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Commissioners start process to align county livestock definition with state statute OCGA 4-4-1.1, including poultry
Summary
The board voted to initiate a text amendment to the county zoning ordinance to align the local definition of "livestock" with OCGA 4-4-1.1; planning staff said that would clarify whether poultry and similar operations are addressed as livestock under county rules and speed permit processing for auction barns and livestock sales.
Madison County commissioners voted on Aug. 4 to initiate a zoning-text amendment to align the countydefinition of "livestock" with state law (OCGA 4-4-1.1). Staff explained the change is intended to bring poultry explicitly into the livestock definition and to make county ordinance language consistent with state livestock-disease and animal definitions.
Planning staff said the amendment is expected to clarify how facilities such as livestock auction barns and poultry operations are permitted under the county code and could shorten the process for applicants by explicitly listing poultry within livestock definitions and permitted-use tables. Commissioners instructed staff to place the amendment before the Planning and Zoning Commission for public review and formal advertisement and moved the change forward as a board-initiated text amendment.
Why it matters: Aligning local ordinance text with state statute will reduce ambiguity for applicants and staff and avoid situations where a use (poultry sales or auction barns) may be permitted under state-based definitions but omitted in county text, prompting ad hoc or conditional-use review.
