For the purpose of this appendix, the following interpretation shall apply: All words used in the present tense include the future tense. 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. The word "shall" is mandatory and not discretionary. The word "used" shall be deemed also to include "designed, intended or arranged to be used."

For the purpose of this appendix, certain words and terms used herein shall be defined and interpreted as follows. All other terms not defined shall have their customary dictionary definition.

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

Accessory structure or use means a use or structure on the same lot, and of a nature customarily and subordinate to the principal use or structure. Said accessory structure must be detached from the principal structure and freestanding.

Automobile service, major means automobile repair services which generally require substantial replacement/repair of major components of an automobile. Examples of major automobile services include, but are not limited to, transmission repairs/replacement, paint and body work, engine overhaul and radiator repair.

Automobile service, minor means automobile maintenance services which generally only require very brief adjustments and replacement of minor components. Examples of minor automobile services include, but are not limited to, tune-up, oil change, lubrication, brake repair, air conditioning system servicing, muffler replacement and alignment.

Boarding house orrooming house 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.

Body shop means a building or premises where motor vehicle repair and/or replacement is performed, including, but not limited to, painting and metal fabrication of motor vehicle bodies or structures.

Buffer means that portion of a lot or parcel of land established for permanent vegetation and open space and intended to separate properties with a different and a possible incompatible type of use or zoning classification. This area is a distance as specified pursuant to this appendix and typically as measured from the common property line of the different uses and/or zoning classifications.

Buffer, natural, means a buffer which is left to remain in its natural state except for minor maintenance activity as may be authorized under this appendix.

Buffer, opaque, means a buffer which is of sufficiently dense vegetation and/or other features (such as a fence or earthen berm) as to preclude uninterrupted vision from one side to the other.

Buffer, planted, means a buffer which consists of planted vegetation as, provided for in this appendix.

Buffer, undisturbed, means a buffer, which once installed, is not to be reduced or altered except for minor maintenance as may be authorized under this appendix. The term "installed," as used herein, refers to the time at which either the natural buffer is staked out or the planted buffer is planted and approved.

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, 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.

Building inspector means the official appointed by the city and charged with the responsibility of building permit and certificate of occupancy issuance.

Certificate of occupancy means a permit issued by the building inspector indicating that the use of the building or land in question is in conformity with this appendix or that there has been a legal variance therefrom as, provided by this appendix.

City street means, for the purpose of this appendix only, a street which is owned and/or maintained by the City of Lovejoy. Nothing herein shall be construed to designate any street as a city street for other than zoning purposes.

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 facility 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.

Council means the mayor and council of the City of Lovejoy, Georgia.

Conditional use means a use which may be permitted within a zoning district subject to meeting those conditions contained in this appendix or required and approved by the city 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 purchasers, of the common elements of the structure and including the land and its appurtenances.

Convenience store with accessory gasoline sales.

Daycare center means any place operated by a person, society, agency, corporation, institution or group wherein are received for pay more than six children for group care, without transfer of custody, for fewer than 24 hours per day.

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, rooming and boarding houses, fraternities, sororities and modular dwellings, but not including hotels or motels.

Dwelling, mobile home, means a detached dwelling which is movable or portable, over 32 feet long and over eight feet wide, constructed to be towed on its own chassis and connected to utilities, and designed without a permanent foundation for year-round occupancy. Such dwelling can consist of one or more components that can be retracted for towing purposes and subsequently expanded for additional capacity; or it can consist of two or more units separately towable but designed to be joined into one integral unit. No such dwelling shall be occupied by more than one family.

Dwelling, single-family, means a detached residential unit other than a mobile home, hotel or motel, designed for and occupied by one family only. No such dwelling shall be occupied by more than one family.

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:

(a)

50 percent of the minimum lot area in the zoning district in which they are located; and

(b)

50 percent of the minimum lot width in the zoning district in which they are located; and

(c)

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 in conformance with the applicable building and fire codes, 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. No such dwellings shall be occupied by more than one family.

Dwelling, two-family, means a detached residential building containing two dwelling units, with the number of families in residence not exceeding the number of dwelling units, provided.

Dwelling unit means one or more 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. No dwelling unit may be occupied by more than one family.

Factory-built home means any structure or component thereof which is designed primarily for residential occupancy and which is wholly or in substantial part made, fabricated, formed or assembled in manufacturing facilities for installation, or assembly and installation, on the building site.

