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2018 Georgia Code 36-66-4 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 36-66-4 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 36-66-4

TITLE 36 LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Chapter 66 information not found

ARTICLE 2 DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES

36-66-4. Hearings on proposed zoning decisions; notice of hearing; nongovernmental initiated actions; reconsideration of defeated actions; procedure on zoning for property annexed into municipality.

  1. A local government taking action resulting in a zoning decision shall provide for a hearing on the proposed action. At least 15 but not more than 45 days prior to the date of the hearing, the local government shall cause to be published within a newspaper of general circulation within the territorial boundaries of the local government a notice of the hearing. The notice shall state the time, place, and purpose of the hearing.
  2. If a zoning decision of a local government is for the rezoning of property and the rezoning is initiated by a party other than the local government, then:
    1. The notice, in addition to the requirements of subsection (a) of this Code section, shall include the location of the property, the present zoning classification of the property, and the proposed zoning classification of the property; and
    2. A sign containing information required by local ordinance or resolution shall be placed in a conspicuous location on the property not less than 15 days prior to the date of the hearing.
  3. If the zoning decision of a local government is for the rezoning of property and the amendment to the zoning ordinance to accomplish the rezoning is defeated by the local government, then the same property may not again be considered for rezoning until the expiration of at least six months immediately following the defeat of the rezoning by the local government.
  4. If the zoning is for property to be annexed into a municipality, then:
    1. Such municipal local government shall complete the procedures required by this chapter for such zoning, except for the final vote of the municipal governing authority, prior to adoption of the annexation ordinance or resolution or the effective date of any local Act but no sooner than the date the notice of the proposed annexation is provided to the governing authority of the county as required under Code Section 36-36-6;
    2. The hearing required by subsection (a) of this Code section shall be conducted prior to the annexation of the subject property into the municipality;
    3. In addition to the other notice requirements of this Code section, the municipality shall cause to be published within a newspaper of general circulation within the territorial boundaries of the county wherein the property to be annexed is located a notice of the hearing as required under the provisions of subsection (a) or (b), as applicable, of this Code section and shall place a sign on the property when required by subsection (b) of this Code section; and
    4. The zoning classification approved by the municipality following the hearing required by this Code section shall become effective on the later of:
      1. The date the zoning is approved by the municipality;
      2. The date that the annexation becomes effective pursuant to Code Section 36-36-2; or
      3. Where a county has interposed an objection pursuant to Code Section 36-36-11, the date provided for in paragraph (8) of subsection (c) of said Code section.
  5. A qualified municipality into which property has been annexed may provide, by the adoption of a zoning ordinance, that all annexed property shall be zoned by the municipality, without further action, for the same use for which that property was zoned immediately prior to such annexation. A qualified county which includes property which has been deannexed by a municipality may provide, by the adoption of a zoning ordinance, that all deannexed property shall be zoned by the county, without further action, for the same use for which that property was zoned immediately prior to such deannexation. A municipality shall be a qualified municipality only if the municipality and the county in which is located the property annexed into such municipality have a common zoning ordinance with respect to zoning classifications. A county shall be a qualified county only if that county and the municipality in which was located the property deannexed have a common zoning ordinance with respect to zoning classifications. A zoning ordinance authorized by this subsection shall be adopted in compliance with the other provisions of this chapter. The operation of such ordinance to zone property which is annexed or deannexed shall not require any further action by the adopting municipality, adopting county, or owner of the property annexed or deannexed. Property which is zoned pursuant to this subsection may have such zoning classification changed upon compliance with the other provisions of this chapter.
  6. When a proposed zoning decision relates to or will allow the location or relocation of a halfway house, drug rehabilitation center, or other facility for treatment of drug dependency, a public hearing shall be held on the proposed action. Such public hearing shall be held at least six months and not more than nine months prior to the date of final action on the zoning decision. The hearing required by this subsection shall be in addition to any hearing required under subsection (a) of this Code section. The local government shall give notice of such hearing by:
    1. Posting notice on the affected premises in the manner prescribed by subsection (b) of this Code section; and
    2. Publishing in a newspaper of general circulation within the territorial boundaries of the local government a notice of the hearing at least 15 days and not more than 45 days prior to the date of the hearing.

