With a unified ordinance, will both the City Council and the County Commission be making decisions on all zoning-related matters?
The decision making authority for zoning issues related to the city or unincorporated Chatham County will remain with the governing body of each jurisdiction. For example, if someone in unincorporated Chatham County requests a rezoning, the decision on that rezoning will be made by the County Commission, not City Council, as it is within their jurisdiction. The opposite would apply if a rezoning was requested in the City – it would be City Council’s decision. Text amendments to the zoning ordinance would be presented to each governing body. If City Council choose to approve something differently that the County Commission, that difference would be noted in the revised text of the ordinance.
