In order to regulate and restrict the height, number of stories and size of buildings or structures, the percentage of lots that may be occupied, the size of yards, courts and other open spaces, the density of population and the location and use of buildings, structures, and land use. The City of Atmore shall establish zoning use districts based on the following use classifications or variations thereof:

5.11

R-1, Low Density Residential District. This district is provided to afford the opportunity for the choice of a low density residential environment consisting of single-family homes on large lots.

5.12

R-2, Medium Density Residential District. The purpose of this district is to provide for medium density residential developments in single-family and duplex structures on medium sized lots.

5.13

R-3, High Density Residential District. The intent of this district is to provide the opportunity for high density, single-family, duplex and multi family residential development, including mobile homes meeting lot size requirements.

5.14

B-1 Local Business District. This district is intended to provide for limited retail convenience goods and personal service establishments in residential neighborhoods and to encourage the concentration of these uses in one location for each residential neighborhood rather than in scattered sites occupied by individual shops throughout a neighborhood.

5.15

B-2 General Business District. This district is intended to provide opportunity for activities causing noise and heavy traffic, not considered compatible in the more restrictive business district. These uses also serve a regional as well as a local market and require location in proximity to major transportation routes. Recreational vehicle parks, very light production and processing activities are included.

5.16

M-1 Light Industrial District. The purpose of this Light Industrial District is to provide a suitable protected environment for manufacturing, research and wholesale establishments which are clean, quiet and free of hazardous or objectionable emissions, and generate little industrial traffic. Locations should be in accordance with the City's Comprehensive Plan.

5.17

M-2 General Industrial District. The purpose of this General Industrial District is to provide a suitable environment for manufacturing activities. These districts are located for convenient access from existing and future arterial thoroughfares, highways and railway lines, and are in many instances separated from residential areas by business or light industrial areas or by natural barriers; where they are adjacent to residential areas, some type of artificial separation may be required. The district regulations are designed to permit the development of the district for almost any industrial uses, subject to the minimum regulations necessary for the mutual protection of the uses.

5.18

DBD Downtown Business District. The purpose of this district is to establish uses compatible with a vibrant commercial and retail center and a downtown area suitable for restaurants and family friendly entertainment. Uses which are not compatible with this purpose are restricted to other areas of the city.

(Ord. No. 02-2006, 4-24-2006; Ord. No. 05-2007, § 2, 10-22-2007; Ord. No. 02-2014, § 1, 4-21-2014)

The boundaries of the districts are shown on the map adopted for the City. Where uncertainty exists with respect to the boundaries of any of the districts as shown on the Officially Adopted Zoning Map, the following rules shall apply:

5.21

Unless otherwise indicated, the district boundaries are indicated as approximately following property lines, land lot lines, centerlines of streets, highways, alleys, shorelines of streams, reservoirs, or other bodies of water, or civil boundaries, and they shall be construed to follow such lines.

5.22

Where district boundaries are approximately parallel to the centerlines of streets, highways, or railroads, streams, reservoirs, or other bodies of water, or said lines extended, such district boundaries shall be construed as being parallel thereto and at such distance therefrom as indicated on the Official Zoning Map. If no distance is given, such dimensions shall be determined by the use of the scale shown on the Official Zoning Map.

5.23

Where a public road, street or alley or other public property is officially vacated or abandoned, the regulations applicable to the property to which it is reverted shall apply to such vacated or abandoned road, street or alley.

5.24

In case the exact location of a boundary cannot be determined by the foregoing methods, the Zoning Administrator shall interpret the map and render a decision. Any such decision may be appealed to the Board of Adjustment.

Except as hereinafter provided, the following shall generally apply:

5.31

Use. No building, structure or land shall hereafter be used or occupied and no building or part thereof shall be erected, constructed, moved, or altered except in conformity with the regulations herein specified for the district in which it is or is to be located.

