WINDER ZONING UPDATE · Winder Building Inspector or his/her designee in special circumstances as long as the side and rear yard setback requirements are met. In the case of lots

Why is zoning important?• Winder’s zoning regulations determine what can be built

(residential, commercial, industrial, etc.), where in the city it can be built, and how dense development can be.

• Zoning also controls how development looks and works, including such elements as building materials, parking, and landscaping.

What are the goals of the zoning update?• Update older regulations to reflect current needs.• Make regulations more user-friendly.• Ensure high quality development for the future.

Who is conducting the update?• The City of Winder has hired local planning and zoning consultant

TSW to facilitate the process.• Any zoning changes recommended by this process will require

approval by City Council. Any future rezonings or other zoning changes will also continue to be under local control.

How does this effort relate to the Comprehensive Plan?• Zoning is the tool that the City uses to make sure that

private development follows the intent of the Barrow County Comprehensive Plan, which has recently been adopted.

Is my property being rezoned?• The goal of this process is to improve the text of the zoning

ordinance, but with new text may come consolidations of zoning districts that may result in minor rezonings in business areas.

• Code enforcement efforts related to junk, property maintenance, and similar issues will continue to remain in force.

• The existing historic district and regulations will remain the same.

Are you redeveloping any properties?• No. Neither the City nor the consultant TSW is redeveloping any

properties as a part of this effort. This process only establishes the zoning rules that future private development must follow.

Where can I find the existing zoning?• The text of Winder’s zoning ordinance is available online at

www.municode.com/library.• The official zoning map can be viewed in person at the Winder

Planning Department, City Hall Annex, 23 North Jackson Street.

WINDER ZONING UPDATEFrequently Asked Questions

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WHAT COULD BE DONE TO IMPROVE THIS?

Facade Materials

There are no regulations for facade materials, so houses and commercial buildings can have a mix of vinyl, artificial stucco, brick, or any other material.

Facades could be limited to only two main materials. Only brick, stone, real stucco, and Hardiboard could be allowed. Windows could be required for commercial buildings.

IS THIS POTENTIAL CHANGE APPROPRIATE?

COMMENTS?

yes = green dot no = red dot

Light pollution is not regulated. Minimal standards could help prevent light from shining on neighboring properties, and preserve views of the night sky.

Light Pollutionyes = green dot no = red dot

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place sticky notes here


courtesy NNECAPA Photo Library

courtesy Graham Hellewell

WHAT IS ALLOWED TODAY?


Parking Requirements


COMMENTS?

The current zoning does not do a good job at estimating how many parking spaces and loading areas different uses need.

Parking requirements could be updated to match current trends, allow the market to regulate the number of loading areas, and require more landscaping. On-site parking requirements could be eliminated downtown.



Street trees are required in TNPD zoning only, and while they have benefits, could be a liability to the City or underground utilities if not properly placed.

The requirement for street trees could be eliminated and replaced with a requirement for a tree in the front yard of all new homes, but not near the sidewalk.

Street Trees

Tree Plantings

Trees are not required to be planted with new residential or non-residential development, except in parking lots.

Basic tree planting standards could require new trees of certain species for commercial and residential developments.


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courtesy dave_mcmt



Garage Size


COMMENTS?

Garages are required to be larger than industry standards, which is incompatible with some developers’ standard floor plans.

The garage size requirement could be eliminated or reduced, allowing the market to regulate garage sizes.

Garage Design

All houses must have a two-car garage. Most garages dominate the street and stick out in front of the house.

The two-car garage requirement could re-main, but garages could be required to be set back several feet from the front facade so they don’t dominate the architecture or the street.

Garages could also be allowed to be located in separate buildings (detached garage).

Garages could also be allowed to extend in front of the main body of the house if the garage door opens to the side.



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COMMENTS?



Fence Design


COMMENTS?

Fences of up to 6 feet high are allowed in residential zoning districts today. All materials are allowed, including chain link fences.

Fence height could be limited. Decorative fence materials could be required in front yards.

Houses are required to be at least 1,400 or 1,600 square feet in size, depending on the zoning district.

Minimum house sizes could be increased for larger lot zoning districts and decreased for smaller lot infill houses.

Minimum House Size



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low quality designlimited public resourcesunpredictable outcomesmore design flexibility

WINDER ZONING UPDATEPublic Open House

moderate quality designmoderate public resources

moderately predictable outcomesmoderate design flexibility

high quality designsignificant public resourcesvery predictable outcomes

less design flexibility

Few Design Standards

Minimal Design Standards

Moderate Design Standards

Significant Design Standards

Strict Design Standards

The community has expressed a desire for higher quality development in Winder. Increased design standards, however, also involve tradeoffs in terms of design flexibility and the City resources required to administer new standards. Where do you feel the City of Winder should fall on the following spectrum? (toss a ball in the appropriate basket)

DESIGN TRADEOFFS

Downtown Zoning DistrictNot all of downtown Winder is included in the Downtown Overlay District.

