The Zoning Administrator of Greene County, Georgia, and other persons designated by the Board of Commissioners, are hereby given the authority and responsibility to act as the Code Enforcement Officer for Greene County, Georgia, and to administer and enforce the provisions of this Ordinance. The Zoning Administrator does not have the authority to take final action on applications or matters involving variances, conditional uses, or other exceptions which this Ordinance has reserved for public hearings. The Zoning Administrator shall keep records of all and any permits, the Certificates of Occupancy issued, and all submitted subdivision plats, with notations of all special conditions involved. The Zoning Administrator shall file and safely keep copies of all sketches and plans submitted, and the same shall form a part of the records of Zoning Administrator's office and shall be made as public records.

(Ord. of 12-8-2020, § 1(Exh. A))

It shall be unlawful for any building to be structurally altered and/or any building to be located, erected, moved, or added to without obtaining a Building Permit issued by the Building Official. No Building Permit shall be issued except in conformance with the provisions of this Ordinance and the adopted standard building code.

(Ord. of 12-8-2020, § 1(Exh. A))

12.3.1 An application for a building permit shall be accompanied by one (1) copy of a dimensional sketch or a plan drawn to scale, signed by the owner, or his authorized agent, to include, as a minimum, the following:

12.3.1.1 Lot dimensions with property line monuments located thereon;

12.3.1.2 Shape, size, height, and location of the buildings proposed to be erected, demolished, altered, or moved, and of any buildings already on the lot, yard dimensions and use of structures, including the number of dwelling units within each structure where appropriate;

12.3.1.3 Easements (private and public);

12.3.1.4 Water courses;

12.3.1.5 Fences;

12.3.1.6 Street names and street right-of-way lines; and

12.3.1.7 Such other information regarding abutting property as directly affects the application.

12.3.1.8 Current erosion and sedimentation requirements set by state law and county ordinances.

12.3.2 Each building permit shall be conspicuously posted and displayed on the premises described during the period of construction or reconstruction.

12.3.2.1 If the proposed excavation, filling, construction, or movement set forth in said sketch or plan is in conformity with the provision of this Ordinance, and other appropriate codes and ordinances of Greene County then in effect, the Building Official shall sign and return one (1) copy of the sketch plan to the applicant and shall issue a Building Permit. The Building Official shall retain one (1) copy of the Building Permit and one (1) copy of the sketch or plan for his records.

12.3.2.2 If the sketch or plan submitted describes work which does not conform to the requirements of this Ordinance, the Building Official shall not issue a Building Permit but shall return one (1) copy of the sketch of plan to the applicant along with a signed refusal and shall cite the portions of these Ordinances with which the submitted sketch plan does not comply. The Building Official shall retain one (1) copy of the sketch plan and one (1) copy of the refusal.

12.3.2.3 Any Building Permit shall automatically expire six (6) months from the date of issuance if the person, firm, or corporation to which the permit was issued has not clearly demonstrated that the permit is being exercised for the purpose for which it was issued, or if the work so authorized is suspended or discontinued for a period of one (1) year.

(Ord. of 12-8-2020, § 1(Exh. A))

The Building Official, or his/her designee, shall sign and issue a Certificate of Occupancy if the proposed use of land or buildings, as stated on the application for such certificate and signed thereto by the owner or his appointed agent, is found to conform to the applicable provisions of this Ordinance and if the building, as finally constructed, complies with the sketch or plan submitted for the Building Permit. A change of occupancy shall not be made, until the Building Official has issued a certificate of occupancy therefor.

(Ord. of 12-8-2020, § 1(Exh. A))

Any person violating any provision of the Ordinance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished for each offense according to law. Each day such a violation continues shall be considered as a separate offense.

(Ord. of 12-8-2020, § 1(Exh. A))

In the event any building is erected, constructed, altered, repaired, converted or maintained, or any building or land is used in violation of this Ordinance, the Zoning Administrator, or his/her designee, or the Building Official, or his/her designee, of Greene County, Georgia, is authorized to request the institution of injunction, mandamus, warrant for arrest, or other appropriate action or proceeding to prevent or abate the violation in the case of each building or land use. The Zoning Administrator is the Zoning Enforcement Officer. Any person who would be damaged by such violation may also institute action to prevent or abate the violation.

(Ord. of 12-8-2020, § 1(Exh. A))

The Georgia Planning Act of 1989 authorized the Department of Community Affairs to establish procedures for regional review of development projects that are of sufficient size that they are likely to create impacts beyond the jurisdiction in which the project will be located. The DRI review process involves the host local government, the reviewing Regional Development Center (RDC), and other potentially affected local governments, RDCs and agencies.

Thresholds are used to determine whether a proposed development is a DRI. Because positive and negative impacts of DRIs are not necessarily confined to the host local governments' jurisdictional boundaries, impacts on other jurisdictions need to be assessed.

If a development project is submitted to the Greene County Zoning Administrator or the Board of Commissioners for review, then the time deadlines imposed in Article XV are suspended until the DRI review process is completed.

(Ord. of 12-8-2020, § 1(Exh. A))