Rivian's Future Georgia Neighbors Aren't Thrilled

[RideAlong]

The march of Progress and the greater good and all that.

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[Gavinmcc]

Craigins:

I agree it is sad for these people.
and I’m proud of them coming together.

But they will likely, right or wrong, fail.

So it would be great to use this new found unity and sense of purpose to, all together, find and build the place of their dreams.
They can build a new small community and make all the regulations they want.

sadly I doubt they will do this. It is easier to come together to fight something, to say no to change, than it is to come together and build something, to say yes to change.


Just imagine the effort and commitment needed to build a new town. The work would be extreme, but so could be the reward.

But it is much easier to come together for a week, a month, even a year to say no, we don’t want this.

still it is sad for the people who want the area to not change.

 

[Trandall]

I'm pro Rivian and hope they become a strong, even if niche, brand. I do feel for this community. Remember this is vastly different than rejuvenating a defunct auto plant in Normal. These community members will not be benefiting from this plant necessarily. Financially maybe. Coming from a rural area I can tell you the residents don't live there because they are seeking the best economic advantage. If these small family farmers, retirees, small shop owners, etc. wanted to make the most money they would be investment bankers in Atlanta. Fact is some will loose their farms, small town feel will be diminished, and auto plants have considerable environmental concerns no matter who runs them. That being said their are obviously huge economic benefits. My point is it's not safe to assume that the majority of residents value the economic benefit more than the social and environmental drawbacks. Maybe they do maybe they don't either way they should be heard.

 

[ChrissyOne]

Why? Lithium is really nasty stuff and car plants cause all sorts of problems. An Amazon distribution center is just a warehouse.

Yes, but it's the delivery truck traffic they bring that might be more annoying. Hundreds of trucks are constantly in and out of FCs.

 

[MoreTrout]

 

[ads75]

I don't blame the people for not wanting a large factory in their town. Most probably live there because its a small town. And they probably grew up there. To say it is a better option than an Amazon warehouse, while that might be true, they wouldn't want that either. And to suggest the town people band up and buy the property is naive. Check some Eminent Domain cases and how they were legally handled, and I'm sure the town population doesn't have the legal funds to fight it.

That being said, there isn't much that can be done. Most don't really want a new, huge factory in their own town, especially if they already have jobs. First this factory will come, and then whats next. What if Rivian flames out, or does like Ford/GM and abandons the factory if it doesn't work out. I wouldn't want this in my town. I would probably be ok with a huge factory like this in a town 10-20 miles away from me, where I don't see it. But I also don't need a factory like this for a job, I already have a job, as do my neighbors. I don't need another job. No matter where it goes, not everyone is going to be happy. It is unfortunate, but true. One reason why this site was probably chosen because of a small population base to object to it.

 

[Rob Stark]

There were over 200 people that showed at my local city council to stop a Starbucks from being built.

There are ~104k people living in Morgan and Walton counties Georgia.

 

[Autolycus]

There were over 200 people that showed at my local city council to stop a Starbucks from being built.

There are ~104k people living in Morgan and Walton counties Georgia.

I agree with your overall point that those who are happy about the factory aren't showing up at these listening sessions.

But it is misleading to say there are ~104k in those two counties. They are both very large, mostly rural counties with several "urban" towns. The two closest towns to the factory site are Social Circle (~5k) and Rutledge (~1.1k). Now... they're also 5-10 miles from Covington (~13k), which is also on I-20 and is essentially the outer suburbs of Atlanta. Unincorporated areas around Covington have thousands of additional residents. Point being: it really is a pretty rural area.

Again, adding a but here... I started visiting Atlanta in the late 80s with my family. I distinctly remember many farmettes along major arterial roads within I-285 (Sandy Springs and Dunwoody areas especially). 20 years later, there were probably only a handful of single family homes on more than one acre, let alone the many 5-10 acre lots that used to exist. That area is now littered with strip malls, townhomes, and dense apartments and condos. Atlanta is growing, rapidly. At least as quickly as the inner urban areas are growing more dense, the outer bounds of the metro area are expanding month after month in every direction. Whether it's Rivian or something else, areas like Social Circle and Rutledge are going to become more densely populated in the near future. It has long been a joke that it's only a matter of time before Chattanooga will be considered part of the ATL metro area. Chattanooga is >110 miles from downtown Atlanta. Economically, the Rivian site is squarely within the Piedmont Atlantic economic megaregion and is literally adjacent to two of the major transportation arteries of that region (I-20 and the CSX rail line that carries freight from the ports of Savannah and Charleston to Atlanta and destinations west).

