For the purpose of this chapter, the following interpretations shall apply:

(1)

All words used in the present tense include the future tense.

(2)

All words in the plural number include the singular number, and all words in the singular number include the plural number, unless the natural construction of the wording indicates otherwise.

(3)

The word "shall" is mandatory and not directory.

(4)

The word "used" shall be deemed also to include "designed, intended or arranged to be used."

(Code 1994, § 110-1; Ord. No. 02-02, § 1, 5-13-2002)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Accessory apartment means a dwelling unit created within an existing single-family home or on the same lot. An accessory apartment is an independent unit, but it may share an entrance, yard and parking with the principal unit.

Accessory use means a use or structure on the same lot, and of a nature customarily and subordinate to, the principal use or structure. Examples of accessory uses include free standing garages, tennis courts, swimming pools and satellite dish antennas.

Automobile means any motor vehicle including, but not limited to, cars, trucks, vans, and motorcycles.

Automobile broker means a business or person who, for a commission or with the intent to make a profit or gain of money or other thing of value, negotiates or attempts to negotiate the sale of a new or used automobile on behalf of another without taking possession of the vehicle. Such term shall not mean any person engaged in the solicitation, negotiation, or advertising of the sale of used automobiles or any owner of real property who allows the display of a used automobile on such property if the sale of such vehicles is made by a used car dealer or a financial institution.

Automobile dealer means a person or business who brokers, deals, or engages in the purchase, sale, lease, or exchange of five or more used automobiles within a twelve-month period or two or more used automobiles at any one point in time.

Automobile repair means major or minor repair of automobiles as follows:

(1)

Minor automobile repair service means replacement of parts, tires, tubes, or batteries; diagnostic services; minor maintenance services such as grease, oil, spark plug, or filter changing; wheel alignment or tire balancing; engine tune-ups; emergency road services; replacement of starters, alternators, hoses and brake parts; automobile washing or polishing; performing emission testing or other required inspections and making any minor repairs necessary to pass said inspections; maintenance servicing of air-conditioning or exhaust systems; or similar servicing or repairs that do not normally require any significant disassembly or storing of automobiles on the premises overnight. This definition does not include any major repair service.

(2)

Major automobile repair service means general repair, rebuilding or reconditioning of an automobile's engine or transmission system; collision service such as body, frame, or fender straightening or repair; automobile painting services; steam cleaning, undercoating or rust proofing; customizing; or any similar servicing, rebuilding, or repair that normally requires significant disassembly or storing of automobiles on the premises overnight. This definition includes any minor repair service which is offered addition to, or in conjunction with, any major repair service.

Automobile repair garage means any building or land area, or any portion thereof, used for the provision of any major automobile repair service.

Automotive retail establishment means any building or land area, or any portion thereof, used for the direct retail sale to the public on the premises of products necessary for automobile service or maintenance, provided that all such products are new and not previously used. Products necessary of automobile service or maintenance include, but are not limited to, engine fuels, motor oil and lubricants, grease for the purpose of operating an automobile, tires, batteries, brakes, and shock absorbers. The phrase "automotive retail establishment" does not include any building or land area, or any portion thereof, used for the storage of automobiles or for the provision of any major automobile repair service or any minor automobile repair service.

Automobile sales establishment means a place of business where a manufacturer, authorized business or dealer engages in the sale, lease, or exchange of new and used automobiles where a majority of the sales inventory is new.

Automobile salvage shop means any building or land area, or portion thereof, where a person, a business, or other entity destroys, dismantles, disassembles, recycles, or stores for later dismantling, destruction, disassembling, or recycling any automobile or part thereof and may engage in the sale of used automobile parts or scrap in connection with the provision of major repair services or minor repair Services. An automobile salvage shop is not a junk or salvage yard.

Automobile service station means any building or land area, or any portion thereof, used for the provision of any minor automobile repair service.

