Certain words and terms are defined as follows: Words used in the present tense include the future; words in the singular number include the plural; and words in the plural number include the singular. The word "building" includes the word "structure"; and the word "shall" is mandatory and not directory. The term "Board of Zoning Appeals" shall mean the Augusta, Georgia Board of Zoning Appeals. The term "Planning Commission" means the Augusta, Georgia Planning Commission as provided for in Title 1 and Title 8 of the Augusta, Georgia County Code by virtue of the Home Rule Provision of the constitution of the State of Georgia of 1983. "Commission" means the Augusta Commission. "Roads" include streets, avenues, boulevards, roads, highways, lanes, circles, drives, freeways, viaducts, alleys, and other public ways. "Subdivision" means the division of a lot, tract, or parcel of land into two or more lots, plats, sites, or other divisions of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale or of building development purposes other than agricultural. It includes re-subdivision, and when appropriate to the content, relates to the process of subdividing or to territory subdivided.

"ACCESSORY BUILDING" shall mean a subordinate building not more than one (1) story and no more than 18 feet in height as measured in Section 2: "Building Height." The accessory structure shall not be taller than the primary structure when viewed from the street. The use of such a building is incidental to that of the main building on the same lot, or of which it forms an integral part of the same lot main building.

Accessory buildings shall not be designed and used for residential purposes. They shall not contain facilities for sleeping, bathing or cooking. Accessory buildings may not be used to conduct home occupations or serve as home offices. In no case may an accessory building have a separate electrical service.

"ACCESSORY USE" shall mean the use customarily incidental and accessory to the principal use of a building located upon the same building site as the accessory use.

"ADULT DAY CARE FACILITY" shall mean any place operated by a person, society, agency, corporation, institution or group wherein are received for pay for group care, for fewer than 24 hours per day of three (3) or more elderly or disabled persons that are over 17 years of age.

"AIRPORT" shall mean Bush Field and Daniel Field.

"AIRPORT HAZARD" shall mean any structure or tree or use of land which obstructs the airspace required for the flight of aircraft in landing or taking off at the airport or is otherwise hazardous to such landing or taking off of aircraft.

"AMPLIFIED ENTERTAINMENT AND/OR LIVE ENTERTAINMENT" shall mean any type of music or other entertainment delivered through and by an electronic system. Televisions operating with no amplification other than their internal speakers and background music systems operated at a low volume and not intended for entertainment shall not be deemed amplified entertainment.

"APARTMENT" shall mean a room, or suite of one or more rooms, which is designed or intended for occupancy by, or which is occupied by, one family doing its own cooking therein or by one person doing his or her own cooking therein.

"APARTMENT HOUSE" shall mean any building or portion thereof which contains three or more apartments, the occupants of any two or more which use any entrance or hall in common, and all living units of which are intended to be maintained under single ownership.

"AUTOMOBILE SALES" or "STORAGE YARDS" or "LOTS" shall mean an open premise used for storage or sale of complete and operable automobiles.

"AUTOMOBILE WRECKING YARD" or "AUTOMOBILE USED PARTS LOT" shall mean any place where one or more vehicles not in running condition, or parts thereof, are stored in the open or in any building or structure used principally for wrecking and storage of automobiles not in running condition or automobile parts.

"BACKGROUND MUSIC OR SOUND" shall mean amplified music or amplified sound that cannot be heard or felt outside the structure in which it is played except for brief periods when customers enter or exit the establishment and that is played within the structure at low volume.

"BASEMENT" shall mean a room or story partly underground and having at least one-half of its height above the average level of the adjoining ground. A basement shall be counted as a half-story if used for dwelling or business purposes.

"BREEZEWAY""BREEZEWAY" shall mean the roofed open-passage connecting the main building and an accessory building. Breezeways shall be not less than five (5) feet in width and not exceed fifteen (15) feet in length.

"BREWERY" shall mean a large or industrial scale manufacturer of alcoholic malt beverages for the purpose of wholesale distribution. Such use must be connected to public water and sewer.

"BREWPUB" shall mean a restaurant that produces a limited quantity of an alcoholic malt beverage for on-site consumption with incidental sales to the public as carryout and is consistent with Section 6-2-52 of the Augusta Georgia Code thereby regulating alcohol licenses for eating establishments. Such use must be connected to public water and sewer.

"BUFFER" shall mean that portion of a lot, tract, or parcel set aside for open space and visual screening purposes, pursuant to applicable provisions of this Ordinance, to separate different use districts, or to separate uses on one property from uses on another property of the same use district or different use districts.

"BUILDING" shall mean a structure having a roof supported by columns or walls for the shelter, support or enclosure of persons, animals, or chattels. When separated without interior accessible connections, each portion of such building shall be deemed a separate building.

"BUILDING HEIGHT" shall mean the vertical distance measured from the level of the established grade at the middle of the front of the building, to the highest point of a flat roof; to the deck line of a mansard roof; and to the mean height level between eaves and ridge for a gable, hip, or gambrel roof.

