Article I. PREAMBLE AND ENACTMENT CLAUSE  

It is the desire of the White County Board of Commissioners to guide and shape the future growth of the White County community so that areas with natural characteristics are kept in the highest and best use for that particular area.

As of the date of this document, all properties that are included on the White County Land Use Map Land Use Classifications Map are "grandfathered" or classified as non-conforming, and until the property owner desires a change in use of that particular property shall be designated "as is" for perpetuity.

Pursuant to the authority conferred by the 1983 Georgia State Constitution, Article IX, Section II, Paragraph IV, and for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, convenience, order, prosperity, and general welfare of the present and future inhabitants of White County and the State of Georgia, including among other purposes the lessening of congestion in the streets, securing safety from fire, flood, panic and other dangers; promoting health and the general welfare; providing adequate light and air; preventing the overcrowding of land and avoiding both undue concentration of population and urban sprawl; facilitating the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage service, schools, parks, and other public requirements; promoting such distribution of population, classification of land uses, distribution of land uses and distribution of land development and utilization as well tend to facilitate and promote desirable living conditions and the sustained stability of neighborhoods; preserving buildings, structures and uses in areas having local, regional and national historic or environmental significance; improving the aesthetic appearance of the county; protecting property against blight and depreciation; securing economy in government expenditures; conserving the value of buildings; and encouraging the most appropriate use of land, buildings and structures throughout White County, all in accordance with a comprehensive plan for the development of White County, the board of commissioners does hereby ordain and enact into law the following articles and sections.

Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 44-5-60(b), the White County Board of Commissioners expressly acknowledges the continuing application of restrictive covenants restricting lands to certain uses within this jurisdiction, and any such covenant, if created prior to this appendix being adopted by White County, shall continue to be effective until the expiration of such covenant in accordance with its terms.

In the following pages, the reader will have the opportunity to learn about White County's definitions of each classification.