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. No family may reside in any structure which is not a dwelling unit.

Family day care home means a private residence operated by any person who receives therein for pay not more than six children who are not related to such person and whose parents or guardians are not residents in the same private residence, for supervision and care, without transfer of custody, for less than 24 hours per day.

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.

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 any occupation or activity carried on by a member of the family residing on the premises, provided this activity is, provided in exchange for compensation in the form of paying income. The following conditions apply to all home occupations:

(a)

No group instruction or assembly is, provided;

(b)

No sign is used other than a non-illuminated nameplate not more than two square feet in area, provided the city council may allow a larger sign, depending upon:

1.

The nature of the business;

2.

The nature of the surrounding property; and

3.

The compatibility of the proposed sign to the environment;

(c)

No display that will indicate from the exterior that the building is being utilized for any purpose other than that of a dwelling;

(d)

No person shall be employed in the home occupation other than members of the family residing on the premises; and

(e)

No mechanical equipment shall be used except that which is normally used for purely domestic or household purposes.

Hotel ormotel means a building designed for occupancy as the more or less temporary abiding place of individuals who are lodged with or without meals, in which there are six or more guest rooms, and in which no provisions are made for cooking in any individual room or suite.

Hotel or motel, extended stay, means a hotel or motel offering individual rooms or suites containing a kitchen area with facilities where cooking is permitted.

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, and 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 appendix 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, interior, means a lot other than a corner lot or a through lot.

Lot, through, means a lot having frontage on two non-intersecting streets, as distinguished from a corner lot. This lot may also be known as a "double frontage lot."

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

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 Clayton County, Georgia; or a parcel of land the deed of which has been recorded in the office of the clerk of the superior court of Clayton County.

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

Miniwarehouse 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. Miniwarehouses shall not include retail sales on the premises, commercial repair or other services, manufacturing or any other commercial use.

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

Modular (manufactured) home means a modular home is a factory-fabricated building, not transportable on its own chassis, 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 or structure means any building, structure or use of land lawful at the time of passage or amendment of this appendix which does not conform, after the passage or amendment of this appendix, with the regulations of the district in which it is located.

Nursing home means any place operated by a person, society, agency, corporation, institution or group that maintains services and facilities for care, that has a satisfactory agreement with a physician to provide continuing supervision, including emergencies, and that otherwise complies with the Rules and Regulations for Intermediate Care Homes of the State of Georgia Department of Human Resources. Services that may be, provided include, but are not limited to, the provision of food, shelter, laundry, getting in and out of bed, bathing, feeding, medications, and similar assistance, such services being under the supervision of a registered, licensed undergraduate or licensed practical nurse.

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 appendix.

Personal care homes means any dwelling, whether operated for profit or not, which provides or arranges for the provision of housing, food service, and one or more personal services for six or less adults who are not related to the owner or administrator by blood or marriage. Personal services may include, but are not limited to, individual assistance with and/or supervision of medications; eating, bathing, grooming, dressing and similar assistance.

Planning staff means the professional planning staff of the City of Lovejoy, Georgia.

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. They bind and restrict the land in the hands of present owners and subsequent purchasers. They are enforced only by the landowners involved and not by the city or other public agency.

Quasi-judicial officers, boards, or agencies means an officer, board, or agency appointed by the city council or city manager to exercise delegated, quasi-judicial zoning powers including hearing appeals of administrative decisions by such officers, boards, or agencies and hearing and rendering decisions on applications for variances, special administrative permits, special exceptions, conditional use permits, or other similar permits not enumerated herein as a zoning decision, pursuant to standards for the exercise of such quasi-judicial authority adopted by the city.

Repair garage means a building or premises where general automobile repairs are performed, including, but not limited to, the repair of engines, transmissions, brakes, automobile air conditioning or other activities involving the removal, repair or replacement of automotive parts, but not including body shops as defined herein.

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

School or similar buses means multi-passenger vehicles having a wheelbase in excess of 130 inches or a length exceeding 144 inches.

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. It is planned, developed and analyzed as a unit, related in location, size and type of shops to the trade area that the unit serves, and provides on-site parking in definite relationship to the types and sizes of stores. Shopping centers are classified by type, each distinctive in its own function.

