South Fulton

County residents learned last year that the long-awaited economic renaissance

should finally start happening south of Interstate 20.

In fact, the

area 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 by Fulton County Director of Economic Development

Joseph Johnson.

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.

Support Fulton

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

National Highway and other state routes.

Create a master

plan for South Fulton.

Complete the

South Fulton Parkway sewer line construction project.

Work with

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

outside of each jurisdiction to create quality development.

Establish

neighborhood equity programs.

Create incentives

for town center and village center developments.

"We might

want to have a village center development on the parkway," he said.

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. In the upcoming year, many

of the county's leaders will further study the proposals and decide which

ones are the best fit for the region.