Title 2 — Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 280 — Planning Commission.

Applications for text amendment, rezoning, land use permit, special use permit, and/or medical hardship shall be filed with all accompanying documents with the Planning and Zoning Division in accordance with the filing deadline established by the Division. Applications that are submitted by the filing deadline but are incomplete will be deemed null and void after 90 days without completion.

Application fees are established by the Board of Commissioners and made available by the Community Development Planning and Zoning Division. Except as otherwise provided, application fees are non-refundable. A fee shall not be charged for applications initiated by the Board of Commissioners or Planning Commission.

Applications shall be submitted and typewritten on forms supplied by the Community Development Planning and Zoning Division no later than the date of filing:

Title 2: Chapter 280 238

An application may be withdrawn without prejudice at any time prior to the date scheduled for the hearing by the Planning Commission. Unless withdrawn at the hearing, the withdrawal must be in writing, signed and dated by the applicant. If an application is withdrawn by the applicant after the commencement of legal advertising as required by this Chapter, the cost of the advertising and any other expenses incurred may be deducted from any refund of fees.

With respect to amendments to the Official Zoning Map, an applicant may file renderings, construction specifications, written development restrictions and other stipulations, which the applicant proposes as binding stipulations upon the development and use of the property involved in the application. However, any such stipulations, alterations or changes thereto shall be filed with the Planning and Zoning Division Manager at least 21 days prior to the public hearing before the Planning Commission.

An application for rezoning, special use permit, land use permit or medical hardship may be forwarded by the applicant from its scheduled public hearing date to the next available public hearing date with the Planning Commission a maximum of two times. The request to forward an application must be written with the applicant's (or authorized agent) signature and submitted to the Community Development Planning and Zoning Division prior to the hearing date. Each request must include the application number, explanation for the request to forward the application, and date of the next scheduled public hearing at which the application will be considered by the Planning Commission. Payment of an additional application fee in the full amount of the original application fee is required upon written request to forward the application in order to pay for the additional costs associated therewith.

Applications which must be forwarded as a result of the actions or omissions of the applicant, resulting in an incomplete or deficient application will also be subject to the payment of the additional application fee in the full amount of the original application. Payment is due immediately upon the forwarding of said deficient application.

Applications that are forwarded by the Community Development Planning and Zoning Division or Planning Commission or by the County at the request of county staff will not be considered as an applicant's request to forward an application and no additional fees will be due.

Before the Board of Commissioners takes action on any proposed amendment, the Planning Commission shall hold a Public Hearing thereon. At least 30 days, but not more than 45 days, prior to the date of the hearing, a notice of the hearing shall be published within a newspaper of general circulation within the county in which are carried the legal advertisements of the County. This notice shall state the time, date, place, and purpose of the hearing. If a rezoning application is initiated by a party other than the Board of Commissioners, the notice of hearing as provided herein shall also include the location of the property, the present zoning classification of the property, and the proposed zoning classification of the property.

Where the rezoning is initiated by a party other than the local government, a sign shall be placed in a conspicuous location on the property not less than 30 days prior to the date of the hearing. The sign shall state the time, date, and place of the hearing, the present zoning classification of the property, and the proposed zoning classification of the property. Such signs shall be visible from each public right-of-way fronting the property. The Zoning Administrator, or his or her designee, shall supply a sign that contains the following language:

"PURSUANT TO THE TITLE 2 OF THE PAULDING COUNTY UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE SECTION 280-80, THE PAULDING COUNTY BOARD

OF   COMMISSIONERS             IS  AUTHORIZED        TO

CONSIDER        AND  MAY           CONSIDER     ALL

CONSTITUTIONALLY               PERMISSIBLE      ZONING

TO,  INTERVENING     CLASSIFICATIONS,           SITE

SPECIFIC        CONDITIONS         AND/OR       THE

CLASSIFICATION(S)              SOUGHT       BY  THE

APPLICANT."

Where the rezoning is initiated by a party other than the local government, the Planning and Zoning Division must notify in writing the owner of property which is the subject of the application and all owners of property abutting any tract or lot for which a rezoning has been filed in accordance with the list of owners provided by the applicant. The notification letter shall set forth the nature of the request and the date of the hearing before the Planning Commission. It shall be sent by first class mail with the United States Postal Service. Proof of delivery is not required. This notification is in addition to and not in lieu of, any other notice or publication required under this ordinance.

Public Hearings of the Paulding County Planning Commission shall be held at regularly scheduled meetings, such meetings to be held at a time, place, and date as prescribed according to a schedule. The Public Hearing shall be presided over by the Chairman of the Planning Commission or another officer of the Planning Commission in the absence of the Chairman. A secretary shall be present at all public hearings to take minutes.

The Chairman or any other Planning Commission member shall review the following procedures that will be adhered to during the public hearing:

The Chairman may request representatives of each side to speak for the entire group. If more than one speaker represents a group, the 15 minutes shall be divided among the various speakers. Speakers are encouraged to refrain from presenting information that has previously been stated by others. In no case, however, shall any group be allowed more than the allotted time no matter how many speakers represent the group unless extended by the Planning Commission. A designated staff member will be responsible for keeping time.

Questions and responses shall not be counted as part of the maximum 15-minute presentation time.

All meetings of the Planning Commission, as well as the consideration of its recommendations by the Board of Commissioners, shall be video/audio or audio recorded.