"BUILDING LINE" shall mean a line between which line and any street line of a district, lot, tract, or parcel of land, no building or part of a building may be erected, altered, or maintained.

"BUILDING, MAIN""MAIN BUILDING" shall mean a building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is situated. In any residential district any dwelling shall be deemed to be a main building on the lot upon which the same is situated. Main building when used with the reference to ground coverage shall mean the dimension of the dwelling including porches and garages. Accessory buildings are excluded.

"BUILDING PERMIT" shall mean a written permit issued by the Chief Building Official of Augusta, Georgia

"BUILDING LINE SETBACK" shall mean the distance between the building line and the street line in a district, lot, tract, or parcel of land.

"CAFÉ" shall mean a restaurant having a seating capacity of less than 40 persons and conducted consistent with Section 6-2-52 of the Augusta Georgia Code thereby regulating alcohol licenses for eating establishments.

"CELLAR" shall mean a room or story having more than one-half of it's height below the average level of the adjoining ground. A cellar shall not be counted as a story for purposes of measured height.

"CHURCH" shall mean buildings and facilities owned or operated by a corporation, association, person, or persons for a social, educational, religious or recreational purpose, but not primarily for profit or to render a service which is customarily carried on as a business.

"CLUB" shall mean buildings and facilities owned or operated by a corporation, association, person, or persons for a social, educational, religious or recreational purpose, but not primarily for profit or to render a service which is customarily carried on as a business.

"COMMISSION" shall mean the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission. DELETE

"CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT" may be permitted in Zones where such uses are deemed essential or desirable to the public convenience or welfare and are in harmony with the various elements or objectives of the Master Plan/Planning Document in effect. All applications for a Conditional Use Permit shall be accompanied by a scaled preliminary development plan that shows the location of all buildings associated with the proposed use and the number of stories contained in each building. The preliminary development plan must also show the location of all floor plans, curb cuts, driving lanes, parking areas, and the location of all walls, fences and screen plantings that exist or are planned.

Any use, established as a result of a Conditional Use Permit must be initiated within six (6) months of the granting, or it shall no longer be valid. The initiation of a use is established by the issuance of a valid business license by the Augusta Planning and Development Department or by other reasonable proof of the establishment of vested rights. If a Conditional Use Permit is granted and the use is initiated but later ceases to operate for a period of one (1) year, then the Conditional Use Permit shall no longer be valid.

"CONDOMINIUM" shall mean an individual ownership unit in a multifamily structure, combined with joint ownership of common areas of the building and grounds, in accordance with all applicable provisions of the Apartment Ownership Act of 1963, as amended (Georgia Laws, 1963).

"CONGREGATE PERSONAL CARE HOME" shall mean a building occupied by the property owners, or by a person or persons employed by the property owners, and also occupied by sixteen or more unrelated individuals who reside there and receive care and/or supervision from the property owners or persons in their employment.

"CONSERVATION SUBDIVISION - shall mean a subdivision where a large percentage of the overall acreage of the tract is permanently protected as greenspace and the remainder is divided into lots.

"DAY CARE CENTER" shall mean any place operated by a person, society, agency, corporation, institution or group wherein are received for pay for group care, for fewer than 24 hours per day without transfer of legal custody 19 or more children under 18 years of age. The term shall not include a private school which provides kindergarten through grade 12 education and provides both before and after school care for its students as an auxiliary service during the regular school year only.

"DEPENDENT TRAVEL UNIT" shall mean a Travel Unit other than a self-contained Travel Unit.

"DISTILLERY" shall mean a large or industrial scale manufacturer of alcoholic distilled spirits for the purpose of wholesale distribution. Such use must be connected to public water and sewer.

"DISTRIBUTOR" - shall mean the manufacturer's direct point of contact for prospective buyers of certain products.

DRINKING ESTABLISHMENTS - drinking establishments (nightclubs) shall be a building that has a seating capacity of at least 40 persons consistent with Section 6-2-51 of the Augusta Georgia Code thereby regulating alcohol licenses.

"DUMPSTER" - a container having a minimum capacity of two cubic yards and that has a hinged mechanism that permits it to be raised and dumped into a sanitation vehicle and is used for temporary storage of rubbish, trash and other similar discarded materials, pending collection. (See also "Recyclable Material Bins")

"DWELLING OR DWELLING UNIT" shall mean any building, or portion thereof, which is designed or used exclusively for the purposes of living, sleeping, cooking and sanitation by one (1) family as described in this section.

"DWELLING, ONE-FAMILY" OR "ONE-FAMILY DWELLING" shall mean a building containing but one housekeeping unit, and designed and used to house not more than one family in a permanent manner, which may include not more than two boarders or lodgers.

