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Monroe County working on development plan as county grows

The proposed ordinance prohibits multi-family housing and puts a 1,500 square foot minimum on future developments. Commissioners are still taking feedback.

MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — Monroe County has seen lots of new growth, and according to county commissioners, they expect much more.

For the last year, commissioners have been working on plans to meet the growing community's needs.

One they hope to complete is their unified development ordinance.

Commissioner Eddie Rowland says it's the county's way to keep a small-town feel while making room for newcomers.

He says on top of that, the limited industrial and commercial development along the interstate, good school system, and low taxes are why people moved to the area, so they are doing everything possible to keep the same feel. 

They have been working with a county attorney and an outside source specializing in creating these ordinances. 

He said they also pulled inspiration from other counties, but not everyone is pleased with the draft so far.

"People work hard to be able to afford the property and to buy it, and I just feel like people deserve the right to use it in the way that they see fit," says Kerri Swearingen.

Swearingen is a realtor at Middle GA Realty in Forsyth and says she is concerned about the proposed 1,500-square-foot minimum.

"If someone is comfortably living right now in 1200 sq ft, if that house burned down, then they would be forced to rebuild according to the ordinance, which is 1500 sq ft," says Swearingen.

The county's current minimum is 292 sq ft. Kerri Swearingen says she doesn't think the increase makes sense with the current economy.

She says, "With the way the economy is and the price of building materials, shortages, I just think it takes it out of reach to build a much bigger house."

 She also doesn't think it aligns with what the community wants. 

"Our populations aging people want less maintenance; they want less to take care of," she says

That's why she also disagrees with the proposal to stop new multi-family buildings.

Multi-family housing isn't just apartments; it's also duplexes and townhomes.

Commissioner Eddie Rowland says they included the prohibition mainly due to sewage problems.

"While we do have constraints on high-density apartments just because we don't have public sewer out in the county, we can revisit the smaller duplexes and quads," says Rowland

Rowland says the overall goal is affordable housing; they want people to be able to live and work in Monroe County. 

In 5 years, he wants to see people living in affordable home options, so he says commissioners will continue to make proper adjustments.

"We've done tiny houses. That may be an option in the future and something that will allow people to live here at an affordable price and allow people to live here and work here like the rest of us do," says Rowland.

Commissioners were supposed to make a final vote on November 1, but Rowland says he expects the date to be pushed back.

Rowland says they want to continue getting folks' reactions before they approve the draft.

They will discuss the proposed ordinance at their next meeting on Tuesday, October 18, at 9 a.m.

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