Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2008
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PACE 9A
Banks County BOC, planner meet to discuss UDC
BY SHARON HOGAN
The age of mobile homes allowed
in the county was one of the topics
addressed at a day-long meeting last
week to discuss the unified develop
ment code (UDC).
The Banks County Board of
Commissioners met Thursday, July
10, with Bill Ross, a planner with
Ross and Associates, Atlanta, and
Banks County Code Enforcement
Officer Keith Covington, to discuss
the county’s UDC.
“I have some issues with the 10
year age limit on mobile homes,”
commissioner Rickey Cain said.
Ross suggested that the commis
sioners give the homeowners an
option of getting an inspection let
ter from a HUD approved inspector
for homes to be located in Banks
County.
Ross said he would come up with
a detailed list that the HUD inspec
tor would need to go by for Banks
County.
“If the mobile home is outside the
county, have a HUD inspector do the
inspection,” Ross said.
Ross said a mobile home is a
home manufactured prior to 1975
and does not meet HUD standards.
Manufactured homes have a HUD
sticker and meet HUD standards.
Ross said the county could allow
manufactured homes with a HUD
sticker without an age restriction
or the county could inspect every
home before it is brought into Banks
County or re-located inside the coun
ty-
Ross also addressed the use of rec
reational vehicles (RV) as permanent
residences with the commissioners.
Ross said the only RVs that should
be allowed as a permanent residence
should be park models. Ross said
his recommendation to the county is
not to allow any RV as a permanent
residence.
Other sections of the code dis
cussed on Thursday were:
•Home Occupations - The com
missioners and Ross discussed the
home occupations section of the
code. Ross said he was suggesting
that a home office be allowed by
right. ‘‘A home office doesn't affect
anyone,” Ross said. There is no sign
out front.
Ross’ recommendation for a home
business was to restrict retail sales
versus services and to disallow a
home business in R-l zoning dis
tricts. Ross said a home business
would actually have customers and/
or employees coming to the loca
tion and therefore it should not be
allowed in R-l zoning. A family day
care home would be allowed in R-l
zoning, Ross said.
•Kennels - Ross said, upon approv
al by the commissioners, he would
use the state regulations to differenti
ate between a personal kennel and a
commercial kennel.
•Outdoor Sales - BOC chairman
Gene Hart asked Ross to address
the issue of businesses leaving junk
tables sitting around outside after
the merchandise has been moved
inside a storage facility. Covington
asked Ross to address weekend yard
sales that people have every week
end. Ross said the first issue is to
clarify the difference between a yard
sale and a flea market. Ross said,
“Yard sales are for items that are not
purchased for re-sale. Flea markets
are for items that are purchased for
re-sale.”
•Accessory Buildings - One ques
tion for Ross was whether to allow
an accessory building in the front
yard of a principal residence as long
as it is not in the minimum front yard
setback requirements. Ross said the
location of the principal residence
determines the front, side and rear
yards. Everything between the prin
cipal structure and the street rights-
of-way line is the front yard. Ross
recommended changing the code to
an accessory building is not allowed
in the front yard setback. The com-
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DISCUSSESUDC
Bill Ross (at drawing board), planner, Ross and Associates,
Atlanta, discussed Banks County's Unified Development Code
with the Banks County Board of Commissioners and county
staff at a meeting on Thursday. Photo by Sharon Hogan
missioners agreed to allow a prin
cipal residence and an accessory
residence to be built in ARR zoning
as long as the property owner has
a minimum of two acres for each
residence. All agricultural buildings
will be exempt from the code that
says the accessory structure can’t be
larger than the principal residence.
The commissioners agreed that most
barns are larger than the residences.
•Nonconforming Uses - Ross said,
“The goal with nonconforming use
is you eventually want them to go
away.” Ross recommended changing
the current code to read that after 12
months of inactivity the grandfather
ing will be lost. The current code
says after three years of inactivity
the grandfather will be lost. Ross
said it was his opinion this was too
long. Hart said, “We need a check
list from the planning commission
showing that the property meets all
the criteria, not just the planning
commission saying they approve it.”