The Planning Commission shall be allowed to hold its Public Hearing for an application and to table its recommendation until it’s next scheduled meeting for the purpose of considering more information. If the Planning Commission fails to submit a recommendation at its next scheduled meeting, it shall be deemed to have approved the proposed amendment.

Section 280-50 – 70. Reserved.

The Board of Commissioners shall address the applications at its meeting scheduled for the second Tuesday of the month or as otherwise provided by the Code of Paulding County, Georgia and may approve, deny, reduce the land area for which the application is made, change the zoning classification, district or category requested, either to the one(s) sought or to other constitutionally permissible classification(s) which may not necessarily be an intervening classification, add or delete conditions of the application, including but not limited to site-specific conditions, variances to zoning regulations, or allow an application to be withdrawn without prejudice with respect to the 12-month limitation of this Section the applications using the same standards and criteria as set forth herein.

An action by the Board of Commissioners to table the application shall include a statement of the date and time of the next meeting at which the application(s) will be considered, which shall constitute public notice of the hearing on the application(s) and no further notice shall be required.

If an application for a rezoning is denied, no re-application shall be allowed until 12 months have passed from the date of final decision by the Board of Commissioners. (Ord. 24-05, 04/09/24)

Commissioners.

Appeals from a decision of the Board of Commissioners issued under this Ordinance shall be brought as follows:

§§ 36-66-5.1(a)(2) and 5-3-5(a).

The Community Development Director shall have the authority to approve or issue any form or certificate necessary to perfect a petition for review from a decision of the Board of Commissioners.

The County Clerk is authorized to accept service of a petition for review on behalf of the Board of Commissioners during normal business hours at the offices of the Board of Commissioners.

In the event of a filing of a petition for review, and in accordance with the provisions of O.C.G.A. § 5-3-14, a transcript of the proceedings before the Planning Commission and the Board of Commissioners shall be prepared by a court reporter using the video/audio or audio recording of the proceedings. Upon completion of the transcript, and certification of the relevant portions by the Chairman of the Planning Commission and the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, the transcript shall become part of the record of the lower ajudicatory and forwarded to the reviewing court along with the remainder of the record.

Except as otherwise provided by law O.C.G.A. 5-13-16, the expense of preparing the transcript and other costs for preparing record shall be borne by the petitioner and shall be paid within 30 days after receiving notice of costs from the Community Development Director. Within five days of payment of such costs, the Community Development Director shall sign and issue to the petitioner a certificate of payment of costs.

Proposed amendments to the site plan, stipulations of zoning or architectural elevations approved by the Board of Commissioners are subject to the following requirements.

At the time the site is developed, if the submitted site plan reflects a proposed use which is an allowable use within the specified zoning district, but differs from that site plan specifically after approved by the Board of Commissioners at the time of the rezoning action, then the changed site plan shall be reviewed again by all applicable county departments, as well as, applicable state and/or federal agencies.

The following situations are considered as Major Changes and shall require a revised Application for Zoning Review and subsequent public participation meeting or a new application depending on the extent and nature of the proposed change(s).

The Board of Commissioners upon recommendation of the Planning Commission is authorized to make final approval or disapproval of any case meeting the criteria listed in Section 280-100.01 or 280-100.02 referred to above. Proposed changes shall be considered in accordance with the procedures, notifications, and hearing requirements of this Chapter. (Ord. 25-05, 6/10/25)

Any amendment, whether a rezoning, special use permit, or land use permit requires a public hearing process. The public hearing process provides the opportunity and forum for citizens, affected landowners, and the general public to review and speak to public hearing cases. The participation by the public in the public hearing process provides valuable input in the outcome of cases and is a vital part of the decision-making process. The public should be confident that a project approved through the public hearing process will be completed as represented and approved unless otherwise properly amended or modified.

Transparency with the decisions rendered by the Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners is essential, so that the public hearing process has integrity and dependability.

Once an amendment is approved, the applicant should diligently pursue the improvements associated with the granting of an amendment through completion.

If improvements cannot be completed as approved, an applicant should submit another request and pursue the public hearing process again or seek additional remedies available under the UDO. Inaction or the lack of productivity over time begins to cast doubt on both the integrity of the public hearing process as well as the proposal submitted by the applicant and considered by the Board of Commissioners to gain the approval.

At the same time, once approved by Board of Commissioners, applicants must be able to depend on amendments as they pursue projects. Applicants need reasonable flexibility to meet consumer demand and adjust to market forces.

Additionally, applicants face a host of challenges to complete projects including but not limited to delays created by regulatory factors, transactions, weather, utility relocations, and other extenuating circumstances. Applicants should be afforded the opportunity to develop realistic schedules that meet project needs with the ability to adjust these schedules and request additional time to complete projects as conditions warrant.

Therefore, these regulations set forth in this Section are intended:

Zoning Amendments and Special Use Permits initiated by the property owner shall expire in accordance with this Section.

An extension may be granted by the Board of Commissioners. In deciding to extend an amendment, the Board of Commissioners may consider any of the following standards:

An approved Special Use Permit shall become null and void if no building permit to construct the project has been issued within three years of the date of approval by the Board of Commissioners. A Special Use Permit for which no building permit is required shall become null and void if the use is not established and operational with an Occupation Tax Certificate issued by the County within three years of the date of approval by the Board of Commissioners. An extension may be requested in accordance with Section 280-110.03.E. (Ord. 25-05, 6/10/25)

All site plans for projects that have gone through the rezoning process are subject to the plan review standards established by the Code of Ordinance of Paulding County, Georgia and this UDO. (Ord. 23-07, 06/13/23)