Henry County adopted a moratorium on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, on new residential rezoning requests. Any requests already submitted may continue through the rezoning process.
Henry County Residential Moratorium 2025
The board of commissioners added the moratorium as a walk-on agenda item for the March 18 meeting. It takes effect immediately. While the moratorium is in place, the county will not accept any new rezoning requests for residential projects. This includes rezoning requests for any residential zoning district. It also prevents requests for new conservation subdivisions. The moratorium does not affect any request already submitted. It also does not apply to any requests inside city limits.
The county passed the moratorium because they are presently updating the zoning code. The code update will include revisions to the county’s residential zoning districts. The moratorium prevents potential applicants from applying now and being grandfathered into the existing zoning districts. Instead, any new requests after the county adopts the code update would have to follow the new districts. The code update expects to conclude later this year.
The moratorium is in effect for thirty days or until April 17. The board will consider adopting a six-month moratorium at their April 15 meeting to avoid any lapses. That moratorium requires a public hearing before the board can adopt it according to county staff.
The county has existing moratoriums already in effect in the North Ola, Kelleytown and Speedway Airport areas. Those moratoriums support ongoing master planning efforts.
Henry County has 30-40 Pending Requests
The county has about 30-40 cases in the hopper. This number includes some associated requests with two cases for the same property, such as a rezoning request and conditional use permit. Those requests await the board’s consideration. Henry County staff shared those numbers at Tuesday’s meeting. Given the number of pending cases, the board will still have zoning requests on their meeting agendas. The zoning advisory board will also continue to hold their meetings.
Editor’s note: this article was updated to better reflect the number of pending cases after receiving clarification from Henry County staff. Featured image shows a suburban subdivision under construction. Adobe stock photo.