The county’s code currently says
a nonconforming use cannot be
changed to another nonconforming
use. One recent issue of a noncon
forming use is a piece of property on
Moccasin Gap Road in Lula that was
previously used for a truck repair
facility. The new owners were seek
ing to locate a truck dispatch facility
on the site and park dump trucks on
the property overnight. This would
be a case of changing one non-
conforming use to a different non-
conforming use. The commissioners
voted against this request at a recent
meeting.
•Land Use Matrix - Ross said he
would create a table listing all uses
by all zoning districts - allowed,
conditional and prohibited - to be
included in the UDC.
•Parking - Ross said he would
compare standards and propose
parking requirements that are real
istic. Ross said, “Do you want to
establish a maximum?” Hart replied,
“Yes.” Ross said, “I normally say
the maximum is 20 percent over the
minimum.” Cain asked if putting a
maximum on parking hurt the pos
sibility of a big box store locating in
the county. Ross said it shouldn’t.
•Building Heights - Ross said he
would establish maximum heights
by zoning districts to include in the
UDC.
•Signs - Ross said he would be
completely rewriting the sign ordi
nance to remove content-based pro
visions. Ross recommended that the
code be clarified on the regulations
for neon signs in windows. Ross also
said the code needs to regulate bill
boards. Ross recommended placing
limitations on billboards in overlay
districts. Ross said, “Within Banks
Crossing and the Martin Bridge Road
area, you could allow billboards with
certain size restrictions spaced 500
feet apart. On other state highways,
the spacing could be 2,000 feet apart,
unless you have a C-2 zoning.”
•Buffers -Ross recommended that
the code establish buffer require
ments between all incompatible uses
- like commercial or industrial next
to residential.
•Environmental Protection - Ross
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said he would work on a noise ordi
nance that is easily enforceable. “The
key to a noise ordinance is you have
to establish how loud is too loud,”
Ross said. Ross recommended that
primary conservation areas - such
as flood plains, stream buffers and
wetlands - be included in easements
on the final subdivision plats.
Ross said he would also be review
ing the stormwater requirements per
NPDES and NRCS requirements.
•Subdivisions - Ross said the code
should divide subdivisions into two
types - minor subdivision and major
subdivision. Minor would require no
new roads and major would require
new roads to be built, Ross said.
Ross said he would work on the
definitions for these two and report
back to the commissioners on this in
the first draft of the code.
The code needs to address at what
point a road is not adequate to serve
emergency vehicles. With an agree
ment between the county and a
developer the developer can pave a
county road to the county’s speci
fications, Ross said. Conservations
subdivisions were also discussed.
Ross said a conservation subdivi
sion doesn’t have as much density
and has less streets to maintain.
They also have more open space.
Ross said conservations easements
could include parks, wetlands, ten
nis courts, environmentally-sensi-
tive areas, picnic areas, trails and/
or pools. A homeowner’s associa
tion has to be established and every
homeowner buying a home has to
join this homeowner's association to
help maintain the conservation areas.
Commissioner Joe Barefoot said, “I
am opposed to reducing lot sizes.”
Hart said, “You need to write this up
and bring it back for us to see.”
•Reversion - Ross recommended
that if a conditional use property is
not established within two years of
approval the property would auto
matically become eligible for rezon
ing. The same would apply to a
rezoning if no preliminary plat or
building permit has been obtained
within two years of approval. If con
struction has not begun within one
year of approval of a preliminary
plat the property would be eligible
for rezoning.
•Rezoning - Ross said the wording
that states the planning commis
sion can initiate a rezoning should
be removed from the code. Ross
said the code needed to simplify the
difference between zoning and con
ditional uses and call them special
uses.
•Subdivisions - Ross said if a
preliminary plat and construction
plans meet all the requirements a
permit should be issued. The code
should establish that the final plats
need to be approved by the BOC
only, Ross said. Ross said the code
should establish an annual contract
for engineering review of all con
struction drawings to be paid by the
developer.