Community shopping center means, in addition to the convenience goods and personal services of the neighborhood center, provides a wider range for the sale of soft lines (apparel, etc.), hard lines (hardware and appliances), and includes eating facilities, making more depth of merchandise and services available. It is usually built around a junior department store or variety store that is the principal tenant.

Neighborhood shopping center means provides for the sale of convenience goods (foods, drugs, sundries, etc.) and personal services (laundry, dry cleaning, barbering, shoe repair, etc.) for the day-to-day living needs of the immediate neighborhood, and is usually built around a supermarket that is the principal tenant.

Regional shopping center means provides for general merchandise, apparel, furniture and home furnishings in full depth and variety. It is built with one or more full-line department stores as the focal point.

Sign means any name, identification, flag, insignia, graphic, description, illustration or device, including the brace or mounts or other means used to erect and stabilize the same, which is affixed to or represented directly or indirectly upon a building, structure or land in view of public.

Sign, billboard means a sign larger than 50 square feet in area that is required to be permitted by the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Sign, mobile, means any temporary or portable sign, electrical or otherwise, that may be attached to or mounted on a trailer or other frame which is placed, parked or maintained at one particular location for the express purpose and intent of promoting or conveying an advertising message.

Sign, outdoor advertising. See Sign, billboard.

Sign, temporary. See Sign, mobile.

Stable, private, means a stable that is used to house horses, mules or other draught animals without compensation, except for possible actual costs on a not-for-profit basis.

Stable, public, means a stable other than a private stable that is used to house horses, mules or other draught animals on a pay-for-services, for-profit basis.

Surface water means any river, creek, stream, spring or impoundment of water.

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:

(a)

Arterial means a street that 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.

(b)

Major collector means a street that carries traffic from activity centers and minor collector streets to arterial streets and streets of higher classification.

(c)

Minor collector means principal entrance streets to subdivisions and the main streets for circulation within a subdivision that 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.

(d)

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

(e)

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

(f)

Marginal access means a street that 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, structures include buildings, gasoline pumps, mobile homes, walls, fences, billboards, signs and satellite dish antennas.

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 two townhouses and shall be considered a multifamily structure.

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

Toxic means any chemical or substance defined as toxic by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Georgia Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

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.

Transfer fee means the funds assessed at the real-estate closing and any subsequent closing of a single-family residential property for the purpose of maintaining the streets. Said fee shall be payable to the entity responsible of the maintenance of the streets as defined herein. When those streets have been dedicated to the city and deemed public streets, the City of Lovejoy shall be the responsible entity for maintenance.

Truck terminals means land and buildings used as a relay station for the transfer of a load from one vehicle to another or one party to another. The terminal facility may include storage areas for trucks and areas for the repair of trucks associated with the terminal.

Underground water means any groundwater resource in the City of Lovejoy.

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

Variance means a relaxation of the terms of this appendix 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 appendix would result in unnecessary and undue hardship. As used in this appendix, a variance is authorized only for height, area and size of structure or size of yards and open spaces; establishment or expansion of use otherwise prohibited shall not be allowed by variance, nor shall a variance be granted because of the presence of non-conformities in the zoning district or uses in an adjoining zoning district.

Warehousing and distribution center means land and building facilities engaged in storage, whole sale and distribution of manufactured products supplies and equipment.

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 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 sidelines 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 administrator means the individual selected by the city council of the City of Lovejoy whose duty it shall be to administer and enforce the provisions of this appendix as provided in article XII of this appendix. All actions of the zoning administrator may be subject to review and reversal by the director of the department of transportation and development.

Zoning decision means final legislative action by a local government which results in:

(A)

The adoption or repeal of a zoning ordinance;

(B)

The adoption of an amendment to a zoning ordinance which changes the text of the zoning ordinance;

(C)

The adoption or denial of an amendment to a zoning ordinance to rezone property from one zoning classification to another;

(D)

The adoption or denial of an amendment to a zoning ordinance by a municipal local government to zone property to be annexed into the municipality;

(E)

The grant or denial of a permit relating to a special use of property; or

(F)

The grant or denial of a variance or conditions concurrent and in conjunction with a decision pursuant to subparagraph (C) or (E) of this paragraph.

(Ord. No. 2019-03, § 1, 8-19-2019; Ord. No. 2023-03, §§ 1—4, 5-15-2023; Ord. No. 2024-02, § 1, 6-17-2024)