Whenever any provision of this ordinance imposes more stringent requirements, regulations, restrictions or limitations than are imposed or required by the provisions of any other law or ordinance, the provisions of this ordinance shall govern.

No building or structure, or part thereof, shall hereinafter be erected, constructed, reconstructed, or altered and maintained, and no new use or change shall be made or maintained of any building, structure or land, or part thereof, except in conformity with the provisions of this ordinance.

Except as herein provided, there shall be no more than one principal dwelling per lot or parcel, other than within a PUD.

Any residentially zoned lot which was of record at the time of the adoption of this ordinance that does not meet the requirements of this ordinance for yards or other area or open space may be utilized for single residence purposes, provided, the area from such yard or court in width, depth, or open space is not less than 75 percent of that required by the terms of this ordinance. However, all substandard lots must have health department approval for placement of wells and septic tanks. The purpose is to permit utilization of recorded lots which lack adequate width or depth as long as reasonable living standards can be provided.

Every principal building shall have required frontage upon a public street, except that, in the case of the planned unit developments, variations may be allowed by the planning commission with due regard for the overall health, welfare, safety and convenience of the people.

In all districts, no fence, wall, hedge or shrub planting which obstructs the site lines at elevations between two and 12 feet above the roadways shall be placed or permitted to remain on any corner lot within the triangular area formed by the street property lines and a line connecting them at points 25 feet from the intersection of the street lines, or in the case of a rounded property corner, from the intersection of the street property lines extended. No trees shall be permitted to remain within such distances of such intersections unless the foliage line is maintained to comply with the above site lines.

No lot shall be reduced in size so that yard, lot width, lot area or other requirements of this ordinance are not maintained.

Accessory buildings, except as otherwise permitted in this ordinance, shall be subject to the following regulations:

A.

Where the accessory building is structurally attached to a main building, it shall be subject to and must conform to all regulations of this ordinance applicable to principal buildings.

B.

Accessory buildings, except garages, shall be erected in any required yard, except a front yard, providing further, that in no instance shall such a building be nearer than five feet to any adjoining side lot line or rear lot line.

C.

An accessory building shall not exceed one story or 14 feet in height, and in no instance shall the accessory building exceed the ground floor area of the principal building.

D.

No detached accessory building shall be located closer than 15 feet to any principal building.

E.

In the case of double frontage lots, accessory buildings shall observe front yard requirements on both street frontages wherever there are any principal buildings fronting on said streets in the same block or adjacent blocks.

F.

When an accessory building is to be located on a corner lot, the side lot line of which is substantially a continuation of the front lot line of the lot to its rear, said building shall not project beyond the front yard line required on the lot in rear of such corner lot.

G.

Garages [sic], in any residence zone, no garage shall be erected closer to the side lot line than the permitted distance for the dwelling, unless the garage shall be completely to the rear of the dwelling, in which event, the garage may be erected five feet from the side and rear lot line.

H.

Carport [sic], in any residential zone, no carport shall be erected, constructed or altered closer to the side lot line than the permitted distance for the dwelling, nor beyond the font [front] line of the house to which it is attached.

I.

Mobile homes are prohibited to be used as an accessory building. Mobile homes/manufactured homes replaced on the lot or parcel and thereby no longer classified as the principal dwelling shall be removed within 30 days of the date of occupancy of the principal dwelling.

(Ord. No. 2004-12, § 1, 7-19-2004)

A.

It shall be [a] prohibited use in all residentially zoned districts and residential lots to park or store in the open, wrecked or junked vehicles, power-driven construction equipment, used lumber, metal or rubbish, or any other miscellaneous scrap or salvageable material in quantity.

B.

Tractor-trailer combinations, tractors or trailers shall not be placed or stored in residentially zoned districts.

C.

Kennels [shall be prohibited in all residential districts.]

D.

Wrecked or junked vehicles in open buildings [shall be prohibited in all residential districts].

In order to provide adequate protective screening for residential areas adjacent to or near nonresidential areas, the following regulations shall apply:

Adjacent residential property. Where a manufacturing or commercial district abuts directly upon a residentially zoned district, a landscaped greenbelt, not less than 20 feet wide, shall be provided and maintained along its entire length by the users of these properties. These districts shall be screened from such contiguous residentially zoned district. Such greenbelt shall be planted with deciduous trees, evergreens, flowering trees and/or ornamental trees set not closer than six feet to the fence or wall.

The remainder of the landscaped area which is not planted with the aforementioned stock shall be in well-kept lawn. All landscaping shall be maintained in a healthy growing condition.

All planting plans shall be first submitted to the planning commission for approval as to suitability of planting materials and arrangement thereof in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance, subject to city approval.

If, in the opinion of the planning commission, the greenbelt would serve no good purpose, the commission may waive such requirements, subject to city approval.

Recreational vehicles shall not be utilized as a permanent dwelling in any zoning district. (Occupancy exceeding 30 days shall be considered permanent.)

Mobile homes which do not bear a HUD insignia are prohibited, unless grandfathered.

All mobile homes within the City of Sylvester will be installed with adequate safety tiedowns.

All mobile homes must be properly skirted.

(Public hearing required). Before a building permit or certificate of occupancy shall be issued for a conditional use, application shall be made to the planning commission, which, after careful review of any applicable sections of this ordinance, may recommend to the city council the issuance of such permit or approval, if, in the judgment of the planning commission, it will not be detrimental to the health, safety, and general welfare of the City of Sylvester.

An application to establish a conditional use shall be approved following a review by the planning commission and a determination by the City of Sylvester Mayor and Council that:

A.

The proposed use will not be contrary to the purpose of this ordinance.

B.

