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Heard County to draft duplex ordinance; seeks consultant help to finish ordinance book; Freeport exemption under review
Summary
Commissioners agreed to draft a duplex ordinance requiring at least 1,000 square feet per unit, clarified that duplexes replacing mobile homes would not be grandfathered, discussed the Freeport tax exemption as a potential economic incentive, and asked staff to contact a 2017 consultant to complete overdue ordinance-book revisions.
The Heard County Board of Commissioners directed staff to develop a duplex ordinance and to pursue completion of long-delayed ordinance-book updates at its May 19 work session.
Commissioners said the county currently lacks specific duplex regulations and agreed a proposed ordinance should require at least 1,000 square feet per unit (2,000 square feet total for a duplex), respect current setback requirements and zoning districts, and not allow grandfathering when a duplex replaces a mobile home. Separately, members discussed the Freeport tax exemption and observed that eliminating the exemption might help small businesses but would reduce county revenue; the board considered case-by-case exemptions as an economic development incentive and asked for further fiscal analysis.
Staff reported that ordinance revisions discussed in 2017 were never adopted and remain incomplete; commissioners agreed to attempt to contact the consultant who worked on those drafts to obtain a cost estimate for finishing the ordinance book update.
