Except as specifically defined herein, all words used in this Resolution have their customary dictionary definitions. For the purpose of this Resolution, certain words or terms are hereby defined. Words used in the present tense include the future tense. Words used in the singular include the plural, and words used in the plural include the singular. The word "shall" is mandatory. The word "person" includes a firm, association, organization, partnership, trust, company or corporation as well as an individual. The word "used" or "occupied," as applied to any land or building, shall be construed to include the words "intended, arranged or designated to be used or occupied."

Abutting means having a common border with, or being separated from such a common border by a right-of-way, alley or easement.

Accessory apartment means an accessory apartment is a second residential unit that is detached from the primary single-family residence on a lot or parcel. As an example, an accessory apartment may be a garage apartment or carriage house. An accessory apartment is usually required to be a complete housekeeping unit that can function independently with separate access, kitchen, bedroom, and sanitary facilities.

Accessory building or accessory structure means a subordinate structure detached from, but located on the same lot as the principal structure, the use of which is incidental and accessory to that of the principal structure. Accessory buildings shall not be occupied by humans.

Accessory use means:

(1)

A use customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use of a lot and located on the same lot as such principal use; such as an off-street parking place, a garden or a tool shed.

(2)

A use that:

a)

Is clearly incidental to and customarily found in connection with a principal use or structure;

b)

Is subordinate in area, extent, or purpose to the principal use or structure served;

c)

Is located on the same lot as the principal use or structure served.

Acre means for the purpose of this chapter the term "acre," in addition to its customary and ordinary meaning, shall include any lot, tract, or parcel of land or portion thereof which is 43,560 square feet in size. A half-acre shall include any lot, tract, or parcel of land or portion thereof which is 21,780 square feet in size.

Alley means a public or private way permanently reserved as a secondary means of access to abutting property.

Alteration means the enlargement of a building or changes made in a building to convert it from one use to another, such as from a single family dwelling to a duplex or store.

Buffer means a strip of land, identified on a site plan or by a zoning ordinance, established to protect one type of land use from another land use that is incompatible. Normally the buffer is landscaped or kept as natural, undisturbed open space.

Building, principal means a building in which is conducted the main or principal use of the lot on which said building is situated. A building is further defined as any structure with a roof intended for shelter or closure.

Building height means the vertical distance to the highest point of the roof for flat, hip, gable and gambrel roofs and to the deck line of mansard roofs, measured from the street level if the building is not more than ten feet from the front lot line or from the grade in all other cases.

Building setback line means a line establishing the minimum allowable distance between the nearest portion of any building, excluding steps, gutters and similar fixtures, and the centerline of the abutting street on which the building faces.

Build-to-rent or horizontal apartments means a subdivision, community, group, or cluster of single-family dwellings where any such dwellings are built, constructed, or designed with the intent or for the purpose of being offered for rental or lease.

Centerline of street means that line surveyed and monumented by the county shall be the centerline of the street, or if such a centerline has not been surveyed, it shall be that line running midway between the outside curbs, or if no curbs measured from the inside ditch embankment off the street, or the middle of the traveled roadway of the street. On all streets that have multiple lanes of travel divided by a median, the centerline of the street shall be measured from the centerline of the lanes of travel going in one direction closest to the property or building in question.

Church or place of religious worship means an institution that people regularly attend to participate in or hold religious services, meetings, and other activities. The term "church" shall not carry a secular connotation and shall include structures in which the religious services of any denomination are held.

Club means buildings or facilities owned by or operated by a corporation, association, or persons for a social, educational, or recreational purpose, but not operated for profit or to render a service that is customarily carried on for gain, excluding churches and other religious places of worship. Club activities shall not include indoor shooting ranges, outdoor shooting ranges, gun ranges, or archery ranges.

Conditional use means a use for a particular piece of property that may be allowed by the Governing Authority when specifically listed in and provided for by this ordinance. A conditional use is subject to such restrictive requirements as in the opinion of the Governing Authority would be necessary to insure that the use is not detrimental to surrounding property.