Boardinghouse or roominghouse means a dwelling in which meals or lodging or both are furnished for compensation to more than two but not more than ten non-transient persons.

Buffer means a planted area of width to be determined by the mayor and council, the purpose of which is to insulate existing uses from new or expanding incompatible or marginally compatible land uses.

Buildable area means the portion of a lot remaining after required yards have been provided.

Building means any structure attached to the ground which has a roof and which is designed for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals or property of any kind.

Building inspector means the official appointed by the city and charged with the responsibility of issuing permits and certificates of zoning compliance.

Building, height of, means the vertical distance measured from the average elevation of the proposed finished grade to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof or to the deck line of a mansard roof, or to the average height of the highest gable of a pitch or hip roof.

Building, principal, means a building or structure in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which said building is situated.

Certificate of zoning compliance means a permit issued by the zoning administrator indicating that the use of the building or land in question is in conformity with this chapter or that there has been a legal variance therefrom as provided by this chapter.

Clinic means an establishment where patients, who are not lodged overnight, are admitted for examination and treatment by one physician or dentist or a group of physicians or dentists practicing medicine.

Club means a building or facilities owned or operated by and for special educational or recreational purposes, but not primarily for profit, or to render a service that is customarily carried on for gain.

Conditional uses means a use which may be permitted within a zoning district subject to meeting specific conditions contained in this chapter or required by the mayor and council.

Condominium means the ownership in fee simple title of a single unit in a multi-unit structure and undivided ownership, in common with other purchases, of the common elements of the structure and including the land and its appurtenances.

Convenience store means any building or land area, or any portion thereof, used primarily for the retail sale or offering of sale to the public of a range of everyday items such as groceries, snack food, candy, toiletries, soft drinks, tobacco products and newspapers and includes any incidental retail dispensing, sale or offering of sale of motor fuels to uses or motor vehicles. The phrase "convenience store" does not include any building or land area, or any portion thereof, used for the storage of automobiles or for the provision of any major automobile repair service or any minor automobile repair service.

County street means a street which is owned and/or maintained by Clayton County.

Drive-in restaurant means any place or premises used for sale, dispensing or service of food, refreshment, or beverages in automobiles, including those establishments where customers may eat or drink the food, or beverage on the premises.

Dwelling means a building or portion thereof which is designed or used exclusively for residential purposes, including single-family, two-family, multiple-family dwellings, roominghouses and boardinghouses, fraternities, sororities, and modular dwellings, but not including hotels or motels.

Dwelling, mobile home or manufactured home, means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which, in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more in width or 40 body 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.

Dwelling, multiple-family, means a building or portion thereof designed for three or more dwelling units, with the number of families in residence not exceeding the number of dwelling units provided.

Dwelling, single-family, means a detached residential unit other than a mobile home or manufactured home, hotel or motel, designed for and occupied by one family only.

Dwelling, single-family attached, means a structure subdivided by a coincidental property line and wall which separates the structure into a maximum of two dwelling units, each occupying its own lot. The two lots created by the coincidental property line and wall shall each contain at least 50 percent of the minimum lot area in the zoning district in which they are located, 50 percent of the minimum lot width in the zoning district in which they are located, and 50 percent of the minimum gross floor area in the zoning district in which they are located. An attached single-family structure must meet all front, rear and side yard setback requirements in the zoning district in which it is located, except for the coincidental property line and wall. Each unit must be separately metered for all utilities, and the coincidental property wall must be fire-rated and extend from the foundation to the roof decking of the structure. Otherwise, an attached single-family structure must meet all standards that would be required for two family dwellings in the zoning districts in which they are located.

Dwelling, two-family, means a detached residential building containing two dwelling units, designed for occupancy by not more than two families living independent of each other.

Dwelling unit means one room, or rooms connected together, constituting a separate, independent housekeeping establishment of owner occupancy, for rental or lease on a weekly, monthly, or longer basis, and physically separated from any other rooms or dwelling units which may be in the same structure, and containing independent cooking, sleeping and toilet facilities.

