§ 11.01.01 Enforcing officer. The provisions of this Ordinance are administered and enforced by the Director, or designee(s), who has the right to enter upon any premises at any reasonable time prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy to make inspections of buildings or premises as necessary to enforce this Ordinance.

§ 11.01.02 Permit required. It is unlawful to commence grading or excavation, the construction or placement of any structure, to store building materials or erect temporary field offices, or to commence the moving, alteration, or repair (except, repairs not changing the character of the structure and not requiring a building permit,) of any structure, until the Director has issued for such work an applicable permit. Application for permits is made to the Director on forms provided for that purpose.

§ 11.01.03 Approval of plans and issuance of permit.

1.

The Director may not approve any plans or issue a permit until he has inspected such plans in detail and found them in conformity with this Ordinance. To this end, every permit application must be accompanied by a plan drawn to scale and showing the following in sufficient detail to enable the Director to ascertain whether the proposal conforms to this Ordinance:

a.

The actual shape, proportion and dimensions of the lot to be built upon.

b.

The shape, size and location of all buildings or other structures to be erected, altered or moved and of any building or other structures already on the lot.

c.

The existing and intended use of all such buildings or other structures.

d.

The setback and side lines of buildings on adjoining lots and such other information concerning the lot or adjoining lots as may be essential for determining whether the provisions of this Ordinance are being observed.

2.

If the proposed grading, excavation, construction, moving, or alteration, as set forth in the application, conforms to this Ordinance, the Director issues a permit accordingly. If a permit is not approved, the Director must state in writing the cause for disapproval. Issuance of a permit, in no case, may be construed as waiving any provision of this Ordinance.

§ 11.01.04 Certificate of occupancy required.

1.

No land or structure or part thereof hereafter erected, moved or altered in its use may be used until the Director has issued a certificate of occupancy or other final approval stating that such land or structure or part thereof conforms to this Ordinance.

2.

Within seven days after the owner or his agent has notified the Director that a building or premises or part thereof is ready for occupancy or use, the Director must make a final inspection thereof, and issue a certificate of occupancy or other final approval if the building or premises or part thereof is found to conform to this Ordinance or, if the certificate is refused, to state the refusal in writing with the cause.

(Ord. No. 2022-008, 3-15-2022; Ord. No. 2022-041, 10-18-2022)

It is the intent of this section to provide for the review of site plans to assure public safety and welfare with respect to traffic, drainage, flooding, fire hazards, compliance with this Ordinance and other applicable regulations and compatibility with existing development in the City.

§ 11.02.01 Applicability. These provisions apply to all nonresidential, multifamily residential and manufactured home park developments. This procedure does not apply to single-family residential or manufactured home subdivisions, or building renovations or buildouts that do not involve changing the footprint of an existing building. If, in the discretion of the Director, a development involves a minor addition or change, a reduced scope site plan may be submitted with the commercial building permit application for review.

No permit may be granted for a structure or use until a site plan has been submitted and approved by the Director.

§ 11.02.02 Predesign/Preapplication Meeting. Prior to submitting a plan for review, a predesign or preapplication meeting must be held between the applicant's design professional (i.e. engineer, surveyor, architect) and City staff, unless waived by the Director.

§ 11.02.03 Contents of site plan. Site plans must contain:

1.

North arrow, date, legend, name of project, owner & application name, designer name and contact information.

2.

Description of project.

3.

Standard scale of not less than one inch = 100 feet, shown both graphically and as a written ratio.

4.

Vicinity map.

5.

Topography at not greater than two-foot contour intervals, or as otherwise required by the Director or City Engineer.

6.

Required yard setbacks.

7.

The proposed location of all buildings and existing buildings with dimensions shown.

8.

The use of all buildings and premises.

9.

Required open spaces, if applicable, and Management Plan, if required in accordance with § 3.07.02.

10.

The areas, number of lots, and dimensions of all parking.

11.

The location of all streets, driveways, walks, ingresses and egresses, and curb cuts.

12.

All service and loading spaces.

13.

The location and areas of illumination of all exterior lighting.

14.

The location, size, number, and character of all exterior signs (though signs are permitted separately).

15.

The location, character, and extent of landscaping, retaining and screen walls, and other treatments.

16.

The provision for surface drainage of the premises.

17.

Public and private easements, existing and proposed, and their purpose.

18.

Finished floor elevation, current FEMA FIRM panel information, and the location of any special flood hazard areas on or within 50 ft of the site; if there is no SFHA on or adjacent to the site, a note must be provided stating such.

19.

The location of all existing and proposed water and sewer lines and location of proposed taps to public lines, as well as other utilities, both underground and overhead.

20.

The location of fire hydrants and other fire department connections, existing and proposed.

21.

The findings of a registered engineer relative to the probable noise generated by the proposed use. This item is not required unless, in the opinion of the Director, the proposed use is likely to generate excessive noise or if the property upon which the use is to be carried out is adjacent to residential uses or zones.

22.

Landscape plan and parking plan, if required.

23.