"DWELLING, TWO-FAMILY" OR "TWO-FAMILY DWELLING" shall mean a building containing not more than two housekeeping units, and designed or used to house not more than two families, living independently of each other, each of which may include no more than two lodgers or boarders.

"DWELLING, MULTI-FAMILY" OR "MULTI-FAMILY DWELLING" shall mean a building designed for, or portion of a building having accommodations for, three or more families being independent of each other, and each having its own kitchen and bath facilities. This term includes premises occupied more or less permanently for residential purposes in which the rooms are occupied in apartments, suites, or groups such as apartment units, tenement houses, flats, apartment hotels, bachelor apartments, studio apartments, kitchenette apartments, and all other dwellings similarly occupied.

EASEMENT, FLAGPOLE LOT(s): Lots shall provide a minimum sixty (60) foot right-of-way and a minimum roadway or pavement width of twenty-four (24) feet, or meet the minor-residential street specifications outlined in the most recent edition of Augusta Engineering Street and Road Design Technical Manual, whichever is greater.

"EXPRESSWAY" shall mean a divided highway for through traffic with full or partial control of access and generally with grade separations at intersections. It contains two lanes or more for traffic going in opposing directions and divided by a median strip and designed so as to protect the opposing flows of traffic and thus increase the safety and practical capacity of the road for regional and inter-regional traffic.

"FAMILY" shall mean a group of one or two persons, or parents with their direct descendants and adopted children (and including the domestic employees thereof), together with not more than two persons not so related, living together in a room or rooms comprising a single housekeeping unit. Family does not include a group occupying a club, sorority, or fraternity house.

"FAMILY DAY CARE HOME" shall mean a private residence operated by any person who receives therein for pay for supervision and care fewer than 24 hours a day, without transfer of legal custody, three but not more than six children under 18 years of age who are not related to such persons and whose parents or guardians are not residents in the same private residence.

"FAMILY PERSONAL CARE HOME" shall mean a building occupied by the property owners, or by a person or persons employed by the property owners, and also occupied by three but not more than six unrelated individuals who reside there and receive care and/or supervision from the property owners or persons in their employment.

"FILLING STATION" shall mean any building or premises used solely for storing, dispensing, servicing, sale, or offering for sale, at retail of any automobile fuels and lubricants and/or automobile accessories, but not including major automobile repairing.

"FLEA MARKET" shall mean property which the owner rents, lends or leases the premises to persons for use as a marketplace to barter, exchange, or sell secondhand goods. Yard sales at residences are not flea markets, and craft shows shall not constitute flea markets.

"FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION" shall mean buildings and facilities owned or operated by a corporation, association, person, or persons for a social, educational, religious or recreational purpose, but not primarily for profit or to render a service which is customarily carried on as a business.

"FRONTAGE" shall mean the distance for which property abuts one side of a street, road, highway, or other public way measured along the dividing line between the property and such road or highway or other public way.

"FRONTAGE ROADWAY" or "ACCESS STREET" shall mean a roadway contiguous to and generally paralleling an interstate highway, expressway, major street or highway, or through street or highway and designed so as to intercept, collect and distribute traffic desiring to cross, enter, or leave such facility and to furnish access to property which would otherwise be isolated as a result of controlled access features peculiar to topographic conditions.

"FUNERAL HOME" shall mean a building or part thereof used for human funeral services. Such building may contain space and facilities for:

a)

embalming and the performance of other services used in preparation of the dead for burial;

b)

the performance of autopsies and other surgical procedures;

c)

the storage of caskets, funeral urns, and other related funeral supplies; and

d)

the storage of funeral vehicles and the allowance of cremation facilities for use by the individual funeral home within which such cremation facilities would be located. When a funeral home is permitted, a funeral chapel shall also be permitted.

"GARAGE" shall mean a building used for the storage or housing of motor driven vehicles.

"GARAGE, PRIVATE" OR "PRIVATE GARAGE" shall mean a garage intended for, and owned or used by, the members of a family resident upon the premises, provided that not more than one-half of the garage space may be rented for private vehicles owned or used by persons not residing on the premises, except that all the space in a garage of one- or two-car capacity may be so rented. Such a garage shall not include those used by more than one (1) commercial vehicle per family resident on the premises, and no such commercial vehicle shall exceed two (2) ton capacity, nor shall such garage provide for the repair or equipping of such vehicles.

"GARAGE, SERVICE" shall mean a garage used for repair of vehicles.

"GARAGE, STORAGE" shall mean a garage used primarily for storage of vehicles.

"GOVERNING BODY" shall mean the Augusta Commission.

"GREENSPACE" shall mean an area permanently protected for the common use of the general public or for the common use of the residents of a development, and in its natural state or developed only to an extent conforming to these regulations.

"GROUP DAY CARE HOME" shall mean any place operated by a person, society, agency, corporation, institution or group wherein are received for pay not less than seven nor more than 18 children under 18 years of age for care and supervision less than 24 hours a day.

