CLARKESVILLE, Ga. — The Habersham County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to extend a limited moratorium on certain residential development and to formally call a special election to fill the District 3 commission seat.
Both measures passed without objection.
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Moratorium extended 30 days
Commissioners approved a 30-day extension of the county’s temporary moratorium on accepting applications for rezoning to certain residential districts involving subdivisions of more than five lots.
County Attorney Angela Davis said the moratorium was enacted earlier this year to give the county time to complete work on a new unified development code.
“We have a draft … that’s going forward to the Planning Commission soon and then will be coming to this board for consideration,” Davis said. “But it’s a huge, herculean task to get that all in place.”
Because the revisions are not yet complete, staff requested additional time. The extension runs through March 17, 2026 — one day after the board’s March meeting.
Davis said the short extension was necessary because the county did not have time to properly advertise a public hearing for a longer continuation. Commissioners plan to hold an advertised public hearing next month to consider whether to extend the moratorium further.
Commission Chairman Bruce Harkness said the action reflects the board’s effort to actively manage growth.
“Some people have said that we can’t control growth,” Harkness said after the vote. “Well, I hope that some of those people stand corrected. We just passed something here that we’re trying to manage and control growth in our county.”
“If we don’t do it, who’s going to do this?” he added. “We were elected to try to preserve and protect our beautiful county, and this is just one simple item that we’re trying to work on.”
Special election set for District 3
Commissioners also adopted a resolution calling for a special election to fill the unexpired District 3 commission term ending Dec. 31, 2026.
The vacancy was created by the resignation of former District 3 Commissioner Jimmy Tench. Under the county charter, a special election is required.
County Clerk Brandalin Carnes said the special election will be held in conjunction with the May 19 general primary and will not require additional funding.
“This special election won’t cost anything additional,” Carnes said, noting it can be conducted alongside the regularly scheduled primary.
Candidates interested in serving the remainder of the unexpired term may qualify in March. The same May ballot will also include the race for the full four-year term beginning in January 2027.
Carnes said anyone wishing to run for both must complete separate qualifying paperwork and pay separate qualifying fees for each race. Interested candidates should contact Laurel Ellison with the voter registration office for details.
Harkness acknowledged the unusual nature of holding elections for both the remainder of the current term and the upcoming full term at the same time.
“It’s a very unique situation,” he said. “If you only want to do part of the year, you can qualify in March to do that, just the rest of this year. Or if you want to do both, you can qualify to do that.”
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