Upson County board approves 60-day moratorium on appeals to rewrite zoning appeal process

The Upson County Board of Commissioners on May 12 approved a maximum 60-day moratorium on appeals from the planning director while county staff and the planning commission prepare a text amendment to the zoning ordinance.

Chairman Bruce raised concerns that the current ordinance allows applicants to appeal administrative decisions by the planning director to the planning commission, creating a potential structural conflict the board should address before proceeding with the full zoning rewrite. "I think we have a gap in our ordinance that maybe we shouldn't wait till we do the entire rewrite to address," Chairman Bruce said as he moved to approve the moratorium.

The motion passed on a roll call with all commissioners recorded as voting yes. The board directed staff to study the impacts of any proposed changes during the moratorium and to return recommendations to the board.

The county attorney told the board the planning commission has been actively rewriting the land-use ordinance and that staff expects to present a proposed draft to the board by July. "We expect to be able to get it to you by July," the county attorney said, recommending that the moratorium be used to study likely effects and implementation issues.

During public comment, former chairman Rusty Black urged the board to consider broader land-use controls, including a request to draft an ordinance banning data centers in Upson County. "Let's get our orders drafted to ban data centers here in Upson County because we're wide open right now," Rusty Black said; no board action on that request was recorded.

What happens next: staff will study impacts and work with the planning commission on a text amendment during the moratorium, and the board can consider any proposed ordinance language when the draft is returned.