The proposed use will not be detrimental to the use or development of adjacent properties or the general neighborhood, nor affect adversely the health and safety of residents and workers.

C.

The proposed use will not constitute a nuisance or hazard because of the number of persons who will attend or use such facility, vehicular movement, noise or fume generation, or type of physical activity.

D.

The proposed use will not be affected adversely by the existing uses; and the proposed use will be placed on a lot of sufficient size to satisfy the space requirements of said use.

E.

The parking and all development standards set forth for each particular use for which a permit may be granted have been met.

F.

Provided that the city council may impose or require such additional restrictions and standards as may be necessary to protect the health and safety of workers and residents in the community, and to protect the value and use of property in the general neighborhood; and, provided that, wherever the city council shall find, in the case of any permit granted, pursuant to the provision of these regulations, that any terms, conditions or restrictions upon which such permit was granted are not being complied with, said commission shall rescind and revoke such permit after giving due notice to all parties concerned and granting full opportunity for a public hearing.

A.

The City of Sylvester Mayor and Council shall hear and decide appeals where there is alleged error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by the zoning administrator in enforcement of this ordinance.

B.

The mayor and council may authorize, in specific cases, such hardship variances from the terms of this ordinance as will not, in its opinion, be contrary to the public interest, where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of the ordinance will, in an individual case, result in unnecessary hardship, so that the spirit of the ordinance will be observed, and public safety and welfare secured. Such variance may be granted in such individual case of unnecessary hardship upon a finding by the mayor and council that:

1.

There are extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to the particular piece of property in question because of its size, shape or topography; and

2.

The application of the ordinance to this particular piece of property would create an unnecessary hardship; and

3.

Such conditions are peculiar to the particular piece of property involved; and

4.

Relief, if granted, would not cause substantial detriment to the public interest or impair the purposes and intent of this ordinance; provided, however, that no variance may be granted for a use of land or building which use is prohibited by this ordinance. The city will control the actual use of properties through zoning and conditional uses and not through a grant of variance.

C.

Variances will first be reviewed by the Sylvester Planning Commission and recommendation made to the city council. (Public hearing required.).

( Ord. No. 2021-03 § I, 4-5-2021)

A.

Number. Guesthouses are accessory structures which are allowed in the agricultural and residential zoning districts, subject to City of Sylvester water, gas and light, and sewage hookup approvals. Only one guesthouse is allowed per parcel or lot. Any living area included in a detached garage or swimming pool cabana is a guesthouse.

B.

Size. The heated and finished floor area of a freestanding guesthouse shall not exceed 75 percent of the square footage of the heated and finished floor area of the principal dwelling. When a guesthouse is combined with a detached garage or cabana, the guesthouse portion of the structure shall not exceed 75 percent of the heated and finished space contained in the principal dwelling.

C.

Use prohibited. A guesthouse which is inhabited by a person or persons based upon an oral or written lease for value is prohibited. In the event an accessory structure which satisfies the requirements of this section is inhabited by a person or persons based upon an oral or written lease, the accessory structure, for purposes of this ordinance, shall be construed to be a principal structure. No more than one principal structure shall occupy any residentially or agriculturally zoned lot or parcel.

(Ord. No. 2004-12, § 1, 7-19-2004)

Cross reference— App. A, Section 4.09, Accessory buildings.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this zoning ordinance or anywhere else to the contrary, and except as otherwise provided in this section 4.20, no sales or other activity of the business or businesses operated in C-1 and/or C-2 zoning districts, as permitted by this ordinance, shall be conducted outside the confines of a building, as defined in section 2.02 of this ordinance, unless and until special permission shall have been granted for such business or activity to be conducted outside.

The foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply to the institutions described in section 11.3 (B) through and inclusive of (G), or to those described in section 12.03 (A), (B), (E), (F), (G), or (H), as said provisions exist at the time of the adoption of this ordinance.

The foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply to any institution conducting purely non-profit activities on the premises.

Special permission for such activity may be granted only by the mayor and council, upon application for special permission submitted to the mayor and council in such form as the mayor and council shall require. Special permission shall be granted only where the mayor and council determine:

(a)

The proposed use shall not be contrary to the purposes of this ordinance.

(b)

The proposed use will not be detrimental to the use or development of adjacent properties or the general neighborhood, and will not affect adversely the health and safety of the residents and workers.

(c)

The proposed use will not constitute a nuisance or hazard because of the number of people who will participate in or be attracted by such use, or the number of vehicles, or the movement, noise or fumes generated.

(d)

The lot upon which such use is proposed to be conducted is of sufficient size to satisfy the space requirements of such use.

(e)

No business will be conducted pursuant to a grant of special permission except an extension or continuation of the regular and normal activities of the business as they have been conducted within the building.

(f)

Sufficient parking and parking meeting the requirements of this ordinance shall be provided.

(g)

A description of any tents or temporary structures intended to be used in connection with the use shall be included in the application, and shall be subject to the approval of the mayor and council.

(h)

The grant of special permission shall specify the duration of time the activity shall be permitted, which in no event shall exceed two days.

(i)

The business conducted outside the building shall be conducted only during the hours during which the business has normally and regularly been conducted inside the building.

The mayor and council may impose or require such additional restrictions and standards as may be necessary to protect the health and safety of workers and residents in the community, and to protect the value and use of the property in the general neighborhood.

Should the mayor and council determine at any time that any of the terms, conditions, or restrictions upon which special permission was granted are not being complied with, the mayor and council may rescind and revoke such permit after giving due notice to all parties concerned and granting full opportunity for a public hearing.

(Ord. No. 2010-11, § 1(Exh. A), 8-16-2010)