For the purpose of this ordinance, certain terms and words are hereby defined. All words used in the present tense shall include the future; all words in the singular number shall include the plural and the plural the singular; the word "building" includes the word "structure"; the word "shall" is mandatory and not directory, and the word "person" includes a firm, corporation, or municipal corporation, as well as a natural person. The term "city council" shall mean the city council of the City of West Point. The word "used" shall be deemed to include "arranged, designed or intended to be used", and the word "occupied" shall be deemed to include the words, "arranged, designed or intended to be occupied".

1.

Accessory building or use. A subordinate building or use which is incidental to and customary in connection with the principal building or use and which is located on the same lot with such principal building or use.

2.

Alley. A public or private thoroughfare which affords only a secondary means of access to abutting property.

3.

Annexation. The incorporation of land area into an existing community with a resulting change in the boundaries of that community.

4.

Apartment. See Dwelling unit.

5.

Assisted living facility. An assisted living facility provides for the needs of residents, primarily over the age of sixty (60) who require oversight and assistance.

5.1.

Bed and breakfast establishment. An owner occupied private residence which offers lodging for paying guests and which serves breakfast to these guests.

6.

Board of adjustment. The appointed Board of Adjustment of the City of West Point, Georgia authorized to hear and decide on variance applications, administrative appeals, and other duties as determined by this ordinance.

7.

Boardinghouse. A building, other than a hotel, or motel where for compensation and by prearrangement for definite periods, lodging, meals, or lodging and meals are provided for three (3) or more persons, but not exceeding twenty (20) persons.

8.

Buffer. (a) Open spaces, landscaped areas, fences, walls, berms, or any combination thereof used to physically separate or screen one use or property from another so as to visually shield or block noises, light, or other environmental nuisance; (b) An area along some natural feature designated to protect and/or preserve the essential character of such feature and allow it to be maintained in an undisturbed and natural condition (c) A natural undisturbed portion of a lot, except for approved access and utility crossings, which is set aside to achieve a one hundred (100) percent visual barrier between the use on the lot and adjacent lots and/or uses. A buffer is achieved with natural vegetation, and must be replanted subject to approval of the city planning director when sparsely vegetated.

9.

Building. Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls for the shelter or enclosure of persons or property.

10.

Building, height of. The vertical distance from the grade to (a) the highest point of a flat roof, (b) the deck line of a mansard roof, or (c) the average height between eaves and ridge for gable, hip and gambrel roofs.

11.

Building, main. A building which contains the principal use of the lot on which it is situated. In any residential district, any dwelling shall be deemed to be a main building.

12.

Buildable width. The width of the lot left to be built upon after the side yards are provided.

13.

Cellar. That part of a building having more than one-half (½) of its height below the average grade of the adjoining ground.

14.

Certificate of occupancy. A certificate of occupancy or CO is permit establishing the right to safe occupancy in compliance with all of the requirements for occupancy of a building, structure, or site within the City of West Point.

15.

Clinic. An establishment where patients are not lodged overnight, but are admitted for examination and treatment by a group of physicians or dentists practicing medicine together.

16.

Club, private. Buildings and facilities owned or operated by a corporation, association, person or persons for a social, educational or recreational purpose, but not primarily for profit and not primarily to render a service which is customarily carried on as a business.

17.

Common area. Land amenities; certain areas of buildings such as lobbies, corridors, and hallways; central services and utilities; open space; landscaped areas; detention ponds; and any other elements or facilities owned and used by all members of a development such as a condominium or subdivision and designated in the master deed as common area.

18.

Condominium. A type of ownership for attached or detached dwelling units, offices, or other space within a structure, as defined by the provision of Title 44, Chapter 3, Article III, of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A. §§ 44-3-70 et. Seq.) in which the air space of each unit is independently owned and financed by the occupant, but in which all lands and buildings are owned in common on a proportional, undivided basis.

19.

Court. A required open, unoccupied space on the same lot, and fully enclosed on at least three (3) adjacent sides by walls of the main building. An "outer court" is any court facing for its full required width on a street, or on any other required open space not a court.

