In order to protect the character of existing neighborhoods; to prevent excessive density or population in areas not adequately served with water, sewerage facilities, and fire protection; to ensure that adequate and suitable areas will be available to the county to provide a variety of housing for a growing population; to protect residential areas from adverse effects of traffic, noise, odors, and dust generated by commercial and industrial activity; to provide for and accommodate the orderly growth and expansion of commercial and industrial activities; to promote orderly growth and development by grouping similar compatible, and related uses together and by separating dissimilar, conflicting, and unrelated uses; and in order that the other purposes of this resolution may be accomplished, there are hereby established within the unincorporated area of the county zoning districts, as identified in section 42 of this resolution.

For the purposes of this regulation, the unincorporated area of the county is hereby divided into the following use districts, the locations and boundaries of which are shown on the "Official Zoning District Maps for Monroe County, Georgia."

The following maps are hereby made a part of this resolution.

43.1.

Official zoning maps. The set of maps for the county, entitled "Official Zoning District Maps for the Unincorporated Area of Monroe County, Georgia," hereinafter called official zoning maps, with all notations, references, and other information shown thereon are hereby made a part of this resolution. Said maps shall be made a public record and shall be kept permanently in the office of the zoning enforcement officer, where said maps shall be accessible to the general public.

If, in accordance with the provisions of this resolution, changes are made in the district boundaries or other information portrayed in the official zoning maps, such changes shall be made in the official zoning maps promptly after the amendment has been approved by the board of commissioners, together with a numerical entry on the official zoning maps referring to the application on file which states the date of the official action and a brief description of the nature of the changes. No amendment to this resolution that involves matter portrayed on the official zoning maps shall become effective until after such change and entry have been made on said maps. All changes made to the official zoning map or matters shown thereon must be in conformity with the procedures set forth in this zoning resolution. Any unauthorized change by any person is considered a violation of this Resolution and is punishable as provided by law and this ordinance.

Where uncertainty exists with respect to the boundaries of any of the aforementioned districts as shown on the official zoning maps, the following rules shall apply:

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Unless otherwise indicated, district boundaries are indicated as approximately following property lines, land lot lines, centerlines of highways, streets, alleys or railroads, shorelines of streams, reservoirs, and other bodies or water, or civil boundaries, and they shall be construed to follow such lines.

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Where district boundaries are approximately parallel to the centerlines of streets, highways, or railroads, or the rights-of-way of the same, or the centerlines or streams, reservoirs, and other bodies of water, or said lines extended, such district boundaries shall be construed as being parallel thereto and at such distance there from as indicated on the official zoning maps. If no distance is given, such dimensions shall be determined through the use of the scale shown on said maps.

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Where a district boundary line, as appearing on the official zoning maps, divides a lot that is in single ownership at the time of this enactment, the board of commissioners may extend the use classification of a larger portion to the remainder without recourse to amendment procedure.

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Where a public road, street, or alley is officially vacated or abandoned, the regulations applicable to the property to which it is reverted shall apply to such vacated or abandoned road, street, or alley.

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In the case that the exact location of a boundary cannot be determined as provided above, the board of commissioners shall, upon application, determine the location of the boundary.

The purpose of this resolution is to place all portions of the unincorporated area of the county in zoning districts. Should any area appear either by reference to the maps or by interpretation to be inadvertently or otherwise omitted from a classification district, that area or areas are hereby placed in an R - residential district and are subject to all the regulations pertaining thereto until such time as the board of commissioners can determine its proper zoning district classification.