The Fight to Save Our Farmland Matters
From Gwinnett to Greene and Morgan to Madison counties, the pressure to develop land is knocking on all our doors. To housing developers and highway planners, county lines don’t exist. Where we see farms and hay fields, they see open space waiting for pavement and rooftops.
AAHC founder Amanda McCoy often says “Every person who moves to rural GA wants to be the last person to move to rural GA.”
People need homes to live in. AND it is also true that our agricultural way of life is facing aggressive, immediate pressure to develop. In Watkinsville, GDOT is pushing a truck bypass through farms that were supposed to be permanently and legally preserved. A few miles away in Arnoldsville, rural land is under heavy pressure to break agricultural zoning for massive subdivisions.
Let’s be smart about development. Let’s be transparent with the residents and taxpayers who are affected by it. No matter which county in the Athens area you call home, you depend on our farmers—hay for your horses and food for your plate.
Infrastructure Invites Sprawl
The biggest myth about the Watkinsville bypass is that it’s “just a semi-truck traffic fix.” Pavement creates a direct pipeline for suburban sprawl. When you build a heavy industrial road through land set aside for farming, developers follow the asphalt.
We see this exact same pressure on the Arnoldsville border. Because it sits right on the edge of Clarke County, developers view our quiet pastures as the ultimate “sweet spot” for commuter subdivisions. Meanwhile, homeowners on Dunlap Road with contaminated wells couldn’t hook up to Arnoldsville water because the 2” pipe used to supply residents physically cannot support the additional homes.
Here at AAHC, we aren’t anti-growth, but we must grow smart. That means maximizing the highways we already have, rather than cutting fresh asphalt through protected green spaces and working family farms. It means putting subdivisions where the infrastructure can actually support them.
Your voice matters and when you show up to local government meetings, the decision makers listen – well, at least some of them do and even the really tough politicians listen some of the time. This guide shows the when & where for each local county’s Board of Commissioner’s meeting.
Something to keep in mind when you are talking to a politician: half of their brain is listening to you and the other half is weighing what you are saying against what they know about their voters.
What is Happening in Your NEIGHborhood?
Here is what is happening in our area in Spring 2026:
Oconee County: The Watkinsville Bypass Project
GDOT is actively processing community feedback on the proposed truck bypass connecting SR 24 to SR 15 (Project #0017970). Take a moment to email the decision-makers directly to show your support for protecting our farms. Include your full name and address to double your impact.
- To: jboswell@dot.ga.gov; aphillips@dot.ga.gov; macorts@accgov.com; jdaniell@oconee.ga.us; msaxon@oconee.ga.us; cgarrett@oconee.ga.us; aharden@oconee.ga.us; mthomas@oconee.ga.us; bbrodrick@watkinsvillega.gov
- Ask these critical questions to force a technical review:
- Why hasn’t a “No-Build” or “Existing Pavement Only” alternative been fully evaluated?
- Why are Watkinsville and Bishop being studied separately instead of as a unified, regional transportation plan?
Oglethorpe County: 20-Year Comprehensive Plan Update
Oglethorpe is currently rewriting its 20-year Comprehensive Plan. This is the single most important document that local leaders use to approve or deny rezonings, and it is built entirely on resident feedback. Show up in person to protect the county’s vast agricultural core.
- Board of Commissioners Meeting: First Monday of every month at 6:00 PM (Next meeting: Monday, June 1st at 105 Union Point Rd, Lexington)
- Zoning Board Meeting: Third Thursday of every month at 6:00 PM (Next meeting: Thursday, June 18th)
Morgan County: Fighting Clear-Cutting & Mass Grading
Morgan County is drawing a hard line in the sand to protect its historic rural identity. In addition to their investment in their ag facility, Commissioners are currently drafting a strict new ‘Tree Ordinance’ specifically designed to stop developers from clear-cutting and mass-grading large tracts of timber and farmland before they build. Equestrians across our footprint should watch this closely to see if neighboring counties can replicate these protections.
Jackson County: Heavy Industry vs Groundwater
Equestrians in East Jackson have been locked in a massive battle over a proposed 900-acre rock quarry. The county has successfully leveraged its land-use plan to deny special use permits by proving the heavy industrial footprint threatens Significant Groundwater Recharge Areas—the very aquifers that keep our residential and livestock wells running safely.
Walton County: Commercial Creep on Farm Corridors
Walton is facing intense pressure to rezone large, rural estate holdings into heavy commercial zones at key highway intersections. From the Monroe-to-Social Circle corridor, developers are pushing for commercial truck and retail overlays that drastically increase vehicle speed, heavy truck traffic, and noise right next to established fence lines and pasture gates.