Adjoining zoning and land uses

§ 11.02.04 Site plan review consideration. In reviewing the site plans, reviewers consider:

1.

Traffic safety:

a.

Proper sight distances.

b.

Need for turn lanes or acceleration or deceleration lanes.

c.

Probable traffic generated and adequacy of public roads to support it.

In making determination relative to the above items, reviewers use the most recent edition of the "State of Alabama Highway Department Standard Specifications for Highway Construction."

2.

Public facilities:

a.

Adequacy of public water facilities.

b.

Adequacy of public sewer facilities.

c.

Adequacy of fire protection.

d.

Proper design for police protection and public safety needs.

In making determination relative to the above items, reviewers are guided by the adopted Code of the City, the Comprehensive Plan and policies of appropriate city departments.

3.

Compatibility with existing development:

a.

Proper drainage.

b.

Need for buffers, screening or other landscaping.

c.

Non-obtrusiveness of illumination.

d.

The Director or City Engineer may require addition of sidewalks, connectivity, or cross access agreements to adjoining properties.

In making determination relative to the above items, reviewers are guided by the adopted Code of the City, the Comprehensive Plan and policies of appropriate city departments.

§ 11.02.05 Site plan approval. The site plan is approved upon signature on the site plan or appropriate certification sheet of the Director or designee and other signatures deemed advisable by the Director. Reasons for disapproval must be submitted in writing to the Director, who will inform the applicant of such. Site plan approval shall remain valid for a period of 18 months and will end if a permit is not issued or site improvements begun within that timeframe.

§ 11.02.06 Time limit for review. Site plans are deemed approved unless disapproved in writing within 45 calendar days of submission. However, if within this time frame, the Director has provided comments in writing to the applicant that require changes, additional information or other response from the applicant, the review period is extended for 21 calendar days from the time that all such changes, additional information or other response is received by the Director. If no re-submission is received from the applicant within 90 calendar days of the provided comments, then the site plan will be deemed disapproved. The Director may extend this time an additional 60 days if applicant requests such in writing before the end of the initial 90 day period.

§ 11.02.07 Appeal. Appeals of site plan decision or orders may be made to the Board in accordance with appeal procedures stated in § 11-52-80 of the Code of Alabama 1975, as amended, and § 12.02 Administrative Appeals.

(Ord. No. 2022-008, 3-15-2022; Ord. No. 2022-041, 10-18-2022)

§ 11.03.01 The Director or designee charged with the enforcement of this ordinance shall have the authority to assess the following schedule of fines upon violation:

First Violation: A fine of up to $100.00 may be assessed after a first violation of this ordinance.

Second Violation: A fine of up to $200.00 may be assessed after a second violation of this ordinance.

Third or Subsequent Violation: For a third or subsequent violation of this ordinance, occurring following thirty days after the finding of a second violation, a fine of $500.00 may be assessed and the matter may be adjudicated through the municipal court, wherein additional fines and/or penalties may be imposed upon conviction.

If after a ninety-day period, all violations of this ordinance have been rectified and no additional violations have occurred during the ninety-day period, then any further violations of this ordinance will be assessed as a first violation.

Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct violation or offense. In the event the violation is the commencement of any development activity without having obtained a required permit, the cost of the required permit may be doubled and an administrative fee charged.

§ 11.03.02 In case any structure is erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, repaired, converted, or maintained, or any structure or land is used in violation of this Ordinance, the Director or any other appropriate authority or any adjacent or neighboring property owner who would be specially damaged by such violation, in addition to other remedies, may institute injunction, mandamus, or other appropriate action or proceeding to prevent such unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance or use, to correct or abate such violation or to prevent occupancy of such structure or land.

(Ord. No. 2022-008, 3-15-2022; Ord. No. 2022-041, 10-18-2022)

§ 11.04.01 Procedure. The regulations and the number, area and boundaries of districts established by this Ordinance may be amended, supplemented, changed, modified or repealed by the City Council, following a recommendation by the Commission. The Commission upon its own initiative may hold public hearings for the consideration of any proposed amendment to the provisions of this Ordinance or the zoning map and report its recommendation to the Council. The provisions of § 11-52-77, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended, apply to all changes and amendments.

§ 11.04.02 Application fee. Any person making application to the City for a change in any zoning district must furnish an accurate legal description and a plat plan, if required, and must pay applicable fees.

§ 11.04.03 Reapplication. If a parcel of property or portion of a parcel of property has been considered by the Council for rezoning, neither the Council nor the Commission may consider another application to change the zoning classification of the same parcel of property or a portion of that same parcel of property for a period of 365 calendar days from the day the Council takes action on the rezoning. During the 365-day period, the owner may request a public hearing before the Commission to present facts demonstrating that conditions, as they existed at the time of the previous request, have changed sufficiently to warrant consideration of a rezoning request prior to the expiration of the 365-day period. The Commission may grant a waiver by approval of a resolution, which must be approved by six affirmative votes and contain a statement detailing what conditions have changed since the previous rezoning request.

(Ord. No. 2022-008, 3-15-2022)