5.32

Building Heights. No building shall hereafter be erected, constructed or altered so as to exceed the height limit specified in the regulations herein except as otherwise provided in the Ordinance.

5.321

Height Exceptions. The height limits for the various districts shall not apply to church spires, belfries, cupolas, penthouses, or domes not used for human habitation, nor to chimneys, ventilators, skylights, water tanks, parapet walls, cornices, radio and television transmitting and receiving antennas, or necessary mechanical appurtenances usually carried above the roof level, provided that such features are limited to that height necessary for their proper functioning.

5.322

Building height shall be measured from finished grade except where base flood elevations apply, in which case two (2) stories shall be allowed above the minimum required ground floor elevation, except as provided for elsewhere in this Ordinance.

5.33

Lots. No lot, even though it may consist of one or more adjacent lots of record, shall be reduced in size so that lot width or depth, front, side or rear yard, inner or outer courts, lot area per family or other requirements of this Ordinance are not maintained. This section shall not apply when a portion of a lot is acquired for public use.

5.34

Yards. No part of a yard or other open space required for any building for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this Ordinance shall be included as part of a yard or other open space similarly required for another building. Every part of a required yard or court shall be open from its lowest point to the sky unobstructed, except for the ordinary projection of sills, cornices, buttresses, ornamental features, chimneys, flues, and eaves, provided such projections shall not extend more than two (2) feet beyond the yard area requirements.

5.35

Multifamily. Site plans for all multifamily dwellings intended for occupancy by three or more families shall be submitted to the Planning Commission for approval and at the least shall contain an accurate plot plan drawn to scale showing the actual shape and dimensions of the lot to be built upon, the exact sizes and locations on the lot of the buildings and accessory buildings then existing and the lines, within which the proposed buildings and structures shall be erected or altered, the existing and intended use of each building or part of building, the number of families or housekeeping units the building(s) is/are designed to accommodate, the topography, the proposed drainage system, the zone or intended zone for the use proposed, and the names of streets adjoining said property.

5.36

One Principal Building on Lot. Every residential building, including hotels, motels, condominiums, single-family and multifamily dwellings, and duplexes hereafter erected or moved shall be located on a lot, and in no case shall there be more than one (1) principal residential building on a lot except as follows:

5.361

In any district where multifamily structures, motels, or hotels are permitted, two or more such residential structures may be permitted on a lot provided that no building shall be located closer to another building on the same lot than a distance equal to half the sum of the heights of both buildings. In Flood Hazard areas identified on the National Flood Insurance Rate Maps, the height of a building shall be measured from the floor level of the first habitable story for purposes of this section. In addition, the front or rear of any building may be no closer to the front or rear of any other building than forty (40) feet. The side of any building shall be no closer to the side, front or rear of any other building than thirty (30) feet.

5.37

Residential Uses in Business District. Residential uses established in any Business District must comply with the minimum requirements for the high density.

It is the intent of this Ordinance to administer the elimination of nonconforming uses, buildings, and structures so as to avoid any unreasonable invasion of established private property rights. Any structure or use of land existing at the time of the enactment of this Ordinance and amendments thereto, not in conformity with its use regulations and provisions, may be continued subject to the following provisions:

5.41

Unsafe Structures. Any structure or portion thereof declared unsafe by any authority may be restored to a safe condition.

5.42

Alterations. Any change in a nonconforming building site or yard area is subject to the following:

5.421

Any improvements, alterations, repairs or installation of new fixtures or equipment for an existing nonconforming structure may be accomplished by the owner of the structure upon obtaining the proper permits from the Building Official, provided that such improvements will bring into conformity, if possible, or that it will at least not increase, unnecessarily, the nonconformity and will in all other respects, meet the requirements of the district in which it is located.

5.422

Should a nonconforming building be moved, all nonconforming yard areas shall be eliminated.

5.423

A nonconforming use of land shall be restricted to the lot occupied by such use as of the effective date of this Ordinance. A nonconforming use of a building or buildings shall not be extended to include either additional buildings or land after the effective date of this Ordinance.

