Earth Day 2004

Going through old files to remember what was happening 20 years ago, I ran across reminders of long forgotten events.  With Earth Day 2022 upon us, I was reminded of an earlier Earth Day in the early days of Chattahoochee Hill Country and Serenbe. 

 In the Spring of 2004, the story I am now sharing in my remembrance posts was being celebrated locally and nationally as a unique opportunity for the future of green-field development.  The zoning laws had been passed, the first Transfer Development Rights for the southern US had been passed for Georgia and Serenbe had just broken ground, The editorial pages had run a few stories and local and national awards were headed our way.  

For Earth Day 2004, US Congressman David Scott chose to celebrate the day and deliver his Earth Day message from Serenbe.   To celebrate, we presented Congressman Scott with a picture of a rural landscape of the Chattahoochee Hill Country.  This open pasture was an example of how the new zoning overlay would protect pastures such as this in urban Atlanta.  

Congressman Scott was in his first term representing Georgia’s newly formed 13th congressional district.  Congressman Scott continues to represent this district and is the only person to do so in the 20 years since the district was formed. Last year, he ascended to Chair the US House Agriculture Committee.  He is the first person of color to hold this chair. 

Pictured from the left in the picture are Kasim Reed, who at the time was the Georgia State Senator representing our area; a younger me serving as Chair of the Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance; Congressman Scott; Bill Edwards, who at the time was the Fulton County Commissioner representing our South Fulton district; and Tom Williams, Vic President of the Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance & Land manager for Bouckaert Holdings.

Each of the elected official pictured here would go on to play important rolls in the story of the Chattahoochee Hill Country, the formation of the city of Chattahoochee Hills and the four county, 98 mile proposed PATH system. 

So much more to tell, and it is also fun to look back at the files and remember the journey we have been on for 20 years to reach this point.