      Both the posted notice and the published notice shall include a prominent statement that the proposed zoning decision relates to or will allow the location or relocation of a halfway house, drug rehabilitation center, or other facility for treatment of drug dependency. The published notice shall be at least six column inches in size and shall not be located in the classified advertising section of the newspaper.

(Code 1981, §36-66-4, enacted by Ga. L. 1985, p. 1139, § 1; Ga. L. 1996, p. 1009, § 2; Ga. L. 1998, p. 856, § 3; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1392, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, p. 69, § 19; Ga. L. 2012, p. 775, § 36/HB 942.)

The 2012 amendment, effective May 1, 2012, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted "subsection (c)" for "subsection (b)" in subparagraph (d)(4)(C), and revised punctuation in the introductory paragraph of subsection (e).

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 2004, p. 69, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'State and Local Taxation, Financing, and Service Delivery Revision Act of 2004.'"

Law reviews.

- For article surveying real property law in 1984-1985, see 37 Mercer L. Rev. 343 (1985). For article on 2004 amendment of this Code section, see 21 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 226 (2004). For annual survey on zoning and land use law, see 61 Mercer L. Rev. 427 (2009). For annual survey on real property, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 251 (2017). For annual survey on zoning and land use law, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 371 (2017).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Subsection (b) mandatory for text amendment of general application.

- Procedures described in subsection (b) of O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4 must be followed when passing or rescinding a text amendment of general application. Atlanta Bio-Med, Inc. v. DeKalb County, 261 Ga. 594, 408 S.E.2d 100 (1991).

What constitutes "rezoning decision."

- Text amendment having general application is not a "rezoning decision" for purposes of the procedures required under subsection (b) of O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4. Atlanta Bio-Med, Inc. v. DeKalb County, 261 Ga. 594, 408 S.E.2d 100 (1991).

Although O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4 requires only one hearing during the continuous course of a zoning matter before the local government, when a court found a first zoning decision unconstitutional and remanded the matter with direction to rezone, the zoning authority was required to hold a hearing. City of Cumming v. Realty Dev. Corp., 268 Ga. 461, 491 S.E.2d 60 (1997).

Adult ordinance was not a "zoning ordinance" even though the ordinance placed certain limitations on locations available to an adult business and established certain minimum lot sizes and road frontages; rather than regulating general uses of land, the adult ordinance regulated a particular type of activity - adult entertainment; as such, it was not a zoning ordinance and was not subject to the hearing requirements established under the Zoning Procedures Law, O.C.G.A. § 36-66-1 et seq. Artistic Entm't, Inc. v. City of Warner Robins, 331 F.3d 1196 (11th Cir. 2003), cert. denied, 541 U.S. 988, 124 S. Ct. 2017, 158 L. Ed. 2d 491 (2004).

Notice.

- County's failure to comply with the notice provisions of subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4 invalidated the subject zoning action. McClure v. Davidson, 258 Ga. 706, 373 S.E.2d 617 (1988).

Since a real estate developer had neither concluded the purchase of property or made substantial expenditures in reliance upon the probable issuance of a building permit until after the county amended the county's zoning ordinance to the detriment of the developer, the developer did not acquire a vested right to develop the property in question in conformity with the old ordinance; the county board of commissioner's letter to the developer amounted to an agreement to amend the ordinance and, thus, invoked the notice and hearing requirements under Georgia's Zoning Procedures Law, O.C.G.A. § 36-66-1 et seq. Buckner v. Douglas County, 273 Ga. App. 765, 615 S.E.2d 850 (2005).

