Effingham County Board adopts nuisance ordinance with 300-foot complaint limit

The Effingham County Board voted to adopt a nuisance ordinance that limits enforcement to situations where the complainant lives within 300 feet of the alleged nuisance and files a formal complaint with enforcement officials.

David Campbell moved to adopt the ordinance as presented; Tim Ellis seconded. During discussion board members emphasized the intent was to avoid creating overly broad or burdensome new rules for county residents and to limit enforcement to specific, localized complaints. After discussion the motion carried by voice vote.

The ordinance includes definitions assigning enforcement authority to the sheriff's office and the health department for complaints filed under the chapter. Board members said the 300-foot jurisdictional threshold was retained at the recommendation of members who wanted a narrow application.

Next steps: county staff will publish the ordinance text and update enforcement procedures to reflect the defined jurisdictional and complaint requirements.