Unified Development Code Proposed In Cobb; Town Hall Scheduled

COBB COUNTY, GA — Cobb County commissioners are hosting a virtual town hall Wednesday to go over the county's proposed Unified Development Code (UDC) and the concerns that residents have expressed over what a UDC actually is, county officials said in a news release.

After multiple emails about the proposed UDC that have "misrepresented or misinterpreted the UDC's function in county government," Cobb Chairwoman Lisa Cupid will host the town hall in a livestream Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on Cobb TV's YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Residents can ask questions during the livestream on the county's Facebook page, or submit their questions by email beforehand at comments@cobbcounty.org.

“We have heard so many different views from our residents about what this is and what this means,” Cupid said. “So we wanted to provide an opportunity for residents to hear exactly what this process is all about and the benefits it will have for taxpayers.”

UDCs are used in government entities across the country to bring various regulations into one master document to streamline procedures and avoid overlapping regulations. It typically includes zoning and subdivision regulations, infrastructure requirements, design guidelines, landscaping standards, sign regulations and other stipulations.

At this time, Cobb County has two primary documents that regulate development: the county code of ordinance and the county development standards.

In addition, the county has also adopted design guidelines to offer additional standards in certain parts of the county, but all the documents span several hundred pages that "are often overlapping and sometimes inconsistent," the release said.

“Currently the county has hundreds of pages of documents that regulate development in the county,” said Jessica Guinn, Cobb’s community development director. “Many of these regulations were written decades ago. It is time to take a fresh look at our standards and to streamline and improve the process.”

For more information about the UDC and to view frequently asked questions, visit cobbcounty.org/UDC.