A.

Objectives.

1.

The purpose of this ordinance is to set forth standards and permissible uses designed to conserve and protect the natural, economic and scenic resources of Watkinsville, GA; health, aesthetics, morals, convenience, order, prosperity and general welfare; to provide adequate light and air; to protect natural resources; to prevent desirable living conditions and stability of neighborhoods; to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, and other public requirements by dividing Watkinsville, GA into districts of such size and shapes as may be best suited to carry out the purposes of the legislative act and of this ordinance.

B.

Legislative Authority.

1.

The MAYOR and COUNCIL of Watkinsville, Georgia, under the authority of Article IX, Section II, Paragraph IV of the Constitution of the State of Georgia and Chapter 66, Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated [O.C.G.A. § 36-66-1 et seq.], and for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals, convenience, order, prosperity, or the general welfare of the city and designed to lessen congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, panic, and other dangers; to promote health and avoid overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population; to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, and other requirements, ordains and enacts into law the Zoning Ordinance for Watkinsville, Georgia.

C.

Method of Regulation.

1.

The MAYOR and COUNCIL of Watkinsville, Georgia, Georgia, as authorized by the Constitution of the State of Georgia, adopts zoning regulations for the following purposes: to define certain words used therein; to create zone boundaries; to regulate the location of trades, professions, businesses, and industries; to regulate the density in distribution of population; to provide for the gradual elimination of non-conforming uses of land, buildings and structures; to provide for the method of administration, amendment and enforcement; to provide for the imposition of penalties for violations; to repeal conflicting ordinances and resolutions; and for other purposes.

D.

Zoning Map.

1.

The boundaries of the Zoning Districts are hereby established as shown on the map entitled "The Official Zoning Map of Watkinsville, Georgia" (herein called "Zoning Map"), present in Council chambers and adopted on December 21, 2022. Said map is incorporated by reference and hereby made a part of this Ordinance and shall be available for public inspection in the office of the City Clerk. As evidence of its authenticity, the Zoning Map shall be signed by the Watkinsville, Georgia Mayor and attested to by the City Clerk.

E.

Interpretation of Zoning District Boundaries.

1.

Where uncertainty exists with respect to the location of the boundaries of any Zoning District in Watkinsville, Georgia, the following rules shall apply:

a.

Where a Zoning District boundary line is shown as approximately following a corporate limits line, a land lot line, a lot line or the center line of a street, a county road, a state highway or a railroad right-of-way, or such lines extended, then such lines shall be construed to be the Zoning District lines.

b.

Where a Zoning District boundary line is shown as being set back from a street, a county road, a state highway or a railroad right-of-way, and approximately parallel thereto, then such Zoning District boundary line shall be construed as being at the scaled distance from the center line of the street, county road, state highway or railroad right-of-way and as being parallel thereto.

c.

Where a Zoning District boundary line divides a lot, the location of the line shall be scaled distance from the Lot lines. In this situation, the requirements of the Zoning District in which the greater portion of the lot lines shall apply to the balance of the lot except that such extension shall not include any part of a lot line that lies more than 50 feet beyond the Zoning District boundary line.

d.

In the case of a through lot fronting on two approximately parallel streets, which is divided by a Zoning District boundary line paralleling in the streets, the restrictions of the Zoning District in which each frontage of the through lot lines shall apply to that portion of the through lot.

F.

Conformance with Ordinance.

1.

No BUILDING, structure, premises, or land shall be used or occupied and no building or part thereof shall be erected, extended, enlarged, constructed, moved, or altered except in conformity with this Ordinance.

G.

Lot Area and Lot Size.

1.

Unless acquired for public use, no LOT shall be reduced in size so that it does not comply with this Ordinance.

H.

Temporary Buildings.

1.

Temporary BUILDINGS used in conjunction with construction work only may be permitted in any non-residential Zoning District and shall be removed within thirty (30) days of the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.

2.

