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1 MEMO TO: Dawson County Planning Commission FROM: Richard Osborne, Community Development Director RE: Growth Management – county code proposed changes DATE: July 21, 2025 As part of the 2025 review of development matters during the moratorium on new residential development rezoning applications, staff reviewed the county code for possible changes. April 2023 was the last date of significant code changes related to growth and development approved by the Board of Commissioners (BOC). Staff obtained input from local citizens and other property owners; business owners; Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) members; Planning Commission and BOC members; as well as input from staff in various county departments. The county attorney’s office has provided input and staff has added their proposed changes. Proposed changes include: • Add standards for Event Centers to be incorporated into the Short-Term Rental (Ch 30) and land use (Ch 121 – especially for RA) standards. New proposed event centers would require a zoning case to be allowed by special use in the RA district. • Confirm that a short-term rental is intended to be, with rare exceptions like possibly in an event center, one conventional site-built residence on the lot. One short-term rental per lot/parcel unless approved for an event center. Propose that new short-term rentals must be on minimum 0.5 acre lot. This proposal recognizes that some old lake lots are small 0.3 acre or so and a short-term rental on a small piece of property could have negative nuisance impacts on nearby neighboring property owners. Existing permitted short-term rentals on lots less than 0.5 acre would still be allowed (legal nonconforming). • Chapter 117 (Georgia 400 overlay district) changes to confirm requirements are “shall and must” not “should and may” to be standards rather than guidelines. ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 • Chapter 121 (land use) changes include: o Require minimum amount of open space (at least 30%) for residential developments (50 units or more) in RT, RS-2, RS-3. Require a higher amount (40%) in planned development RPC, MUV and multifamily RMF. o More significant architectural standards for residential developments of 50 or more units (minimum 5 house plans required with more masonry and more windows) and commercial. o Delete townhomes from the list of allowed uses in the RT district. o Recognizing that the C-PCD (commercial planned development) district is a concerning district for new proposals, the district would be deleted – no new rezonings to C-PCD. All existing zoned properties would remain – similar to the VCR (vacation cottage restricted) district. o Larger proposed minimum lot sizes are proposed in residential districts RT, RS-2, RS-3. o Larger buffers are proposed for residential, commercial, and industrial districts. Based on citizen input, a proposed 50 ft buffer would be proposed around the entire perimeter of a development of 50 or more residential lots. o Require more amenities (and more significant ones where required) for residential developments of 50 or more units. o For residential development rezonings of 50 or more units, require pre-application meeting with staff before rezoning. Require the applicant to conduct a community information and input meeting with area residents who own property within 500 ft of the subject property before submitting a rezoning application. o In an effort to encourage positive, contributing light industrial in the county and to increase the desirability of the C-HI (heavy business) zoning district, add light industrial uses as allowed such as warehousing and distribution. o Restrict amount of variances that can occur for various standards including setbacks and lot size. Example: in RS-2, if a variance is requested, max reduction possible is to reduce the front and rear setbacks from 25 ft to 15 ft; max reduction possible for sides is to reduce from 10 ft to 7 ft. o Change density calculation for new residential developments from net acre (more complicated formula less understood by citizens and others) to gross acre (typical of most GA counties and easier to understand – example 2 units per acre for 100 total/gross acres = 200 units allowed) o Add requirement that new standards would apply to already-zoned properties that have not obtained a land disturbance permit unless there are applicable zoning conditions or variances. o Add an option for an applicant to apply for a reduction of the land use (Chapter 121) standards such as setbacks up to a maximum of 20% by staff administrative decision. o Add a limitation on the number of rezonings per month – max one residential development rezoning of 50 or more units per month. • Chapter 133 (subdivisions) proposed changes by Public Works - stricter regulations for new residential developments.