20.

Day care center, child. A licensed establishment providing for the paid care, supervision, and protection of nineteen (19) or more children under the age of eighteen (18) who cannot perform these functions for themselves. Such a facility may be operated by a person or persons, society, agency, corporation, institution, or group for a period fewer than twenty-four (24) consecutive hours without the transfer of legal custody.

21.

Day care home, child. Class I: A family-based home that receives not less than three (3) and not more than six (6) children ages nine (9) years or younger for care during any part of the day not to exceed twelve (12) consecutive hours during any twenty-four (24) hour day.

22.

Density, gross. The overall density of a site including roads and other infrastructure, dedicated open space, drives, and other common area. Gross density shall be expressed either in residential units per acre or by floor area ratio.

23.

Density, net. The density remaining after the deduction of roads and other infrastructure, dedicated open space, drives, and other common area. Net density shall be expressed either in residential units per acre or by floor area ratio.

24.

District. Any section of the City of West Point within which the zoning regulations are uniform.

25.

Dwelling. A building or portion thereof used exclusively for residential occupancy, but not including mobile homes, hotels, motels, boardinghouses, private clubs or lodges, tourist homes, or any institution such as a hospital or jail where persons are housed by reason of illness or under legal restraint.

26.

Dwelling, single-family. A building occupied exclusively by one (1) family.

27.

Dwelling, two-family. A building occupied exclusively by two (2) families.

28.

Dwelling, multiple. A building occupied exclusively by three (3) or more families.

29.

Dwelling unit. A room or suite of rooms used as a single-family dwelling including bath and culinary accommodations.

30.

Family. An individual or two (2) or more persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit; or a group of not more than four (4) persons who need not be related by blood or marriage, living, cooking, sharing in household expenses together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling.

31.

Filling station. Any land, building, structure or premises used for the sale at retail of motor vehicle fuels, oils or accessories or for servicing or lubricating motor vehicles or installing or repairing parts and accessories, but not including the repairing or replacing of motors, bodies or fenders of motor vehicles or painting motor vehicles, and excluding public garages.

32.

Floor area. The square feet of floor space within the outside line of walls and includes the total of all space on all floors of a building. It does not include porches, garages, or space in a basement or cellar when said basement or cellar space is used for storage or incidental uses.

33.

Floor area ratio (FAR). Determined by dividing the gross floor area of all buildings on a lot by the area of that lot. See section 16 of this ordinance for an explanation on how to calculate floor area ratio.

34.

Frontage. The distance along a street line from one intersecting street to another or from one intersecting street to the end of a dead-end street.

35.

Homeowners association. Means either: (1) a formally constituted non-profit community association or corporation made up of the property owners of a fixed area; or (2) a private, nonprofit corporation of homeowners for the purpose of owning, operating, and maintaining various common properties.

36.

Hotel. A building in which lodging, or boarding and lodging are provided and offered to the public for compensation, and in which ingress and egress to and from all rooms are made through an inside lobby or office supervised by a person in charge at all times. As such, it is open to the public in contradistinction to a boardinghouse which is herein separately defined.

36.1

Industrial building. Any building or building component which is manufactured in accordance with the Georgia Industrialized Building Act and the rules of the commissioner of the community affairs issued pursuant thereto. Each unit must bear a seal of approval issued by the commissioner or must be inspected during the time of manufacture by the building inspector [code enforcement officer] of the City of West Point.

37.

Infrastructure. Facilities needed to sustain residential, commercial, industrial and other land uses and activities and shall include water, sewer, natural gas, electric power, streets and roads, communications, and other public facilities.

38.

Institution. A nonprofit establishment for public use.

39.

Lot, non-conforming. A lot or parcel of land that has less than the required minimum area or width as established by the zone in which it is located and provided that such lot or parcel was of record as legally created lot on the effective date of the ordinance codified in this title, also referred to as a substandard lot.

40.