As a county's notice of the public hearing on a neighbor's request for a conditional use permit failed to comply with O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4(a) because the notice was published 46, not 45, days before the hearing, the county's approval of the neighbor's request was invalid. C & H Dev., LLC v. Franklin County, 294 Ga. App. 792, 670 S.E.2d 491 (2008).

When property owners sought a conditional use permit for special events on their property, and the county planning commission published notice of a hearing that complied with O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4(a), then recommended granting the permit, the county board of commissioners' vote to grant the permit three months later did not require additional notice. Hoechstetter v. Pickens County, 341 Ga. App. 213, 799 S.E.2d 352 (2017).

Hearing requirement not met.

- Hearing before the Planning Commission did not satisfy the requirements of the Zoning Procedures Law, O.C.G.A. § 36-66-1 et seq., because the only record of the hearing was a one-page memorandum disclosing that the Commission heard testimony from the applicant and considerable objections from the surrounding neighborhood, but the memorandum did not disclose the nature of the objections and, thus, did not inform the County Board of Commissioners in a meaningful way of what happened at the hearing. Hoechstetter v. Pickens County, 303 Ga. 786, 815 S.E.2d 50 (2018).

Annexation voided when procedures not followed.

- Defendants attempt to annex certain properties into the corporate limits of the city and establish a new zoning district was voided because the procedural requirements of O.C.G.A § 36-36-21 and subsections (a) and (b) of O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4 were not met. City of Byron v. Betancourt, 242 Ga. App. 71, 528 S.E.2d 841 (2000).

Applicability to new permitted use.

- Procedures described in subsection (b) of O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4 and former O.C.G.A. § 36-67-5 did not apply to the enactment of a zoning ordinance text amendment that allowed a new permitted use. Atlanta Bio-Med, Inc. v. DeKalb County, 261 Ga. 594, 408 S.E.2d 100 (1991).

Zoning map properly incorporated by reference.

- County zoning ordinance properly incorporated by reference an official zoning map as the board of commissioners had a zoning map before the commissioners when the commissioners considered the ordinance, the zoning map was in existence when a limited liability limited partnership (LLLP) bought the property and that map was kept in the zoning administrator's office, the new zoning administrator's uncertainty about which of two maps was the official map did not render the entire zoning ordinance invalid, and it was clear that the LLLP's land was not zoned for a landfill. Mid-Georgia Envtl. Mgmt. Group, L.L.L.P. v. Meriwether County, 277 Ga. 670, 594 S.E.2d 344 (2004).

Adequate state remedy for procedural irregularities in adoption of new zoning ordinances.

- Trial court did not err in granting the city's motion for judgment on the pleadings on the plaintiffs' procedural due process claims as Georgia's Zoning Procedures Law (ZPL), O.C.G.A. § 36-66-1 et seq., provided the plaintiffs with an adequate state remedy for alleged procedural irregularities committed by the city in the adoption of a new zoning ordinance because the ZPL required local governments to provide property owners with a meaningful opportunity to be heard before enacting a zoning ordinance, not simply mere notice of a hearing, as the ZPL required that a local government conduct a public hearing on a proposed zoning ordinance before its adoption; and, if no public hearing was held, aggrieved property owners could sue to have the ordinance declared invalid. Schumacher v. City of Roswell, 344 Ga. App. 135, 809 S.E.2d 262 (2017).

Cited in City of Roswell v. Outdoor Sys., Inc., 274 Ga. 130, 549 S.E.2d 90 (2001); Edwards v. City of Warner Robins, 302 Ga. 381, 807 S.E.2d 438 (2017).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Reconsideration after tie vote.

- Tie vote on consideration of a zoning proposal by a county board was not a "defeat" of the proposal so as to bar the proposal's reconsideration within six months. 1996 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U96-16.

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4

Total Results: 11  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Mid-Georgia Env't Mgmt. Grp., L.L.L.P. v. Meriwether Cnty., 594 S.E.2d 344 (Ga. 2004).

