The Zoning Board has five regular members. There are two alternate members who serve when a regular member is absent. All members are appointed by the County Board. The County Board Chair designated the Chair of the Zoning Board. All members serve five-year terms. At the time of their appointment, each Zoning Board member must live in a different Congressional Township.

The Zoning Board conducts the public hearings for variance, special use, map and text amendments and for appeals. The Zoning Board has the authority to grant or deny variance requests and to decide appeals. They make recommendations to the County Board on special use, map amendment (rezoning) and text amendments.

Zoning Board meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month. Unless otherwise noted in the legal notice, all hearings are held in the 5th Floor conference room of the Macon County Building, 141 S. Main Street, in Decatur. Special meetings may be called by the Chair as needed. All hearings are open to the public. Anyone may appear and testify at a hearing in person, by duly authorized representative or by an attorney. Everyone who wishes to present evidence is sworn in and their testimony is under oath. Each hearing is tape recorded and detailed minutes are prepared. The minutes are usually available within a week or two after the hearing.