In interpreting and applying these regulations, the requirements contained herein are declared to be the minimum requirements necessary to carry out the purpose of these regulations. Except as hereinafter provided, these regulations shall not be deemed to interfere with, abrogate, annul, or otherwise affect in any manner whatsoever any easements, covenants, or other agreements between parties. Whenever the provisions of these regulations impose greater restrictions upon the use of land or buildings, or upon the height of buildings, or require a larger percentage of lot to be left unoccupied than the provisions of other ordinances, rules, regulations, permits, or any easements, covenants, or other agreements between parties, the provisions of these regulations shall govern.

No buildings, structures, or land shall be used or occupied; and no building, structure, or part thereof shall be erected, constructed, reconstructed, moved, enlarged, or structurally altered unless in conformity with the regulations of this ordinance.

No building or structure may be erected or use established unless upon a lot, as defined by this ordinance, except as provided in Section 3-23 or Section 9-1.

Except as herein provided (Refer to Section 6-3), there shall be no more than one principal building or structure upon any lot other than within an M-1 or M-2 district.

No open spaces shall be encroached upon or reduced in any manner except in conformity to the yard, setback, off-street parking spaces, and such other regulations required by this ordinance for the district in which such building is located. Shrubbery, driveways, retaining walls, fences, curbs, and planted buffer strips shall be construed not to be encroachments of yards. (Refer to Section 3-25.)

No part of any yard, other open space, or off-street parking or loading space required or in connection with any building, structure, or use by this ordinance shall be considered to be part of a required yard, or other open space, or off-street parking or loading space for any other building structure, or use except as provided in Section 7-6.

Except as provided in Section 3-23, no lot existing at the time of passage of this ordinance shall be reduced, divided, or changed so as to produce 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.

No building, structure, service area, or required off-street parking and loading facilities, except driveways, shall be permitted to encroach on public rights-of-way.

Accessory buildings on residential lots, when located within a side yard, shall be located no closer to property lines than would be allowed for a principal building. Accessory buildings shall not be located in the front yard of the principal use. Within a rear yard, an accessory building on a residential lot shall be located at least ten feet from all rear and other property lines, except that in the case of corner lots, accessory buildings shall be set back from the centerline of an abutting street right-of-way a distance equal to three-quarters the front yard setback established for the zoning district in which the accessory buildings are located. In the case of a through lot (Refer to Section 3-11), accessory buildings shall conform to front yard setbacks on both streets. Swimming pools shall conform to front yard setbacks on both streets. Accessory buildings or uses on non-residential lots shall comply with the minimum yard requirements established for the zoning district in which such accessory buildings or uses are located.

3-9.1. Accessory Building on Separate Lot: An accessory building may be permitted as a Special Exception by the City Council on a separate lot from the lot of the principal building provided that:

(a)

The lot upon which the accessory building is located shall adjoin the lot which contains the principal use; and

(b)

All requirements established for the zoning district in which such accessory building is located shall be complied with; and

(c)

Any structure or building erected shall meet the requirements of the City of Valdosta Building Code and shall be approved by the Building Inspector; and

(d)

Provided the City Council may require design features such as buffer strips, screening, etc., as may be found necessary to protect the purpose of the ordinance.

3-9.2. Swimming Pools: Swimming pools accessory to residences shall be enclosed by a fence of a minimum height of four feet.

3-9.3. Accessory Building—Size and Number Limitations: Only one accessory building shall be permitted on residential lots; however, this shall not apply to swimming pools, garden arbors, playground equipment, decks, or patios. Accessory buildings shall be limited to a maximum square footage as indicated in the following:

Any increase in square footage requirements shall be allowed only upon proper application and granting of a variance by the Zoning Board of Appeals. (Refer to Section 11-6.2.)

No building shall be erected on a lot which does not abut an open public street, except as provided for in planned developments. (Refer to Section 6-3.)

