By Matthew Burgoyne
Staff Writer

Morgan County Planning and Development held its last Lakeshore Zoning and Land Use Discussion Group on Monday, April 28, discussing land use changes that will take affect this summer.
Allison Moon, Senior Planner for Morgan County, has held these discussion groups to help inform her on what the citizens of Morgan County are looking for in terms of land use. At the last meeting, she summarized what changes can be made and which changes can never be made based on what she heard from citizens at the discussion groups.
As a planner, taxes and infrastructure are not in Moon’s direct responsibility. Many citizens at the lakeshore discussion groups expressed concerns with high tax rates on lakeshore properties. They were also concerned with the infrastructure of the lake, including sewage and road access. These are changes that Moon and Morgan County Planning and Development can not change alone. These changes require the work of numerous government entities, so Morgan County Planning and Development could not do this on their own.
However, changes that can be made are the ordinances concerning land use. Throughout the next few months, Moon will better define the different land types in Morgan County and their uses. This is to better service the community and the land being used.
Many of the problems lakeshore residents are having can be addressed with a Home Owner’s Association. A community effort is needed in order to tackle some of the issues concerning lakeshore property, Moon said.
Morgan County Planning and Development hopes to also keep a better dialogue with the other groups with jurisdiction in area including Georgia Power, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Army Core of Engineers. Maintaining an open line of communication will keep everyone on the same page in terms of the concerns of the citizens of Morgan County.
The remaining two meetings scheduled in May will be rescheduled near the end of the summer after some of the changes have been made. Moon will then present all in attendance with the new changes and hear how they are working in the region.