Cited 35 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 22, 2004 | 277 Ga. 670, 2004 Fulton County D. Rep. 1006

...at 480, 490 S.E.2d 102 [12] Mid-Georgia Environmental Management Group v. Meriwether County, S03D0101 (Oct. 15, 2002). [13] DeKalb County v. Publix Super Markets, 264 Ga. 739, 741, 452 S.E.2d 471 (1994); City of Atlanta v. Wansley Moving & Storage Co., 245 Ga. 794, 796, 267 S.E.2d 234 (1980). [14] OCGA §§ 36-66-3(5), 36-66-4....
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City of Cumming v. Realty Dev. Corp., 491 S.E.2d 60 (Ga. 1997).

Cited 27 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 6, 1997 | 268 Ga. 461, 97 Fulton County D. Rep. 3685

...Therefore, while the sanction requiring payment each day until compliance is proper, the award of attorney fees was not and must be vacated. [1] 3. Finally, appellants attack the trial court's ruling that appellants were required to conduct a public hearing after the remand for rezoning. The Zoning Procedures law, OCGA § 36-66-4(a), states plainly that "[a] local zoning authority taking action resulting in a zoning decision shall provide for a hearing on the proposed action." "Zoning decision" is defined in the statute as "final action by a local government which results with: ......
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McClure v. Davidson, 373 S.E.2d 617 (Ga. 1988).

Cited 26 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Nov 23, 1988 | 258 Ga. 706

...On July 21, 1987, the appellants exercised their option to purchase the 127-acre tract. On August 3, 1987, the appellees filed suit in the Walton Superior Court, seeking a declaratory judgment and injunction. The appellees, inter alia, contended that the notice requirement of OCGA § 36-66-4 (a), a provision of the Zoning Procedures Act, applied to the hearing of the board of commissioners....
...rdance with the B-1 rezoning. The trial court held that the rezoning was void for several reasons. The primary reason was that the Land Development Ordinance as applied to this case was illegal because it did not meet the notice requirements of OCGA § 36-66-4 (a)....
...discretion in ruling that the appellees' suit was not barred by laches. 3. The appellants contend in their third enumeration that the trial court erred in holding that the rezoning was a nullity because the county ordinance did not comply with OCGA § 36-66-4 (a), a provision of the "The Zoning Procedures Law," § 36-66-1 through § 36-66-5....
...erty through the exercise of the zoning power. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to invalidate any zoning decision made by a local government prior to January 1, 1986, or to require a local government to exercise its zoning power. Moreover, § 36-66-4 (a) provides that: A local government taking action resulting in a zoning decision shall provide for a hearing on the proposed action....
...The General Assembly did not state that the procedures were to be used as guidelines by local governments; instead the legislature stated that local governments can do no less than that set forth in the chapter. Moreover, in creating the procedures in § 36-66-4 (a), the legislature states that the local governments "shall" follow the procedures....
...This court can only construe procedural requirements as mandatory when the General Assembly has stated its intent that noncompliance with the requirements will invalidate any zoning decisions. We therefore conclude that the trial court properly ruled that the county's failure to comply with OCGA § 36-66-4 (a) invalidates the subject zoning action. 4. The appellants next argue that even if the requirements of § 36-66-4 (a) are mandatory, the failure of notice is not a ground for invalidating the zoning decision....
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Tilley Props., Inc. v. Bartow Cnty., 401 S.E.2d 527 (Ga. 1991).