Temporary BUILDINGS used in conjunction with construction or sales only may be permitted in a residential Zoning District (AR or DR) for up to 18 months or completion of the project, whichever is sooner.

I.

Use, Occupancy and Erection.

1.

No BUILDING or structure or land shall hereafter be used or occupied and no building or structure or part thereof shall be erected, constructed, reconstructed, moved or altered except in conformity with these regulations.

J.

Building Height.

1.

No BUILDING or structure shall be erected, constructed, reconstructed or altered to:

a.

Exceed the height limits;

b.

Have narrower or smaller front, rear or side yards than herein required.

K.

Reduction in Lot Size.

1.

No lot shall be reduced in size so that lot width or depth, size of yards, density, or any other requirement of this Ordinance is not maintained. This limitation shall not apply when a portion of a lot is acquired for the public purpose.

L.

Yards and Other Spaces.

1.

No part of a yard required in connection with any building or use for the purpose of complying with these regulations shall be included as part of the yard required for another building, except as specifically provided herein.

M.

Only One Principal Building on a Lot.

1.

Only one principal building and its customary accessory buildings shall be permitted on any lot, except the MUO and CC and EC districts where more than one principal building is permitted.

N.

Street Frontage Requirement.

1.

No BUILDING or structure shall be erected on a LOT that does not abut for at least 25 feet upon and street which shall be either a public STREET, a publicly maintained STREET or an approved easement to a public street. The point of measurements for this requirement shall be the STREET right-of-way line.

O.

Approval for Business and Industrial Development of State Highways.

1.

For all business and industrial development fronting on a State highway, no building permit shall be issued until the approval of the Georgia Department of Transportation has been obtained by the applicant on entrances and exits, curb radii, drainage and other matters that are the appropriate concern of the Department and provided that no acceleration or deceleration lanes are required for development on South Main Street.

P.

City Approvals That Are Required.

1.

All City approvals that are required for the use of land and structures and for the location and operation of businesses and industries shall be obtained by the applicant and transmitted by him/her with his/her request for a building permit, a zoning amendment or a VARIANCE. Except as otherwise required by State law, no local action shall be taken and no public hearings shall be held until the above required approvals have been obtained by the applicant.

Q.

Substandard Lots of Record.

1.

Any lot of record existing at the time of the adoption or amendment of these regulations, may be used, subject to the following exceptions and modifications:

a.

Adjoining lots. When two or more adjoining lots of record with contiguous frontage are in one ownership at any time after the adoption or amendment of these regulations and such lots, individually, have an area or width that is less than is required by these regulations, then such contiguous lots shall be considered as a single lot or several lots of no less than the minimum width and area required in the Zoning District in which they are located.

b.

Individual lot NOT meeting minimum lot size requirements. Any lot of record existing at the time of adoption or amendment of these regulations which has an area, width or depth less than that required by these regulations may be used as a building site for a Detached Residential dwelling. In the case of such a lot, when it is not possible to provide the required side yards and at the same time build a DETACHED RESIDENTIAL dwelling that complies with this Ordinance, the Mayor and Council is authorized to grant a Variance reducing the side yards for such lot the minimum amount necessary, but in no case shall any side yard be less than five (5) feet.

R.

Building Orientation.

1.

All BUILDINGS, except ACCESSORYSTRUCTURES, shall have their main entrance opening onto a STREET or COURT.

(Amd. of 12-21-2022)

A.

To promote public health, safety and general welfare, all ATTACHED and DETACHEDDWELLINGS shall have a minimum floor area of 1,200 square feet, unless otherwise specified.

A.

Non-Conforming Buildings and Uses.

1.

The elimination of existing buildings and structures or uses that do not conform to this Zoning Ordinance is as much a subject of health, safety and general welfare as is the prevention of the establishment of new uses that would violate this Zoning Ordinance. It is also the intent of this Zoning Ordinance to administer the elimination of NON-CONFORMINGUSES, buildings, structures so as to avoid any unreasonable invasion of established private property rights. It is the intent of these regulations to permit these NON-CONFORMINGUSES, buildings and structures to continue until they are removed or cease, but not to encourage their survival, nor use them as grounds for adding other uses, structures, or characteristics or use prohibited elsewhere in the same district, nor to allow them to be enlarged, extended, or expanded unless expressly allowed herein below.