Family means one or more persons occupying a single dwelling unit, provided that, unless all members are related by blood or marriage, no such family shall contain over five persons, but further provided that domestic servants employed on the premises may be housed on the premises without being counted as a separate family or families. The term "family" does not include any organization or institutional group.

Flea market means any event or area at which two or more persons or entities offer merchandise for sale or exchange, and either a fee is charged by the owner or operator of the event or area to such persons or entities for the privilege of offering such merchandise for sale or exchange, or a fee is charged to prospective buyers from for admission to the area or event at which merchandise is offered or displayed for sale or exchange. The term "fee" refers to any compensatory arrangement between the owner/operator of a flea market and the owner/operator's vendor.

Floor area means the floor area is the gross horizontal area of the several floors of a structure, exclusive of carport, basement, attic and open porches.

Gasoline service station means any building or land area, or any portion thereof, used primarily for the retail dispensing, sale or offering of sale of motor fuels to users of motor vehicles and includes any incidental retail sale of a range of everyday items such as groceries, snack food, candy toiletries, soft drinks, tobacco products and newspapers or of minor accessories necessary for the operation of a motor vehicle such as oil, antifreeze or windshield wipers. The phrase "gasoline service station" does not include any building or land area, or any portion thereof, used for the provision of any major automobile repair service or any minor automobile repair service.

Ground coverage means the area of a lot occupied by all buildings expressed as a percentage of the gross area of the lot.

Home occupation means a business, occupation or profession carried on within a single-family residential dwelling by the resident thereof, as regulated in section 42-152.

Inoperable vehicle means any motorized vehicle incapable of immediately being driven.

Junk or salvage yard means a place where waste, discarded or salvaged metals, building materials, paper, textiles, used plumbing fixtures, used cars or trucks in inoperable condition are bought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled or cleaned.

Loading space, off-street, means space logically and conveniently located for bulk pickups and deliveries, scaled to the size of delivery vehicles expected to be used.

Lot means a parcel of land occupied or intended for occupancy by a building or use, and any accessory building and use incidental to it, and including open space not less in extent than that required by this chapter, and having its principal frontage upon a public street.

Lot, corner, means a lot situated at the intersection of two streets, or bounded on two or more adjacent sides by street right-of-way lines.

Lot, double frontage, means a lot having frontage on two non-intersecting streets, as distinguished from a corner lot.

Lot frontage means that portion of a lot adjacent to a street.

Lot, interior, means a lot other than a corner lot or a through lot.

Lot line means a boundary of a lot. The term "lot line" is synonymous with property line.

Lot of record means an individual lot or a lot which is a part of a subdivision, the map of which has been recorded in the office of the clerk of superior court of the county; or a parcel of land, the deed of which has been recorded in the office of the clerk of the superior court of the county.

Lot width means the distance between side lot lines measured at the minimum front yard setback line.

Manufactured home means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which, in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more in width or 40 body 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; except that the term "manufactured home" includes any structure which meets all the requirements of this definition except the size requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a certification required by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and complies with the standards established under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, 42 USC 5401 et seq.

Mini-warehouse means a building or portion thereof used for dead storage, mainly of the excess personal property of an individual or family, but also of small amounts of goods or merchandise for businesses or individuals. The term "mini-warehouse" shall not include retail sale on the premises, commercial repair or other services, manufacturing or any other commercial use.

Mobile home or manufactured home park means a tract of land that is used, designated, maintained, or held out for rent to accommodate three or more mobile homes or manufactured homes. Mobile homes or manufactured home located in a mobile home or manufactured home park are used only to provide living and sleeping accommodations. A mobile home or manufactured home park does not include an automobile or mobile home or manufactured home sales lot on which unoccupied mobile homes or manufactured homes are parked for inspection or sale.

Modular home means a factory-fabricated transportable building consisting of units designed to be incorporated at a building site on a permanent foundation into a structure to be used for residential purposes.

