No land shall be used except for a purpose permitted in the district in which it is located.

No building or structure shall be erected, converted, enlarged, reconstructed, moved, structurally altered or used, except for a use permitted in the district in which such building or structure is located.

4.2-1.

Location of buildings. Every building hereafter erected, converted, enlarged, reconstructed, moved or structurally altered shall be located on a lot as herein defined except as approved by the zoning board of appeals under article 15.

4.2-2.

Height of buildings. No building shall be erected, converted, enlarged, reconstructed, moved or structurally altered to exceed the height limit herein established for the district in which such building is located except for the following:

Belfries

Chimneys

Church spires

Conveyors

Cooling towers

Elevator bulkheads

Fire towers

Flagpoles

Ornamental towers and spires

Public monuments

Radio and television towers (see section 8.10)

Silos

Smokestacks

Stage towers or scenery lofts

Tanks

Water towers and standpipes

Public and semipublic service buildings, hospitals, institutions and schools, may be erected to a height not to exceed 100 feet; churches and temples may be erected to a height not exceeding 75 feet, provided the required side yard and rear yards shall be increased by at least one foot for each one foot of additional building height above the height regulations for the district in which the building is located.

4.2-3.

Dimensional regulations. No building or use shall be erected, converted, enlarged, moved or structurally altered except in conformity with the minimum space requirements (i.e., the lot area, floor area, and building height, etc.) for the district in which such building is located.

4.2-4.

Temporary buildings. Temporary buildings shall not be permitted in any district except when they are used in conjunction with construction work or pending completion of a permanent building. Such building shall be used for a period not to exceed one year and shall be removed when the construction of the permanent building is completed.

The minimum yards, parking spaces and open spaces required by this ordinance for each building existing on the effective date of this ordinance [June 16, 1997], or for any building hereafter erected or structurally altered, shall not be encroached upon or considered as part of the yard, parking space or open space required for any other structure, nor shall any lot area be reduced below the lot area per family requirements of this ordinance for the district in which such lot is located except as otherwise provided in this ordinance.

No building shall be erected, converted, enlarged, reconstructed, moved or structurally altered except upon application for and issuance of a building permit by the enforcement officer.

A land disturbing permit will only be issued in conjunction with an approved building permit application unless the building inspector determines that the work to be performed after land disturbing is done will not require a building permit.

When clearing and grading a site for new construction or additions to existing buildings, footings or foundation walls must be excavated and ready for inspection within 30 days after final clearing and rough grade is achieved. The building inspector will monitor the project site to determine the point of progress at which the site is ready for foundation work to begin. After inspection, the inspector will notify the owner that the site is ready for foundation work. Upon notification by the inspector, owner shall have 30 days to commence building. It shall be a violation of the terms of the building permit and this ordinance if the owner fails to begin building within the 30-day period. The penalty for violating this ordinance will commence on the 31st day after notification by the inspector, and each day the owner fails to commence work will constitute a new violation and a new penalty. A maximum violation and penalty period of 30 days in commencing foundation work will be allowed, and if no appreciable work has begun by that time for any reason other than the exceptions listed herein, the building permit will then be voided. The owner must then seed and mulch any bare or exposed earth immediately, remove any construction related equipment from the site and reapply for a new land disturbing permit and building permit.

Once the contractor has commenced work on the foundation and building, it must be continuous, with exceptions noted herein, until completion. Once the building work has begun, if there is more than a four-day interruption in work for any reason, other than the exceptions listed herein, the terms of the building permit will have been violated. The owner will be assessed a penalty starting the fifth day of interruption of work, and each day that the interruption continues will constitute a new penalty. If there is an interruption in work for a period lasting 30 days after the fourth day of interruption for any reason other than the exceptions listed herein, the building permit will then be voided. The owner must then seed and mulch any bare or exposed earth immediately, remove any construction related equipment from the site and reapply for a new land disturbing permit and building permit.

The exceptions to this section are as follows:

1.