5.424

If a nonconforming business, house, manufactured home, mobile home, building, structure or other improvement is moved from its site or is damaged or destroyed by fire, storm or other disaster to an extent of 50% or greater than its estimated fair market value, then either event shall be deemed a cause for elimination of the nonconformity and the nonconformity shall be forever removed and eliminated. If a nonconforming business, house, manufactured home, mobile home, building, structure or other improvement is damaged or destroyed by fire, storm or other disaster to an extent of less than 50% of its estimated fair market value, such may be improved, repaired, rebuilt or replaced on the same lot for the same or a similar use as often as may be necessary; provided that such improvement, repairing, rebuilding or replacement will bring it into conformity, if possible, or that it will at least not increase, unnecessarily, the nonconformity, and such improvements, repairs, rebuilds or replacements are completed within four (4) months of the event causing such damage or destruction.

5.43

Change in Use. A nonconforming use which is changed to a conforming use shall not be permitted to revert to the original or a less restrictive use.

5.44

Discontinuance. A nonconforming use which became such upon the adoption of this Ordinance and which has been discontinued for a continuous period of four months shall not be re-established and any future use shall be in conformity with the provisions of this Ordinance.

5.45

Adjacent Land. The presence of a nonconforming use in a zoning district shall not be allowable as legal grounds for the granting of variances or zoning amendments for other surrounding properties by the Board of Adjustment or the City Council.

5.46

Access to Public Streets. Access to public streets shall be maintained in accordance with the following requirements:

5.461

Each principal use shall be placed on a lot or parcel which provides frontage on a public or private street having a right-of-way of not less than fifty (50) feet.

5.462

Any additional dwelling shall have access to a public street by means of a passageway open to the sky at least 15 feet in width.

5.47

Lots of Record. Where the owner of a lot of record or his successor to the title thereto does not own sufficient land to enable him to conform to the dimensional requirements of this Ordinance, the following exceptions may be allowed:

5.471

Where a lot, tract or parcel of land has an area or width that does not conform to the requirements of the district in which it is located, said lot may be used for a single-family dwelling in any Residential District, provided the lot to be so used has a minimum area of 4,000 square feet and a minimum lot width at the building line of 40 feet, provided it is located on a public sewer. In Business/Commercial and Industrial Districts, such lot may be used for any use permitted in the district in which it is located.

5.472

When two or more adjoining and vacant lots with continuous frontage are in a single ownership at the time of application and such lots have a frontage or lot area less than is required by the use district in which they are located, such lots may be platted or reparcelled so as to create one or more lots which conform to the minimum frontage and area requirements of the use district.

5.473

Buildings or structures located on substandard lots of record may be improved provided that such improvement is not detrimental to the area, does not increase the nonconformance, or is required by other laws or ordinances of the City.

5.48

Yard Requirements. Yard requirements shall be modified subject to the following conditions:

5.481

On double frontage lots, the required front yard shall be provided on each street.

5.482

Whenever a rear property line of a lot abuts upon an alley, one-half (½) of the alley width shall be considered as a portion of the required rear yard.

5.483

An unroofed porch shall not project into a required front yard for a distance exceeding five (5) feet.

5.484

On substandard lots of record, the front, side and rear setbacks may be less than required in this Ordinance; provided that no front setback shall be less than the average setback of the existing developed lots on the same block and on the same side of the street; no side setback shall be reduced to less than five (5) feet; and no rear setback shall be reduced to less than fifteen (15) feet. The amount of reduction up to these limits shall be determined by the Zoning Administrator in consideration of the lot size and the size of the proposed structure.

5.485

The setback requirements for side yards and/or front yards on corner lots shall not apply to any lot where the average setback on residentially developed lots located, wholly or in part, 100 feet on each side of such lot and within the same block and zoning district and fronting on the same streets as such lot, is less than the minimum required setback. In such cases, the setback on such lot may be less than the required setback, but not less than the average of the existing setbacks on the existing developed lots.

