Welcome to YOUR 2018 Cherokee County Comprehensive Plan Update!

About this Plan

Thank you for visiting and please know your interest in the 2018 Comprehensive Plan Update is valued and apreciated. In the last 10 years, Cherokee County has changed significantly. We have continued to see increases in population, housing and employment despite the recent economic downturn. Major developments include the Outlet Shoppes of Atlanta, Canton Marketplace, Cabella’s, new Northside Cherokee Hospital, Inalfa, Adidas, and Papa John’s. With all of these changes, it is critical to check in with the whole community and update our Comprehensive Plan to ensure the county remains a great place to live, do business and enjoy amazing recreation opportunities.

Think of the Comprehensive Plan as a roadmap for the community’s future, with the community in the driver’s seat. To ensure we reach our desired destination, it is important to ‘check the map’ periodically. Generally, a comprehensive plan is a document to guide investment, development and the allocation of services within a jurisdiction. But cities, towns and counties are complicated places, and they make decisions about the future every day in response to new opportunities or unexpected problems. A Comprehensive Plan, like this one, is one tool that can help guide these decisions by:

• Looking ahead 5, 10 or 20 years - the long view
• Looking across many different elements of what the County does - it’s comprehensive
• Looking to residents and business owners to understand the needs and desires of the County - thought through and intentional

Cherokee County and the cities of Ball Ground and Waleska last updated their Comprehensive Plans in 2008. This document is an update to Cherokee County’s plan that affirms the big picture vision, describes the core issues including detailed studies of six Target Areas, lays out a roadmap for future development and provides a list of tasks, called the Short Term Work Plan, for county leaders, staff and citizens to complete in order to implement the vision. If you are unsure where to begin, see the specific topic buttons at the top of the page or the quick links to the Plan Document, Future Development Map and the Short Term Work Plan. 

Please contact the Planning Division at 678-493-6106 with any questions or concerns.