The county commission may, from time to time, after examination, review and hold a public hearing thereon, amend, supplement, or change the regulations contained herein or subsequently established. Proposals for amendments to these regulations, whether initiated by the county commission, the planning commission, or any person, firm, or corporation shall not be acted on until a public hearing has been held by the county commission as required by the procedures in this article.

When the county commission, planning commission, or any person, firm or corporation, desires to amend, supplement, or change the text of the zoning regulations contained herein, the following procedures shall be followed:

161.1. An application must be submitted in writing to the zoning enforcement official describing the proposed amendment, supplement, or change. All applications shall be submitted no less than 15 days prior to the next regular meeting of the planning commission.

161.2. The application shall be sent to the planning commission for review and recommendation, and said planning commission shall have 30 days within which to submit a report to the county commission. If the planning commission fails to submit a report within the 30-day period, it shall be deemed to have approved the proposed amendment.

161.3. Before enacting any amendment to the texts of these regulations, the county commission shall hold a public hearing thereon provided that at least 15 but not more than 45 days' legal notice has been published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.

161.4. The county commission shall hold at public hearing at the earliest possible time under the time limits spelled out above to consider the proposed text amendment. The recommendations of the planning commission shall be read aloud into the minutes of the public hearing. The county commission shall take action on said proposed text amendment within 45 days from the date of their public hearing except in the case where their tentative action is not in accordance with the planning commission's certified recommendation. In such case, the county commission shall not make any change in or departure from the text, as recommended and certified by the planning commission, unless such change or departure is first resubmitted to the planning commission for an additional review and recommendation. The planning commission shall have 30 days to resubmit its recommendation. If the planning commission does not resubmit its recommendation within 30 days, the county commission may proceed to take action on the amendments as it sees fit. Upon resubmission by the planning commission, the county commission shall hold a public hearing as described above and take final action on the request.

161.5. Any petition for a text amendment may be withdrawn prior to action thereon by the county commission at the discretion of the person, firm, or corporation initiating such a request upon written notice to the clerk of the county.

161.6. Any petition for a text amendment to the zoning regulations, unless said petition is initiated by the county commission or the planning commission, shall be accompanied by a fee as set by the board of commissioners.*

* A check must accompany all requests for text amendment before the request can be officially accepted by the zoning department and application must be dated reflecting the same date.

When the county commission, planning commission, or any person, firm, or corporation desires to amend the official zoning map, the following procedures shall be followed:

162.1. An application must be submitted in writing to the zoning enforcement official and must be accompanied with a site plan of the proposed use included in any petition for a zoning map amendment. Such site plan shall include buildings sited, parking areas, and egress and ingress into the proposed area, and shall include the existing land use on adjacent and surrounding properties. All applications shall be submitted not less than 15 days prior to the next regular meeting of the planning commission.

162.2. The application shall be sent to the planning commission for review and recommendation, and said planning commission shall have 30 days within which to submit a report to the county commission. If the planning commission fails to submit a report within the 30-day period, it shall be deemed to have approved the proposed amendment.

162.3. The zoning enforcement official shall cause to have posted in a conspicuous place on the property or parcel of land involved in the zoning map amendment one or more signs, each of which shall not be less than 12 square feet in area, shall contain information as to the proposed change and the date and time of the required public hearing, and the cost of each sign shall be paid by the applicant prior to the public hearing.

162.4. Before making a recommendation on any proposed amendment to the zoning map, the planning commission shall hold a public, hearing, thereon, provided that at least 15 but not more than 45 days' legal notice has been published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county as provided in O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4, and a sign or signs have been posted on the property in question for at least 15 days prior to the public hearing. The planning commission shall keep minutes of the public hearing and submit said minutes to the board of commissioners with its recommendation.

162.5. The board of commissioners shall take action on the proposed amendment at its first regular meeting following receipt of the planning commission's report.

162.6. Any petition for a zoning map amendment may be withdrawn prior to action thereon by the planning commission at the discretion of the person, firm or corporation initiating such a request upon written notice to the zoning enforcement official.

162.7. Any petition for a zoning map amendment may be withdrawn prior to action thereon by the county commission at the discretion of the person, firm or corporation initiating such a request upon written notice to the clerk of the county.

162.8. Any petition for a map amendment to this resolution, unless said petition is initiated by the county commission or the planning commission, shall be accompanied by a fee as set by the board of commissioners, plus the cost of advertising for the required public hearings and the cost of the required signs.