Tuesday, January 6, 2026–9:30 a.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
Work continues on a rewrite of Rome and Floyd County’s Unified Land Development Code.
The ULDC regulates the use of land, the location and use of buildings and other site improvements, and the construction of public facilities and private improvements related to the development of land.
According to Rome-Floyd County Planning Director Brice Wood, there is a rough draft, which could be posted in the next month.
“We will start to present that to even the city and county commissions soon,” he said. “They will get to tweak it and edit it, and there are some edits that need to be made. I looked at it from a planner’s perspective, but once others, who work in other fields, start looking at it, there probably are some tweaks that need to be made. I’ll be the first to admit that. It maintains the institutional knowledge of the previous one, because it’s the same layout and the same format. So, if you are used to working with the current code, the new one shouldn’t be a big culture shock.”
Staff have been working with a committee made up of realtors, architects, developers, and others.
“I will tell you that I was skeptical of that, but that is probably one of the most qualified committees we have,” Wood said. “They have actually been remarkable to work with, so I will be the first to tell you, I was wrong. They have offered some great insight, and I think it’s a better product as a result of that.”
Wood added that the goal of the ULDC rewrite is to make it more user-friendly. For example, the number of zones has been reduced.
“There were a couple of zoning districts that were rather redundant,” he said. “They allowed for the same things, same lot sizes, and same setbacks. So, we just merged them together. Fewer colors on the zoning map make it easier to read.”
Work has been ongoing for a couple of years, and while Wood could not give a timeline for adoption, there is hope it could be before the end of the year.
