(1)
Preparation, Transmittal and Review of the Comprehensive Plan. All required hearings should be handled in a manner that is consistent with any locally-adopted ordinances or other customary processes regarding the conduct of public hearings. The Department recommends that any community which must include a Land Use Element in its plan pursuant to section 110-12-1-.03(7) should comply with the Zoning Procedures Law (O.C.G.A. §
36-66-1, et seq.). Failure to handle public hearings appropriately may undermine the legal validity of the local comprehensive plan. Documentation of the required public hearings (e.g., a copy of the "tear sheet" advertising the hearing in the local newspaper, a sign-in sheet from the hearing, etc.) must be included in the appendix of community involvement activities discussed in section 110-12-1-.02(2)(d).
(a)
First Required Public Hearing. A first public hearing must be held at the inception of the local planning process. The purpose of this hearing is to brief the community on the process to be used to develop the plan, opportunities for public participation in development of the plan, and to obtain input on the proposed planning process. Once public comments have been addressed, the community may begin the process of developing the plan.
(b)
Developing the Plan - Community Involvement. Each element of the plan must be prepared with considerable opportunity for involvement and input from stakeholders, local leadership, and the general public, following the process specified in section 110-12-1-.02(2). This will help ensure that the plan reflects the full range of community needs and values and that the plan will be implemented, because citizens and leadership that are involved in plan development are likely to become committed to seeing it through.
(c)
Second Public Hearing. A second public hearing must be held once the plan has been drafted and made available for public review, but prior to its transmittal to the Regional Commission for review. The purpose of this hearing is to brief the community on the contents of the plan, provide an opportunity for residents to make final suggestions, additions or revisions, and notify the community of when the plan will be submitted to the Regional Commission for review. Once public comments have been addressed, the plan must be transmitted to the Regional Commission with the cover letter provided at section 110-12-1-.02(3).
(d)
Submittal for Review. Upon completion, the local government must transmit its plan to the Regional Commission for review. Once received, the Regional Commission shall immediately forward the plan to the Department for review, indicating the date the plan was received from the local government. This date of submittal for review is the beginning of the plan review process.
(e)
Notification of Interested Parties. Once the Regional Commission has accepted the plan for review, it shall immediately notify interested parties of the availability of the plan for review and comment, providing the name of the local government, the general nature of the plan and a deadline by which comments must be returned to the Regional Commission. At minimum, interested parties shall include:
· Local governments inside or outside the Regional Commission's region that are contiguous to the submitting local government, and other local governments that are likely to be affected by the plan;
· Any local authorities, special districts, or other entities identified in evaluating intergovernmental coordination mechanisms and processes (if applicable);
· Regional Commissions that are contiguous to the local government or that are likely to be affected by the plan; and
· Affected state agencies, including the Department of Transportation, the Department of Natural Resources, the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, and the Department.
The Regional Commission may (at its sole discretion) conduct a hearing at which any local government, Regional Commission or other local, regional, or state agency may present its views on the plan. The rules for conducting such hearings shall be as approved and adopted by the Council of the Regional Commission.
(f)
Regional Commission Review. The Regional Commission shall review the plan for potential conflicts with plans of neighboring jurisdictions, opportunities for interjurisdictional/regional solutions to common issues, and consistency with the adopted regional plan for the region.
(g)
Department Review. The Department shall review the required elements of the plan for compliance with the Minimum Standards and Procedures. This review may result in identification of deficiencies that must be resolved before the plan can be approved. The Department may also provide advisory comments to the community and/or the plan preparer (if the plan was prepared by some other party) which are intended to improve the usefulness of the submitted plan and other, future plans. Such advisory comments shall not prevent a local government from adopting an otherwise compliant local comprehensive plan. The Department's findings and recommendations resulting from its review shall be transmitted to the Regional Commission for inclusion in the final report within 35 days after submittal for review.
(h)
Report of Findings and Recommendations. Within 40 days after submittal for review, the Regional Commission must transmit a report of findings and recommendations to the local government and a copy of which shall be provided to the Department. This report must include:
· Comments submitted by interested parties that reviewed the plan and (if applicable) a summary of the regional review hearing, detailing any significant issues raised;
· The Regional Commission's findings from its Intergovernmental and Consistency review of the plan and its recommendations for addressing these findings; and
· A copy of the Department's findings and recommendations resulting from its review of the plan.
(i)
Plan Revisions. If the Report of Findings and Recommendations indicates that the plan is not yet in compliance with the Minimum Standards and Procedures, the local government must address any requested changes by revising the plan and resubmitting it to the Regional Commission for review. Once the plan is resubmitted for review, both the Department and the Regional Commission will complete their review and respond to the local government as soon as possible. This process of revision and review can be repeated until the plan is found to be in compliance with the Minimum Standards and Procedures.
(j)
Adoption of the Plan. Once the plan has been found by the Department to be in compliance with the Minimum Standards and Procedures, the local governing body may adopt the approved plan. In order to maintain Qualified Local Government certification, the local government must adopt the approved plan. If the local government fails to adopt the plan within one year after the plan is found to be in compliance with the Minimum Standards and Procedures, it will be necessary to resubmit the plan for review as provided at 110-12-1-.04(1)(d).
