The C-3 Highway Oriented Commercial District is established as a district in which the principal use of land is for establishments offering accommodations, supplies, or services to motorists, and for certain specialized uses such as retail outlets, extensive commercial amusements and service establishments which, although serving the entire community and its trading area, do not and should not be encouraged to locate in the retail commercial or nonretail commercial districts. The C-3 Highway Oriented Commercial Districts ordinarily will be located along state and federal roads designed in the major thoroughfare plan as major highways. For the C-3 District, the specific intent of this section is:

(1)

To encourage the logical and timely development of land for purposes in accordance with the objectives, policies and proposals of the future land use plan, the location of the C-3 District shall be in accordance with the said city plan.

(2)

To encourage the construction of, and the continued use of land for commercial, service and amusement serving both local and long distance travelers.

(3)

To provide for orderly development and concentration of such uses within the C-3 District as designated in the future land use plan.

(4)

To provide appropriate space, and in particular, sufficient depth from the street, to satisfy the needs of modern commercial development where access is entirely dependent on the automobile.

(5)

To encourage the development of the district with such uses and in such a manner as to minimize traffic hazards and interference from highway oriented businesses.

(Ord. of 2-10-97(2))

When available frontage on state and federal highways is depleted, with the exception of an access corridor not less than forty-five (45) feet, the remaining C-3 property that is located behind the frontage shall automatically revert to a C-2 designation.

(Ord. of 2-10-97(2))

In a C-3 Highway Oriented Commercial District, a building or combination of buildings may be erected or used, and a lot area may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes, and no other:

(1)

Services to traveling public: Service stations, diners, restaurants, taverns, ice cream stands, motels, inns, souvenir shops.

(2)

Commercial recreation: Bowling alleys, skating rinks, theaters, amusement parks, golf driving ranges, drive-in theaters.

(3)

Automotive and allied sales and services: Service stations and repair shops, used car and truck sales, automotive parts and accessories, new car and truck sales, boat and marine sales, trailer and mobile home sales, heavy equipment and/or farm implement sales, bicycle shops.

(4)

Miscellaneous sales: Heating and plumbing shops, building material sales, monument sales, nurseries, greenhouses, garden stores, fruit and/or vegetable and/or produce structures, furniture and appliance stores, farm supply and feed stores.

(5)

Family day care home.

(6)

Signs when erected and maintained in accordance with article XIX of this ordinance.

(7)

Group day care homes.

(8)

Day care centers.

(9)

Mini storage warehouses.

(Ord. of 3-11-91, § 4; Ord. of 2-10-97(2); Ord. of 7-8-13 )

(a)

Minimum district area: Not less than one (1) acre.

(b)

Building area: No more than thirty (30) percent of the lot area shall be occupied by buildings.

(c)

Building setback from street line: There shall be a minimum setback of seventy-five (75) feet from the street right-of-way. This distance may be reduced to forty (40) feet if no front of structure parking is contemplated, however, in any case a unified setback for the entire C-3 District is encouraged.

(d)

Setback from district and property lines: There shall be a setback of fifty (50) feet from any district line and twenty-five (25) feet from any property line.

(e)

Side yard: Side yards shall be no less than five (5) feet, however, a one (1) foot setback is permitted provided ten (10) feet are provided on the opposite side yard.

(f)

Rear yard: There shall be a rear yard not less than fifteen (15) feet in depth.

(g)

Parking ration: Adequate off-street parking shall be provided for each lot or property. No on-street parking will be permitted on any street abutting the district. Parking areas shall be so placed so as not to interfere with any service area and shall not be less than twenty (20) feet from the street line, or district boundary line. All pertinent sections of the off-street parking provisions shall be enforceable.

(Ord. of 2-10-97(2))

Must comply with site plan as described in section 1203.

(Ord. of 2-10-97(2))

Editor's note— An ordinance adopted Feb. 10, 1997(2), deleted § 1404 in its entirety. Formerly, § 1404 pertained to height regulations and derived from the 1968 Code. Said ordinance added new provisions as herein set out.

The general plan for new Highway Oriented Commercial Districts shall include evidence and facts showing that it has considered and made provision for, and the development shall be executed in accordance with the following essential conditions:

(1)

It shall consist of a harmonious selection of uses (see section 1402) and grouping of buildings, service and parking areas, circulation and open spaces, planned and designed as an integrated unit (or to facilitate the ultimate creation of an integrated unit) in such a manner as to constitute a safe, efficient and convenient highway oriented commercial district.

