Tricentennial Plan Background Information

Oglethorpe founded Savannah and with it the Georgia Colony in March, 1733. The Chatham County - Savannah Tricentennial Plan honors that beginning by planning to the year 2033. The Tricentennial Plan consists primarily of two major documents that shape growth and development for the City and County; The Chatham County - Savannah Comprehensive Plan and The Chatham County - Savannah Unified Zoning Ordinance. Preparing both documents in a single, integrated process ensures consistency between policy and regulation. In so doing, the City and County have established an effective program to implement their shared vision for 2033.

Chatham County - Savannah Comprehensive Plan Update

Cities and counties in Georgia are required to maintain useful and up-to-date comprehensive plans. Chatham County and the City of Savannah adopted a new Comprehensive Plan in the Fall of 2006.

Chatham County - Savannah Zoning Ordinance Update

Both the City of Savannah and Chatham County's zoning ordinances were adopted in the early 1960's. The text and maps of these ordinances have been amended many times over the years, often to permit specific developments to occur. Both zoning ordinances contain approximately 700 pages of regulations and 126 zoning districts.

Until now, the ordinances have not been comprehensively evaluated or updated to reflect modern policies. The City and County, as part of the Tricentennial Plan, will for the first time have a common zoning code, the Unified Zoning Ordinance (UZO). Unification will allow for greater regulatory consistency and efficiency. The update process is also intended to link zoning to the goals, objectives and strategies in the Comprehensive Plan and establish and new policy foundation for zoning decisions.

We welcome you to participate in this process by viewing information related to the Zoning Update, and we encourage you to send us your comments and suggestions. Please visit www.unifiedzoning.org for more information.