Conventional home means a dwelling unit constructed from building materials such as lumber, brick, or stone delivered to the site, where the building is intended to be situated. For the purposes of this definition, conventional homes shall include industrialized dwellings and moved homes but exclude manufactured and mobile homes.

DCA means the Georgia Department of Community Affairs of the State of Georgia.

Department means the county department of community development. The department of community development administers the zoning and development regulations.

Development means the division of land into two or more parcels, the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any structure; any mining, excavation, landfill, or land disturbance; and any use or extension of the use of land.

District means a portion of the territory of the county, exclusive of streets, alleys, and other public ways, within which certain uses of land, premises, and buildings are permitted and within which a uniform set of regulations applies.

Dump means a waste disposal site that does not employ environmental protection measures such as covering and compaction.

Dwelling means a building or portion thereof designed, arranged or used for residential occupancy.

Dwelling unit means a dwelling or a portion thereof providing separate facilities for one or more persons living as a non-profit single housekeeping unit.

Easement means the right of a person, government agency, or public utility company to use public or private land owned by another for a specific purpose.

Family means one or more persons related by blood, law, or marriage and living together.

Family burial plot means a family burial plot means a private non-commercial cemetery dedicated to and used, or intended to be used, for permanent interment of human remains. Such term shall not include governmentally owned cemeteries, commercial cemeteries, fraternal cemeteries, cemeteries owned and operated by churches, synagogues, or communities.

Family child care home means a private residence where care, protection, and supervision are provided at least twice a week for a fee to no more than six children at one time, including children of the adult provider.

Garage, repair means any structure, premises, or land used for the care, repair, or refinishing of motor vehicles including both minor and major mechanical overhauling, paint, and body work.

Group child care center, class A means a building or structure where care, protection, and supervision are provided at least twice a week, on a regular schedule, to at least seven and no more than 12 children, including children of the adult provider.

Group child care center, class B means a building or structure where care, protection, and supervision are provided at least twice a week, on a regular schedule, to more than 12 children, including children of the adult provider.

Hunting club or fishing club: A club, created for the purpose of seasonal hunting and fishing and primitive camping, exclusively provided for members and guests, where seasonal membership fees are collected solely for the purpose of making the lease payments for privilege of hunting or fishing on leased property. Hunting club activities shall not include indoor shooting ranges, outdoor shooting ranges, gun ranges, or archery ranges with the exception of a temporary sighting range.

Impervious surface means any material or combination of materials that substantially reduces or prevents the infiltration of stormwater into the earth. It includes surfaces such as compacted sand, limerock, or clay, as well as most conventionally surfaced streets, roofs, sidewalks, parking lots, and other similar structures.

Industrial park means a planned, coordinated development of a tract of land with two or more separate industrial buildings. Such development is designed, constructed, and managed on an integrated and coordinated basis with special attention given to on-site vehicular circulation, parking, utility needs, building design and orientation, and open space. It has an enforceable master plan with covenants, conditions, and restrictions.

Industrialized dwelling means any dwelling structure or component thereof which is wholly or in substantial part made, fabricated, formed or assembled in manufacturing facilities for installation or assembly on a building site and has been manufactured in such a manner that all parts or processes cannot be inspected at the installation site without disassembly, damage to, or destruction thereof. Industrialized homes are regulated by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and does not include manufactured homes.

Junkyard means the use of any space outside a building involved in the storage, keeping, abandonment, demolition, baling or disassembling of wrecked autos, trucks or other vehicles; storage or otherwise dealing in, but not excluding sale or exchange of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, used paper, cloths, plumbing fixtures and household appliances; provided that this definition shall not apply to any such uses conducted solely as an accessory use to the premises. Any site containing three or more automobiles not having current license plates or not being restored to operation shall be classified as a junkyard.

