DeKalb County Regional Planning Commission got plenty of citizen input Monday night on how the county could proceed with county-wide zoning ordinance.
UCDD Deputy Director Tommy Lee said the recent meeting served as a preliminary step to gather citizen input and address questions about the potential regulations. Lee said the planning body has not yet officially considered adopting zoning but focused on explaining the process to residents.
“There were some that were in favor of county-wide zoning, there were some that were against it,” Lee said. “Mostly though, everybody was just asking questions trying to understand what exactly it is that county-wide zoning is and how it would affect them.”
Lee said residents who support the implementation of zoning often view it as a mechanism to safeguard their property values from nearby developments that could have a negative impact.
The public hearing included discussions on the limitations of zoning, such as the fact that it cannot completely eliminate a specific land use but can dictate where that use is located.
“Well, zoning puts like-minded uses together, or in theory, that’s what it’s supposed to do,” Lee said. “You don’t put a bakery next to a slaughterhouse.”
Lee said the planning commission now requires a clear signal from county commissioners to determine if the discussion should continue or end. If the County Commission expresses interest in moving forward, the planning commission will begin the technical work of drafting the necessary documents.
“Is the County Commission interested in adopting zoning?” Lee said. “And if not, the talks will end. If they want us to continue, then we’ll start putting together an ordinance and a map and we’ll start looking at it.”
Lee said the goal of such regulations is to organize land use so that the most impactful developments are grouped together while less impactful uses remain separated. This structure is intended to create a predictable environment for property owners.
“You don’t put a landfill next to a flower garden,” Lee said. “It’s one of those deals where you try to keep your uses separate and you try to get them where the most impactful uses are going to be close together and the least impactful uses will be together.”
Lee said that if the County Commission authorizes the next steps, a prototype ordinance and map could be ready for review within approximately six months.
