Chatham County, GA Code Violation Reporting: Response Times (2026)

Section 21-704 of the Chatham County Nuisance Abatement Code fixes the response window between a nuisance complaint and its hearing. After the Director of Inspections serves the written complaint required under Section 21-703(2), the hearing has to be held not less than ten days nor more than thirty days after the service of the notice, at a place within the county named in the complaint itself. That 10-to-30-day window is the only response-time figure the article sets; there's no separate deadline for the Director to act on an initial complaint before serving it, only a preliminary investigation is required first.

The owner and any other party in interest known to the Director keeps two rights inside that window: to file a written answer to the complaint with the Director, and to appear in person, or otherwise, to give testimony at the hearing itself. Section 21-705 governs what happens once the clock runs out and the hearing opens: a Hearing Officer appointed by the County Manager presides, can administer oaths, examine witnesses and receive evidence, and the hearing record is kept and made public by the Director under Section 21-706.

Formal rules of evidence used in courts of law don't control the hearing, which keeps the process faster than a Recorder's Court case would run.