Who Will Our Land Serve?

Read more about the land bank at the Cherokee Tribune.

Cherokee County is setting up something called a land bank. I know—that phrase probably makes most people’s eyes glaze over. But stay with me. This is one of those behind-the-scenes changes that could shape the future of Woodstock for decades.

Here’s the deal: a land bank is a public entity that can take over abandoned, blighted, or tax-delinquent properties and repurpose them. Instead of letting land sit empty and rot, the land bank can turn it into housing, parks, or small business space. That’s the good news.

The Cherokee Regional Land Bank is being formed right now. Cherokee County and Canton have already signed on. Holly Springs and Woodstock are next in line. If Woodstock joins, we’ll get one seat on the board that decides what happens with these properties.

This is where you—citizens of Woodstock—should be paying attention.

Because a land bank is just a tool. It can be used to build attainable housing for working families, or it can be used to hand land over to developers who build high-end projects that most people here can’t afford. It can create public green space or community hubs, or it can grease the wheels for another chain restaurant and parking lot.

It all depends on who is sitting in that board seat and what values guide their decisions.

Some people are already skeptical. They’re worried this means outside forces could force development on our city. The truth is: no, the land bank can’t override Woodstock’s zoning or push projects we don’t want. But here’s what it can do—it can quietly funnel land into the hands of powerful players while the rest of us are left out of the loop.

That’s why this matters so much.

As your mayor, I won’t have direct control over the land bank. That’s not how the office works in Woodstock. But I will have a microphone, and I plan to use it. My job will be to shine a light on these decisions, ask hard questions, and make sure citizens—not just developers—have a say in how our land is used.

Because land is power. And the question facing Woodstock is simple:
Will our land serve people, or will it serve profit?

This is exactly why I’m running. To keep government from sliding deals through behind closed doors. To make sure the teachers, firefighters, young families, and seniors who keep our city running can actually afford to live here. To give you—not just the well-connected—a voice in the process.

Expose. Pressure. Repeat. That’s how we keep Woodstock a place for all of us.