•Appeals - All appeals should go
to the planning commission and then
to the BOC, Ross said. Ross said
in a hardship case there should be
something unique about the property
that makes it qualify for a hardship
case. Ross said, “You need to make
a specific list of things that can fall
under the special exceptions.” Ross
said he would write some adminis
trative guidelines saying a person
wants to reduce setbacks by two feet
and it would be approved or denied
by administrative staff or it could go
before the BOC. Ross recommended
that the inactive board of appeals be
disbanded. Ross said he would draw
up the first draft or review draft of
the UDC for the commissioners to
look at and then public hearings.
Commissioners set budget hearings
BY SHARON HOGAN
The Banks County Board of
Commissioners will hold public
hearings at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on
Thursday, July 31, in the confer
ence room at the Banks County
Courthouse to hear public input on
the Fiscal Year 2009 budget.
The Banks County Board of
Commissioners will adopt the FY
2009 budget at the commissioner's
meeting to be held at 6:30 p.m. on
Tuesday, Aug. 12, in the courtroom
of the courthouse.
Annual Sunday School celebration set
The Town of Homer and Banks County are gearing up for the 131st annual
Banks County Sunday School Celebration to be held beginning at 9:30 a.m.
on Saturday, July 26, at Veterans Park in downtown Homer.
Groups from area churches will perform throughout the day, and lunch
will be served at 12:15 p.m. Fried chicken and corn on the cob will be pro
vided and everyone is asked to bring a covered dish.
“Everyone is invited to come, bring a covered dish and a lawn chair and
spend the day and fellowship in downtown Homer,” planners stated.
Baldwin resident questions council
BY SHARON HOGAN
Baldwin resident Theron Ayers,
Wilbanks Street, questioned B aldwin' s
interim Mayor Ray Holcomb and
other council members on several
recent issues Monday.
Ayers said he had several questions
and he didn't expect all of them to be
answered Monday night.
“Maybe at the next council meet
ing,” Ayers said.
One of the issues dealt with
Holcomb voting at a recent meeting.
“The paper said he had a 3-1 vote
on the audit that came up,” Ayers
said. “Is the mayor allowed to vote if
the vote is 3-1?”
He also asked if four people make
up a quorum.
Mayor Holcomb said, “Three coun
cil members and a mayor or mayor
pro-tem make up a quorum. According
to the charter, I am allowed to vote.
You’re welcomed to get a copy of the
charter.”
Ayers also questioned the council
about his mother-in-law's water bill
increasing $4 this month over last
month.
“She was in a Gainesville hospital
and not at home,” Ayers said.
He said he had checked for leaks
and none were found.
Ayers also spoke on the budget.
“You’ve already voted on raising
the millage rate one mill,” he said.
“When it comes to the wastewater
budget, will you be raising the mill-
age rate some more?”
Holcomb said the council approved
the budget based on a one mill
increase in the millage rate.
“We will have to vote on this after
the tax digest comes in,” Holcomb
said.
The city will hold three public hear
ings on this issue before the vote is
taken. Ayers, reading from a prepared
list of questions, also questioned the
council on the city's contract with
Woodard and Curran, the company
hired to operate the city's water and
wastewater plants. Ayers questioned
whether the city has done any better
since the company has taken over the
operation of the plants at a cost of
$87,000 per month.
“That's over a million dollars a
year,” Ayers said.
Holcomb said the city will be hav
ing a public hearing about the water
and wastewater plants at a later date.
“We haven’t set a date yet,”
Holcomb said.
Ayers said, “I think some of the
people that work for the city are
overpaid.”
He said he thought since the budget
should be balanced the whole year
the city should have qualified people
handling the money.
Ayers said, “If I remember right, the
auditor said ‘quit spending.' But the
city has gone ahead and spent, spent,
spent. We’re in the hole $120-some-
thing thousand dollars. Where has the
money gone?”
Ayers said he thought it had gone
to over paying some of the city's
employees.
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