This Ordinance shall be known and may be cited as "The Comprehensive Land Development Ordinance of Walton County, Georgia."

This Ordinance is enacted by the Board of Commissioners in order to promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare of the residents of Walton County, Georgia, and to implement the Walton County Comprehensive Plan. To these ends, the Ordinance is intended to achieve the following purposes:

A.

To guide and regulate the orderly growth, development, redevelopment, and preservation of Walton County in accordance with a well-considered comprehensive plan and with long-term objectives, principles, and standards deemed beneficial to the interest and welfare of the people;

B.

To protect the established character and the social and economic well-being of both private and public property;

C.

To promote, in the public interest, the efficient utilization of land;

D.

To promote the preservation of open space;

E.

To provide for adequate light, air, convenience of access, and safety from fire, flood, and other dangers;

F.

To reduce or prevent congestion in the public streets;

G.

To facilitate the creation of a convenient, attractive, and harmonious community;

H.

To encourage an aesthetically attractive environment, both built and natural, and to provide for regulations that protect and enhance these aesthetic considerations;

I.

To expedite the provision of adequate police and fire protection, safety from crime, transportation, water, sewage, flood protection, schools, parks, recreational facilities, and other public requirements;

J.

To protect against the destruction of, or encroachment upon, historic areas;

K.

To protect against overcrowding of land, undue density of population in relation to the community facilities existing or available, obstruction of light and air, danger and congestion in travel and transportation, and loss of life or health from fire, flood or other danger;

L.

To encourage economic development activities that provides desirable employment and enlarges the tax base;

M.

To promote the preservation of the unique natural and physical resources of the County, including forested areas, watersheds, streams, and archaeological sites;

N.

To achieve compliance with all applicable state and federal regulations;

O.

To provide for and promote housing for all income groups and all citizens within the County;

P.

To establish certain building, land development regulations;

Q.

To provide for variances and non-conforming uses;

R.

To provide a method of administration and procedure;

S.

To provide penalties for a violation and remedies for enforcement hereof;

T.

To provide for protection of the constitutional rights and obligations of all citizens within the County, and for other purposes.

A.

This Ordinance is enacted pursuant to Walton County's authority to adopt plans and exercise the power of zoning granted by the Constitution of the State of Georgia, Article 9, Section 9-2, Paragraph 4 and the Zoning Procedures Law, O.C.G.A. § 36-66; by Walton County's authority to enact regulations and exercise powers granted by the Constitution of the State of Georgia, Article 9, Section 9-2, Paragraphs 1 and 3; by the County's general police powers; and by other powers and authority provided by federal, state, and local laws applicable hereto.

B.

This Ordinance shall take effect and shall be in force from and after the date of its adoption by the Board of Commissioners of Walton County, Georgia.

This Ordinance shall pertain to all unincorporated areas of Walton County, Georgia.

Except as hereinafter provided, as of the date of adoption of this Ordinance:

A.

Development Activity

Any "person" proposing to rezone property, undertake any land disturbance activity, construct or modify a building for occupancy or to develop or subdivide land within unincorporated areas of Walton County, Georgia, shall pay a fee and make application to the Walton County Planning and Development Department, which shall conform to all regulations set forth in this document.

B.

Use

No building, structure, premises or land shall hereafter be used or occupied and no building or part thereof shall be erected, remodeled, extended, enlarged, constructed, or altered in a manner except in conformity with the regulations herein specified for the district in which it is or is to be located.

C.

Lots

No lot, even though it may consist of one or more adjacent lots of record, shall be reduced in size so that lot width or depth, front, side or rear yard or other requirements of this Ordinance are not maintained. This Section shall not apply when a portion of a lot is acquired for public use within Walton County.

D.

Pending Application for Building Permits and Land Disturbance Permits

Nothing in this Ordinance shall be deemed to require a change in the plans, construction, or designated use of any building or structure or land disturbance for which development or building permits were lawfully applied for or approved, prior to the effective date of this Article or amendment thereto, provided:

Such permit or approval has not by its own terms expired prior to such effective date;

Actual building construction is commenced prior to the expiration of such permit or approval;

Actual building construction is carried on pursuant to said permit or approval and limited to and in strict accordance with said permit or approval;

No renewals or extensions of said permit or approval shall be authorized;

Construction shall commence within one (1) year of the effective date of this Ordinance.

E.

Requirements May be Waived by the Director

The requirements of this Ordinance may be waived by the Director for a land disturbance permit for a portion of a larger project for which at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the land area was previously issued permits authorizing clearing or grading activities prior to the effective date of this Ordinance.

A.

Whenever the provisions of this Ordinance impose more restrictive standards than are required in or under any other statute, ordinance or resolution, these standards shall prevail, unless otherwise specified in this Ordinance. Whenever the provisions of any other statute, ordinance, or resolution require more restrictive standards than are required herein, the requirements of such regulations shall prevail, unless otherwise specified in this Ordinance.

B.

In those instances where development standards for a specific project have been established as a condition of zoning or conditional use permit approval, the requirements of the conditions shall control, whether more restrictive than the requirements of this Ordinance.

C.

