noted the update is due in 2028. Staff said they want to begin work on the update and indicated an initial planning phase could start in November (date to be announced). The commission also briefly discussed recent training attendees — named in the record as Karen, Larry and Jerry — and thanked staff members who will help coordinate the update process. Staff also listed anticipated openings for commission positions and identified staff contacts available to help onboard new members.
No formal action was taken on the comprehensive plan during the meeting; the exchange was a report and discussion item. Commissioners asked staff to bring forward timelines and advertised recruitment information for board openings so the commission could align membership recruitment with the plan update schedule.