(2)

The proposed development or lot shall be constructed in accordance with an over-all plan and shall be designed as a unified architectural unit with appropriate landscaping.

(3)

Adequate areas shall be provided for loading and unloading of delivery trucks and other vehicles, servicing by refuse collection, fuel, fire and other vehicles, automobile accessways, and pedestrian walks. All areas provided for use by vehicles and all pedestrian walks shall be constructed in accordance with Georgia Highway Department specifications. Service areas shall be screened from view from any abutting roadway and from within the parking area.

(4)

Provision shall be made for safe and efficient ingress and egress to and from public highways serving the district without undue congestion to or interference with normal traffic flow.

(5)

Access barrier: Each lot or center with its buildings, other structures, and parking and loading areas, shall be physically separated from each adjoining highway or street by a curb or other suitable barrier including a landscape bufferstrip against unchanneled motor vehicle ingress or egress. Such a barrier shall be located at the edge of the street line unless suitable curbs and gutters are provided within the highway or street right-of-way. Except for the accessways permitted below, such barrier shall be continuous for the entire length of any lot line adjoining a street or highway.

(6)

Accessways: All permanent points of vehicular access to and from the public streets shall be located not less than two hundred (200) feet from the intersection of any public street lines; except that access may be permitted to a minor or secondary street within not less than one hundred (100) feet of its intersection with the major highway. All accessways shall comply with the following requirements:

a.

Width of accessway: The width of any accessway leading to or from a street or highway shall not exceed thirty-six (36) feet nor be less than fifteen (15) feet in width at the right-of-way. The alignment of accessways and curb dimensions shall be determined through architectural and site approval.

b.

Spacing of accessways: In C-3 Districts no parts of any accessway shall be nearer than twenty (20) feet to any other accessway on the same lot, nor shall any part of an accessway be nearer than ten (10) feet to any side or rear property line at its intersection with a street line. Insofar as practicable, the use of common accessways by two (2) or more permitted uses shall be encouraged in order to reduce the number of closeness of access points along highways.

c.

Marginal access drives (or service streets): A twenty (20) foot wide marginal access drive may be required so as to reduce the number of accessways and improve vehicular circulations within the C-3 District. This drive would be located adjacent to the landscaped buffer area and extended parallel to the street line of the major highway. Access to this facility from the parking areas of the commercial establishments shall be so located as to facilitate traffic movement between the major highway (or intersecting road), the marginal access drive, and the parking area. Prior to granting of approval of a development plan, the city shall ensure that adequate legal provisions are considered concerning the use, ownership, and responsibility of the marginal access drives.

(7)

Parking areas shall be located and designed so as to facilitate the interchange of vehicular movement between the major highway, the marginal access drive, and the parking area as well as from one parking area to another provided the second lot is located on adjacent C-3 District zoned land. C-3 uses which do not require patron parking facilities in the normal sense (such as service stations, and drive-in theaters) are encouraged to locate at the extremities of the district so as to insure the continuity of the parking facilities.

(8)

No on-street parking is allowed on any public highway, road, or street upon which a C-3 District abuts.

(9)

Lighting facilities shall be arranged in a manner which will protect the highway and neighboring properties from unreasonable direct glare or hazardous interference of any kind.

(10)

The C-3 District shall be permanently screened from adjoining and contiguous residential districts by a wall, fence, evergreen hedge and/or other suitable enclosure of minimum height five (5) feet and maximum height [of] seven (7) feet, placed at least two (2) feet inside the C-3 District property line. The area between such enclosure and the property line shall be landscaped to form a permanent screening area. The board of appeals may waive the requirement for a screening enclosure and/or screening area if equivalent screening is provided by existing parks, parkways, recreational areas, or by topography or other natural conditions.

(11)

No facility permitted in a C-3 District shall be erected or used that is not adequately served with both sanitary sewers and public waters unless authorized as a special exception and upon submission of satisfactory evidence to the fact that sanitary sewers and public water supply are not feasible in the particular location in question. Such evidence may include, but not be limited to a specific recommendation from the city engineer, local health officer, official representative of the state health department and/or sewer authority.

(12)

For the purpose of calculating the minimum area, lot dimensions and yard requirements established by this section, a C-3 District cannot lie on two sides of a public street or alley. Any area designated as being a C-3 District and lying on both sides of a public street shall be deemed to be two (2) C-3 Districts, and all minimum requirements shall be met by buildings on each side of said public street as separate districts.

(12)

The development plan shall include provisions for handling surface water drainage compatible with the topography of the lot and surrounding development.

(Ord. of 2-10-97(2))