"GROUP PERSONAL CARE HOME" shall mean a building occupied by the property owners, or by a person or persons employed by the property owners, and also occupied by seven but not more than fifteen unrelated individuals who reside there and receive care and/or supervision from the property owners or persons in their employment.

"GUEST ROOM" shall mean a room which is designed or intended for occupancy by, or which is occupied by, one or more guests, but in which no provision is made for cooking, and not including dormitories for sleeping purposes.

"HOME OCCUPATION" shall mean an activity carried out for gain by a resident conducted as an accessory use in the resident's dwelling unit.

"HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION" shall mean an incorporated, nonprofit organization operating under recorded land agreements through which (a) each lot owner in a planned unit or other described land area is automatically a member, and (b) each lot is automatically subject to a charge for a proportionate share of the expenses for the organization's activities, such as maintenance of common property.

"HOSPITAL" shall mean an institution providing health services primarily for human in-patient medical or surgical care for the sick or injured and including related facilities such as laboratories, outpatient departments, training facilities, central services facilities, and staff offices that are an integral part of the facilities.

"HOTEL" shall mean any building containing sleeping rooms for the more or less temporary occupancy of individuals who are lodged, with or without meals, where guest rooms are accessed through a central area or main lobby, and where the structure exceeds two stories in height.

"HOTEL - EXTENDED STAY" shall mean a building containing guest rooms rented for temporary lodging where guest rooms are accessed through a central area or main lobby and where half or more than half of the rooms have kitchenettes or some kitchen facilities.

"HOTEL, APARTMENT" shall mean any building which satisfies both the definition of a multiple-dwelling house and that of a hotel as defined by this section.

"INERT FILL AREA" shall mean a disposal facility accepting only materials limited to earth, earth-like products, concrete, cured asphalt rock, bricks, yard trimmings, stumps, limbs, and leaves. This definition excludes industrial and demolition waste not specifically listed above. For the purpose of this ordinance, filling of land which is not specifically related to a subdivision development plan or a site plan which has been filed with the Planning and Development Department shall be defined as an inert fill area if the volume of fill is expected to exceed 5,000 cubic yards.

"INTERSTATE HIGHWAY" shall mean a divided highway with limited access designed primarily for interstate travel. It is an integral part of a nationwide highway network connecting principal cities, with four or more traffic lanes separated by a median strip to provide maximum safety for motorists.

"JUNKYARD" shall mean any place where waste, discarded or salvaged materials are bought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled, cleaned, packed, disassembled, or handled; including automobile wrecking yards, automobile used parts lots, used lumber yards, salvaged building materials, salvaged household appliances, or other types of machinery; but excluding establishments for the sale, purchase, or storage of used automobiles in running condition, used furniture, or salvaged materials used as part of a manufacturing process on the same site.

"LAND" or "TERRITORY SUBDIVISION" shall mean a parcel or tract of land, the dimensions of which are shown on a map and filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court of Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia, as of the date of the adoption of this Ordinance.

"LANDING AREA" shall mean the area of the airport used for the landing, takeoff, or taxiing of aircraft.

"LANE" shall mean a public thoroughfare which ordinarily affords only a secondary means of access to abutting property and which is not more than twenty (20) feet wide.

"LIQUOR STORE" shall mean a retail outlet for the purpose of the sale of alcoholic beverages to include beer, wine and spirits.

"LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENTERPRISES" shall mean the Augusta Commission governmental functions such as schools, municipal or county office buildings, playgrounds, parks, reservations, public transit terminals, public golf courses, fire stations, police stations and substations, and similar institutional uses.

"LODGING OR "BOARDING HOUSE" - establishments providing temporary or longer-term accommodations, for compensation, at no less than thirty (30) days for 4 or more persons which, for the period of occupancy, may serve as a principal residence. These establishments also may provide complementary services, such as housekeeping, meals, and laundry services. No health related services may be provided, including but not limited to, dispensing of medications. The owner or an employee of the owner (resident manager) must reside on site and are counted toward the maximum occupancy. Such operations are allowed by Special Exception approval only in the R-3A, R-3B and R-3C Zones under defined performance standards. They are allowed by right in the B-1 and B-2 Zones under defined performance standards.

"LOT" or "LOT PLAT" shall mean a lot or a parcel of land occupied, or intended to be occupied by, a principal building or use and any accessory building and uses customarily incidental to it, and including open spaces not less in extent than those required in connection therewith by the Ordinance. For the purpose of this Ordinance, the terms lot, parcel, and tract are used synonymously.

"LOT, CORNER""CORNER LOT" shall mean a lot which abuts on two or more streets and/or roads at their intersection or upon a curved street, provided that the two sides of the lot, or the tangents to the curve of the street line at its starting points at or within the side lines of the lot, intersects to form an interior angle of not more than 135 degrees.

