No building structure, land or part thereof shall be used or occupied, and no building or structure shall hereinafter be erected, constructed, re-constructed or altered and maintained, and no new use or change shall be made or maintained on or of any building, structure or land or part thereof, except in conformity with the provision of this ordinance and other applicable local, state building and health codes. Refer to Article IX, Nonconforming Uses, for further information regarding local development regulations.

An accessory building shall not be located less than ten feet from side or rear lot lines.

When an accessory building is attached to the principal building by a breezeway, passageway, or similar means, it shall be considered part of the principal building and shall comply with the yard/setback requirements of the principal building.

No accessory building shall be constructed prior to construction of the principal use building.

An accessory building in the side yard of a corner lot shall not be closer to the right-of-way line of a side road than the required front yard setback along said side road.

An accessory building is a building that is greater than 200 square feet. All other buildings will be considered as a pump house for protection of the operational parts of water wells.

All fuel pumps and above-ground storage tanks shall be setback at least 25 feet from the nearest road right-of-way line.

Curb cuts (vehicular entrance or exit) for service stations shall not exceed 60 feet in width, and there shall not be more than two curb cuts to a service station per road frontage. Two curb cuts on the same road frontage shall be separated by a distance of not less than 25 feet.

No structure, plant(s) or other visual obstruction between the heights of two feet and 12 feet above grade elevation shall be allowed or permitted within 25 feet of the intersection of two road rights-of-way or the intersection of a road right-of-way and railroad right-of-way. Utility poles and traffic signs may be allowed in said area.

The intent of this section is to provide for the reasonable development of home occupations as an accessory use to a residential use.

1.

The owner of a home occupation must have a county business license as required by county code.

2.

No external physical alteration which would be inconsistent with residential use of the building shall be permitted.

3.

Adequate off-street parking must be provided for the cumulative total of on-site residents, employees and business visitors.

4.

Only one motionless, non-lighted sign, not exceeding two square feet in area, is allowed and such sign must be attached to the structure housing the home occupation.

5.

The home occupation shall not constitute a nuisance in the neighborhood.

6.

Nursing or convalescent homes, childcare centers, boarding houses, massage studios; restaurants or similar establishments shall not be considered home occupations.

1.

Description. A rural business shall be secondary or incidental to the primary use of property for agricultural or residential purposes. Such business shall be primarily directed toward providing local or neighborhood services to the Rural district. Rural businesses are intended to be of smaller size, intensity and scale than commercial uses that would be more commonly found in a commercial district. Rural businesses shall be similar to home occupations except that the rural business activity can occur in an accessory structure detached from the residence. In addition, an applicant for a rural business permit must be residing on the subject property prior to submitting the application for the business permit, and must maintain residency thereon throughout the period the business continues to operate.

2.

Development Standards.

2.1

The property containing the site of the rural business must also be the bona fide residence of the petitioner/business owner.

2.2

A rural business shall be located on property containing at least one acre of land, and the site upon which the business is actually conducted shall not exceed one-half acre of land.

2.3

Only one non-illuminated sign limited to a maximum of 40 square feet shall be permitted. This sign may have two faces of up to 40 square feet each, back to back, sharing the same set of supports.

2.4

Adequate off-street parking must be provided for the cumulative total of on-site residents, employees and business visitors.

3

Exemptions. The following standards shall apply to all rural businesses unless the petitioner can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Zoning Commission that exemption from one or more of the standards will not result in adverse impacts on surrounding property(ies). A modification of the following standards shall be permitted only if: (a) there are special and unusual topographic conditions unique to the property or structure, or (b) the proposed use is clearly of such small scale, and will remain at such small scale, that conducting or operating the business would not be obvious or noticeable from the adjoining property or by the public in general, and (c) the intent of the rural business provision is maintained.

3.1.

The rural business must be located to the side or rear of the principal residence on the property.

3.2.

