Habersham County commissioners adopt new Unified Development Ordinance and zoning map

The review began at a February 2025 Board of Commissioners retreat, where Planning Director Mike Beecham briefed the board on a Unified Development Code update, including new articles such as a 365 Corridor Overlay. The following month, the Planning Commission discussed rewriting the code with consultant CPL, represented by Tania Celis Leyva.

By September 2025 the Board of Commissioners was reviewing progress on the draft, which expanded zoning districts to nine types; the consultant asked the Planning Commission, staff and other parties to submit feedback by October 6. In December, the Board of Commissioners and Planning Commission held a joint work session to set guiding principles for revising the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance.

In March 2026 the Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed ordinance and new zoning map, then voted 5-0 to approve the measure, known as AM-26-01, with changes, recommending it to the Board of Commissioners. The board held its own first reading and public hearing on March 16 but took no action that night. Draft materials circulated around the hearings set minimum lot sizes ranging from one acre in the SR district to five acres in the CS district.

Through the spring and summer the board held town hall meetings to present revisions and take public input. Changes made along the way included dropping a proposed regulation on derelict vehicles, adding a special-use-permit process for data centers in the General Industrial district, eliminating the five-acre-minimum CS district in favor of a three-acre agricultural classification, and lowering the minimum home size from 1,800 to 1,200 square feet.

On July 20, 2026, the Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 to adopt the Unified Development Ordinance as recommended by the Planning Commission, replacing the county's 1992 Comprehensive Land Development Ordinance, and separately voted 5-0 to approve the new zoning map presented that night.