Landfill means a disposal site employing an engineering method of disposing of solid wastes in a manner that minimizes environmental hazards by spreading, compacting to the smallest volume, and applying cover material over all exposed waste at the end of each operating day.

Light industry means a use engaged in the manufacture, predominately from previously prepared materials, of finished products or parts, including processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment, packaging, incidental storage, sales, and distribution of such products, but excluding basic industrial processing.

Living space means heated square footage area within a dwelling unit utilized for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, bathing, washing, and sanitation purposes.

Lot means an unsubdivided parcel or portion of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a common use or occupied or intended to be occupied by a building or group of buildings devoted to a common use together with the customary accessory buildings and uses and open spaces belonging to the same; which has both lot area and lot dimensions equal to or greater than the lot width and lot area requirements established by this Ordinance for the zoning district in which such tract of land is located and for the use proposed for the tract of land, and having its principal frontage upon a county road, street, thoroughfare, state highway or a dedicated easement for ingress and egress on record in the office of the clerk of the superior court of the county; includes the terms "plot" and "parcel".

Lot coverage means determined by dividing that area of a lot which is occupied or covered by the total horizontal projected surface of all buildings, including covered porches and accessory buildings, by the gross area of that lot.

Lot width means the shortest distance between the side line of a lot, measured along the building setback line.

Manufactured home means a structure, used or intended to be used as a dwelling unit, transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode is eight feet or more in width, or 40 feet or more in length, or, when erected on site, encloses 320 or more square feet of floor area; and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling, with or without permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, including the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems contained therein. "Manufactured home" includes any structure that meets all of the requirements of this subsection except the size requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a certification required by the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and complies with the standards established under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. § 5401, et seq. For purposes of this definition, a "manufactured home" does not include a structure which otherwise complies with this subsection, but which was built prior to June 15, 1976, which units shall be classified as "mobile homes."

Manufactured home park means any area, lot, parcel or tract held in common ownership, or for common operation, and on which individual portions of said area, lot, parcel or tract are leased for the placement of manufactured homes as a primary residence. A manufactured home park shall be synonymous with a mobile home park, trailer park, and other like living communities.

Mobile home means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which, in the traveling mode, is eight feet or more in width or 40 feet or more in length or, when erected on site, is 320 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 when connected to the required utilities and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein and manufactured prior to June 15, 1976.

Moved home means a dwelling unit, building, or other permanent structure that is intended to be transported, moved, or relocated within or into the county over the roads or streets to a temporary or permanent location. For the purposes of this definition, a moved home is a conventional home.

Non-conforming use means:

(1)

A structure or lot lawfully occupied by a use that is not permitted in the zoning district in which it is situated.

(2)

A lawful use of land that does not comply with the use regulations for its zoning district but which complied with applicable regulations at the time the use was established.

Outside storage means the keeping of, in an unroofed area, any goods, junk, material, merchandise, or vehicles in the same place for more than 24 hours.

Principal use means the primary use and chief purpose of a lot or structure as distinguished from an accessory or secondary use.

Property owners association (also homeowners association) means a formally constituted non-profit association or corporation made up of the property owners and/or residents of a fixed area that may take permanent responsibility for costs and upkeep of semi-private or common community facilities.

Recreational vehicle shall mean a wheeled vehicle, with or without motive power, primarily designed as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel use. The term includes camping trailers, travel trailers, fifth wheels, motor homes, park models, truck campers, and other similar vehicles.

Residential occupancy shall mean fixed habitation. An occupant uses a structure, vehicle, or other shelter as residential occupancy when, for 30 or more consecutive days, the occupant performs household activities of daily living there, such as living, sleeping, eating, cooking, bathing, dressing, personal business, or other activities generally reserved for or associated with one's dwelling, and, whenever the occupant is absent, the occupant has the intention of returning. A structure, vehicle, or other shelter need not be an occupant's permanent domicile to constitute residential occupancy.

