Section 36-36-11. Effect of objection to land use following rezoning; minimum procedures for addressing issues

   (a) The intent of this Code section is to provide a mechanism to resolve disputes over land use arising out of the rezoning of property to a more intense land use in conjunction with or subsequent to annexation in order to facilitate coordinated planning between counties and municipalities particularly with respect to areas contiguous to municipal boundaries; provided, however, that on and after September 1, 2007, such dispute resolutions shall be governed by the provisions of Article 7 of this chapter and the provisions of this Code section shall be limited to proceedings initiated prior to such date.

(b) As used in this Code section, the term "objection" means an objection to a proposed change in land use which results in a substantial change in the intensity of the allowable use of the property or a change to a significantly different allowable use.
   (c)(1) When an initial zoning of property is sought pursuant to subsection (d) of Code Section 36-66-4 or when the rezoning of annexed property is sought within one year of the effective date of the annexation, the municipal corporation shall give notice to the county governing authority within seven calendar days of the filing of the application for initial zoning or rezoning. Upon receipt of such notice, the county governing authority shall have seven calendar days to notify the municipality in writing of its intent to raise an objection to the proposed zoning or rezoning of the property and shall specify the basis for the objection. If the county governing authority serves notice of its intent to object, then the county governing authority shall have ten calendar days from the date of the county's notice to document in writing the nature of the objection specifically identifying the basis for the objection including any increased service delivery or infrastructure costs. The absence of a written notice of intent to object or failure to document the nature of the objection shall mean the municipal corporation may proceed with the zoning or rezoning and no subsequent objections under this process may be filed for the zoning or rezoning under consideration.

   (2) Commencing with the date of receipt by the municipality of the county's documented objections, representatives of the municipal corporation and the county shall have 21 calendar days to devise mitigating measures to address the county's specific objections to the proposed zoning or rezoning. The governing authority of the municipal corporation and the governing authority of the county may agree on mitigating measures or agree in writing to waive the objections at any time within the 21 calendar day period, in which event the municipal corporation may proceed with the zoning or rezoning in accordance with such agreement; or, where an initial zoning is proposed concurrent with annexation, the municipality may approve, deny, or abandon the annexation of all or parts of the property under review.

   (3) If the representatives of the municipal corporation and the county fail to reach agreement on the objections and mitigating measures within the 21 calendar day period, either the governing authority of the municipal corporation or the governing authority of the county may insist upon appointment of a mediator within seven calendar days after the end of the 21 day period to assist in resolving the dispute. The mediator shall be mutually selected and appointed within seven calendar days of either party's timely, written insistence on a mediator. The party insisting on use of the mediator shall bear two-thirds of the expense of the mediation and the other party shall bear one-third of the expense of the mediation. If both the municipality and the county insist on mediation, the expenses of mediation shall be shared equally. The mediator shall have up to 28 calendar days to meet with the parties to develop alternatives to resolve the objections. If the municipal corporation and the county agree on alternatives to resolve the objections, the municipal corporation may proceed in accordance with the mediated agreement.

   (4) If the objections are not resolved by the end of the 28 day period, the municipal governing authority or the county governing authority may, no later than seven calendar days after the conclusion of such 28 day period, request review by a citizen review panel. The citizen review panel shall be an independent body comprised of one resident of the municipal corporation appointed by the municipal governing authority, one resident of the county appointed by the county governing authority, and one nonresident of the county who is a land use planning professional mutually selected by the municipal and county appointees to the citizen review panel. No elected or appointed officials or employees, contractors, or vendors of a municipality or county may serve on the citizen review panel. If a request for review by a citizen review panel is made, the mediator shall make arrangements to appear personally at the first meeting of the panel and brief the panel members regarding the objections and proposed mitigating measures or provide a written presentation of such objections and proposed mitigating measures to the panel members on or before the date of such first meeting, whichever the mediator deems appropriate. The citizen review panel shall meet at least once but may conduct as many meetings as necessary to complete its review within a 21 calendar day period. All meetings of the citizen review panel shall be open to the public pursuant to Chapter 14 of Title 50. Within 21 calendar days of the request for review, the citizen review panel shall complete its review of the evidence submitted by the county and the municipality concerning the objections and proposed mitigating measures and shall issue its own recommendations.

   (5) The citizen review panel shall recommend approval or denial of the zoning or rezoning and address the objections and proposed mitigating measures. Where an initial zoning is proposed concurrent with annexation, the panel may also recommend that the annexation be approved or abandoned. The findings and recommendations of the citizen review panel shall not be binding.

   (6) Following receipt of the recommendations of the citizen review panel, the municipal corporation may:

      (A) Zone or rezone all or parts of the property under review;

      (B) Zone or rezone all or parts of the property under review with mitigating measures;

      (C) Deny the zoning or rezoning of all or parts of the property under review; or

      (D) Any combination of the foregoing.

Where an initial zoning is proposed concurrent with annexation, the municipality may also approve, deny, or abandon the annexation of all or parts of the property under review.

   (7) At any time during the process set forth in this Code section, the county or municipality may file a petition in superior court seeking sanctions against a party for any objections or proposed mitigating measures that lack substantial justification or that were interposed for purposes of delay or harassment. Such petition shall be assigned to a judge, pursuant to Code Section 15-1-9.1 or 15-6-13, who is not a judge in the circuit in which the county is located. The judge selected may also be a senior judge pursuant to Code Section 15-1-9.2 who resides in another circuit. The visiting or senior judge shall determine whether any objections or proposed mitigating measures lack substantial justification or were interposed for delay or harassment and shall assess against the party raising such objection or proposing or objecting to such mitigating measures the full cost of attorney fees and other costs incurred by the other party in responding to the objections or proposed mitigating measures.

   (8) Unless otherwise agreed, a zoning or rezoning decision made pursuant to this Code section shall not be effective until 28 calendar days following the completion of the process authorized by this Code section and the zoning or rezoning vote by the municipal governing authority.

   (9) During the process set forth in this Code section, the municipal corporation may proceed with notice, hearings, and other requirements for zoning or rezoning in accordance with the municipality's zoning ordinance.

(d) If the annexation, zoning, or rezoning is denied or abandoned based in whole or in part on the county's objections, the county shall not zone or rezone the property or allow any use of a similar or greater density or intensity to that proposed for the property which had been objected to by the county pursuant to this Code section for a one-year period after the denial or abandonment.

(e) The process set forth in subsection (c) of this Code section specifies minimum procedures for addressing objections. However, a county and a municipality may agree to additional procedures by resolution of the county and municipal governing authorities. Notwithstanding subsections (c) and (d) of this Code section, any agreement to resolve county objections to a proposed land use of an area to be annexed into a municipality which agreement was in effect on January 1, 2004, and which includes a provision whereby the county and a municipality agree to be bound by the recommendations of an annexation appeals board shall remain in effect until the parties agree otherwise.

Code 1981, § 36-36-11, enacted by Ga. L. 1998, p. 856, § 2; Ga. L. 2004, p. 69, § 18; Ga. L. 2007, p. 292, § 1/HB 2.