Loading space. A space within the main building or on the premises providing for the standing, loading or unloading of trucks, and having a minimum dimension of twelve (12) by thirty-five (35) feet, and a vertical clearance of at least fourteen (14) feet.

41.

Lot. A parcel of land occupied or intended for occupancy by a use permitted in this ordinance, including one main building, together with its accessory buildings and the yards, loading and parking spaces required herein, and having its principal frontage upon a street or upon an officially approved place.

42.

Lot, corner. A lot abutting upon two (2) or more streets at their intersection.

43.

Lot, depth. The mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.

44.

Lot, double-frontage (through). An interior lot having frontages on two (2) non-intersecting streets.

45.

Lot, interior. A lot other than a corner lot.

46.

Lot, through (double-frontage). An interior lot having frontage on two (2) streets.

47.

Lot, width. The width of a lot at the front yard line.

48.

Lot of record. A lot which is a part of a subdivision or a parcel of land described by metes and bounds, the plat or description of which has been recorded in the Superior Court Office of Troup or Harris County and a copy of which is in the office of the city clerk.

48.1

Mobile home or house trailer: A dwelling unit that is constructed in accordance with the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards and bears an insignia issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

48.2

Mobile home park or trailer park: Any premises intended to be used for the parking of mobile homes or house trailers for residential purposes.

48.3

Manufactured home. A structure, transportable in one (1) or more sections, which, in the traveling mode, is eight (8) body feet or more in width or forty (40) body feet or more in length, when erected on site, is three hundred twenty (320) or more square feet in floor area, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein; or a structure that otherwise comes within the definition of a manufactured home under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5401-5445). A manufactured home shall comply with all compatibility standards set forth in Chapter 5, Article III of the Code of ordinances of the City.

48.4

Compatibility standards. Those standards and minimum requirements pertaining to the construction and/or installation of manufactured homes within the city and which are set forth in Chapter 5, Article III of the Code of ordinances of the City.

48.5

Mobile home park or trailer park: Any premises intended to be used for the parking of mobile homes or house trailers for residential purposes.

48.6

Modular home: A factory-fabricated dwelling unit constructed in one (1) or more sections and complies with the definition of "industrialized building."

49.

Mansard. A roof projection that hides the roof slope.

50.

Map, future land use. A component of the comprehensive plan, the future land use map indicates the preferred land use, categories of which are set by the state, for all lands within the City of West Point, for planning horizon of twenty (20) years. The land uses, the locations of streets, street rights-of-way, and drainage facilities to be improved, reconstructed, realigned, widened, or acquired; and parks and other public lands and facilities to be acquired.

51.

Map, zoning. The official map or maps that are a part of the Zoning ordinance of the City of West Point, Georgia and which delineates the boundaries of zoning districts and is known as "The Official Zoning Map of the City of West Point, Georgia".

52.

Motel (motor court, motor hotel, motor lodge). A building in which lodging or boarding and lodging are provided and offered to the public for compensation. As such, it is open to the public in contradiction to a boardinghouse which is herein separately defined.

53.

Non-conforming use. Any building or land lawfully occupied by a use at the time of passage of this ordinance or amendment thereto which does not conform after the passage of this ordinance or an amendment thereto with the use regulations of the district in which it is situated.

54.

Open space. Any parcel or area of land or water essentially unimproved and set aside, dedicated, designated, or reserved for public or private use, enjoyment as well as the use and enjoyment of owners, occupants, and their guests, of land adjoining or neighboring such open space.

55.

Outbuilding. A separate accessory building or structure not physically connected to principal building.

56.

Parking space, off-street. An all-weather surfaced area not in a street or alley and having an area of not less than one hundred eighty (180) square feet, exclusive of driveways, permanently reserved for the temporary storage of one (1) automobile and connected with a street or alley by an all-weather surfaced driveway which affords ingress and egress for an automobile without requiring another automobile to be moved.

57.

