Charlie Bauder, WNEG AM-630, Special to Anderson Independent-Mail (South Carolina)

March 29, 2013 Friday

TOCCOA, Ga. – The deadline is nearly here for Stephens County homeowners to make sure their E-911 addresses are posted properly.

Stephens County Administrator Phyllis Ayers said the county will begin Monday citing any homeowner who does not have a properly posted address.

“April 1, which is Monday, is the E-911 signage deadline, so beginning April 1, we will go road by road and begin enforcing the E-911 signs,” Ayers said.

Under county ordinances, the address must be posted and clearly visible at the driveway of a residence or structure, except in cases such as mobile home parks, apartments and duplexes. In those cases, the number must be posted on the mobile home, walkway or apartment door, depending on the situation.

Under a Toccoa ordinance, the address must be posted in a conspicuous manner in a conspicuous place. With the city ordinance, in places such as mobile home parks and apartments, the number must be displayed at the front entrance of the dwelling.

The city and county ordinances require that each number that is posted is at least three inches high, reflective, and placed on a contrasting background.

The county ordinance states that the penalty for not having an address properly posted is $25 a day. The city ordinance states that the fine for not complying can be up to $1,000.

Stephens County E-911 director Rex Nelms said the purpose of the ordinance is to ensure that all county residents have their designated street address numbers posted properly so in case of a need for emergency response, the responders are better able to find the resident’s address in a timely manner. When incorrect numbers or no numbers are posted, first responders have a difficult time finding the correct address in an emergency, Nelms said.

Stricter enforcement of the E-911 address-posting ordinance comes following statements made by the Stephens County Land Use Regulation Committee in January. The committee told the county commission that stricter enforcement of current ordinances was needed and cited the E-911 posting ordinance as an example.

Stephens County began implementing use of E-911 addresses in early 2008, and E-911 addresses became the sole addresses to be used in January 2009, after a one-year transition period. 

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