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LIMITED SPACE LEFT FOR
30th ANNIVERSARY ANNUAL MEETING THIS FRDIDAY!
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Thirty Years of Collaboration, Smart Growth & Economic Development
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The success of any great city doesn't happen by accident. Regulation that supports quality growth and protects communities doesn't simply appear. It requires the ongoing collaboration and thoughtful planning of growth and development industry leaders who come together to strategically address economic planning, infrastructure needs, and challenging quality-of-life issues throughout the metro Atlanta region and state.
The Council for Quality Growth, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, provides a voice for these regional leaders, bringing all interested parties to the table and providing an effective forum for problem solving to help ensure continued growth and economic success for generations to come.
 It all began in a crisis in the mid 1980s when Gwinnett County was expanding at a rate unparalleled in the nation. We faced seemingly irreconcilable circumstances - welcoming long-awaited economic development while managing infrastructure shortfalls and rapidly changing public attitudes. Developers, builders, bankers, architects, engineers, and others who were providing the spark for Gwinnett's economic engine responded by forming the Council for Quality Growth. While different in their perspectives, they were united by their shared commitment to create a sustainable future for Gwinnett.
Atlanta has changed a lot since 1985, and in the decades since the Council for Quality Growth has expanded its work to the metro region, continuing to aggressively apply that same spirit of open cooperation to inform decisions on complicated and controversial issues. As the only organization that works every day to ensure the Metro Atlanta region's development policies are fair and conducive to balanced and responsible growth, we've addressed everything from floodplain regulations to building permitting processes. We've celebrated major victories as well as those many may not have even noticed, but certainly benefitted from.
"The Council has worked with municipalities like the City of Dunwoody as they look at building codes, and advocated for major issues like the 2012 regional TSPLOST," said Brent Reid, 2014 Council Chairman and CEO of Winter Construction and Winter Environmental. "However, its most significant contributions may have been in the legislation they stopped because it was damaging, or helped mold into a better option that was a win/win for everyone. The Council does a lot of small things to help put out the camp fire before it becomes a forest fire."
Today we're recognized as an essential partner to community, regional, and statewide leadership. The Council is able to succeed in this role because of the strength of our membership, our board, and our relationships that enable broad access to a variety of people. We helped shape Floodplain Regulations in 1988; lobbied the passage of the Buffer, Landscape, and Tree Ordinance in 1992; formed the Georgia Greenspace Program in 2000; lobbied for the passage of the Watershed Protection Bill in 2014; lobbied for the passing of the Transportation Funding Act in 2015; and so much more.
 "There are now and will always be a wide variety of issues that affect the region, and there will always be need for the region to come together to figure out how to solve them," said 2013 Council Chairman and Pope & Land senior vice president Mason Zimmerman. "An organization like the Council is an important way for regional leaders to discuss and solve regional problems." (continued on page 3)
Click HERE to read the complete version of
the 30th Anniversary In the Loop
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