Dougherty Co. Leaders Want to Toughen Code Enforcement to Fight Blighted Buildings
Industry Update
December 11, 2023
Source: walb.com
On Monday, the Dougherty County Commission held a government affairs meeting to consider asking a Georgia law firm to help them update their code of ordinances.
Since the last meeting in October, they have compiled a list of ordinances that are top of mind for revision. Here’s why commissioners feel these updates are needed.
The county ordinances haven’t been updated since 1986. That is why Commissioner Chair for District 5 Gloria Gaines called this meeting.
According to Advancing Georgia’s Counties, best practices include updating the ordinances once every five to 10 years and keeping codes current with the times. The first two areas that Commissioner Gaines wants to tackle are zoning and vegetation control.
Several items on the agenda under the code of ordinances also include addressing blighted properties and animal control.
“How do we use our ordinances to create a better living environment for our citizens? And that call went out and we have a list that we will pass on to our legal consultants and they will have a look at it and try to help us try to codify some of the updates,” Gaines said.
County Attorney Alex Shalishali has been in contact with a few Georgia law firms that oversee local government, who could advise the county on how to best do this.
“For example, you have heard about code enforcement because blight is an issue that they want to address. And so we have gathered information from board staff and we are going to continue gathering information from other stakeholders. And we will likely engage a consultant,” Shalishali said.
City and county leaders have been frustrated with the slow process of cleaning up blighting properties. County leaders are trying to use ordinance changes to make the process faster.
Here’s how county leaders hope to address it:
- To expedite the lien process for unpaid fines when property owners are not compliant.
- To set new standards that require owners to maintain vacant properties.
“We have a lot of problems with maintaining properties around here, vacant properties around here, maintaining yards with animals that are out of control. With junk cards and that kind of stuff,” Gaines said.
The commission is also considering tougher fines for owners that allow weeds to grow out of control on their properties. And regulation on junk vehicles that are stored on front lawns.
For now, these are all just ideas and no timeline was given on when action might be taken.
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