Plan, comprehensive. A plan, which may consist of several pas, data, and other descriptive materials, for the physical development of the city or any portion thereof, including any amendments, extensions, or additions thereto recommended by the planning commission and adopted by the city council, indicating the general location for major streets, parks, or other similar information. The comprehensive plan, of which the transportation plan is a part, shall be based on and include appropriate studies of the location and extent of present and anticipated population, social and economic resources and problems, and other pertinent data.

58.

Plan, concept. A generalized map or site plan presenting an image of proposed development which does not conclude construction or engineering detail, and showing those plan elements as further required by this ordinance.

59.

Plan, phase. A plan, similar to a preliminary plat, which provides specific detail regarding a portion or phase of a development, and showing those plan elements as further required by this ordinance.

60.

Plan, project. A plan, more specific than a concept plan, which shows the full concept of development for a project and showing those plan elements as further required by this ordinance.

61.

Plan, site. A plan or plat showing specific development detail regarding the improvement of an individual legal lot or parcel.

62.

Planned Development/Planned Unit Development (RPUD). A development of land that is under unified control and is planned and developed as a whole in a single development operation or programmed series of development stages. The development may include streets, circulation ways, utilities, buildings, open spaces, and other site features and improvements.

63.

Planning board. A body appointed by the city council whose duly is to hear and make recommendations on rezoning applications, changes to the Zoning Ordinance text, approve subdivision plats, and other duties as specified by this ordinance.

64.

Planning director. The planning director of the city or his or her designee.

65.

Premises. A lot together with all buildings and structures thereon.

66.

Setback. The minimum horizontal distance between the lot or property line and the nearest front, side, or rear line of the building (as the case may be), or any covered projection.

67.

Sign.

(a)

Sign, on premises. Any outdoor sign, notice, advertising, or billboard used primarily to direct attention to a business, professional, commercial or industrial enterprise or undertaking being conducted upon the premises on which such sign is located.

(b)

Sign, off-premises. Any outdoor sign, notice, billboard or advertising device used to advertise, announce or promote a business, professional, commercial or industrial enterprise or undertaking which is located and which is operated at a site other than the premises upon which the sign is located.

68.

Story. That portion of a building, other than a basement, included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it; or if there be no floor above it, then the space between such floor and the ceiling next above it.

69.

Story, half. A space under a sloping roof which has the line of intersection of roof decking and wall face not more than three (3) feet above the top floor level, and in which space not more than two-thirds (⅔) of the floor area is finished off for use. A half-story containing independent apartments or living quarters shall be counted as a full story.

70.

Street. A public thoroughfare which affords the principal means of access to abutting property.

71.

Street line. A dividing line between a lot and a contiguous street.

72.

Structure. Means either: (a) anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires location on the ground, or attachment to something having location on the ground, including but not limited to buildings, towers, smokestacks and overhead transmission lines; or (b) any structure constructed and used for residence, business, industry, or other public or private purposes or accessory thereto and including tents, lunch wagons, dining cars, trailers, mobile homes, sheds, garages, carports, animal kennels, or structures, storerooms, billboards, signs, gasoline pumps and similar structures, whether stationary or movable.

73.

Structural alteration. Any change which would prolong the life of the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders, or any structural changes in the roof or exterior walls.

74.

[Reserved.]

75.

[Reserved.]

76.

Townhouse. A dwelling unit attached to other dwelling units in rows or clusters of four or more units. The attached dwellings shall so be arranged on lots that ownership of each, with the associated lot, may be independently conveyed. The dwelling units must be attached along the common firewall.

77.

Trailer court. An area where one or more trailers can be or are intended to be parked, designed or intended to be used as living facilities for one (1) or more families.

78.

Yard. An open space, other than a court, on a lot, unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided in this ordinance.

79.

Yard, front. A yard across the full width of the lot extending from the front line of the building to the front street line of the lot.

80.

Yard, rear. A yard extending the full width of the lot between a principal building and the rear lot line.

81.

Yard, side. A yard on the same lot with the building between the main building and the adjacent side of the lot, and extending from the front yard to the rear yard thereof.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, 3-12-07; Ord. No. 18-5, § 2, 6-11-18; Ord. No. 23-10, § 1, 5-8-23)