"LOT DEPTH" shall mean the distance between front and rear lot lines. If two (2) opposite sides of said lot are not parallel, the depth shall be deemed to be the mean distance between the front and rear lot lines.

"LOT FLAGPOLE" shall mean a lot so named because of the long, slender strip of land, resembling a "flagpole" that extends from the public or private right-of-way up to the typically rectangular portion of the lot. These "flagpoles" generally share a common driveway inside an ingress-egress easement for means of access to each lot.

"LOT WIDTH" shall mean the width of the lot measured at the setback line.

"LOT LINE, FRONT" shall mean any lot line contiguous to a street right-of-way.

"LOT LINE, REAR" shall mean the rear lot line boundary opposite the lot line which the principal building fronts. The rear lot line of an irregular or triangular lot shall be for the purpose of this Ordinance a line not less than ten (10) feet long, lying wholly within the lot, and parallel to and farthest distance from the front lot line.

"LOT OF RECORD" is a parcel of land the dimensions of which are shown on a map on file with the Clerk of Superior Court of Richmond County, Georgia, or in common use by county officials, and which actually exists as so shown, or any part of such parcel held in a recorded ownership separate from the ownership of the remainder thereof. All lots recorded after adoption of this Ordinance shall front on and have ingress and egress by means of a public street, road, highway or private lane.

"LOT LINE, SIDE" shall mean a side lot boundary line that is not a front lot line or a rear lot line.

"LOW VOLUME" shall mean sound played at a level such that a person speaking in a normal tone of voice can be heard clearly over this sound by another person standing thirty-six inches (36") away.

"MANUFACTURED HOME" a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which, in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more in width and forty body feet or more in length, or, when erected on site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation.

"MANUFACTURED HOME PARK" shall mean any site, lot, parcel, or tract of land upon which two or more manufactured homes are placed in accordance with Section 27 of this Ordinance.

"MANUFACTURED HOME SPACE" shall mean a unit of ground, as prescribed by Section 27 of this Ordinance, which shall be clearly indicated by corner markers on which may be placed a Manufactured Home as defined by this Ordinance.

"MAP, OFFICIAL""OFFICIAL MAP" shall mean the official zoning map of Augusta which shows the boundaries of the various districts superimposed upon the Property Map and Record System for Augusta, Georgia.

"MASTER PLAN" shall mean any legally adopted part, maps, or element of any Master Plan as provided for in Title 8 of the Augusta, Georgia Code by virtue of the Home Rule Provision of the Constitution of the State of Georgia of 1983. Such Master Plan may be entitled a "Comprehensive Plan", "Land Use Plan", or other similar terminology.

"MICRO BREWERY" shall mean a manufacture of alcoholic malt beverages of up to 15,000 barrels per year for the purpose of wholesale distribution of a majority of its product with incidental sales to the public either for on-site consumption or for carryout not to exceed 288 ounces per person per day. Such use must be connected to public water and sewer.

"MINI-WAREHOUSE" shall mean a one-story building with separate enclosed compartments for the storage of personal goods.

"Mini-Warehouses/Self-Service-Storage Facilities" shall mean a building, or group of buildings, divided into units, whose primary purpose is to provide rented or leased secure space (warehouse-sized units, rooms, compartments, lockers, containers, outdoor space, or similar facilities) for temporary self-storage, where tenants can easily store and retrieve their personal property. This definition does not include the handling of goods for business purposes out of the Mini-Warehouse/Self-Service-Storage facility. Coin operated locker services at public spaces are excluded from this definition.

"MOTEL" shall mean any building containing sleeping rooms for more or less temporary occupancy of individuals who are lodged with or without meals and where the design favors a direct vehicular approach to each sleeping or living room. Any building or structure exceeding two stories in height shall be classified as a Hotel rather than a Motel.

"MOTEL - EXTENDED STAY" shall mean a building containing guest rooms rented for temporary lodging where the design favors a direct vehicular approach to each room and where more than two rooms have kitchenettes or some kitchen facilities.

"NANO BREWERY" shall mean a producer of alcoholic malt beverages of up to 3,000 barrels per year for the purpose of wholesale distribution and retail sales to the public for on-site consumption or for carryout not to exceed 288 ounces per person per day. Such use must be connected to public water and sewer.

"NANO DISTILLERY" shall mean a producer of alcoholic distilled spirits of up to 500 barrels per year for the purpose of wholesale distribution and retail sales to the public for on-site consumption or for carryout not to exceed 3 bottles (750 ml) per person per day. Such use must be connected to public water and sewer.

"NATURAL GRADE" shall mean the elevation of the ground adjoining the building.

"NIGHTCLUB" shall mean any establishment dispensing alcoholic beverages and meals and in which music, dancing and entertainment is conducted.

"NON-CONFORMING USE" shall mean any use of land, buildings, trees, or structures that did not conform to the regulations of the district in which it was situated as of March 25, 1963 or at such time as amendments to this Ordinance occur.

