The requirements regarding lot size, building size, and building placement on the lot for each zoning district shall be met as indicated in article general provisions and table 7.1: Zoning district area, yard and height requirements.

Table 49-98: District Area, Yard and Height Requirements

(Ord. No. 80-100, § 7.1, 1-12-1999)

Appearance standards shall apply to all single-family detached dwellings including site-built housing, industrialized housing, and manufactured houses. Approval shall be granted upon finding that such development shall meet or exceed the appearance standards as shown on table 46-99: Appearance standards for single-family detached dwellings.

Table 7.2: Appearance Standards for Single-Family Detached Dwellings

(1)

The roof shall have a surface of wood shakes, asphalt composition, wood shingles, concrete, fiberglass tiles, metal tiles, slate, built up gravel materials or other materials approved by the building inspectors.

(2)

The exterior siding materials shall consist of wood, masonry, concrete, stucco, masonite, metal lap, vinyl lap, or other materials of like appearance.

(3)

Permanent foundations shall meet the requirements of standard building code. For manufactured homes, a masonry curtain wall unpierced except for the required ventilation and access must be installed so that it encloses the area under the manufactured home to the ground level.

(4)

For manufactured homes, a landing area is required and its width and length must be greater than or equal to the width of the entrance doorway.

(5)

Manufactured homes are required to remove all towing devices.

(6)

Manufactured homes which cannot remove towing devices shall be screened by plantings and the structure shall be skirted.

(Ord. No. 80-100, § 7.2, 1-12-1999)

Permanent foundations shall meet the requirements of the standard building code for manufactured homes, concrete block or brick unpierced except for the required ventilation and access must be installed so that it encloses the area under the manufactured home to the ground level.

(Ord. of 9-11-2007, § 7.2)

No principal building, structure or land use shall be permitted except in the zoning districts indicated and for the purposes permitted in table 46-101. Each use is mutually exclusive and does not encompass other uses listed in the table. A principal use, denoted by the letter "S," is permitted only if a special use permit is granted by the county planning commission. Special use permits are subject to standards for special uses stated in article XIV of this chapter, pertaining to administration. For uses not included on this list where the codes enforcement officer is unable to determine clear placement, application shall be made to the planning commission for an amendment to this table under provisions of this article for text amendments to the zoning ordinance and in accordance with the Zoning Procedures Act as set forth in O.C.G.A. § 36-66-1 et seq.

Table 46-101: Permitted Uses

(Ord. No. 80-100, § 7.3, 1-12-1999; Ord. of 5-22-2001, § 1; Ord. of 5-26-2015(1), § 2; Ord. of 5-22-2016(1); § 2; Ord. of 12-27-2016(4), § 2; Ord. of 12-19-2017(1), § 3; Ord. of 4-23-2019(1), § 1)

(a)

Purpose and intent. The purpose of this section is to establish minimum standards that encourage high quality in the site design, organization, and construction of new estate tract developments and subdivisions. These standards promote community interconnectivity and low impact design principles while maintaining the rural character of the county. The development of a positive, sustainable, and attractive community image and sense of place is vital to the economic health and vitality of Heard County. This single-family residential development type provides for a conventional lot layout, with varying lot sizes and substantial front setbacks from existing streets.

(b)

Density, and dimensional requirements.

(1)

The average lot size within the development must be equal to or greater than seven and one-half acres, with no lot being less than five acres.

(2)

The minimum tract size for this development type shall be 30 acres.

(3)

Once the development obtains final plat approval, no additional subdivision of the lots contained therein shall be permitted.

(4)

The minimum front setback shall be 250 feet as measured from the right-of-way line of any public street. This additional setback requirement is intended to maintain a rural aesthetic. Where the planning commission finds that, due to special circumstances of a particular parcel, extraordinary and unnecessary hardships will result from strict compliance with the required 250 feet setback, the planning commission may reduce the setback requirement up to a maximum of 50 percent.

(5)

Minimum square foot requirement for single-family homes is 1,750 square feet.

(6)

The requirements for the A-1 agriculture (general farming) contained in section 46-98, district area, yard and height requirements, section 46-101, permitted uses, article III, buffer requirements, and section 46-218, tables, shall be applicable to the EL-A district.

(c)

Infrastructure requirements.

(1)

Water: Public water system or private wells.

(2)

Wastewater: Individual septic systems.

(3)

Roads:

a.

Private. Ingress/egress/utility easements shall comply with the following:

1.

The EL-A development type shall qualify for multiple drive easements and may serve up to eight lots with each easement. For any private drive easement serving four or more lots, a private street name shall be approved through the normal street naming process.

2.

This development type shall be prohibited from further subdivision of the lots. The instrument used to prohibit further divisions, which must be approved by the county's legal counsel, shall be a method which will uphold the integrity of the development type, as well as documenting the provision in such a way as to be apparent to future purchasers.

3.

Use of single drive, multi-lot easements must meet the following:

i.

