Every few months, Jeremy Rosier makes a trek to the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission to seek Design Review Board approval to use synthetic materials in historic renovations.
The PVC material he prefers is more durable than today’s lumber, but it is not an acceptable material in the current design guidelines for Macon’s historic districts. While the review board has made an exception for Rosier each time, they might not have to for much longer.
Since the beginning of the year, Ethos preservation planners have been reviewing the design guidelines governing property in Cherokee Heights, Vineville, InTown and the Central Business District that were developed nearly 40 years ago — long before Rosier’s polyvinyl chloride was in vogue. The Beall’s Hill neighborhood guidelines are more recent so were not included in this review.
P&Z Executive Director Jeff Ruggieri mandated Ethos make recommendations based on “contemporary best practices, staff input, and information collected from public engagement efforts.”
After reviewing comments from two community meetings in June, Ethos is ready to present an update on the project with a virtual meeting Thursday at 6 p.m. and an in-person presentation Friday at 1 p.m. in the P&Z hearing room at Macon Mall. For information on how to log onto the Zoom call, visit PreserveMaconDistricts.com.
This week, Ethos plans to gather more feedback and answer the public’s questions as they continue to tweak the final design guidelines.
Open House Oct. 30
P&Z also is in the midst of updating the Comprehensive Land Development Resolution that governs future growth and development plans for the county.
For more than 18 months, P&Z staff have been working to simplify and modernize the code and have found dozens of places to make changes that can be viewed online.
They reorganized information in a more user-friendly table of what is permitted in different zoning districts.
They want to better explain rules governing things like multi-family dwellings, short term rentals, supportive living and independent care homes. Staff also is defining terms such as “buffering screening” and provide detailed guidance for what must be erected to shield neighboring properties from some types of new development.
There’s more specific rules for lighting, as well.
“Really just what we do now. We just don’t have language to support it,” Ruggieri told commissioners during a summer briefing on the pending changes.
For example, if you want to raise chickens, there’s currently nothing in the code to regulate that.
Going forward there will be rules for placing the coops at least 15 feet from the property line and closer to the owner’s house than a neighbor’s home.
“That’s new language for us. We’re chicken-friendly here in Macon-Bibb. Eggs for everybody,” Ruggieri said as backyard chicken-raising has grown in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic.
To learn more about the proposed changes and provide input on the draft, P&Z will hold an open house from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Wed. Oct. 30 at Macon Mall.
Comments also can be posted in the proposed draft through a link in each section such as one on specific definitions for zoning terms. A blue dialogue box icon provides the portal for public comments throughout the draft resolution.
During taping of this month’s Ask Mayor Miller program, Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller said proper planning is essential for positive growth in the community.
“I hope people engage in there, put their input there, and make sure they can come up with a good plan that’s going to be something that is going be sustainable for a long period of time,” Miller said.
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be reached at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