"NURSING HOME" shall mean a facility that provides full health and continuous nursing care of three (3) or more elderly or disabled persons but not including hospitals, clinics, or similar institutions devoted primarily to diagnosis and treatment.

"OPEN SPACE" is any open piece of land that is undeveloped (has no buildings or other built structures) and is accessible to the public. Open space can include: Greenspace, landscaping, buffers, and other natural environments.

"PARKING LOT" shall mean a parcel of land devoted to unenclosed parking spaces which may include partially enclosed one-story buildings, and where a charge is made for storage or parking of vehicles.

"PARKING LOT, ACCESSORY" shall mean a parcel of land used by an individual, partnership, firm, or corporation in any commercial or industrial district exclusively for the parking of vehicles of its employees or customers, and for which no charge is made.

"PARKING SPACE" shall mean an area of appropriate dimensions per Section 4 of this Ordinance, exclusive of access or maneuvering area, or ramps or columns, etc., to be used exclusively as a temporary storage space for private motor vehicles. Truck loading space shall not be included in such area. When the application of a unit of measurement for parking spaces to a particular use or structure results in a fractional space, any fraction under one-half shall be disregarded and fractions of one-half or over shall be counted as one space.

"PAROCHIAL SCHOOL" deleted March 5, 2013 - See Private School

"PERMANENT PROTECTION - LAND AND/OR WATER WHICH IS":

(1)

Owned by the Federal, State, or Local Government and permanently designated for recreation, conservation, or natural resource protection; or

(2)

Privately owned and subject to a conservation easement that ensures that the land will be maintained as greenspace and used only in perpetuity for recreation, conservation, or natural resource protection; or

(3)

Privately owned and subject to a permanent restrictive covenant provided for in O.C.G.A. § 44-5-60(c); or

(4)

Privately owned and permanently legally protected by any other method that ensures that the property will remain forever as greenspace and be used only for recreation, conservation, or natural resource protection.

"PERMITTED USE" shall mean a use of land that is permitted or allowed "by right", and does not constitute a nonconforming use, and therefore requires no further rezoning or granting of a special exception.

"PERMITTEE" shall mean any person possessing a non-transferable special entertainment permit.

"PERSON" shall mean any individual, firm, co-partnership, corporation, company, association, joint stock association or body politic, and includes any trustee, receiver, assigns or other similar representative thereof.

"PERSONAL CARE HOME" shall mean a building occupied by the property owners, or by a person or persons employed by the property owners, and also occupied by unrelated individuals who reside there and receive care and/or supervision from the property owners or persons in their employment. A personal care home shall provide care for elderly and/or handicapped persons. Personal Care Homes shall be classified as: Family Personal Care Homes, Group Personal Care Homes, and Congregate Personal Care Homes.

"PICO BREWERY" shall mean a small batch producer of alcoholic malt beverages of up to 500 barrels per year for the purpose of retail sales to the public for on-site consumption or for carryout not to exceed 288 ounces per person per day. Such use must be connected to public water and sewer.

"PICO DISTILLERY" shall mean a small batch producer of alcoholic distilled spirits of up to 100 barrels per year for the purpose of retail sales to the public for on-site consumption or for carryout not to exceed 3 bottles (750 ml) per person per day. Such use must be connected to public water and sewer.

"PLANNING COMMISSION" shall mean the Augusta, Georgia Planning Commission.

"PLANTING STRIP" shall mean the portion of the street between the curb and the property line exclusive of the area occupied by the sidewalk.

"PRIVATE SCHOOL" shall mean an institution which meets the following criteria:

º

The primary purpose of the institution is to provide the basic academic educational program which includes, but is not limited to, reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science.

º

The institution is not publically controlled and operates on a continuous basis and;

º

The institution provides instruction each 12 months for the equivalent of 180 days of education with each school day consisting of at least four and one-half hours per day.

"PUBLIC NOTICE" shall mean a notice published once in a newspaper of general circulation in Augusta, Georgia at least 15 days prior to a public hearing concerning proposed changes or amendments to this Ordinance including the maps thereto, setting forth the time, place, and purpose of said hearing, shall be deemed a public notice.

"RECREATION SPACE" is a portion of Open Space used for physical activity for all age groups. Such space may include walking trails, playgrounds, sport facilities, and other facilities.

"RECREATIONAL VEHICLES" For the purpose of this ordinance, any of the following vehicles designed for travel, recreation, and vacation uses: motorhome ( a portable, temporary dwelling constructed as an integral part of a self-propelled vehicle); van ( a portable, temporary dwelling constructed as an integral part of a self-propelled vehicle); pickup camper (a structure designed to be mounted on a truck chassis); recreational trailer (a portable structure built on a single chassis, 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest exterior horizontal projections); park trailer (a semi-portable structure built on a single chassis which does not exceed 400 square feet when constructed to ANSI A-119.5 standards, and 500 square feet when constructed to USDHUD standards); or tent trailer (a canvas or synthetic fiber folding structure mounted on a hard body base and towed by a vehicle).

