For the purpose of this ordinance, certain words or terms used herein shall be defined as follows:

Words used in the singular number include the plural, and the words used in the plural include the singular.

Words used in the present tense include the future tense.

The word person includes a firm, partnership or corporation.

The word lot includes the word plot or parcel.

The word building includes the word structure.

The word shall is always mandatory and not merely discretionary.

The word used or occupied, as applied to any land or building, shall be construed to include the words intended, arranged or designed to be used or occupied.

1.

Alcoholic beverages means any beverage or class of beverage with an alcoholic content, including beer and wine, the sale of which must be specifically licensed by the town.

2.

Alteration means a change in size, shape, character, occupants or use of a building or structure.

3.

Alteration—structure means any change in the support members of the building, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.

4.

Accessory building and uses means a secondary building or a portion of the main building, the use of which is incidental to that of the primary use of the main building or land. An accessory use is one which is incidental to the main use of the premises.

5.

Billboard means any sign with an advertising surface measuring eight feet or more in length, width, height, diameter, or along any single dimension.

6.

Board of zoning appeals means the mayor and aldermen serve as the board of zoning appeals.

7.

Building height. Building height requirements shall be controlled by section 5-201(2)(B) of the general ordinances of the Town of Thunderbolt.

8.

Building setback line (front yard) means a line extending across the front of a lot from side lot line to side lot line and lying between the property line and the edge of the roof, or eaves, of the principal building on the lot.

9.

Building means any structure except a mobile home, which has a roof, designed or built for the support, enclosure, shelter or protection of persons, animals, chattels or property of any kind.

10.

Certificate of occupancy means a certificate issued by the zoning administrator stating that the occupancy and use of land, building or structure referred to therein complies within the provisions of this ordinance.

11.

Childcare facility means a family daycare home (for children) is defined as daytime care or instruction within an occupied residence of not more than six pre-school children, including all pre-school children that currently reside in the premises. This will come under the home occupation provisions of the Town of Thunderbolt provided that such use meets any county or state requirements.

12.

Clinic means an establishment where patients who are not lodged overnight are admitted for medical examination and treatment.

13.

Condition of fact means statement of presentation including, but not limited to drawings, planning and engineering data and design criteria demonstrating that a proposed development or use of land meets the intent of the zoning district for which it is proposed.

14.

Dwelling means any building or portion thereof, which is designed for or used for residential purposes.

15.

Dwelling, one-family means a building designed for one family.

16.

Dwelling, two-family means a building with or without party wall, designed for two families.

17.

Dwelling, multi-family means a building either designed, constructed, altered or used for more than two adjoining dwelling units, with each dwelling unit having a party wall or party floor where it joins at least one other dwelling unit in the building. This includes, but is not limited to, apartments, condominiums, townhouses, row houses or any other type of dwelling whether detached or semi-detached.

18.

Family means one or more persons occupying a dwelling and living as a single housekeeping unit, as distinguished from persons occupying a boarding house or hotel or motel as described herein.

19.

Gross floor area means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a building from the exterior face of exterior walls, or from the centerline of a wall separating two buildings, but excluding any space where the floor-to-ceiling height is less than six feet.

20

Gross vehicle weight means the weight of a vehicle without load plus its rated carrying capacity, as specified by the manufacturer of the vehicle.

21.

Housing, boarding means a building other than a hotel or motel where for compensation and by arrangement for a definite period of time, meals or lodging or both are provided for three or more persons who are not related to each other by blood, marriage, or adoption.

22.

Height. Height requirements shall be controlled by section 5-201(2)(B) of the general ordinances of the Town of Thunderbolt.

23.

Home occupation means an occupation customarily carried only within a home for gain or support, involving the sale of only those articles, products or services produced on the premises, conducted entirely within a dwelling unit and conducted entirely by persons residing in such dwelling unit, using only such equipment as is customarily found in a home and involving no display of articles, products or advertising signs. A home occupation shall include the boarding of not more than two nontransient guests. Childcare facilities as defined herein shall be considered a permissible home occupation. A beauty parlor which is operated in a room separate from but attached to a dwelling unit and which uses equipment other than that customarily found in a home shall be defined as a home occupation under the following specific conditions:

(a)

Such beauty parlor shall occupy not more than 500 square feet of floor space.

(b)

There shall be no more than two employees, both of whom shall reside in the dwelling unit to which the beauty parlor is attached.

24.

Hospital means any institution receiving in-patients or a public institution receiving outpatients and authorized under state law to render medical, surgical, or obstetrical care.

25.

Hotel means a building which is open to the public, for compensation, lodging or board, or both, for 20 or more persons and in which ingress and egress to and from all rooms are made through an inside lobby or office supervised by a person in charge at all times.

26.

