Date:         Sat, 22 Jul 2000 14:17:02 -0400
Reply-To:     Barbara Passmore <passmore@DATASYS.NET>
Sender:       Georgia Birders Online <GABO-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Barbara Passmore <passmore@DATASYS.NET>
Subject:      Frequent Q&A - Greenspace Doc. 2 of 4
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GEORGIA GREENSPACE PROGRAM
Issues Frequently Raised at the Rule Making Forums, May 31-June 19, 2000


Will the State stop providing funds to a county if it doesn't achieve 20
percent greenspace?  The 20-percent figure is a goal, not a mandate.  The
Georgia Greenspace Program encourages local governments to envision how
they want their jurisdictions to look 30 years or so from now, to decide
what role greenspace will play in the community, and to take actions needed
to make its vision into reality.  The county will not lose funding if it
does not achieve 20 percent greenspace, provided it has a goal of at least
20 percent and is making a good-faith effort to achieve the goal.

Will a county smaller than 60,000 people which has grown by 800 people per
year become ineligible for funding if its annual growth rate drops below
800 before it attains 60,000 people?  Yes.  The statute's eligibility test
for growth rate is the average annual growth between the most recent
federal census figures and the most recent federal estimate of
population.  For the current fiscal year, this is an eight-year period
between 1990 (census) and 1998 (estimate).  For next year, it will be a
one-year period between 1999 (estimate) and 2000 (census).  Counties whose
growth rates declined significantly between the censuses of 1990 and 2000
could become ineligible for funding in the second year of the program.

Since a city cannot access appropriated funds independently of a county,
how will the State ensure that counties allow cities to participate in the
program?  To participate, an eligible city will have to enter into a
cooperative greenspace program with the county.  The Department will work
with a county and a city which are having trouble cooperating, and it may
use a conflict-resolution process such as the Department of Community
Affairs' 489 process.  However, if the local governments do not resolve the
conflict, the Georgia Greenspace Commission may have to decide whether to
approve the grant.

The statute requires a county to identify the specific parcels of land
which are proposed for acquisition or protection.  But this could upset
landowners and excite speculative purchasing, driving up the price of the
land.  Do the counties have to give this much detail?  The Commission will
need to decide whether it will be acceptable for the county to prepare a
schematic diagram of the greenspace it proposes to protect and a narrative
description of the types of land it wishes to protect.

The statute also requires a county to identify any changes made in the
comprehensive plan, to assure that the plan is consistent with the
greenspace program.  But it will take so long to amend the comprehensive
plan that counties may not be able to qualify for greenspace funding in the
program's first year.  Can counties include in their ten-year strategy a
schedule for amending their comprehensive plans?  The Commission will need
to decide whether this will be an acceptable alternative.

The state grant amounts are small, relative to the need for additional
land.  The program cannot by itself solve the shortage of greenspace
statewide.  It is designed to encourage counties to plan for many ways to
set aside greenspace, using local, federal, state and private resources.

Can cities and counties agree to allocate the state funds differently than
on a strict population basis as provided in the statute?  The Commission
will need to decide whether this will be acceptable, but the intent of the
program is to provide as much flexibility as possible to communities as
they set aside greenspace.

Can state grant funds be used for planning, development and operations on
greenspace lands?  The state funds are currently available only for the
purchase price of land or easements, and for the appraisals, surveys, title
insurance, and closing costs required to acquire land.  The county does not
have to provide matching funds, but it must commit to providing adequate
stewardship of the lands once acquired.

Can sports fields and golf courses count toward the 20-percent
goal?  No.  The focus of the program is on maintaining land in a relatively
natural state and on water-quality protection.  Sports fields and golf
courses require intensive use of fertilizer and pesticides, and they
require parking areas and, often, bleachers and buildings.

Does greenspace have to allow public access?  There is no requirement that
all greenspace offer public access, but the greenspace must be permanently
protected to count toward the county's 20-percent goal.

How can counties give permanent protection to local greenspace without
granting a conservation easement to another party?  Greenspace purchased
with Land and Water Conservation Fund moneys or with greenspace grant funds
would count as permanently protected.  Today, there is no way to count
greenspace acquired with local, private or most federal funds except by
granting a conservation easement or entering into a covenant with a federal
agency.  It may be necessary for the State and local governments to seek
state legislation which would allow local governments to dedicate their own
lands, in a manner similar to the state's Heritage Preserve dedication process.

How will the State ensure that a local government spends the grant funds
appropriately and provides adequate stewardship for the lands
thereafter?  The local government will have its Community Greenspace Fund
audited annually and it will carry on its capital account all lands that it
wishes to count as greenspace.  The local government includes these
accounts in its annual audit report, and the Department can learn how the
funds were spent and to what uses the local government is putting the land
acquired.  The grant award agreement will also require the local government
to commit to maintain the greenspace properties.

Can a local government condemn land for greenspace purposes?  The
Greenspace statute has no effect on a county's authority to acquire land by
condemnation.  However, it is unlikely that condemnation would be widely
used to acquire greenspace, because condemnation is politically unpopular
and the state funds will fall far short of the lands available from willing
landowners.

Can a city use their portion of the state appropriated funds to purchase
land outside of the city limits or county borders if money is targeted for
watershed protection?  No, an eligible county must use its state
appropriated funds only within the borders of that county.  However, the
city does have the option to use its funds outside of the city but only
within the borders of the eligible county of which it received its state
appropriated funds.

Are salt marsh lands and water included in the calculation of coastal
counties overall geographic area?  No, salt marshlands will be excluded
from a coastal county's geographic area in the same way that coastal waters
and man-made bodies of water in excess of 500 acres will be excluded from a
county's overall geographic area.  Salt marshlands, while not necessarily
meeting the definition of permanently protected land and water under the
Greenspace Program, are considered state owned marshlands and water
bottoms, and provides substantial protection under the Coastal Marshlands
Protection Act of 1970.