On Monday night, a small crowd gathered at the Mike Daniel Recreation Center to offer ideas on the process of updating county regulations pertaining to development and zoning.

Some of the points brought up during the county meeting were similar to ones discussed at as the City of LaGrange’s public forum on its unified development ordinance last week. However, the process is distinct and will focus on Troup County development and zoning, while taking into account the ways that unincorporated Troup County is different from neighboring zonings and what updates are needed.

“I think this will make a lot of our development codes more usable,” County Planner Traci Hadaway said. “I think they’ll actually do what we want them to do. I think this will help us accomplish what our comprehensive plan has stated in an easier way to do it, especially for the public and the developers who come in. Right now, [the codes] are kind of cumbersome. They are hard to understand, so I think this will streamline some processes.”

According to information released during the meeting, there are currently 23 types of zoning designations in Troup County, which consultants said was far too many to be easily implemented and understood.

Members of the Troup County Board of Commissioners in attendance said that citizen input will be critical to determining what future development and zoning in the county should look like.

“The biggest thing is knowing what the citizens would like, I think, because we can sit up there all day long making decisions, but if it is not what the citizens want, then it is not good for the county,” Commissioner Ellis Cadenhead said.

The meeting’s attendees wrote some of the things they want to see in Troup County in the future on posters after the meeting, and the consultants and county representatives were both hopeful that Troup County residents will share even more of their thoughts in future meetings on the zoning and development updates.

“It is important that we have a good turnout at these meetings,” Commissioner Lewis Davis said. “I know a lot of people don’t like to have to do these things, but it is so important. We are trying to do this, and I don’t consider it to be a rewrite as much as an update. We are trying to update our zoning to make it beneficial for all the citizens of the unincorporated parts of Troup County.”

For more information on the Troup County Zoning Rewrite, visit Zoningtroupco.com. The full presentation is expected to be posted online Wednesday.