“Design Guidelines” in the works for Walhalla

County staff offered assurance last night to the Walhalla Planning Commission that design guidelines that are in the offing to better the appearance of the downtown will not be so stringent that they will dictate the paint color of a building.  And Janet Hartman, who heads the Destination Oconee effort underway by the county, said the guidelines would apply to both new business and development downtown.  County planner Bill Huggins told the city planning commission that Alta Planning and Design is nearing the finish of a draft document of guidelines for the city’s Downtown Development Corporation.  Ahead will be a work session with the planning commission and, possibly, the city council.  Both Huggins and Hartman stressed the importance of communications with Walhalla residents and property owners in advance of any formal recommendations to the city council.  Martha Murtiashaw, planning commission chairwoman, reacted, by saying, “I wish you luck with that.”  Murtiashaw remembered a time, in 2009, when a proposal to create a Walhalla historic district failed because of opposition.  But Huggins said historic guidelines are much more restrictive and design guidelines do not require a board of architectural review, as is required for an historic district.