A couple dozen Oglethorpe County residents gathered at the Historic Crawford Depot on Jan. 20 to weigh in on how their county should prepare for 2046.
County officials are updating the comprehensive plan — a 20-year growth and development guide — with six chapters: community goals, needs and opportunities, land use, broadband, transportation and a community work program.
The county also gathered feedback through an online survey, which closed Friday. The survey got about 100 responses, according to Carol Flaute, senior community planner at the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission.
The community’s feedback now goes to a steering committee with representatives from each municipality who will develop the draft comprehensive plan. There will be a second public hearing later this year for residents to provide feedback before the Oct. 31 adoption deadline of Oglethorpe County’s comprehensive plan.
Development in a growing county
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget projects Oglethorpe County will grow to 19,729 residents by 2046 — a 20.3% population increase from 2025. These new residents will need, according to the projection, 1,300 more homes.
Jeff Sharp, Oglethorpe County’s director of planning, zoning and compliance, said he expects that growth will happen sooner. From 2020 to 2024, Oglethorpe County’s population grew 9.1%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“It's really important for there to be adequate housing for everybody, and I think we have to be having these kinds of meetings so that we can think about how to do that sensibly,” said Jill Severn, Lexington mayor pro tem.
The comprehensive plan’s land use chapter will outline which developments are suitable for which parts of the county.
Teresa Campbell, Oglethorpe County’s planning, zoning and permitting administrator, said she worries that growth along the Athens-Clarke County border strains centrally located county services.
“What’s unfortunate is that’s the perfect spot for people who want to have country living but also want to be close to everything Athens has to offer, but it doesn’t do best for Oglethorpe,” Campbell said.
Preparing for growth means not only considering where to develop but also how fast.
“Once development hits, you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, so to speak,” said Jay Paul, chairman of the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners. “So that's why we have to be careful to not move too much, too fast, because once it's gone, it’s gone.”
Economic development
County administrator Jason Lewis said he views economic development as an avenue to preserve the county’s farmland.
“One of the main goals that you’re accomplishing, even with economic development, is you’re protecting rural farmland, you’re protecting agriculture by focusing growth in one area,” Lewis said.
Paul said he wants to see more businesses in Oglethorpe County, providing residents more opportunities to spend their money — and keep their sales tax — in the county.
Oglethorpe County’s January sales tax revenue per capita was $28.68 in 2024, according to data from the Georgia Department of Revenue and the U.S. Census Bureau, making it below the state’s $69.67 average and lower than any neighboring county.
Infrastructure expansion
For Severn, economic growth requires broadband expansion.
“If you want the rest of this county to grow, and you want the economy to flourish and you want to have kids that are educated — ready to join a 21st-century workplace — you’re going to have to have better internet access for them,” Severn said. “Otherwise, we’ll not be able to grow past a certain point.”
Oglethorpe County has 1,200 locations designated as “underserved” by the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program (BEAD) in 2025, according to the Georgia Technology Authority. “Underserved” locations have lower upload and download speeds than the benchmark speeds for reliable connectivity.
Willie Torres, Crawford City Council member and owner of Town and Country Kafe, said tractor-trailers coming through the county could be rerouted, or even made to pay a toll.
Preserving rural community
Crawford Mayor Alan Erwin said he wants Oglethorpe County to preserve its country atmosphere.
“You don’t meet any strangers, and you talk to people you see on the streets,” Erwin said.
Paul said he hopes Oglethorpe County retains its character as it grows.
“I just don’t want us to become so distant as a society that you become a DeKalb or a Cobb or a Gwinnett, where you know none of your neighbors and so on,” Paul said. “But it happens. Change happens.”