Junk yard means use of property for indoor or outdoor storage, keeping, abandonment, sale or resale of junk including scrap metal, rags, paper or other scrap materials, used lumber, salvaged house wrecking and structural steel materials and equipment or for the dismantling, demolition or abandonment of automobiles or other vehicles or machinery or parts thereof.

27.

Kennels means any establishment engaging in boarding, caring for and keeping of dogs, and/or cats for hire and commercial purposes.

28.

Laundromat means a business that provides home type washing, drying, and/or ironing machines for hire.

29.

Lot means a developed or undeveloped tract of land in one-ownership, legally transferable as a single unit of land.

30.

Lot coverage means the percentage of the lot area covered by the building.

31.

Lot width means the horizontal distance between the side lot lines of a lot measured at the front yard building setback line.

32.

Manufactured home (also known as mobile home, trailer, double and triple wide home) means a structure, transportable in one or more sections which in a traveling mode is eight body feet or more in width or 40 body feet or more in length or when erected on sight, is 320 or more square feet which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as dwelling with or without permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, including plumbing, heating, and air conditioning and electrical systems contained therein. A permanent chassis as used herein is defined as the entire transportation system comprised of the following systems: drawbar and coupling mechanism, frame, running gear assembly and lights. It is the intention of this definition to comply with the definitions used for manufactured homes found in the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. section 5401 et seq. and also to comply with any definition of manufactured home or similar nomenclature found in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.

33.

Marquee means a roof-like structure suspended over an entrance to a structure.

34.

Modular or industrialized home means an industrialized building, a modular home is a factory fabricated, transportable structure, consisting of units that are brought in on a trailer, to be constructed on top of a permanent foundation at the site for residential use. Such buildings are defined in O.C.G.A. § 8-2-111[3] and should bear the insignia of approval issued by the commissioner of community affairs. Industrialized buildings are regulated in Georgia under the O.C.G.A. Industrialized Buildings Act. The act defines industrialized buildings and preempts local government authority on building code issues.

35.

Mobile home parks means a parcel of land, which has been planned and improved for the placement of mobile homes for nontransient uses.

36.

Motel means a building or a group of buildings containing sleeping accommodations and customary accessory uses for rental primarily to automobile transients.

37

Motor coach means any wheeled motor vehicle which is a single self-contained unit with motor powers, which is designated and generally used for transporting members of the public but not used for occupancy by persons for residential purposes.

38.

Nonconforming use means a structure or land lawfully occupied by a use at the time of the adoption or subsequent amendment of this ordinance that is not permitted in the district in which such structure or land is located.

39.

Nursing home means a home for the aged, chronically ill or incurable persons in which three or more persons not of the immediate family are received, kept or provided with food and shelter or care for compensation; but not including hospitals, clinics or similar institutions devoted primarily to the diagnosis and treatment of the sick or injured.

40.

Personal care homes means a home in which protective care and a watchful oversight is given a resident who needs a watchful environment, but does not have an illness, injury or disability which requires chronic or convalescent care including medical and nursing services. Protective care and watchful oversight includes, but is not limited to, a daily awareness by the management of the resident's functioning, his or her whereabouts, the making and reminding a resident of appointments for medical checkups, the ability to intervene if a crises arises for a resident, supervision in the areas of nutrition, medication and actual provision of transient medical care with 24-hour responsibility for the well-being of the resident but not including facilities for the care of persons suffering from drug addiction, abuse and/or alcoholism (while in recovery rehabilitation or halfway house programs and treatments).

41.

Parking space means the space required to park one automobile, which shall be a minimum of nine feet wide and 20 feet long, exclusive of passageways. A thoroughfare of 24 feet in width with a turning angle of not more than 18 degrees. On multi-family dwellings, the required spaces shall increase to two and one-half spaces per dwelling.

42.

Public use means buildings, structures and uses of land owned, operated and maintained by a government unit or government agency, including, but not restricted to public schools, fire stations, recreation sites and facilities and water treatment facilities.

43.

Recreational vehicle means any wheeled motor vehicle which is a single self- contained unit with motor powers, which is designated and generally used for occupancy by persons for residential or vacation or travel purposes.

44.

Rezoning means the change in zoning classifications of any parcel or parcels of land from one zoning district to another.

45.

Service station means a building or lot where gasoline, oil and grease are supplied and dispensed to the motor vehicle trade, and/or where battery, tire and other similar sales are minor incidental repair services are rendered.

46.

Setback means the minimal horizontal distance between the front, side, and rear lot lines of a parcel as measured between the outer edge of the building's or structure's most outward structural appendage, including its eaves, from a point projected vertically down to the ground and to the front, side, or rear property lines, respectively.

47.

