The Upson County Planning and Zoning Commission continued the public hearing on proposed zoning ordinance amendments and the subdivision ordinance on Oct. 13, 2025, after members said they had received last-minute edits from staff and needed additional time to review the changes.

Commissioners and staff said they received changes prepared by planning staff and the county’s consultant over the weekend but had not had time to fully digest them, and the commission proposed scheduling a workshop to review tracked changes and finalize language before forwarding recommendations to the Board of Commissioners.

Commission staff and the consultant asked that deletions be shown with strikethrough and additions underlined when the package is redistributed so the Board of Commissioners can clearly see what has changed. Commissioners also noted an internal inconsistency that staff corrected: a minimum lot-size reference for the manufacturing park that in one place said 3 acres and in another 10 acres was corrected to 10 acres.

During public comment, Janice Bowles of 253 Road On Road told the commission she welcomed the change to a 5-acre minimum for AR zoning and urged the commission to consider larger lot sizes in other districts. "The 5 acres for AR made me smile," Bowles said, and asked commissioners to "please consider some 2 acres in there for maybe R1." Bowles said she and neighbors had collected comparisons showing nearby counties commonly use 2-acre minimums as the next step down from 5 or 10 acres.

Commission members also discussed removing churches from most residential zoning districts (retaining them in the commercial district) and asked that the consultant provide a Word copy of the subdivision ordinance with track changes so deletions and additions are clear.

Separately, commissioners asked staff to share the monthly permits spreadsheet that is already prepared by county staff; the spreadsheet includes permits issued, inspections and occupation tax receipts for the month and has been sent to the chair in previous months. Commissioners requested copies so the full commission can see recent permitting activity.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to adopt the minutes from the previous meeting: approved by voice vote (unanimous).
- Motion to continue the public hearing on the zoning ordinance amendments to allow a workshop and further review: approved by voice vote (unanimous).

The commission did not set a specific workshop date on Oct. 13; members asked staff to coordinate with the consultant and the Board of Commissioners and to redistribute documents with tracked changes before the next meeting.