Restaurant, drive-in means an establishment that delivers prepared food and/or beverages to customers in motor vehicles, regardless of whether or not it also serves prepared food and/or beverages to customers who are not in motor vehicles, for consumption either on or off the premises.

Right-of-way means an area or strip of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a street, railroad, electric transmission line, oil or gas pipeline, water main, sanitary or storm sewer, or other special use.

Secondary detached residential dwelling means a single family dwelling unit.

Setback means the required minimum horizontal distance between the building line and the related front, side, or rear property line.

Signs, outdoor means an attached or free-standing outdoor advertising structure for the purpose of conveying some information, knowledge or idea to the public. Such a structure may be double-faced or V-type but shall contain not more than four signs in any one unit and not more than two signs side by side.

Signs, principal use means an attached, free-standing or structural sign pertaining in its subject matter only to the advertising announcing or describing of the principal use or uses of the premises upon which displayed, or to products or services available on such premises.

Special events facility shall mean any place kept, used, maintaining, advertised, and held out to the public as a place which serves as a location for special events, including, but not limited to, weddings and receptions, anniversary receptions, bar/bat mitzvah receptions, birthday parties, and other such parties, receptions or events. Such facility may include, but not be limited to, reception halls, conference centers, and banquet centers, and shall not include places of worship or restaurants. The conditional use shall also allow catering to take place on-site.

Street means a public way for vehicular traffic which is open to the general public and which affords the principal means of access to abutting property.

Street, major means a street designated as a "major street" by the use of symbols on the zoning districts maps of the county.

Subdivision means any division or redivision of a lot, tract of parcel, regardless of its existing or future use, into two or more lots, tracts or parcels. The term "subdivision" shall mean the act or process of dividing property, except that, where appropriate to the context, the term "subdivision" may be used in reference to the aggregate of all lots held in common ownership at the time of subdivision.

Truck terminal means a structure or area in which freight brought by truck is assembled and/or stored for routing or reshipment, or in which semi-trailers, including tractor and/or trailer units and other trucks, are parked or stored.

Variance means a permit issued by the director of community development or community development appeals board which allows a applicant to vary from the minimum area requirements for a particular piece of property that would otherwise be prohibited by this chapter. A variance is subject to such restrictive requirements as in the opinion of the community development appeals board would be necessary to insure that the use is not detrimental to surrounding property.

Yard means a space on the same lot with a principal building, open, unoccupied and obstructed by buildings or structures from ground to sky except where encroachments and accessory building are expressly permitted.

Yard, front means a yard extending the full width or the lot and situated between the right-of-way line of the abutting street and the front line of the principal building.

Yard, rear means a yard extending the full width of the lot at the rear line of the principal building from the rear line of the lot to the nearest point of the principal building.

Yard, side means a yard situated between the principal building and side line of the lot and extending from the rear line of the front yard to the front line of the rear yard.

Zero lot line means the location of a building on a lot in such a manner that one or more of the building's sides rest directly on a lot line.

Zoning map means the official zoning district map, or maps excerpted therefrom, of the county. Said map(s) shall be identified by having the title "official zoning map(s)", the signature of the chairman of the board of commissioners with the attest of the clerk of the board of commissioners, together with the seal of the county and the date of the resolution that the board of commissioner's recognizes the map.

(Ord. of 7-14-98(2), § 4.0; Res. of 10-13-98(2); Res. of 7-13-99(1)§ I; Ord. of 10-16-01(1), § 1; Ord. of 3-5-02(1), § 1; Ord. of 8-6-02(1), § 1; Ord. of 11-1-16(1); Ord. of 7-11-17(1), § 2; Ord. of 12-3-19, § 1; Ord. of 8-4-20(1), §§ 1, 2; Ord. of 2-1-22(1); Ord. of 8-2-22(1), § 3; Res. of 10-4-22(3), §§ 2, 3)