Neither the structure in which the rural business is housed nor the grounds on which rural business activity is performed shall contain equipment which would not ordinarily be found in accessory structures in an agricultural or residential area.

3.3.

The structure in which the business is performed shall be readily and easily usable for customary agricultural and residential uses.

3.4.

The architectural style of the structure in which the business is performed shall be in keeping with surrounding agricultural and residential development.

3.5.

A rural business shall not exceed 15,000 square feet of gross floor area.

3.6.

A rural business shall have no more than 25 employees.

Open-air businesses shall blend with the rural environment in which they are permitted and be compatible with surrounding rural development. Open-air business uses shall include the following:

7.1

Retail sale of trees, shrubbery, plants, flowers, seed, topsoil, humus, fertilizer, trellises, lawn furniture, playground equipment and other home garden supplies and equipment.

7.2

Retail sale of fruit and vegetables.

7.3

Tennis courts, archery courts, shuffleboard, horseshoe courts, miniature golf, golf driving range, children's amusement park or similar recreation services.

7.4

Bicycle, trailer, motor vehicle, boat or home equipment sales, repair service or rental service.

7.5

Outdoor display and sale of garages, swimming pools and similar uses.

7.6

Shooting Range.

Upon receipt of a rezoning petition the Zoning Commission may determine the proposed development, though neither permitted nor conditioned in the district in which the proposed development site is located, may have less impact than some of the land uses permitted or conditioned in the district. The Zoning Commission may, in response to a rezoning petition, recommend to the Board of Commissioners that the site in question be approved for development as a specific limited use, e.g., Commercial-L.U. beauty shop, rather than for the more general zoning classification of commercial. However, any such limited use must previously have been specifically permitted or conditioned in at least one of the county's zoning districts.

Each lot containing a principal building shall have frontage of at least 100 feet on a publicly owned or maintained right-of-way, except as may otherwise be stipulated herein. A variance may be permitted for lot frontage on a cul-de-sac, provided lot width at the building line is not less than the frontage granted by variance.

Except as may otherwise be provided herein, only one single-family, detached dwelling and its customary accessory structures shall hereafter be placed or erected on any residential lot.

No requirement mandated herein shall be enforced where said requirement or provision is in conflict with public health, safety and welfare codes of the Health Department.

No lot existing at the time of passage of this ordinance shall be reduced, divided, or changed so as to result in a tract of land which does not comply with the minimum dimension or area requirements of this ordinance for the district in which it is located, unless said reduction or division is necessary to provide land that is needed and accepted for public use.

1.

No building shall be erected on a lot which does not abut an open public road or a private road meeting current county development standards and duly approved by the Road Superintendent.

2.

The standard driveway to a lot shall not be less than 12 feet in width.

3.

The road must be accessible in all weather.

4.

If the road is one-way in and one-way out there must be an area of clearance of not less than 100 feet or a cul-de-sac style turnaround point at the end of the road.

Lots which front more than one road or street shall satisfy the front setback requirements for each road or street it fronts.

If either a use or class of use is not specifically stated as being permitted in a district, either as a matter of right, or as a Special Exception, such use, class of use or structures for such use is prohibited in such district.

Any lot of record at the time this ordinance is adopted which has an area or a width less than that required by this ordinance may be used as a building site for a structure or use permitted in that zone, provided that the same yard, setback, open space, and other dimensional requirements are met that would be required for a standard lot.

In the event an undeveloped lot of record is reduced in size through an act of public dedication or condemnation for public purposes, the development standards contained in the chapter for width, depth, or area may be waived by the Schley County Zoning Commission and such property may be utilized for all permitted and, where authorized, conditional uses. Said waiver is permissible only if the Health Department determines that the health and general welfare of the lot owner and Schley County will not be adversely affected by the intended use. Adjacent, underdeveloped lots of record which are owned by the same individual and which are affected by dedication or condemnation for public purposes shall be combined, where possible, to standard lots.