Section 14Duties of zoning administrator, board of appeals, city council and courts on matters of appeal
Plain English: what this chapter covers
These sections explain who runs zoning (the zoning administrator), when you need a building permit or certificate of occupancy, how to ask the three-member Board of Zoning Appeals for a variance or special exception or to appeal a staff decision, and how the Planning Commission and City Council handle rezonings. None of these procedures have been amended since 1996, even though Georgia's Zoning Procedures Law was substantially revised in 2022.
14-1. Zoning Administrator. It is the intent of these regulations that the zoning administrator be chiefly responsible, with due assistance from the city attorney, for all questions of interpretation of these regulations. The zoning administrator shall also be responsible for the enforcement of these regulations.
14-2. Board of Appeals. The board of appeals shall review questions on interpretation only on appeal from the decision of the zoning administrator, and recourse from all decisions of the board shall be to the courts as provided by law.
14-3. City Council. It is further the intent of these regulations that the duties of the city council shall be to adopt or reject proposed amendments to these regulations as detailed in section 13. Matters of nonenforcement of this may be brought to the city council's attention by aggrieved parties only after the aggrieved party has followed the complaint procedure outlined in section 11-7. Corrections to problems of nonenforcement shall be handled by the mayor and council through the city manager. Recourse from all decisions of the mayor and council shall be to the courts as provided by law.
This is a plain-English guide, not legal advice. The official code is on Municode and at City Hall. Our copy is from April 30, 2026.
Online: https://jamesburgessleads.com/city-code/APXAZO_S14DUZOADBOAPCOCOMAAP
Official version: https://library.municode.com/GA/Ashburn/codes/Code_of_Ordinances?nodeId=APXAZO_S14DUZOADBOAPCOCOMAAP
Paid for by James Burgess