(Ord. No. 11-2011, § 5.424, 2011)

5.51

In any Commercial District, any operation not conducted within a building, such as drive-in businesses, outdoor recreation, outdoor storage of materials, and outdoor servicing activities, shall be enclosed by a wall or fence of solid appearance or tight evergreen hedge not less than six (6) feet in height where necessary to conceal such areas or facilities from a residential district adjoining or facing across a street in the rear or on the side of the principal building or use.

5.52

In any district where reference is made requiring adequate screening of a specified operation, such screening shall be a wall or fence of solid appearance or tight evergreen hedge not less than six (6) feet in height.

5.53

Outdoor lighting of all types shall be directed so as to reflect away from all adjacent properties and shall be so situated as not to reflect directly into any public right-of-way.

5.54

All screening, lighting, space, etc., shall be in good condition and appearance. The Building Inspector may cause to be removed, replaced, repaired or corrected at the owner's expense, any screening, lighting and space improperly maintained.

Owners, particularly developers of the larger paved areas such as those in connection with apartment complexes, shopping centers, etc., shall be responsible for increased runoff resulting from these developments which cause flood damage to neighboring property. The Building Inspector shall, in consultation with the City Engineer, determine that reasonable provisions for properly handling surface drainage in accordance with Article X and the City's "Specification for Roadway and Drainage Facilities" have been made in the applicant's design, and report these findings for the Planning Commission's consideration in acting on building applications. If such provisions are not made in the applicant's design, the Planning Commission shall make such remedies as may be available to the applicant as a condition of the building permit issuance.

Where more than one acre of land will be disturbed for construction purposes, developers shall be required to submit a sediment and erosion control plan for approval (see Article X).

5.81

Septic Tanks. In areas where there are no sewerage facilities, septic tanks may be used in accordance with current regulations of the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Escambia County Health Department.

5.82

Water and Sewer Connections. Developments or individual lots in all districts must connect to public or private community water and sewer systems where such systems border any development or lot line or are reasonably available and the appropriate utility has the capacity to provide the service; otherwise, lots must meet the minimum size requirements of the Health Department for on-site wells and/or septic systems. Existing private wells and septic systems that are functioning properly and meet the Health Department requirements may continue to be used.

5.821

It is the intent of this Ordinance to eliminate by attrition all existing private wells and septic systems in areas where public or private community water and sewer systems are available. Therefore, at such time as any private well or septic system is destroyed or must be replaced, the owner must connect to the public or private community water and sewer system where such systems border any development or lot line or are reasonably available and the appropriate utility has the capacity to provide the service.

5.83

Other. All new utilities shall be placed underground.

Where subdivisions, lots, or parcels exist which have already been recorded or which will be recorded with deed restrictions or other such restrictive covenants, such restrictions and covenants shall apply if they are more stringent than the requirements of this Ordinance; otherwise, the requirements of this Ordinance shall apply.

Any use of buildings or land existing on the date of adoption of this Ordinance and not in compliance with its provisions shall be allowed to continue as a nonconforming use. Any land development projects in the City under legal authority of this Ordinance that are not located in a zoning district designated for their intended use may be permitted to continue provided that:

5.0101

The project was under construction prior to the date of adoption of this Ordinance. For the purposes of this Section, under construction shall mean that a legal building or construction permit has been issued and that actual construction has been or will be started within the initial period of validity of the permit, exclusive of any time extensions, or that a permit application has been submitted to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

5.0102

The project complies in other aspects with the requirements of this Ordinance for districts in which similar uses are permitted.

5.0103

The developer complies with other conditions that may be required by the Planning Commission due to the unique circumstances of the land.

(Ord. No. 02-2006, 4-24-2006; Ord. No. 05-2007, § 2, 10-22-2007)