Cited 22 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Mar 15, 1991 | 261 Ga. 153

...Printed copies of the policies and procedures must be available for distribution to the public. Id. "Prior" to the adoption of the policies and procedures, OCGA § 36-66-5(c), a local government must publish within a newspaper of general circulation a notice of the public hearing, OCGA § 36-66-4, and a public hearing must be held on the proposed action....
...hearing will be held on January 27, 1986 at 7:00 p.m. in the main courtroom of the Bartow County Courthouse for the purpose of receiving public input concerning the proposed zoning ordinance." The published notice satisfied the requirements of OCGA § 36-66-4(a)....
...For the foregoing reasons, I respectfully dissent. I am authorized to state that Justice BENHAM joins in this dissent. NOTES [1] OCGA § 36-66-5 provides, in pertinent part, "(a) Local governments shall adopt policies and procedures which govern calling and conducting hearings required by Code Section 36-66-4, and printed copies of such policies and procedures shall be available for distribution to the general public....
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City of Roswell v. Outdoor Sys., Inc., 549 S.E.2d 90 (Ga. 2001).

Cited 9 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jul 2, 2001 | 274 Ga. 130, 2001 Fulton County D. Rep. 2061

...When the city failed to approve the applications, the billboard company filed a petition for mandamus, which the trial court granted. We granted the city's discretionary application to consider the trial court's ruling that the moratorium was void because the city failed to comply with the notice provisions of OCGA § 36-66-4(a) of the Zoning Procedures Law....
...[4] Because the moratorium was temporary, limited in scope to billboards exceeding a specific size, and enacted in response to a court order invalidating existing sign regulations, we conclude that it was a reasonable interim action and therefore exempt from the *92 procedural requirements of OCGA § 36-66-4. [5] 2. The legislative intent in passing the Zoning Procedures Law supports excluding temporary, reasonable moratoria from the statute's notice and hearing requirements. OCGA § 36-66-4 mandates hearings whenever a local government proposes taking action that will result in a zoning decision....
...In conclusion, neither the statutory language nor purpose behind the Zoning Procedures Law requires a local government to hold a hearing on a temporary moratorium that is reasonable. Because the City of Roswell did not have to comply with the requirements of OCGA § 36-66-4 in briefly suspending its acceptance of applications for large billboard signs, the city's moratorium is valid....
...lose look at the moratorium and at the subject of land use regulation and recognize that the moratorium at question is simply not zoning legislation and is not controlled by the ZPL for that reason. The notice provisions of the ZPL are found in OCGA § 36-66-4(a) and, by the terms of that section, come into play when a local government takes action resulting in a zoning decision....
...CGA § 36-66-3(4)(A). If the promulgation of the moratorium is a "zoning decision," then the City, in order to provide minimum due process to the property owners within its territorial boundaries, must comply with the procedural requirements of OCGA § 36-66-4....
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Atlanta Bio-Med, Inc. v. DeKalb Cnty., 408 S.E.2d 100 (Ga. 1991).

Cited 9 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Sep 6, 1991 | 261 Ga. 594

...f mandamus and a declaratory judgment to decide which procedures are required for the passage and rescission of a text amendment to the DeKalb County zoning ordinance. For the reasons that follow, we hold that the zoning procedures set forth in OCGA § 36-66-4(a) apply to both the passage and rescission of a text amendment; the procedures set forth in OCGA § 36-66-4(b) and OCGA § 36-67-5 do not apply....
...The trial court held a hearing and denied all relief on the grounds that the text amendment was never validly enacted and its rescission had no effect. The court reasoned that because the text amendment had the effect of rezoning a property, the zoning procedures set forth in OCGA § 36-66-4(b), and OCGA § 36-67-5 should have been followed. 1. We hold first that the procedures described in OCGA § 36-66-4(b) and OCGA § 36-67-5 do not apply to the enactment of a zoning ordinance text amendment that allows a new permitted use. (a). Under the plain language of the statute, OCGA § 36-66-4(b) applies only to "the rezoning of property." It requires the local government to publish the location of the property to be rezoned and to post a sign on the property for at least 15 days before the rezoning hearing....
...The fact that the Brocks had a specific parcel of property in mind for the development of their medical waste incinerator does not change the character of the zoning decision. We hold that a text amendment having general application is not a "rezoning decision" for purposes of the procedures required under OCGA § 36-66-4(b)....
...Similarly, OCGA § 36-67-5 requires analysis of six factors set forth in OCGA § 36-67-3 which demonstrate how the proposed zoning change will affect "adjacent and nearby property." The factors described in OCGA § 36-67-3, like the notice requirements in OCGA § 36-66-4(b) are parcel specific....
...ion. We conclude that it would be illogical to apply OCGA § 36-67-5 to the enactment of a text amendment that changes the permitted uses for all properties with a certain zoning classification. 2. Next, we hold that the procedures described in OCGA § 36-66-4(a) must be followed when passing or rescinding a text amendment of general application. The procedures that must be followed by a "local government taking action resulting in a zoning decision" are found in OCGA § 36-66-4(a)....
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Edwards v. City of Warner Robins, 302 Ga. 381 (Ga. 2017).