Nonconforming use means any building, structure, or use of land lawful at the time of passage of amendment of the resolution from which this chapter is derived which does not conform, after the passage or amendment of the resolution from which this chapter is derived, with the regulations of the district in which it is located.

Nursing home means a home for the aged, chronically ill, or incurable persons in which three or more persons not of the immediate family are kept or provided with food and shelter or care for compensation; The term "nursing home" does not include hospitals, clinics, or other similar institutions devoted primarily to the diagnosis and treatment of the sick or injured.

Parking space, off-street, means an off-street parking space consisting of a space adequate for parking an automobile with room for opening doors on both sides, together with properly related access to a public street or alley and maneuvering room, design standards for which are contained in this chapter.

Pawn shop means any establishment engaged in whole or in part in the business of lending money on the security of pledged goods (as that term is defined in O.C.G.A. § 44-12-130(5)), or in the business of purchasing tangible personal property on a condition that it may be redeemed or repurchased by the seller for a fixed price within a fixed period of time, or in the business of purchasing tangible personal property from persons or sources other than manufacturers or licensed dealers as part of or in conjunction with the business activities described in this paragraph.

Place of worship means any building, structure, or lot used for non-profit purposes by an established religious organization holding either tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or under the state property tax laws, where such building, structure or lot is primarily intended to be used as place of prayer and religious activities, including sanctuaries, assembly halls, parochial or religious schools, monasteries, and accessory uses traditionally associated with places of worship or religious institutions. The term includes, but is not necessarily limited to, church, temple, synagogue, and mosque.

Principal permitted use means that use of a lot which is among the uses allowed as a matter of right under the zoning classifications.

Private deed restrictions or covenants means private deed restrictions or covenants imposed on land by private landowners. Private deed restrictions bind and restrict the land in the hands of present owners and subsequent purchasers and are enforced only by the landowners involved and not by the city or other public agency.

Right-of-way means access over or across a particularly described property for a specific purpose.

Shopping center means a group of commercial establishments having a building composition that is an architectural unit and is not a miscellaneous assemblage of stores; planned, developed, analyzed as a unit, related in location, size and type of shops to the trade area that the unit serves, and providing on-site parking in definite relationship to the types and sizes of stores.

Signs means any device designed to inform or attract the attention of persons not on the premises on which the sign is located.

Stable, private, means a stable with a capacity of not more than two horses, mules or other draught animals.

Stable, public, means a stable other than a private stable with a capacity of more than two horses and mules or other draught animals.

Story means that portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it, or if there is no floor above it, the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it, provided that a room, suite, or story, with more than one-half of its height below grade shall not be considered a story for the purposes of height regulations.

Street means a right-of-way for vehicular traffic, whether designated as street, highway, thoroughfare, parkway, road, avenue, drive, expressway, boulevard, lane, place, circle, alley, or otherwise. Various classifications of streets shall be defined as follows:

(1)

Arterial. An arterial street is a street which is used primarily for fast and heavy traffic flow; is of considerable continuity; and is used as a traffic artery for intercommunication among large areas.

(2)

Major collector. A major collector street is a street which carries traffic from activity centers and minor collector streets to arterial streets and streets of higher classification.

(3)

Minor collector. Minor collector streets are principal entrance streets to subdivisions and the main streets for circulation within a subdivision which serve a network of four or more local streets. Minor collector streets are designed so that traffic circulation in a subdivision would cause such a street to be used as a link between local streets and major collector or arterial streets.

(4)

Local. A local street is a street used primarily in residential subdivisions for access to abutting properties as opposed to the collection and dispersion of traffic.

(5)

Cul-de-sac. A cul-de-sac is a local street with only one outlet, closed and terminated by a vehicular turnaround.

(6)

Marginal access. A marginal access street is a street which is parallel to, and adjacent to an arterial street or highway and which provides access to abutting properties and protection from through traffic.

