COVINGTON, Ga. — Newton County commissioners voted unanimously Monday, April 11, to extend a moratorium for a fifth time on new residential development so changes to development standards can be finalized and recommended to them for final approval.

The Board of Commissioners voted to extend until July 19 the current moratorium on new applications for zoning petitions and petitions for preliminary plats and concept plans for new residential development. 

Interim Development Services Director Shena Applewhaite said her staff planned one more workshop for the Board of Commissioners to determine what changes they wanted to see before a May 3 public hearing.

Board members last voted in January to extend the moratorium until April 19 but allowed some developments that previously received a preliminary plat to move forward through the planning process.

Former Development Services Director Judy Johnson said in January that about 26 projects’ preliminary plats were affected, including two with infrastructure in place.

It also allowed new developments on undeveloped land with at least 2 acres per parcel to apply for a preliminary plat.

Commissioners have voted since early 2021 to keep a moratorium in place in an effort to overhaul the county zoning ordinance and development standards.

Planning officials have said the changes were needed to increase traffic flow and safety in some subdivisions that were allowed to develop with hundreds of homes and only one access to a main road.

Changes also were needed in outdated parts of the ordinance that led to sometimes irresponsible use of subdivision development standards, they said.