The minimum width of the ingress/egress/utility easement shall be 30 feet, unless additional width is required by the public works director based on topography and drainage concerns. The drive shall be a minimum of 14 feet in width, surfaced with gravel or other paving material, and aligned so as to allow emergency vehicle access.

ii.

Every property served by a private ingress/egress/utility easement under these provisions must be bound to a privately managed perpetual maintenance agreement that must be reviewed and approved by the county attorney prior to approval of the final plat.

iii.

When the development is served with multiple easements, the connection points to right-of-way must meet Georgia Department of Transportation specifications for spacing of driveways from one another. If it is necessary to locate private ingress/egress/utility easements closer than GDOT prescribed spacing, the property owner/developer must design and dedicate improvements and additional public right-of-way to accommodate safe queuing, and to remove mail delivery and school buses from existing travel lanes. The improvements must meet Heard County Public Works Department standards and will most often result in the construction/dedication of a cul-de-sac street.

iv.

The clearing width of private/ingress/egress/utility easements must be maintained at 15 feet.

v.

Private ingress/egress/utility easements must be constructed to the appropriate width to support the weight of applicable fire department apparatus. This may include additional surface materials and geotechnical design for certain geographic features and must accommodate water transport vehicles when public water is not readily available. The finished product shall be proof-rolled with a loaded 17-ton tandem dump truck and be approved by the county development inspector prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the first house that the easement serves.

vi.

Private ingress/egress/utility easement entrances must be paved 18 feet wide from the existing edge of roadway pavement to the right-of-way. The paving must meet the pavement designs of the Heard County Public Works Department contained in chapter 34, article II of this Code. Subgrade shall be proof-rolled with a loaded 17-ton tandem dump truck and be approved by the county development inspector prior to asphalt pavement.

vii.

No private ingress/egress/utility easement may cross a pond dam.

viii.

Private ingress/egress/utility easements may not have grades that exceed seven percent unless an administrative variance is granted in accordance to section 46-435.

ix.

All drainage conveyances shall be designed per chapter 40 of this Code.

4.

Multi-lot easement access may be gated. Gated easement access must meet the following requirements:

i.

All gate installations must be approved by the public works director, the fire marshal, and the director of emergency management prior to installation. The installation must be completed and tested prior to the approval of the final plat for the residential subdivision.

ii.

A landscaped entrance median must be provided separating the entry and exit lanes. The entrance shall be designed in such a manner as to allow traffic to return from the entry and into the exit lane before reaching the gate.

iii.

Gate design may incorporate one or two gate sections to meet the required minimum gate width of 24 feet. If the entrance will incorporate a median, guard shack or similar structure that necessitates a divided gate arrangement, the gate widths may be reduced if approved by the director of development and engineering, but in no case shall any single gate or street pavement have a clear opening of less than 16 feet.

iv.

If a gate design incorporates any overhead obstruction, said obstruction must be a minimum of 14 feet above the finished road surface.

v.

Approach and departure areas on both sides of a gated entrance must provide adequate setbacks and proper alignment to allow free and unimpeded passage of emergency vehicles through the entrance area. All entry gates must be set back a minimum of 100 feet from any adjacent public street right-of-way to allow for vehicle stacking out of the public travel lanes. Any exception, when equal protection of public safety is demonstrated, must be approved by the director of development and engineering and the director of emergency management.

vi.

Automatic gate installations must conform to the design and performance guidelines established by the fire chief, director of development and engineering, and director of emergency management.

vii.

All components of the gate system must be maintained in an approved operating condition, with all components serviced and maintained on a regular basis as needed to insure proper gate operation. A proper power supply shall be maintained to all electrical and electronic components at all times. In the event the power supply is interrupted, the gates must be kept open.

viii.

Each security gate regulated under this section will be subject to a performance test as determined by either the fire chief or director of emergency management. Upon failure of a performance test, the security gate system shall be disabled and maintained in the open position until repaired, and shall not be placed back in service until tested and authorized by the fire chief or director of emergency management.

ix.

All streets, gates, and other fire protection features, signage, and equipment are subject to periodic inspection by the county and must be repaired immediately if found to be in condition of disrepair. The county shall have the right to enter the subdivision and disable, open, or remove any gate, device, or other feature that impedes or controls vehicle access at the sole expense of the property owners' association. Emergency repairs shall be assessed against the property owners' association. The county shall provide reasonable notifications prior to inspection(s) and/or request(s) for repairs.

x.

Anti-directional devices at entrances and exits, such as metal spikes that can cause tire damage, are prohibited.

xi.

The person or corporation in control of the property is responsible for, and liable for any violations of this section. This includes, but is not limited to, the developer, property owner, the property owners' association and its officers, if applicable, or others who may own or exercise control over the property.

xii.

Every property must be bound to a privately managed perpetual maintenance agreement that must be reviewed and approved by the county attorney prior to approval of the final plat.

(Ord. of 12-2-2022, § 1)