In a surprise move Monday, the Habersham County Board of Commissioners voted to place an emergency moratorium on new housing developments across the county.
The vote followed an update from planning group CPL on the county’s unified development code (UDC), which has been under revision for more than a year. CPL Principal Planner Sarah McQuade presented commissioners with draft copies of the proposed code.
“This started in the summer of 2024, last summer, and we spent the first couple of months doing research and analysis of your existing policy documents and the existing ordinance,” McQuade said.
She asked commissioners to submit edits to the draft by Oct. 15.
As soon as McQuade finished her presentation, Commissioner Kelly Woodall introduced a draft of the emergency moratorium and moved to adopt it the same night. The moratorium had not been included in the commission’s agenda packet or published ahead of time, prompting Woodall to read the resolution into the record during the meeting.
The resolution halts acceptance of applications for preliminary plat approval, approval for residential developments of five lots or more, and rezonings to single-family, multi-family, or planned development districts.
“The board has determined that residential growth throughout the county outpaced the county’s ability to provide adequate infrastructure, water utilities and services,” Woodall said.
He added that the pause is needed to prevent a wave of new developments before the updated UDC is adopted.
“We feel like we’ve been chasing the tail instead of leading the cause,” Woodall said. “Our citizens have been very vocal about having a better plan in place. We’re having to deliberate and go through all the hoops to find a solution to a property owner who wants to rezone. We’ve got to get this under control.”
The moratorium will remain in place until the commission’s next meeting Oct. 21 to allow time for consideration and improvements. The resolution passed 4-1, with Chairman Jimmy Tench casting the lone dissenting vote.
Tench bristled at the way Woodall introduced the motion.
“I’d be nice if the chair recognized you before you start,” Tench said.
County Attorney Angela Davis said the moratorium could be extended 90 to 120 days with a public hearing, giving the county time to adopt the new UDC and address infrastructure needs.
“Just to be clear this is limited so anyone who is developing small subdivisions can proceed,” Davis said. “It would have to be more than five splits and would not apply to anything currently in process.”
Other commissioners voiced support for the measure.
“I think you probably picked up on the fact that this is a very important issue for this county. This is a fast-growing county, and our land uses have not kept up with the growth that we’ve seen,” Commissioner Ty Akins said.
The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Oct. 21.