"RECYCLABLE MATERIAL BINS" - a container having a minimum capacity of two cubic yards and that has a hinged mechanism that permits it to be raised and dumped into a sanitation vehicle and is used for temporary storage of recycling materials, pending collection. (See also "DUMPSTER")

"RESTAURANT" shall mean an eating establishment having a seating capacity of at least 40 persons and conducted consistent with Section 6-2-52 of the Augusta Georgia Code thereby regulating alcohol licenses for eating establishments.

"ROADWAY""TRAVELED WAY" or "STREET SURFACE" shall mean that portion of a road which is improved, designed, or ordinarily intended for vehicular use. Divided roads and roads with frontage or access roads have more than one roadway. On undivided roads without frontage roadways or access roads, the roadway width lies between the curb lines or between the pavement edges, whichever is appropriate.

"SERVICE BUILDING" shall mean a building or structure located within a Manufactured Home Park or Travel Trailer Park for the welfare and convenience of the occupants of the Manufactured Home Park or Travel Trailer Park within which such Service Building is located. Such Service Building shall not be made available for the use of any person not residing in the Manufactured Home Park or Travel Trailer Park within which such Service Building is located.

"SETBACK" shall be an unoccupied area of a lot, open and unobstructed from the ground to the sky, except as otherwise provided for in this Ordinance. For the purpose of this Ordinance the words "setback" and "yard" are synonymous.

"SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED BUILDING" shall mean a building containing two or more single- family attached dwelling units joined at one or more points by one or more party walls or other common facility not including the walls of an enclosed courtyard or similar area.

"SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED DWELLING" shall mean a dwelling unit on an individual lot attached to another dwelling unit on an adjoining lot by a common party wall.

"SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED SUBDIVISION" shall mean a subdivision development of a single-family attached or other dwellings developed in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 and the Subdivision Regulations for Augusta Commission.

"SPECIAL ENTERTAINMENT PERMIT" a Special Exception for an establishment that provides amplified entertainment and/or live entertainment.

"STORY" shall mean the vertical distance of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the next floor above it, or if there be no floor above it, then the space between such floor and ceiling next above it, provided that a cellar shall not be considered a story. Attic or basement space is construed as one-half.

"STREET" shall mean a public thoroughfare, where public title to land extends between right-of-way lines. Whenever the sense of the law or these regulations so require, the word "Street" shall include avenue, drive, circle, road, highway, or similar terms as they are generally understood.

"STREET, ARTERIAL" shall mean a street designated as either a principal arterial or a minor arterial that is a facility of such significance that it serves traffic passing through the Augusta area or connects rural and urban traffic or serves major traffic movements within the urbanized area. Arterial streets in Augusta have been designated by the functional classification system adopted by the Augusta Regional Transportation Study.

"STREET, COLLECTOR" shall mean a street that provides both land access service and traffic circulation within residential, commercial, and industrial areas. Collector streets are facilities which collect traffic from internal local streets and distribute it to the arterial system. Collector streets in Augusta have been designated by the functional classification system adopted by the Augusta Regional Transportation Study.

"STREET, DEAD END" shall mean a street with no outlet at one end.

"STREET GRADE" shall mean the grade of the curb or centerline of the street upon which the lot abuts at the midpoint of the frontage.

"STREET, INDUSTRIAL" or "BOULEVARD" shall mean a street of some continuity used primarily by all forms of commercial or industrial vehicular traffic and used for intercommunication between commercial areas and residential areas and industrial districts, or between industrial districts.

"STREET LIGHTING" lighting that provides a level of illumination to clearly identify persons or objects and creates a psychological deterrent to unwanted or unsafe activity in the area being protected.

"STREET LINE" or "RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE" shall mean the dividing line between a lot, its property line or lines, and a public right-of-way, a public street, road or highway, over which two or more abutting property owners have an easement of right-of-way.

"STREET, MAJOR" or "HIGHWAY" shall mean a highway used primarily for through traffic, usually on a continuous route, with intersections at grade and having direct access to abutting property, and on which geometric design and traffic control measures are used to expedite the safe movement of through traffic.

"STREET, MINOR" or "LOCAL" shall mean a street primarily for access to abutting property.

"STREET, RURAL" or "ROAD" shall mean a street supplementary to the major street system, which primarily serves agricultural areas or other lands not subdivided for residential use.

"STREET WIDTH" shall mean the horizontal distance between the right-of-way lines of the street, measured at right angles to the right-of-way lines.

"STRUCTURE" shall mean anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires more or less permanent or semi-permanent location on the ground or the attachment to something having a permanent location on the ground or water. (The term shall include all types of buildings, houses, gazebos, above-ground swimming pools, in-ground swimming pools, hot tubs, heating and air conditioning equipment, house trailers, manufactured homes, stores, commercial manufactured units, gasoline canopies and gasoline pumps, car washes, advertising signs, billboards, structures from which products are vended, and tents and canopies which are in place more than two consecutive days during any calendar quarter).

