Newton County holds open house on Unified Development Ordinance update

Newton County Development Services and its consultants hosted an open house to present a proposed update to the county's Unified Development Ordinance and gather public feedback on zoning, housing types and procedural changes.

The update is intended to consolidate existing regulations, increase predictability for applicants and neighbors, and bring the county's UDO into alignment with the county's 2023 comprehensive plan. Consultants said the rewrite will be delivered in two modules and is expected to return for additional public review and hearings before the planning commission and the Board of Commissioners.

Shane Apployd, a development services representative for Newton County, opened the meeting and invited consultants to present the project scope and schedule. Brian Mabry, a consultant with Kennicke's Collaborative, said the team has already met with county staff, a steering committee and the board of commissioners and will return when draft modules are ready.

“The posters are also going to be available and this presentation be available on the county's website, as like, as PDFs,” Mabry said.

Consultants described the update as a consolidation of the current UDO into a single, user-friendly document (the existing UDO is currently about 500 pages) and said the work will be split into two modules: the first covering land uses and definitions, and the second covering overlay standards, landscaping, parking, signs, subdivision standards and procedures. They said staff review, steering-committee feedback and public hearings will precede a Board of Commissioners decision.

Key topics consultants and staff highlighted included a possible overlay district to limit or prohibit multifamily development in parts of the county (cited specifically for the west side), clearer notice thresholds for changes to approved plans, updates to zoning district names and purposes, policies to preserve open space and conservation developments, and rules for new or niche land uses such as cottage courts, accessory dwelling units and small-scale production/retail businesses.

Participants and consultants also raised practical issues to address in the rewrite: narrow streets and the impact of townhouse or apartment developments; perceived loopholes allowing applicants to change approved plans without adequate notice; clarifying private-street standards; and a staff “wish list” of technical fixes to streamline review and enforcement.

Consultants said the update will include a use table showing which land uses are permitted, limited or conditional in each district, clearer development-review tables that list required steps and decision-makers, and user-focused materials such as illustrations, diagrams and appendices (for example, lists of canopy tree species).

Next steps include drafting the first module, staff review and public posting of materials online, steering-committee review, planning commission and Board of Commissioners public hearings and an anticipated adoption in the fall (September/October timeframe), subject to the public-review schedule and any changes in timing. The consultants said they will return to present draft content when ready.