B.

Grandfathering.

1.

Any structure or active use of land lawfully existing at the time of the enactment of this Zoning Ordinance and its amendments, but not in conformity with its use Zoning Ordinances and provisions, may be continued subject to the following provisions:

a.

Unsafe Structures.

(1)

Any structure or portion thereof declared unsafe by the BUILDINGINSPECTOR may be restored to a safe condition, provided the requirement of §2.03.3 are met.

b.

Alterations.

(1)

Any change in a lawfully existingNON-CONFORMING building, use, building site or yard area is subject to the following:

(2)

No lawfully existing NON-CONFORMING building can be structurally altered, except repairs and maintenance on the building, or installation of fixtures required by law, changing of interior partitions, or interior remodeling. Improvements on a lawfully existing NON-CONFORMING building shall not exceed 50 percent of the value of the building as reasonably determined by the Building Inspector.

(3)

No lawfully existing NON-CONFORMING building or lands, except those residential dwellings needing repairs on the building or installation of fixtures as required by law, can be substantially added to, moved, or extended in any manner unless such building or land is changed to conform to this Zoning Ordinance.

(4)

If a lawfully existing NON-CONFORMING building is moved, all NON-CONFORMING yard requirements, as defined in this Zoning Ordinance, must be eliminated.

(5)

Whenever an owner of a lawfully existing residential dwelling must make repairs on or installation of fixtures which will force the location of the future addition of the dwelling nearer the lot line than permitted, the addition to the dwelling shall be allowed to extend to the existing building line but no nearer the property line than any existing portion of the dwelling.

2.

Extension.

a.

A lawfully existing NON-CONFORMING use is restricted to the lot occupied by such use as the effective date of this Zoning Ordinance. A NON-CONFORMING use must not be extended to include either additional building or land, unless the owner applies for and is granted a variance, and in the case of a variance the applicant demonstrates hardship, no intent to increase the floor more than 10%, and compliance with the other requirements for variance under this ordinance.

3.

Restoration of Damaged Buildings.

a.

Unless otherwise specified, a lawfully existing NON-CONFORMING structure that is destroyed (damage equals or exceeds 75 percent of the structure's replacement value, as reasonably determined by the Building Inspector) through no intent of the owner, may not be reconstructed or restored to the same NON-CONFORMING use. However, a lawfully existing NON-CONFORMING structure that is non-conforming solely because of area and minimum yard requirements may be replaced regardless of extent of damage.

4.

Discontinuance.

a.

A lawfully existing NON-CONFORMING use which became such upon the adoption of this ordinance and which has been discontinued for a continuous period of 1 year, shall be presumed abandoned, and in the case of abandonment shall not be reestablished. Any future use shall be conformance with this Zoning Ordinance. Where government action impedes access to land, the time of any resulting discontinuance of a NON-CONFORMING use shall not be counted toward the time periods of this section.

5.

Code Enforcement.

a.

The Code Enforcement Officer shall have the authority and responsibility to administer and enforce the provisions of this Ordinance. The Code Enforcement Officer does not have the authority to take final action on applications or matters reserved for public hearings. The code enforcement officer is authorized to take the following actions to administer and enforce this ordinance including without limitation to make inspections, to issue permits, to reasonably interpret this ordinance following the spirit and intent thereof, to issue citations for violation of this ordinance, and to be heard in the Municipal Court. The City Clerk shall keep records of any and all permits, the Certificates of Occupancy issued, and all submitted subdivision plats, with notations of all special conditions involved. She/he shall file and safely keep copies of all sketches and plans submitted, and the same shall form a part of the records of the City and shall be made available as public records.