GPA 2006 Fall Conference is Near!
The conference planning committee has put together a great line-up of sessions, mobile workshops, and special events to ensure this will be one of our best conferences yet. Registration is still available and can easily be done ONLINE or onsite at the conference. With over 240 people currently registered, this is sure to be a great event!.
Highlights of the conference include excellent educational sessions including an opening presentation from City of Brunswick Mayor Bryan Thompson, and 36 breakout sessions in 5 tracts covering Transportation, Comprehensive Planning & Quality Growth, Planning Practice, Communication & Public Involvement, and Professional Development. There is also a special Planning Officials track on Thursday focusing on training local appointed and elected officials in the practice of making planning decisions. To enhance your local experience, several mobile workshops and local events are offered from a Downtown Brunswick Tour, Island Bike Ride, Golf, an Island Trolley Tour, and more.
Other highlights include an Opening Reception, the annual GPA Membership Meeting, and the Awards Lunch featuring a keynote address from Paul Farmer, FAICP, Executive Director and CEO of the American Planning Association and the presentation of the 2006 GPA Planning Awards.
We look forward to seeing everyone on St. Simons Island from October 11th – 13th.
Special Invitation to Glynn County and St. Simons Island
By now I hope you have registered for the upcoming annual conference of the Georgia Planning Association at Sea Palms on St. Simons Island. If you haven’t please consider doing so. As you make your plans, I encourage you to consider bringing your family and planning to extend your stay for a few days so you can really enjoy the experience. By the way, all of the following suggestions are very family friendly.
If you can come early, the Saturday prior to the conference (October 7) will be date for the 11th annual CoastFest sponsored by the Coastal Resources Division (CRD) of the Department of Natural Resources. This is billed as Georgia's largest celebration of our state's coastal natural resources. The event features exhibits, activities, games, and more - many of these activities are particularly suited to children. CoastFest is held at DNR’s local headquarters off US 17 at the northern approach to the new Sidney Lanier Bridge.
If you can stay an extra day or two, Saturday following the conference (October 14) will feature the Annual Brunswick Rockin’ Stewbilee in downtown Brunswick, just a few miles from St. Simons Island. This event features fifty teams from Georgia and other states vying for recognition as making the best Brunswick Stew. There are also games, vendors, and entertainment. Associated with this event is the Freedom 5K Run organized by the Golden Isles Track Club. The Run is conducted in conjunction with a parallel event in Iraq, in which soldiers from the Brunswick area participate. On Saturday evening there will also be a concert at Mary Ross Park (the site of the Stewbilee).
And every day there will be an opportunity to visit some of the historic sites and points of interest in the area:
Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island was established by James Oglethorpe as his major southern outpost for defense of the Georgia colony against invasion by the Spanish, the area form the Altamaha River south being in dispute between the English and the Spanish colonies. In 1742, with some cunning strategy and a bit of luck, troops from Ft. Frederica drove off a much larger Spanish force from St. Augustine at the Battle of Bloody Marsh off Demere Road on St. Simons. This served to effectively end the threat of invasion until Spain and England made peace five years later - the Battle of Bloody Marsh is why we don’t speak Spanish now. The Fort is under National Park Service jurisdiction and is a fascinating look at colonial times. The National Park Service also maintains an overlook at Bloody Marsh.
Ft. King George in nearby Darien was also established by Oglethorpe as part of the southern defense.
Hofwyl Plantation, located on US 17 just south of exit 42 (north of Brunswick), is a colonial rice plantation. The visitor center provides an explanation of how tides were used to manage the inundation of the rice fields by fresh water. The plantation house is not imposing as is probably a more accurate representation of how plantations looked than is portrayed in "Gone With the Wind.
And finally, no visit to this area is complete until you have visited Jekyll Island and particularly the Historic District. There isn’t room here to tell all of the interesting things about this place. And if the last time you were here was for the last GPA conference in 2002, be aware that many improvements have been made.
Again, welcome to the coast - hope you can stay awhile!
York Phillips, AICP
A Growth Management Plan for Georgia? Get a GRIP.
Why doesn’t Georgia have a comprehensive growth management plan? While the Georgia Planning Act outlines growth management in our state, certain touchy aspects have remained unimplemented.
 According to OCGA 50-8-7.1 “(1) The department (Georgia DCA), utilizing the comprehensive plans of qualified local governments, shall assist the Governor in coordinated and comprehensive planning on the state level and throughout the state, including, but not limited to, assistance in the development of a comprehensive plan for the state..” Based on the above law, many planners would say Georgia falls short of a comprehensive growth management program.
What does it take to have a statewide growth management? One definition often cited is that growth management is: 1) provided under state legislative enactment; 2) mandates or encourages local governments to prepare plans; 3) mandates or encourages submittal of plans for review; 4) maintains system of incentives and disincentives. Under this definition Georgia definitely has a growth management program. The two largest deficiencies in Georgia’s existing growth management program could arguably be the lack of required consistency to development regulations and the fact that funds distributed through Georgia DOT are not impacted by Qualified Local Government (QLG) status. QLG is the trigger that is used if a local government fails to adopt a plan.
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October 6, 2006
Southface – Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable, Atlanta, GA
for more info please visit the website at www.southface.org
October 6 – 7, 2006
Fall Historic Preservation Commission Training, Rome, GA
for more info please visit the website at www.uga.edu/gapc
October 10, 2006
IAP2 Georgia Chapter – Brown Bag Lunch Talks, Atlanta, GA
for more info please email sallison@jjg.com
October 10 – 14, 2006
NRPA Congress and Expo 2006, Seattle, WA
for more info please visit the website at www.nrpa.org/congress
October 11 – 13, 2006
GPA Fall Conference, St. Simons, GA
for more info please email Rob LeBeau
October 11 – 14, 2006
Effective Zoning Techniques, Urban Design and Site Planning, Collaborative Growth Visioning, Transportation/Land Use Connection, Providence, RI
for more info please visit the website at www.planning.org/PTS
October 17 – 18, 2006
Community Planning Institute, Athens. GA
for more info please email esmith@dca.state.ga.us
October 19-20, 2006
First Annual Upper Altamaha Stakeholder Conference, UGA, Athens, GA
for more info click HERE
October 19 – 21, 2006
Place Matters 2006: A Creative Planning Collaborative for Sustainable Communities, Denver, CO
October 31 – November 5, 2006
Making Preservation Work: National Preservation Conference, Pittsburgh, PA
for more info please visit their website at www.nthpconference.org
Visit the GPA Calendar of Events website page for a full listing... |