These articles are the Comprehensive Land Development Ordinance of the County, and all other conflicting ordinance or resolutions are hereby repealed, provided that nothing herein shall be construed as repealing the conditions of use, operation, or site development accompanying zoning approval(s) or conditional use(s) or permits issued under previous ordinances or resolutions, provided further that modification or repeal of these past conditions of approval may be accomplished as authorized and provided by this Article. All variances and exceptions heretofore granted by the Board of Appeals or Director shall remain in full force and effect, and all terms, conditions and obligations imposed by the Board of Appeals shall remain in effect.

Where uncertainty exists with respect to the boundaries of any of the districts as shown on the Official Zoning Map of Walton County, the following rules shall apply:

A.

Unless otherwise indicated the district boundaries are intended to approximately follow property lines, land lot lines, centerlines of streets, highways, alleys or railroads, shorelines of streams, reservoirs, or other bodies of water, or civil boundaries, and they shall be construed to follow such lines.

B.

Where district boundaries are approximately parallel to the centerlines of streets, highways, or railroads, right-of-way of the same, or the centerlines of streams, reservoirs, or other bodies of water, or said lines extended, such district boundaries shall be construed as being parallel thereto and at such distance there from as indicated on the Official Zoning Maps. If no distance is given, such dimensions shall be determined by the use of the scale shown on the Official Zoning Maps.

C.

In case the exact location of a boundary cannot be determined by the foregoing methods, the Board of Commissioners shall, upon application, determine the location of the boundary pursuant to a regularly advertised public hearing.

D.

Effective 12-3-2002, The I1 Industrial zoning district designation was rescinded. All properties located in this Land Development District shall comply with the requirements of the M1 Light Industrial District.

E.

Effective 12-3-2002, The MH Manufactured Home District zoning district designation was rescinded. All properties located in this Land Development District shall comply with the requirements of the A2 Rural Estate District.

F.

Incorporation of the Zoning Map

The "Official Zoning District Maps for Walton County," hereinafter called Official Zoning Maps, with all appendices, notations, references and other information shown thereon, shall be the official maps and are hereby made a part of this Ordinance. Said maps shall be made a public record and shall be kept permanently in the Planning and Development Department of Walton County, where the maps or accurate reproductions thereof, will be accessible to the general public.

A.

Land Use Role of the Comprehensive Plan

The Comprehensive Plan of Walton County consisting of its Future Development (character area) Map and related policies, as may be amended from time to time, is hereby established as the official policy of the County concerning designated future land uses, and as a guide to decisions regarding the appropriate manner in which property shall be zoned in the unincorporated area of the County.

B.

Relationship between Comprehensive Plan and Zoning

The Comprehensive Plan does not change the existing zoning districts in the County and does not effectuate an amendment to the County Zoning Maps. The Plan establishes a broad planning policy for current and future land uses and should be consulted as a guideline for making decisions about applications to amend the County Zoning Maps and text of the Land Development Ordinance.

The zoning districts that are permitted within each character area category shall be restricted to the following:

C.

Compatibility of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan Character Areas and Residential Dwelling Unit Density

A residential zoning district that allows a greater dwelling unit density than is normally permitted within a given character area category may be established within such character area category only if the zoning is conditioned so as to limit the allowable density of dwelling units to the maximum permitted by the character area category.

D.

Conformity of the Zoning Maps with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan

Within the various character area categories described in this Article and shown on the comprehensive plan, no amendment to the official zoning maps shall permit a use except in accordance with the uses permitted in the comprehensive plan character area category applicable to the property to which the proposed zoning map amendment applies. Amendments to the official zoning maps that permit uses associated with a less intensive zoning category are permitted.

(Ord. No. OA24060019-2, 11-5-2024)

Through the administration of this Ordinance, or as a condition of rezoning approval, developers may be required to contribute land, and make improvements to facilitate the provision of adequate public facilities to serve the future residents and users of land they develop. However, no private developer shall be required to provide such public dedications of land, or property improvements, except in conformity with provisions of O.C.G.A. § 36-70-4 (the Georgia Development Impact Fee Act).

Permit and application fees are established by action of the Board of Commissioners, a copy of which is on file in the office of the Clerk of the Board of Commissioners.

A.

Permit Fees

Permit fees shall be submitted as a prerequisite to issuance of the permit. Non-payment as a result of submission of a check having insufficient funds, or for any other reason, shall cause the permit to be voided and re-issuance will be subject to penalty as may be established by the Board of Commissioners.

B.

Application Fees

1.

Application fees shall be submitted with the application and upon acceptance of the submission for review and consideration shall be non-refundable. Failure to pay a required application fee shall cause the application to be returned to the applicant without acceptance for review or consideration by the County.

2.

Prior to approval of a Final Plat or Certificate of Occupancy, the developer shall provide to the Department such recording fees and performance and/or maintenance surety as shall be required by this Ordinance and established by the Board of Commissioners.

3.

Prior to the processing of a request for Director administrative approvals or certification, the applicant shall pay to the Department such fees as may be established by the Board of Commissioners.

If any portion or provision of this Ordinance is found to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect any other portion of this Ordinance.