A Village in the Woods

The Orange Twin Conservation Community Moves Ahead

originally published December 20, 2006

On Dec. 6, the Athens-Clarke County Commission unanimously approved the final plans for development of the Orange Twin Conservation Community (or OTCC) with surprisingly enthusiastic support. After years of working with the local Planning Department, the members of Orange Twin finally achieved their first critical goal with full backing from the county. There was also notable public support from the surrounding neighborhood. They now open their doors to potential shareholders and homebuilders interested in participating in the development of a community based on conservation and sustainable living. Sitting on over 155 acres of Georgia piedmont forest - most of which is undeveloped and in Athens-Clarke’s greenbelt - the land will become the site of 45 clustered homes lining pedestrian thoroughfares throughout two separate villages, with 20 acres reserved for organic farming and a 100-acre conservation easement.

The Land

In 1999, Barbara Denvir discovered a newspaper ad about a piece of land being put up for sale. It had been vacant and untouched for 40 years, having once been used for cotton farming in the 19th century and later in the 1960s as a privately-owned Girl Scout camp. Recalls Denvir: “It was amazing and beautiful, much more than I was looking for, with many surprises - and it was cheap.” Denvir, along with Laura Carter and Laura Glenn, scouted the old roads, eventually finding an existing swimming hole and pavilion. A year later, others discovered the remnants of a family cemetery along one of the pathways.

The three tracts of land are home to deer, mountain laurel, hardwood forest, and chanterelle mushrooms (which blossom from the roots of white oaks during summer months). Two converging streams cascade through the terrain: Noketchee Creek, which comes from the north, and Helican Springs, which comes from the east and flows through an existing swimming hole. The tracts were purchased in the spring of 2000.

The Vision

“It started as a community of friends…. We had the idea before we ever found the land,” says Laura Carter, who signed the initial holding check. “Laura Glenn and I are both adamant about the way kids get to grow up: not in front of a television set.” Specific criteria then emerged from their shared values: “30 acres, woods, a water source, somewhere 15 minutes from downtown, preferably bikeable.” After finding a plot of land five times larger than what they initially wanted, the vision of the community changed. Says Carter, “We came up with a new plan to work environmentally, economically, spiritually…”

Today, OTCC is run by a board of trustees and includes elected president Carter, a vice president, treasurer and clerk. The diverse group of individuals making up the board of 21 trustees includes artists, lawyers, musicians, editors and architects. The Orange Twin vision combines community with nature, art and agriculture. Its concept draws from such influences as Bill Mollison’s forward-thinking work on permaculture as well as the do-it-yourself spirit of the independent music scene in Athens.

Creating eco-villages is not a new idea, even in the South: The Farm in Tennessee is one of the oldest eco-villages in the United States. As for the OTCC, their presence is one which has been long awaited in the diverse Athens community.

The Plan

With help from architect Phil Hawes, UGA professor Allen Stovall, and cofounder of Village Habitat Design Greg Ramsey, the members of Orange Twin are preparing to realize the creation of a pedestrian-based eco-village supported by solar power. “I like to think we owe it to humanity,” says John d’Azzo, Orange Twin’s head planner/ design scientist, who, with Laura Carter, was responsible for getting the plan through the Planning and ACC Commissions.

Located on Noketchee Creek Road in Athens, the eco-village will contain two pedestrian-based communities: Smokey Road and Noketchee Creek. Their basic layouts will contain dense clusters of south-facing single- and multi-family residences placed in the least environmentally sensitive areas. Connecting the residences will be gathering areas and community-owned facilities to include artist studios, a pedestrian boulevard, sports fields and two amphitheaters. The amphitheaters, located in natural depressions in the existing terrain, will be used as outdoor theaters with stages and parks for recreational activities. “The sculpted, terraced terrain will also serve as an erosion-control device as it slows down and captures stormwater before it eventually flows into the detention pond below,” d’Azzo explains. The community will overlook its own agricultural production area, thus, he says, “visually connecting the inhabitants to the land.”

For more information regarding the Orange Twin Conservation Community, contact Laura Carter at village@orangetwin.com, or visit www.orangetwin.com.

Cathy Cain