 

[Zoidz]

This type of conflict plays out hundreds (thousands?) of times a year across the US. Unfortunately, the average protesting citizen does not realize that planning commissions, zoning boards, comissioners, etc. etc. can't simply say "Nope, our citizens don't want you here, go away, stay away, leave us alone." With very few exceptions, all they can do is apply the codes and ordinances as they CURRENTLY exist at the time of the application, and if conditions are met, they have to approve the project.

Even where rezoning is required, they have to follow established policies and standards, and have to prove a sound reason for a refusal to rezone, not "the residents don't want it". If they don't approve it, they expose their governmental body and possibly themselves personally to lawsuits. But angry residents don't understand that, and launch accusations of collusion, pocket lining, selling out, etc. etc.

I assume that Rivian and their facilities team have done their homework, and feel fairly confident that they are on the "right" side of the zoning and ordinances, and that the residents are just going to be more angry and frustrated.

 

[AdamsFan1983]

That's an interesting question. I'm sure some would feel a little better about it because they would feel more confident that Ford or GM would be there "forever". If anybody would feel better about the environmental impact, then they're incredibly naive.

To say nothing of the fact both those companies have been closing facilities for the last 30 years not opening them-and one of the two needed unprecedented government bailouts (that ended up being successful) to stay in business

As someone who operates in professional politics for a living, it never ceases to amaze me how content people are in their partisan-informed ignorance.

When Kemp announced it, I mentioned to my wife I thought his messaging around it was very curious. …really weird to watch him try to take a victory lap bringing in a company his political philosophy has tried to undermine for over a decade.

 

[Autolycus]

To say nothing of the fact both those companies have been closing facilities for the last 30 years not opening them-and one of the two needed unprecedented government bailouts (that ended up being successful) to stay in business

As someone who operates in professional politics for a living, it never ceases to amaze me how content people are in their partisan-informed ignorance.

When Kemp announced it, I mentioned to my wife I thought his messaging around it was very curious. …really weird to watch him try to take a victory lap bringing in company his optical philosophy has tried to undermine for over a decade.

To clarify: I don't think they'd be right to think Rivian is less likely to be around than GM or Ford, but brand does mean something.

Kemp, for all of his... whatever... is still at his core a typical Georgia Republican whose focus is on jobs and the economy. He doesn't likely care who it is employing people, as long as the jobs exist. The big push toward solar, EV battery production, etc. in Georgia is simply a recognition that those are growth industries that offer economic opportunity for the state. Kemp has lurched a different direction than his predecessor at times because the loudest part of GOP base has shifted its focus thanks to Trump, but just look at some of the moves GOP governors have made in the past, often taking pragmatic approaches to economic issues ahead of dogmatic ones.

 

[Friscorays]

Bummer about March 1, 2022.

 

[Grabs10]

You think building a factory is a challenge with surrounding property owners you should see the upsetting proposition of getting a new High Voltage Transmission lines built in your backyard to get green energy from the generation source to consumers. The upset property owners breed generations of hate over a powerline.

a factory this big is going to take massive amounts of electricity that the utility companies are going to have to build out in many back yards miles away.

if I was around Rivian plant I feel I would either see what Rivian would give me or build a rv’s park on my property with full hooks ups…. 3+ years of construction and is going to require a bunch of temporary workers in need of shelter.

 

[Zoidz]

You think building a factory is a challenge with surrounding property owners you should see the upsetting proposition of getting a new High Voltage Transmission lines built in your backyard to get green energy from the generation source to consumers. The upset property owners breed generations of hate over a powerline.

a factory this big is going to take massive amounts of electricity that the utility companies are going to have to build out in many back yards miles away.

if I was around Rivian plant I feel I would either see what Rivian would give me or build a rv’s park on my property with full hooks ups…. 3+ years of construction and is going to require a bunch of temporary workers in need of shelter.

Agree that it will need a significant power infrastructure, but it will likely be medium voltage local distribution lines (not high voltage transmission lines) so it will be pole mounted or underground, not huge transmission towers. The trend, at least in our area, is to run new local distribution underground where possible. Many utilites now realize that between newer underground installation techniques that lower cost vs. long term pole mounted maintenance expenses due to storms, tree trimming, etc. the higher initial cost of underground installation is cheaper in the long run, especially when the customer is paying for the installation. You can be pretty certain that Rivian is gonig to pay a chunk of money to get power installed to the campus.

 

[R1T7777]

Why? Lithium is really nasty stuff and car plants cause all sorts of problems. An Amazon distribution center is just a warehouse.

Auto manufacturing, especially of EVs, provides more high skill jobs than an Amazon warehouse. It will be a benefit to local businesses, schools, and the local workforce.

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