DeKalb County residents might get new addresses.

The planning committee for the DeKalb County Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to recommend a new numbering system for rural routes in DeKalb County.

All roads that run east and west will be grouped into small sections and houses within them will be given special section numbers, said Chris Aiston, director of planning for DeKalb County.

Roads running north and south also will be grouped into sections, but when the east/west and north/south roads cross, they will use the first grouping, Aiston said.

The need for a new system is a result of the 911 emergency system, Aiston said.

Capt. Jim Laben of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department said the current rural numbering system is not clear enough to efficiently dispatch emergency vehicles.

“We need a system which will encourage people to put (their) number on a mailbox where it can be seen so police and fire can respond,” he said.

The new numbering system will begin if the Board agrees to change the current ordinance that deals with addresses, Laben said.

“We need to change the ordinance from 1976 to require people to display their address numbers,” he said.

The new system will ensure no addresses duplicate, Laben said. Laben said there are seven or eight different fire districts using different number systems to respond to fire emergencies.

“We felt a uniform county-wide change would be beneficial to the communities,” Laben said.

Residents will have to buy visible numbers to identify their address if their houses are 100 feet from the street.