A period of inclement weather which renders the site unsuitable for excavation, concrete pouring and finishing, or any outdoor construction related work affected by weather involving rain, sleet, snow or sub-freezing temperatures. The owner must contact the building inspector after any weather event that interrupts the work for more than four days to determine by inspection if the site is suitable for work to continue.

2.

Any extreme financial hardship including but not limited to the owner's filing bankruptcy or the owner's funding source filing bankruptcy. Proof must be provided to the building inspections office to prevent penalties from accruing and voiding of permits. Upon the building inspector's due consideration of the cause of hardship, a decision to suspend penalties and possibly grant a 30-day extension of time will be made at the discretion of the building inspector.

(Ord. No. 081803B, § 1, 8-18-2003)

Cross reference— Soil erosion and sedimentation control, § 38-231 et seq.

4.5-1.

Street access. Except as otherwise permitted in these regulations, each building shall be located on a lot or parcel which abuts a public street or private street.

4.5-2.

Extension of existing streets. Existing streets shall be connected and extended appropriately within the limits of a development. However, streets or portions of streets adjacent to a proposed nonresidential use, which are developed and are being used exclusively for residential access shall not be connected, extended or in any way provide access to a nonresidential use. In addition, private drives which provide access to a nonresidential use shall not be permitted in any residential district.

4.5-3.

Street access in nonresidential districts. Driveway cuts for service drives, entrances, exits and other similar facilities on public streets in nonresidential districts shall not be located within 20 feet of any street intersection or within 40 feet of another curb cut. A curb cut shall be no greater than 40 feet in width and no closer than 20 feet to any property line.

4.5-4.

Traffic control devices. If the traffic to be generated by a use in a nonresidential district will demand traffic control devices to ensure public safety, the developer shall install such necessary devices. Such determination shall be made by the city clerk, in consultation with the Georgia Department of Transportation, and approved by the mayor and council.

4.5-5.

State department of transportation approval. All entrances or exits of any street or drive, public or private, from or to any state highway shall be approved by the state department of transportation prior to the construction of such street or drive, or the issuance of any development permit for any improvement to be served by such street or drive.

4.5-6.

Private streets. Private streets shall not be used to satisfy the off-street parking requirements of this ordinance. Private streets shall be assigned names and locations, and shall be shown on plans required for the issuance of building and development permits. All private street names shall be approved by the enforcement officer to avoid conflicting names.

4.5-7.

Street frontage for residential lots. No residential structure shall be erected on any lot which does not have immediate frontage on at least one street for a distance of not less than 25 feet.

No person shall occupy or let to another for occupancy, and [any] building, structure, or premises for the purpose of living therein which does not comply with the requirements of this section.

4.6-1.

Minimum ceiling heights. Habitable rooms in existing buildings shall have a clear ceiling height of not less than 7⅓ feet, except that in attics or top half-stories the ceiling height shall be not less than seven feet over not [nor] less than one-third of the area when used for sleeping, study or similar activity. In calculating the floor area of such rooms only those portions of the floor area of the rooms having a clear ceiling height of five feet or more may be included.

4.6-2.

Minimum floor area—Generally. Every dwelling unit shall contain a minimum gross floor area of not less than 600 square feet for the first occupant and 100 square feet for each additional occupant. The floor area shall be calculated on the basis of the total area of all habitable rooms.

4.6-3.

Same—For sleeping rooms. Every room occupied for sleeping purposes by one occupant shall contain at least 70 square feet of floor area, and every room occupied for sleeping purposes by more than one person shall contain at least 50 square feet of floor area for each occupant thereof.

4.6-4.

Occupancy by unrelated individuals. It shall be unlawful for the owner or occupant of any single dwelling unit in any district to have more than two unrelated individuals occupying said dwelling unit, nor shall any family as defined in article 3, section 3.3, have additionally, more than one unrelated individual occupying said dwelling unit.

(Ord. of 1-20-2003, §§ 1, 2; Ord. No. 071805A, § 2, 7-18-2005)