Cited 6 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 30, 2017 | 807 S.E.2d 438

...ation of rights under 42 USC § 1983 and regulatory taking are without merit. This appeal followed. 2. Appellants argue that the City did not comply with the notice requirement imposed by the ZPL before enacting Ordinances 27-08 and 12-94. See OCGA § 36-66-4 (requiring that the local government provide for a hearing on a proposed zoning action and publish notice of the hearing in the local newspaper “[a]t least 15 but not more than 45 days prior to the date of the hearing”)....
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S. States Landfill, Inc. v. Walton Cnty., 386 S.E.2d 358 (Ga. 1989).

Cited 5 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Dec 5, 1989 | 259 Ga. 673

...The court further concluded that Cash itself had never applied for a permit, because Cash had based its attempts to acquire a permit on Hawk's application. The second issue was whether the county violated the notice requirements of the Zoning Procedures Law. OCGA § 36-66-4....
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Hoechstetter v. Pickens Cnty., 303 Ga. 786 (Ga. 2018).

Cited 2 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jun 4, 2018

...“zoning decision,”1 it must afford affected landowners and other interested citizens an opportunity to be heard, and to that end, it must “provide for a hearing” on the proposed zoning decision and publish notice of that hearing. See OCGA § 36-66-4 (a).2 In August 2015, Doug 1 For purposes of the ZPL, OCGA § 36-66-3 (4) defines “zoning decision” as final legislative action by a local government which results in: (A) The adoption of a zoning ordina...
...(D) The adoption of an amendment to a zoning ordinance by a municipal local government which zones property to be annexed into the municipality; or (E) The grant of a permit relating to a special use of property. 2 Subsection 36-66-4 (a) provides: A local government taking action resulting in a zoning decision shall provide for a hearing on the proposed action....
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Hoechstetter v. Pickens Cnty., 815 S.E.2d 50 (Ga. 2018).

Cited 2 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jun 4, 2018

...ty makes a "zoning decision,"1 it must afford affected landowners and other interested citizens an opportunity to be heard, and to that end, it must "provide for a hearing" on the proposed zoning decision and publish notice of that hearing. See OCGA § 36-66-4 (a).2 In August 2015, Doug and Lynda Tatum applied to the Pickens County Board of Commissioners for a conditional use permit for a 75-acre parcel near Jasper....
...oning classification to another; (D) The adoption of an amendment to a zoning ordinance by a municipal local government which zones property to be annexed into the municipality; or (E) The grant of a permit relating to a special use of property. Subsection 36-66-4 (a) provides: A local government taking action resulting in a zoning decision shall provide for a hearing on the proposed action....
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Northridge Cmty. Ass'n v. Habersham at Northridge, 257 Ga. 722 (Ga. 1988).

Cited 2 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Jan 6, 1988 | 363 S.E.2d 251

...consented to by the developer and the Board. Contrary to the neighbors’ contention, the consent order was not a “zoning decision” as defined in OCGA § 36-66-3 (4), and they were therefore not entitled to notice of the consent order under OCGA § 36-66-4....