NEWTON COUNTY – While growth continues to be a topic of conversation throughout Newton County, new residential construction will see a pause for the time being.

Commissioners at Tuesday’s board meeting voted unanimously to approve an emergency moratorium that stops the approval of new applications for residential rezonings and preliminary plats for the next two years (24 months). The moratorium will also cover requests for temporary building permits.

This was done so that the county can update its ordinances to meet current standards, according to county attorney Patrick Jaugstetter.

“The stated reason is to allow the Board of Commissioners a breathing opportunity to update your ordinances – primarily your zoning ordinances – to bring them into compliance with today’s world,” Jaugstetter said.

Jaugstetter further noted that the county had already begun the process of revising its zoning ordinances. Additionally, director of development services Shena Applewhaite told the board that the consultant firm working on the updated ordinances in conjunction with her team are presenting their ideas to the planning commission on Aug. 27 as well as to the BOC in September. Town halls are also being planned for citizen feedback, according to Applewhaite.

By the time the process is completed for creating new ordinances, it could take over a year or more, according to Jaugstetter.

The county attorney also clarified that this moratorium does not apply to anyone who is already in the process of obtaining any one of these three items.

“If you’ve already got a permit applied for, if you’ve already got a preliminary plat… if you are already there the law would allow you to continue your project through its conclusion,” Jaugstetter said. “This would apply to new projects entering the pipeline, not those that are within the pipeline.”

When looking at how many projects are already in the process of obtaining a preliminary plat or going through a zoning request, Applewhaite said that “six or seven” preliminary plats are active. 

While Jaugstetter’s initial recommendation was to enact the moratorium for 12 months, District 3 commissioner Alana Sanders said the moratorium should be longer.

“It does sound like it might almost be a two-year process,” Sanders said. “That’s why I was asking should we do it beyond the 12 months.”

Ultimately, Sanders made the motion to implement the moratorium for 24 months, which was seconded by District 4 commissioner J.C. Henderson. The motion passed 5-0.

In a poll asked on The Covington News’ Facebook page, citizens were overwhelmingly in favor of the commissioners decision.

“Absolutely!!,” Newton County resident Rhiannon Townley said when asked if the commissioners made the right decision. “Anyone following the zoning requests over the last year would see that Newton is being targeted by developers to make a quick buck on high density housing… This will give the board and the planning and zoning departments time to take a look at what will be best for the county in terms of housing, development and also infrastructure… Time is needed to make these changes; I am proud of the board for listening to the citizens and implementing this.”

Ashlee Dove said that the moratorium should have been longer than the two-year timeframe the commissioners approved.

“Absolutely!!! Honestly it should be longer,” Dove said. “We have enough vacant storefronts, apartments and houses. We need to focus on infrastructure and emergency services for [our] current population.”

Scott Jay agreed that the commissioners decision was correct, but said they should have thought about this before now.

“That decision should have been made several years ago,” Jay said. “I don’t believe anyone in our County and City government can tell us what the ramifications, good and bad, will be to this out of control building!”

While the process for creating new ordinances is estimated to be in the 12-15 month range, the board can lift the moratorium at any point when it is necessary. Though no movement to do so is expected until after the completion of the ordinance process.