FAQs

Normally, upon receipt of a complaint, the Code Enforcement Officer investigates the situation on the day of complaint. If a valid complaint is found to exist, the Officer attempts to contact the vendor or occupant at that time. If the occupant is at home, they are advised of the issue and asked to take appropriate action to remedy the situation. If the occupant is not available, the Officer will leave a Courtesy Notice of Violation advising the occupant of the nature of the problem and the City Code governing the violation. A time period of 7 days is usually given to remedy the situation. If at the end of that period, compliance has not been achieved, the occupant is sent a Certified Letter advising them of the situation and ordering them to remedy the situation within 30 days. If at the end of that time period compliance has not been achieved, the Police Department is contacted to issue a Summons to Appear in Municipal Court.

In the event the property is unoccupied, the Code Enforcement Officer will research City records to determine the name and address of the property owner. When the property owner is identified, a phone call is made to the owner to notify them of the situation and request them to remedy the situation. Once again, they are typically given 7 days to remedy the situation. If this is not done, they are notified via Certified Mail of the violation and given 30 days to correct the situation. If at the end of this time period compliance has not been achieved, an attempt to serve the owner with a Summons to Appear is made.

Delays in this process may occur for several reasons. In the case of vacant properties, the Officer must research utility and tax records to determine the actual property owners. In some cases, a title search is required to determine ownership.

Effective October 1st the State of GA has lifted the annual ban on outdoor burning. PERMITS ARE REQUIRED & can be obtained by calling the GA Forestry Commission at 1-877-652-2876 or online at www.GaTrees.org. Permits are required for all natural vegetation including leaf piles, vegetative debris from storm damage, weed abatement and tree disease and/or pest prevention. NO MAN MADE MATERIALS such as tires, roofing materials, plastic or lumber may be burned.

First and foremost, we need the assistance of the public in notifying us when any of these conditions are noticed. Much as the Law Enforcement Neighborhood Watch operates, we need information on emerging problems as soon as possible. Notification of our Code Enforcement Officer is critical; this Officer can be contacted at (770) 990-4156. This notification sets into motion a series of actions designed to remediate the situation.

In the case of vacant commercial property, additional enforcement action through the Fire Code is possible. On a monthly basis, all identified vacant commercial property is inspected to assure that the building is properly secured to prevent vandalism. Any finding of violation is then processed as outlined above by the Fire Inspector.

Determining whether or not a particular vendor is “illegal” can be problematic. Any vendor physically present in the City can be asked by the Code Enforcement and/or Police Officer if they are licensed to conduct the business in which they are found to be engaged. Again, timely notification by the public is key to resolving this situation.

Our average response time within City limits is less than five minutes.

In the case of life-threatening emergency, we will dispatch a fire truck along with an EMS unit to provide extra assistance since all of our personnel are trained to provide at least Basic Life Support.