"STRUCTURAL ALTERATION" shall mean any change in the supporting members of a building or structure, such as bearing walls, columns, beams, girders, floor joists, or roof joists, or in the exterior walls.

"SUBDIVISION, MAJOR" Any subdivision that is not considered minor.

"SUBDIVISION, MINOR" Any subdivision meeting the following criteria are minor plats:

a)

The subdivision will result in the creation of no more than four (4) lots, and may include a remnant lot that has not been subdivided in the past five years;

b)

The subdivision does not involve extension or substantial alterations of public utilities;

c)

The subdivision does not require the dedication of public right-of-way;

d)

Any new or residual parcels shall meet the minimum lot size requirements as expressed in the Zoning Ordinance.

"TAVERN" shall mean a drinking establishment having a seating capacity of less than 40 persons conducted consistent with Section 6-2-51 of the Augusta Georgia Code thereby regulating alcohol licenses (excluding dancing and entertainment).

"THROUGH STREET" or "HIGHWAY" shall mean every street or highway or portion thereof at the entrance to which vehicular traffic from intersecting highways is required by law to stop before entering or crossing the same and when stop signs are erected. It generally is radial or circumferential in relation to present heavily populated areas and is intended to provide continuous, wide, direct and adequate routes designed to insure the future stability of the expanding urban areas within Augusta and the region. They usually include all state and federal highways not otherwise designated in the Master Plan.

"TOURIST HOUSE" shall mean a private dwelling that supplies temporary accommodations to overnight guests for a fee which may or may not include the preparation of meals.

"TRANSITION HOUSING" shall be housing designed for and/or used for occupancy predominantly by a series of short term tenants. For the purpose of administering and enforcing Section 26-1(g) of this Ordinance short term shall be defined as less than 120 consecutive days. The following uses and similar uses shall be considered to be transition housing: temporary quarters for occupancy by visitors to area hospitals, a facility for victims of physical abuse, and temporary quarters for tenants receiving assistance from public or private social programs.

"TRAVEL TRAILER PARK" deleted April 2013 see Section 28-E - Recreational Vehicle Parks

"TREE" shall mean any object of natural growth.

"VETERINARIAN CLINIC" shall mean a facility that provides medical treatment for diseases and injuries to animals. A veterinarian clinic may have some indoor boarding of animals that is incidental to and associated with the primary goal of the facility which is providing care and treatment to animals.

"WHOLESALER" - shall mean person or firm that buys large quantities of goods from various producers and resells them to retailers.

"YARD" shall mean an unoccupied area of a lot, open and unobstructed from the ground to the sky, except as otherwise provided in this Ordinance.

"YARD, FRONT" shall mean an open space extending the full width of a lot and of a depth measured horizontally at right angles from the front lot line to the front of the structure.

"YARD SALE" shall mean an infrequent event (less than three (3) times per calendar year and lasting no more than three days) conducted on property in R-Zoned districts where used household goods and personal items are offered for sale to the general public by the owner or tenant of the property or by a group of owners or tenants. Holding three (3) or more yard sales during a calendar year at the same address shall be considered to be a retail use and the property owner shall be required to obtain a suitable zoning classification prior to continuing the activity.

"YARD, SIDE" shall mean an open space extending along the side line of a lot between the front yard and the rear yard and of a width measured horizontally at right angles from the side lot line to the side of the structure.

"YARD, REAR" shall mean an open space extending the full width of a lot of a depth measured horizontally at right angles from the rear lot line to the rear of the structure.

( Ord. No. 7629 , § I, 8-21-2018; Ord. No. 7633 , § II, 8-21-2018; Ord. No. 7683 , § II, 11-5-2019; Ord. No. 7711 , § I, 4-2-2020)

_____

Amended March 2018 - Subdivision, Major and Minor

Amended February 2018 - Flagpole lots

Amended August 2017 - Breweries and Distilleries etc.

Amended June 2017 - Amplified Entertainment, Background Music, Low Volume, Nightclub, Permittee, Special Entertainment Permit

Amended January 2017 - Accessory Building, Accessory Use, Breezeway, Building, Building Height, Building - Main, Dwelling and Lodging, Rooming, Boarding House

Amended March 2016 - Greenspace, Open Space, Recreation Space & Street Lighting

Amended April 2, 2013 - delete Travel Trailers and Travel Trailer Parks

Amended March 5, 2013 - Day Care Centers, Parochial School, Private School

Amended June 2012 - Funeral Home

Amended August 2011 - Drinking Establishments

Amended July 2011- Café, Restaurant, Tavern

Amended January 2008 - Accessory Buildings & Recreational Vehicles

GENERAL PROVISIONS