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South Fulton

County could be the home of a family-oriented destination if a proposed

economic development plan is passed.

That's just

one of the proposals offered Tuesday night by Fulton County Director

of Economic Development Joseph Johnson.

Johnson emphasized

that the hefty proposal handed out to the 40 or so curious spectators

in College Park was only a draft, and that residents would have a say

in the area's future development.

"This

is a liquid document," he said.

After the

public responds to the proposal, Johnson plans to take it to the Fulton

County Board of Commissioners, the Atlanta Regional Commission, the

Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and MARTA for their perusal.

Johnson said

South Fulton has a unique opportunity to plan and develop the type of

growth local residents want, instead of reacting to an avalanche of

growth like residents in north Fulton did.

One of the

recommendations was to develop a family attraction in South Fulton.

"Cobb

County has Whitewater and DeKalb has Stone Mountain. We can have something

like that in South Fulton," he said.

He emphasized

that a major attraction would only come to the area if the residents

decided that's the type of growth they wanted.

Other recommendations

in the draft included:

Create a

new leadership program for South Fulton.

F Support

Fulton County's grant program for the beautification of Roosevelt Highway,

Old National Highway and other state routes.

F Create

a master plan for South Fulton.

F Complete

the South Fulton Parkway sewer line construction project.

F Work with

the six cities in the area on land use and overlay districts one mile

outside of each jurisdiction to create quality development.

F Establish

neighborhood equity programs.

F Create

incentives for town center and village center developments.

"We

might want to have a village center development on the parkway,"

he said.

F Develop

a county-wide project team for various departments to support increased

economic development.

Johnson has

developed a series of proposals for many of the corridors and communities

in South Fulton to spur economic development.

During the

next few weeks, The South Fulton Citizen will examine each of the areas

and look at specific recommendations.

Residents

are encouraged to offer their feedback on the draft and a complete copy

can be found at the South Annex in College Park.

Next Tuesday,

Edwards and Johnson are staging another meeting at the South Annex to

get input from the residents on the proposal. The meeting starts at

6:30 p.m.