The Long County Commission recently passed a measure that requires all county residents to comply with E-911 addressing standards or face fines.
Commissioners have been asking residents to voluntarily address their homes for nearly two years, but few have cooperated. The commission unanimously passed the ordinance, which takes effect Sept. 1. If residents fail to post addresses in front of their homes by the specified date, the county will install address markers and bill property owners for the associated costs.
The measure was introduced by Commission Chairman Bobby Walker. “We’re facing this addressing issue with the housing and driveway numbers. We need to make a decision on what we’re going to do,” he said.
Commissioners also discussed having the county handle all address postings and absorbing the costs, but ultimately decided that would be unfair to residents who voluntarily have paid to address their homes.
“It will cost the county about $9,100 to put a marker on each driveway. It’s actually $12.25 per marker,” Commissioner Wallace Shaw said.
According to Walker, the county must implement the address system or face fines from the federal government.
“We have to have these numbers up, no matter what we do,” Shaw said.
Commissioner Andy Fuller disagreed with the newly passed measure. “This is total chaos over something that’s not going to work,” he said.
Shaw said that even without the federal requirement, requiring address markers is something the county needed to do.
“It’s mainly for emergency workers like ambulances and firefighters and those type of agencies, to help them get to where they need to be as quickly as possible,” he said.
The measure also states that any county resident who is 62 or older or has special needs is not required to buy a marker or address their primary residence. The county will pay to post those residents’ addresses.
Commissioners voted that for for new homes, relocations or any other permit that establishes a primary residence, addressing must be done when the permit is granted.
The current address ordinance says, “The home number must be a reflective material at least 3 inches high. Where structures are over 100 feet from, or not clearly visible from the roadway, the house number must be affixed to a post at the driveway and be visible from both directions of travel.”
Residents can buy address markers for $12.25 at the Long County Courthouse. For more information, call 545-2143 or 545-3683.
Commissioners have been asking residents to voluntarily address their homes for nearly two years, but few have cooperated. The commission unanimously passed the ordinance, which takes effect Sept. 1. If residents fail to post addresses in front of their homes by the specified date, the county will install address markers and bill property owners for the associated costs.
The measure was introduced by Commission Chairman Bobby Walker. “We’re facing this addressing issue with the housing and driveway numbers. We need to make a decision on what we’re going to do,” he said.
Commissioners also discussed having the county handle all address postings and absorbing the costs, but ultimately decided that would be unfair to residents who voluntarily have paid to address their homes.
“It will cost the county about $9,100 to put a marker on each driveway. It’s actually $12.25 per marker,” Commissioner Wallace Shaw said.
According to Walker, the county must implement the address system or face fines from the federal government.
“We have to have these numbers up, no matter what we do,” Shaw said.
Commissioner Andy Fuller disagreed with the newly passed measure. “This is total chaos over something that’s not going to work,” he said.
Shaw said that even without the federal requirement, requiring address markers is something the county needed to do.
“It’s mainly for emergency workers like ambulances and firefighters and those type of agencies, to help them get to where they need to be as quickly as possible,” he said.
The measure also states that any county resident who is 62 or older or has special needs is not required to buy a marker or address their primary residence. The county will pay to post those residents’ addresses.
Commissioners voted that for for new homes, relocations or any other permit that establishes a primary residence, addressing must be done when the permit is granted.
The current address ordinance says, “The home number must be a reflective material at least 3 inches high. Where structures are over 100 feet from, or not clearly visible from the roadway, the house number must be affixed to a post at the driveway and be visible from both directions of travel.”
Residents can buy address markers for $12.25 at the Long County Courthouse. For more information, call 545-2143 or 545-3683.