The Chattooga Planning Commission has sent a list of recommendations to Chattooga County Commissioner Blake Elsberry on proposed changes to the Chattooga County Land Ordinance that was adopted by Elsberry earlier this year.

One of the recommendations of the planning commission is to require landowners to get a “development permit” prior to building or modifying any permanent property.  The recommendation is a step beyond what the commissioner said the purpose of the ordinance was at the time he adopted it, according to the group Chattooga County Concerned Citizens.  The group posted on social media, “Another thing in the suggestion is references to state codes. At face value, you might not think much about them being there. However, they wouldn’t be referenced if the county didn’t have plans to enforce them locally instead of letting the state handle enforcing its own statutes.”
The document below  shows a fee of $20 to get an address from  911 and a fee of $50 for a “development permit” before any structure is built or modified on a person’s property.  Commissioner Elsberry says that the county’s fees will not change.  Chattooga County Commissioner Blake Elsberry spoke with WZQZ News on Thursday morning saying he wanted to clarify the planning commission suggestions referenced in the PDF below.  The commissioner said that those were notes from the planning commission on an alternative ordinance that was suggested by the Chattooga County Concerned Citizens Group.
This is a PDF of the proposed changes : Planning Commission Suggestions 11.3.22
The commissioner said that the proposed changes to the Chattooga County ordinance have been sent to the county attorney.  Once the attorney drafts a revised ordinance it will be sent to the Chattooga County Planning Commission before a vote.  After that, the commissioner will review the proposed changes and either approve the changes or make recommendations and sent it back to the planning committee for another vote.
The commissioner is still stressing that this ordinance will only apply to large land developments.