(k)
Notification of Local Adoption. Within seven days of local adoption of the approved plan, the local government must provide an executed copy of the adoption resolution and an as-adopted version of the plan to the Regional Commission. Within seven days of receipt of this written notice, the Regional Commission must forward these documents to the Department.
(l)
Qualified Local Government Certification. Once the Department has been notified by the Regional Commission that a local government has adopted the approved plan, the Department will notify the local government that Qualified Local Government certification has been extended.
(m)
Publicizing the Plan. Once adopted by the local government, the availability of the plan must be publicized by the local government for public information. This requirement may be met by providing notice in a local newspaper of general circulation, posting notice on the local government's website, or using similar means to notify the public of plan adoption and directing them where a complete copy of the plan may be reviewed.
(2)
Maintaining the Plan. Local governments are responsible for maintaining their plans to accurately reflect current community conditions and the community's goals and priorities for the future. Maintenance of the plan includes plan amendments and regular updates of the plan.
(a)
Plan Amendments. The local government determines when a plan amendment is necessary to address changing circumstances that may have detracted from the usefulness of the plan as a guide to local decision-making. Any amendment which, in the judgement of the Department, may impact the compliance of any comprehensive plan component within these standards may be required to follow the submittal and review procedures outlined in section 110-12-1-.04(1). Guidance on the applicability of this requirement may be sought from the appropriate regional commission and/or the Department.
(b)
Plan Updates. The elements of the comprehensive plan identified in Chapter 110-12-1-.03 as requiring 5-year updates must be updated every five years in accordance with the recertification schedule maintained by the Department. If significant changes have occurred in community conditions (e.g., if the data upon which the plan is based has become significantly outdated, or the community's goals have changed), a more extensive update of other elements of the plan may be called for. A comprehensive plan update shall include update of all elements specified for five-year update in Chapter 110-12-1-.03 plus:
· A new Community Work Program (which includes the project which are included in the Capital Improvements Element) covering the five-year period beginning at the time the plan update is adopted as provided at section 110-12-1-.03(1)(j). And,
· A report of accomplishments that describes the current status of each activity in the previous Community Work Program (which includes the Capital Improvements Program). At a minimum, local governments must indicate which activities that:
o Have been completed;
o Are currently underway (including a projected completion date);
o Have been postponed (explaining why and when it will be resumed); or
o Have been cancelled and are no longer activities the local government intends to undertake (explaining why).
Any activities reported as "underway" or "postponed" must be reflected in the new Community Work Program or elsewhere in the comprehensive plan update, as appropriate.
(c)
Submittal and Review Procedures for Plan Updates. Plan Updates and, when necessary, Plan Amendments shall be reviewed following the submittal and review procedures outlined in section 110-12-1-.04(1).
(d)
Service Delivery Strategy Review. The update schedule for required five-year updates to each county comprehensive plan required by paragraph (b) of this section shall serve as the basis for a ten-year update schedule for the review of service delivery strategy agreements required by Code Section 36-70-28(b)(1) such that each service delivery strategy agreement shall be reviewed after every other five-year county comprehensive plan update beginning with the most recent update.
(3)
Variances. A request for alternative planning requirements or a variance from particular requirements in these rules must be submitted to the Department in writing by the local government and its Regional Commission, and must provide sufficient documentation to substantiate the request.
Variance requests specifically asking only for time extensions to complete plans or plan updates will be granted only under the following conditions:
(a) If the preparation of a plan or plan update is substantially complete at the time revised Minimum Standards and Procedures take effect and the local government desires to change its plan or major plan update to conform to the new requirements. Generally, such variance will only be granted if the local government's recertification date falls within 12 months after the effective date for the revised Minimum Standards and Procedures.
(b) If events beyond the local government's control have occurred (e.g., a natural disaster that affects the local government's jurisdiction or a fire that substantially damages the local government's planning or administrative offices, etc.) and the local government is under extraordinary stress in coping with this compelling situation.
(4)
Mapping Requirements. If either a Character Areas Map or Future Land Use Map is included in the plan, this must be submitted to the appropriate regional commission and the Department in a GIS digital vector data format simultaneously with the comprehensive plan. To facilitate the preparation of these and other maps that may be included in the plan. It is recommended that plan preparers use these maps, but if other maps are used, they must meet the following requirements:
(a)
Digital Format. Maps submitted in digital form must be provided as digital vector map products, using the shapefile format via a Department-approved exchange media or electronic transfer method.
(b)
Base Maps. Base or reference maps must equal or exceed the scale, accuracy, precision, and feature content of the equivalent map made available by the Department. They must use the Georgia Coordinate System of 1985 as defined in the O.C.G.A. 44-4-20 through 44-4-31, or use latitude and longitude coordinates based on the North American Datum of 1983.
(c)
Boundaries. All administrative or political boundaries on maps submitted to the Department must include the latest available boundaries from the U.S. Census Bureau. In the event that the U.S. Census boundary map provided on the Department's website does not represent current municipal boundaries, due to recent annexations or de-annexations that have not yet been reported through the official U.S. Census Boundary and Annexation Survey update process, the plan preparer must use the most accurate representation of boundaries available. However, in cases where it is necessary to submit such alternate boundaries to the Department, the affected municipality is advised that O.C.G.A. 36-36-3 requires cities to report all annexations to the Department. Consequently, the municipality will be expected to participate in the next annual U.S Census Boundary and Annexation Survey to reconcile these differences in their boundary map.
