Toccoa Honored as Georgia PlanFirst Community.

The City of Toccoa is one of 18 Georgia communities honored as a 2019 PlanFirst Community.

Members of Toccoa Main Street were at the State Capitol February 27 for the 5th Annual PlanFirst Capitol Event.

Toccoa Main Street Community Development Director Connie Tabor said  PlanFirst is progam of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

“PlanFirst recognizes and rewards communities that demonstrate an established pattern of successfully implementing their Local Comprehensive Plan,” she said Monday.

The process for PlanFirst designation includes meeting multiple prerequisites and completing evaluations by various state agencies.  Tabor says it’s all about how well a community plans for future growth.

“They were pleased with the way our planning process runs in the City, they liked our zoning review, the ordinances that are in place, such as our tree ordinance,” she said. “Those types of things they look at to see if those types of designations are in place. It indicates that the community has plans are in place so that we can grow our city in the future.”

Tabor says this is the first year Toccoa was designated a PlanFirst community and joins 17 other Georgia cities for the 2019 designation.

Other cities honored this year include Centreville, Chamblee, Dublin, Gainesville, Fitzgerald, Hiawassee, Lula, Porterdale, Roswell, Suwanee, Swainsboro, Sylvester, and Washington; along with Colquitt, Gwinnett and Liberty counties; and the City of Columbus Consolidated Government.