The overlay could be converted to a standalone Downtown zoning district for simplicity, and it could be expanded to include additional key properties.

Building Codes

Building codes and Winder’s additional requirements for fire sprinklers may deter the renovation of buildings downtown.

Adopting the International Existing Building Code and allowing the Life Safety Code to regulate fire sprinkler requirements could increase investment downtown.

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COMMENTS?

yes = green dot no = red dot place sticky notes here

Obsolete Zoning DistrictsTwo zoning districts in the zoning ordinance and shown on the zoning map are no longer necessary: E Exhibition Zone and P Professional Zone.

Properties that are zoned E or P today could be rezoned to commercial, and the sections regulating E and P could be deleted.

Inappropriate Industrial ZoningsSome properties today are zoned I Industrial, but are used for commercial or residential purposes.

These properties could be rezoned to an appropriate zoning district based on their existing or desired use. Two new zoning districts, light industrial and heavy industrial, could be created for areas that are or should be industrial.







located; provided that one of the front yards may serve as a rear yard.

Figure 6A. Lot Terms Illustrated

ARTICLE VII. - R-1A SINGLE-UNIT RESIDENTIAL ZONE

Sec. 70. - Scope of article.

The following regulations shall apply in the R-1A zone.

Sec. 71. - Permitted uses.

Any use permitted in an R-1 zone shall apply in the R-1A zone.

Sec. 72. - Height.

The heights established for the R-l zone shall apply to the R-1A zone.

Sec. 73. - Area.

Every lot in an R-1A zone shall have a minimum width of one hundred (100) feet at the building line and a minimum area of fifteen thousand (15,000) square feet. (See Figure 6A).

73.1. Cul-de-sac lots: A variance to the required building setback may be approved by the City of Winder Building Inspector or his/her designee in special circumstances as long as the side and rear yard setback requirements are met. In the case of lots served by septic tank, any variance must also be approved by the Barrow County Health Department.

(Ord. (W-4-97) of 5-6-97; Ord. No. W-10-03, 4-15-03)

Graphics

DefinitionsSome terms are not defined or are not defined clearly in the zoning ordinance.

Additional terms could be added to the definitions section, and a number of existing terms could be better defined. The definitions of uses could be made more clear, so it would be easier to understand what is allowed and prohibited in each zoning district.

General ProvisionsThere are a number of regulations that apply citywide, but which are scattered throughout the zoning ordinance.

All relevant citywide regulations could be consolidated into the existing General Provisions section.

Legal ProvisionsThe existing ordinance does not clearly address previous zoning ordinances, conformity, relationship with other agreements, conflicts, fines, appeals, and some other matters.

Legal provisions could be updated for clarity, and to ensure they are legally sound and provide appropriate regulations.

The existing zoning ordinance has out-of-date or hard-to-read graphics, or lacks graphics entirely.

New, easy-to-understand graphics and tables could be created to illustrate key concepts.

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COMMENTS?









Numbering of SectionsThe organization of sections and articles within the zoning ordinance is inconsistent today and can make regulations hard to find.

Reorganizing and renumbering sections could make regulations easier to read and find.

Allowed & Prohibited UsesMany zoning district regulations refer to other zoning districts, so readers have to flip back and forth to find out what is allowed in each zoning district.

All uses could be organized into a simple, easy-to-read table. This would make it possible to see at a glance what is allowed, prohibited, or allowed with special permission in each zoning district.

Historic District RegulationsRegulations are not completely clear regarding some procedures and the criteria for how the Historic Preservation Commission makes decisions.

The state model historic code could be adopted to fill in gaps in Winder’s existing ordinance. The regulations would not become more strict, and the boundaries of the existing historic district would not be expanded.

Tree BoardThe existing zoning ordinance creates a Tree Board, but the board has no powers and does not currently meet.

Remove all references to the Tree Board, but strengthen requirements for tree plantings in parking lots, and establish requirements for tree plantings for all types of development.

Infill HousesNew houses on smaller historic lots require several variances to be constructed, because current regulations are designed for larger lots.

A new zoning tool could be created to appropriately regulate infill housing and reduce the number of variances required.

POTENTIAL WEAKNESS WITH EXISTING ZONING



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Documents

WINDER ZONING UPDATE · Winder Building Inspector or his/her designee in special circumstances as long as the side and rear yard setback requirements are met. In the case of lots