In the case of a corner lot, side yard setback requirements from the centerline of the street right-of-way shall be equal to 75 percent of that required for the front yard setback for all zoning districts. On a corner lot where the main entrance into a residence is facing a side yard, it shall be permissible for purposes of this ordinance to construe the residence to be fronting on the street other than that street which said entrance faces, and side and rear yard requirements may be provided accordingly. If a building is constructed on a through lot having frontage on two roads not at an intersection, a setback from each road shall be provided equal to the front yard requirement for the district in which the lot is located.

On corner lots within all zoning districts except the C-D zoning district, no fence, shrubbery or other obstruction to the traffic sight vision, except utility poles or light or sign standards, shall exceed a height of three feet within a triangular area formed by the intersection of the right-of-way lines of two streets or a street intersection with a railroad right-of-way line, and a diagonal line which intersects the right-of-way lines at two points, each 20 feet distance from the intersection of the right-of-way lines, or, in the case of a rounded corner, from the point of intersection of their tangents; provided, however, signs, lights, or similar objects which are totally located at least 12 feet above the finished grade shall be permitted.

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

Areas annexed to the City of Valdosta subsequent to the adoption of this ordinance shall be placed in the R-E zoning district, unless other zoning (such as, but not limited to, existing compatible Lowndes County Zoning) is formally requested and approved with the annexation petition. All rezoning requests which accompany an annexation petition shall pay the required fee for zoning amendments. (Refer to Section 12-2.1). Such annexed and R-E zoned areas shall remain R-E until such time as the Comprehensive Zoning Plan of the city has been extended to include the annexed area and a zoning change is executed in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance for zoning amendments.

In the event that a district boundary line on the zoning map divides a lot of record held in one ownership on the date of passage of this ordinance, each part of the lot so divided shall be used in conformity with the regulations established by this ordinance for the district in which each such parcel is located; except, however, that if the property owner of such a lot, other than a through lot, so desires, he may extend a use allowed on the greater portion of said lot 50 feet beyond the district boundary line in accordance with setbacks and yard requirements of the district into which he is encroaching.

Within any residential district, no wall or fence shall exceed eight feet in height within or along a boundary of a front or side yard.

Buffer yards shall be required along the side and rear yards of the proposed development wherever the proposed development abuts a different existing or permitted use. The existing use of the zoning classification of the adjacent property, shall determine the type of buffer yard required. Vacant property will not require a buffer.

a)

Buffer yard specifications. The following tables prescribe buffer yard types as well as minimum number of trees and shrubs per 100 linear feet. Where feasible and appropriate, developers are encouraged to exceed these minimum requirements.

Buffer Type Required

Buffer Type Descriptions

A minimum 50 percent of all canopy trees, and minimum of 75 percent of all understory trees and shrubs shall be evergreen vegetation. All trees and shrubs used for buffer yard calculations must adhere to specifications of the Valdosta Tree and Landscape Ordinance (Valdosta Code of Ordinances, Article J, Part 9, Chapter 4 [Chapter 62]). Planting areas must be mulched with approved material. Upon maturity, buffer yards shall not contain any unobstructed openings more than ten feet in width.

b)

Location. Buffer yards shall be located on the side and rear yard of the lot or parcel and extend inward from the parcel boundary line for the required depth. Buffer yards shall not be located in any portion of an existing or dedicated public right-of-way or private street, or stormwater detention/retention area. Buffer yards shall not be used for any parking or loading purposes, nor contain any structures. Only approved driveways and pedestrian pathways may encroach into a required buffer yard.

c)

Existing vegetation. Existing vegetation may be retained and used to meet buffer requirements. In the event existing vegetation does not satisfy buffer requirements, it shall be supplemented with additional plantings. Proposed plant materials shall be grouped or massed to achieve a natural looking and unified buffer.

d)

Maintenance. The entire buffer yard shall be maintained as green open space with the required plantings consistent with the requirements of the Valdosta Tree and Landscape Ordinance [Chapter 62 of the Valdosta Code]. Maintenance of a required buffer yard shall be the responsibility of the property owner or any consenting grantee. If the plant materials die, they shall be replaced within 60 days.