Sign means any structure, part thereof, or device attached thereto or painted or represented thereon or any material or thing, illuminated or otherwise, which displays or includes any numeral, letter, word, model, banner, pennant, flag, poster, balloon, emblem, insignia, device, trademark, or other representation used as or in the nature of an announcement, advertisement, direction or designation of any person, group, organization, place, commodity, product, service, business, profession, enterprise or industry which is located upon any land or any building or upon a window. The flag, emblem, or other insignia of a nation, governmental unit, educational, charitable or religious group shall not be included within the meaning of this definition; provided however within any residential zoning district, the aggregate size of such flag, emblem or insignia shall not exceed 30 square feet in area; and, no more than one such devise shall be displayed for the same entity or governmental body per street frontage. For the purpose of the article, sign types shall be identified as follows:

A.

Sign, temporary means a display, information sign, banner, or other advertisement device with or without a structural frame, not permanently attached to a building, structure or the ground for a permanent period. The sign may include, but not be restricted to signs used for a limited period for interior displays viewed from the outside of a use, or exterior real estate or pre-development signs, accessory temporary window or display case signs, and/or decorative displays for holidays or public demonstrations.

(1)

Sign, development means a temporary pre-development or construction sign denoting the architect, engineer, contractor, subcontractor, financier or sponsor of a development which may also designate the future occupant of the use.

(2)

Sign, real estate means a temporary sign announcing the sale, lease, or rental of a land use or property for the duration of the sale or rental period offered.

(3)

Sign, window means a temporary interior window sign viewed from the outside of a use announcing the relocation or closing of a use, special sales, or other short term business related matters.

B.

Sign, directional means a sign containing information relative to the location, distance to, entrance to, and exit from on-site structure(s) or land use activities or signs erected and maintained on public right-of-way by an authorized governmental department.

C.

Sign, incidental means a small single face nonilluminated professional or announcement sign not greater than one square foot in size attached wholly to building, window, or door, and includes only emergency information, business hours, credit cards honored, and other accessory information. Also pump island identification sign(s), not larger than one square foot in size, located on the fuel pumps identifying type of service offered, the price of fuel, operational instructions of fueling system, but not containing any advertising material of any kind other than the logo of the principal use of the service station.

D.

Sign, portable means any sign posted on a cart truck on wheels or other mobile device that is not permanently affixed, including, but not limited to signs mounted or painted on vehicles not used primarily for other purposes.

E.

Sign, double-faced means a sign, with two sides of which are visible. A "V" sign shall be considered a double-faced sign providing the least angle of intersection does not exceed 60 degrees.

48.

Reserved.

49.

Site development plan means a detailed plan showing proposed buildings, uses or reuses of all land, open spaces, location of major structures, recreation areas, schools and public facilities and such other planning elements and reasonable design criteria as may be deemed necessary by the reviewing agency.

50.

Story means the portion of the building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above, or, if there is no floor above, the space between the floor and the ceiling next above.

51.

Street means a public or private vehicular way, open to general public use and having a pavement or roadbed width of not less than 20 feet, which affords the principal means of access to abutting property. Streets are divided into three classes: major arteries, collector streets, and minor streets.

52.

Structure means anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires a location on the ground including, but not limiting, the generality of the foregoing: advertising signs, billboards, backstops for tennis courts or baseball diamonds, fences and pergolas.

53

Tiny house and camper means any type of wheeled vehicle which is designed to be pulled by a motor vehicle and designed for occupancy by persons for residential or vacation or travel purposes.

54.

Trailer means any type of wheeled vehicle which is designed to be pulled by a motor vehicle but not designated and generally used for residential purposes.

55.

Use, principal means the principal purpose, for which a lot or the main building thereon is designed, arranged or intended and for which it is or may be used.

56.

Use, temporary means a temporary use or building established in connection with a construction project or real estate development, excluding facilities for sleeping or cooking.

57.

Used car lot means any parcel of land used for storage, display and sales of used automobiles and where no repair work is done except the necessary reconditioning of the cars to be displayed and sold on the premises.

58.

Variance means an authorization by the board of zoning appeals granting relief and doing substantial justice in the use of property, where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of this ordinance would result in unnecessary hardship.

59.

Yard means an open space at grade between a building and the adjoining lot lines or road right-of-way, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground upward.

60.

Yard, front means a yard extending across the front of a lot from side lot line to side lot line and lying between the front property line and the principal building on the lot.

61.

Yard, rear means a yard extending across the rear of a lot from side lot line to side lot line and lying between the rear property line and the principal building on the lot.

62.

Yard, side means a yard extending along either side of a lot between the front and rear yard and lying between the side lot line and the principal building on the lot.

63.

Zoning administrator or office of zoning administrator means that person or persons appointed by the town council to enforce the provisions of the zoning ordinance.

(Ord of 3-8-2016)