Peachtree City changes rezoning hearings format

Peachtree City has changed the format of its Planning Commission hearings. Although the state only requires one public hearing for rezoning requests, the city until now has required two, with a vote taken by the four-member volunteer commission at the second to serve as a recommendation before the measure is forwarded to the City Council to ultimately decide.

After first broaching the subject at the council’s Feb. 4 meeting, Planning and Development Director Robin Cailloux presented a text amendment to the city ordinance at the Feb. 18 council meeting that changes the first Planning Commission hearing to a non-voting workshop format, where citizens can comment either in favor of or against an applicant’s zoning proposal “in a less rigid format.” The matter would then be brought to the City Council for the actual public hearing, with the opportunity for additional citizen comments, before a final vote. The City Council confirmed the change 5-0.