e)

Supplemental fencing. For all buffer types, buffer yard widths may be reduced up to 50 percent in exchange for an opaque fence or solid wall between the height of six feet and eight feet being erected along the property line where buffer yards are required. Such fence or wall shall consist of durable materials, be constructed to last at least ten years with minimum maintenance and shall be plumb and aligned to achieve an aesthetically pleasing appearance. The planting requirements may be reduced up to 25 percent if the supplemental fence option is selected as described above.

Screening requirements for such areas shall be as prescribed in the Valdosta Tree and Landscape Ordinance [Chapter 62 of the Valdosta Code].

Within any non-residential district, side yards and rear yards shall not be required adjacent to railroad rights-of-way.

Any lot of record existing at the time of the adoption of this ordinance, which has an area or a width which is less than required by this ordinance, shall be subject to the following exceptions and modifications identified in Sections 3-23 and 3-26.

When a building or structure is proposed on a lot and when on either or both lots which adjoin such lot at the street right-of-way line there exists a principal building which does not conform to the setback requirements of this ordinance, the required setback for such building or structure shall be as follows:

(1)

Where only one said adjoining lot contains a principal building with a nonconforming setback, the setback shall be the computed average of (a) the normal setback requirement with (b) the nonconforming setback; or

(2)

Where both adjoining lots contain a principal building each with a nonconforming setback, the minimum setback shall be the computed average of the two nonconforming setbacks.

3-23.1. Signs on buildings with nonconforming setbacks. Where signs are allowed within a district and when such signs are permanently attached to the side of a building which has a nonconforming setback, said sign may be closer to the street right-of-way than is normally required for structures within that district; provided that no part of said sign shall be closer to the street right-of-way than is any part of the wall of the nonconforming building to which the sign is attached; and provided further that said sign shall not project into the side yard more than six inches.

3-23.2. Cul-de-sacs. On cul-de-sacs approved by the City Engineer the minimum front yard setback line can be increased up to 15 feet further back from the right-of-way line and must be established on a recorded plat.

The height limits of these regulations shall not apply to a church spire, belfry, cupola, dome, or ornamental tower not intended for human occupancy, monument, water tower, observation tower, transmission tower, chimney, smoke stack, conveyor, flag pole, radio or television tower, mast or aerial, parapet wall not extending more than four feet above the roof line of the building, and necessary mechanical appurtenances.

Architectural features such as cornices, eaves, steps, gutter, and fire escapes may project not more than three feet beyond any required setback line, except where such projections would obstruct driveways which are or may be used for access and service and/or emergency vehicles.

When a lot of record has a width less than the frontage required in the district in which it is located and said lot cannot be increased in width as provided in Section 3-23, then the Zoning Administrator shall be authorized to reduce the side yard requirements for such lot; provided, however, that there shall be not less than an eight-foot side yard.

When a lot within a residential zone is changed by rezoning, the rezoning application shall include a site plan drawn to scale, showing the lot, the street, the house, the driveway and the proposed off-street parking; this site plan shall be approved by the City Engineer prior to the Zoning Administrator accepting the application. If the lot was rezoned by governmental petition, the site plan will be required when the change in use is requested through the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy. Where a lot and house is configured such that the minimum development standards of this ordinance or other ordinances of the City of Valdosta cannot be adhered to, the City Engineer has the authority to allow subsequent improvements as follows:

a.

Pavement width.

b.

Pavement encroachment to adjacent property lines.

c.

Driveway radius encroachment to beyond the property line.

Off-street parking in front of the residential structure shall not be allowed. However, off-street parking or development in front of existing structure may be considered and approved by the Valdosta City Council only after review of a site plan submitted as a part of the rezoning request.

Residential development in the C-D district is subject to a parking plan for the downtown area approved by the Central Valdosta Development Authority (CVDA).