Structure means anything constructed or erected with a fixed location on the ground, or attached to something having a fixed location on the ground. Among other things, the term "structure" includes buildings, gasoline pumps, mobile homes or manufactured homes, walls, fences, billboards, signs, and satellite dish antennas.

Tattoo parlor means a permanent structure or building on a fixed foundation wherein the performing of the action known as tattoo (as that term is defined in O.C.G.A. § 31-40-1) occurs.

Townhouse means a type of dwelling that is one or more stories in height which has outside, individual front and rear entrances, is separated from other dwellings by fire-rated common party walls extending from the foundation to the roof decking, and is part of a contiguous group of at least three townhouses and shall be considered a multifamily structure.

Townhouse, fee simple, means a townhouse unit that has the common wall between it and the adjoining townhouse unit as its property line between that unit, that has individual meters for all utilities, that has access to a public street, and meets the standards described herein.

Trailer (motor home) means a motorized vehicle, designed and/or maintained for use as a temporary dwelling or sleeping place for travel or recreation purposes exclusively, having no foundation other than wheels or jacks.

Trailer (travel) means a non-motorized vehicle, pulled by an automobile or truck, designed and/or maintained for use as a temporary dwelling or sleeping place for travel or recreation purposes exclusively.

Trailer park means a parcel of land which is used solely for the rental or lease of lots for transient campers, trailers, motor homes or temporary parking of any other recreational vehicle that is not a mobile home or manufactured home.

Use means the purpose for which land or a building is designed, arranged, or intended, or to which said land or building is occupied, maintained or leased.

Used automobile means any pre-owned, leased, or second-hand motor vehicle to which a certificate of title and license plates have been issued and which at a prior time the motor vehicle has been registered for use on the highways by a consumer or by an automobile dealer, and any used or second-hand vehicle, defined as any vehicle required to be titled, trailer coaches, and trailers weighing over 2,500 pounds.

Used automobile sales establishment means a place of business where a business or automobile dealer engages in the sale of used automobiles.

Variance means a relaxation of the terms of this chapter where such variance will not be contrary to the public interest and where, owing to conditions peculiar to the property and not the result of the actions of the applicant, a literal enforcement of this chapter would result in unnecessary and undue hardship. As used in this chapter, a variance is authorized only for height, area and size of a structure or size of yards and open spaces. Establishment or expansion of a use otherwise prohibited shall not be allowed by variance, nor shall a variance be granted because of the presence of nonconformities in the zoning district or uses in an adjoining zoning district.

Yard means a required open space located on the same lot as the principal building, unoccupied and unobstructed except for accessory uses and for shrubs and fences.

Yard, front, means a yard extending across the full width of the lot and situated between the front lot line and the principal building line projected to the side lines of the lot, the depth of which shall be the least horizontal distance between the front lot line and the building line.

Yard, rear, means a yard extending across the full width of the lot between the rear most line of the principal building projected to the side lines of the lot and the rear lot line, the depth of which shall be the least horizontal distance between the rear line of the principal building and the rear lot line. In all cases, the rear yard shall be at the opposite end of the lot from the front yard.

Yard, side, means a yard between the principal building and the side lot line, extending from the front yard to the rear yard. The width of the required side yard shall be measured horizontally from the nearest point of the side lot line to the principal buildings.

Zoning enforcement officer, administrative officer, orzoning administrator means the individual selected by the mayor and council whose duty it shall be to enforce the provisions of this chapter.

(Code 1994, § 110-1; Ord. No. 01-02, §§ 3(6.2), 4(6.2), 7-9-2001; Ord. No. 02-02, § 1, 5-13-2002; Ord. No. 2015-3, §§ 1, 2, 10-12-2015; Ord. No. 2016-06, §§ 1, 2, 7-11-2016; Ord. No. 2018-01, § 2, 1-8-2018; Ord. No. 2019-02, § 1, 10-14-2019)