The Mayor and Council of the City of Watkinsville hereby declare it to be the purpose and intent of this regulation to establish a uniform procedure for the protection and enhancement of the city through the integration of land use, transportation, and natural resource elements to preserve and strengthen Watkinsville as a unique and vibrant community.

Suburban sprawl, strip commercial development, and in-fill development that is incompatible with surrounding development due to massing and scale when set into a traditional quasi-rural community with valuable historic structures such as Watkinsville, can produce an adverse effect on town character and quality of life. Conventional planning models and zoning ordinances can produce linear development, homogeneous architecture, large expanses of asphalt and a proliferation of signage.

Careful city-wide planning can allow new development and adaptive reuse to be successfully blended into the existing town without compromising the unique character of Watkinsville. The purpose of this Ordinance is to implement appropriate regulations based on the City of Watkinsville Concept Plan to protect the public health, safety and welfare and to protect Watkinsville and to direct Watkinsville's smart growth. The City also seeks to enhance open space conservation and provide for a mixed-use community and alternative transportation opportunities through a pedestrian/bicycle network.

The Mayor and Council recognize that segregated land uses spawn traffic congestion and promote sprawl and continued reliance on the automobile for transportation. The Council further recognizes that conventional subdivision development spawns roads that are not interconnected thus hampering opportunities for alternative transportation. In order to preserve Watkinsville's rural ambiance and historic elements, guidelines are necessary to prevent the continuation of segregated land uses, incompatible infill development, and continued reliance on the automobile. The primary goal of this Ordinance is to protect the public health, safety and welfare and to protect the character of the City while utilizing appropriate standards and criteria to direct future development in harmony with the City of Watkinsville. The objectives also include the safe and efficient use of the roadways, and the encouragement of quality, sensible development in harmony with the rural character and historic elements of Watkinsville.

A further purpose is limitation on large-footprint buildings and the parking lots associated therewith, which create vast impervious surfaces. The construction of new, smaller scale traditional buildings along the roadside and frontage can assist in achieving the desired effect by buffering views such as asphalt lots.

The City also seeks to enhance open space conservation and available neighborhood parks. Open space conservation would be achieved through a density-neutral approach and set aside of remaining undeveloped land through a conservation easement.

The City wishes to focus upon the compatibility of forms, scale, massing and materials such that new structures will conform to neighboring community features and standards, and more closely reflect the rural character and historic elements of the community. New structures should be reasonably harmonious with existing traditional buildings in Watkinsville and its rural surroundings. Height, mass and roof shape are important elements. The consideration of development that preserves the integrity of residential neighborhoods shall carry great weight. More specifically, see the City of Watkinsville Concept Plan, which is incorporated herein and made a part hereof by reference.