Forsyth County › Unified Development Code

Chapter 14 — Industrial and Mining Districts, Article 3 — MINING OPERATIONS DISTRICT (MINE)

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§ 14-3.1

Purpose and Intent.

These districts are specifically established to provide for the mining, extraction, crushing, and quarrying, as appropriate, of sand, rock, precious metals, and other minerals or elements removed from the earth. Mining districts allow a range of other heavy industrial uses that may be accessory to mining operations or economically linked to such uses. However, uses permitted in industrial districts should be sited in industrial districts, not the MINE district unless such uses involve extraction of materials.

These districts may be suitable adjacent to agricultural zoning districts. Extensive building and operation setbacks and generous buffers are required to ensure that mining districts do not pose physical hazards or nuisances (e.g., dust, noise, vibration, etc.) to neighboring dwellings, schools, parks, places of worship, hospitals, commercial buildings, and public buildings and roads.

§ 14-3.2

Permitted and Conditional Uses.

As provided in Table 14.1; and subject to the following provisions which apply to all uses in this district:

(A)A conditional use is required for any establishment conducting around the clock business hours.

Certain specific uses are regulated by Chapter 16.

§ 14-3.3

Performance Standards.

As provided in Table 14.2.

§ 14-3.4

Site Development Regulations.

As provided in Article IV of this chapter.

§ 14-3.5

Application Requirements.

Any application for rezoning to the MINE district must be accompanied by the following:

(A)A detailed site plan as required by the director. At a minimum, the site plan shall indicate the following:

proposed location of phased mining operations; proposed locations or disposition of topsoil, overburden, and by-products, on- or off-site.

(B)A letter of intent describing the date proposed for the commencement of operations and their expected durations, including proposed hours and days of operation. Operations shall not be permitted on Sundays and holidays, nor will they be permitted within the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on any day. Said letter shall also describe the nature of mining operations, method(s) of extraction, and equipment and materials (e.g., explosives) to be used. The letter of intent and any actions stipulated to or reasonably implied from the language of the letter of intent shall become conditions of development approval, if the rezoning application is approved.

(C)Written evidence by a geologist or other competent professional qualified to make such a judgment that the site to be rezoned MINE contains a mineral resource area or other valuable surface or subsurface substances that can be economically mined.

(D)An impact statement prepared by a qualified professional that addresses the impact of the proposed mining operation on abutting and nearby buildings, uses, and properties. The impact statement shall address those external effects determined by the director to be likely to exist if said use is established, including but not limited to as appropriate, electromagnetic interference, noise, vibration, fumes, odors, dust and air particulates, illumination, truck traffic, and water table protection. The impact statement shall recommend specific measures to mitigate such impacts and provisions for monitoring and enforcing mitigation measures, and, if approved, the recommendations of the impact statement shall be considered conditions of approval unless otherwise specified by action of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. At the option of the Board of Commissioners and at the applicant's expense, an independent impact statement may be secured prior to its taking action on a rezoning request for MINE district to review the impact statement submitted by the applicant or to otherwise address probable adverse impacts of the proposed development; provided that an application process for rezoning to MINE shall be extended no more than sixty-two (62) days beyond normal processing times for the purposes of securing an independent impact statement.

(E)An operations plan and all documents submitted or prepared for submission to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for the purpose of obtaining a State Mining Permit. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to update all information during the State application process and to inform the director of the final disposition of the State permit process. Operations plans, if approved, shall be considered conditions of development approval, unless otherwise specified by the director.

(F)A reclamation plan which shall include a description of how the excavated land will be restored, statement of intended future use of the land, and phasing and timing estimates of reclamation and rehabilitation activities. Reclamation plans, if approved, shall be considered conditions of development approval, unless otherwise specified by the Director. The Board of Commissioners of Forsyth County may require an applicant to post a bond calculated on a specific amount per acre for the purpose of insuring proper reclamation of the land.

TABLE 14.1

Uses	Industrial and Mining Zoning Districts
	Restricted Industrial District (M1)	Heavy Industrial District (M2)	Mining Operations District (MINE)
Commercial recreational facilities, outdoor	C	C	C
Commercial sales of the product(s) permitted to be manufactured, assembled, or processed, unenclosed or enclosed, not to exceed twenty (20) percent of the lot area	P	P	P
Commercial sales of the product(s) permitted to be extracted, unenclosed, exceeding twenty (20) percent of the lot area but not exceeding fifty (50) percent of the lot area	X	C	P
Communication towers and communication antennas	C	C	C
Contractor’s establishments	P	P	P
Convenience stores, with or without fuel dispensing units	C	C	X
Cosmetics and toiletries manufacturers	P	P	X
Data Centers	C	C	C
Drive-throughs, excluding car washes	X	X	X
Dry cleaning plants	P	P	X
Dwellings, single-family detached	X	X	X
Dwelling for caretaker or night watchman	P	P	P
Electronics assembly and manufacturing of communications equipment	P	P	X
Escort Services	C (Note 1)	C (Note 1)	X
Explosives storage	C	P	P
Exterminating and pest control businesses	P	P	X
Extraction industries – extraction and removal of sand, gravel, top soil, clay, dirt, precious metals, gems, and minerals	X	X	P
Feed, grain, and fertilizer manufacturers	X	C	X
Fuel oil distributors	P	P	X
Fuel station	C	C	X
Fiberglass insulation manufacturers	X	C	X
Food processing plants, including fish and poultry facilities	C	C	X
	Restricted Industrial District (M1)	Heavy Industrial District (M2)	Mining Operations District (MINE)
Hazardous waste receiving, handling, and disposal facilities	X	X	X
Heliports and Helipads	C	C	C
Ice manufacturing	P	P	X
Incinerators, including medical wastes	X	C	X
Instrument assembly and manufacturing	P	P	X
Junkyards, wrecked motor vehicle compounds, and wrecker services	C	C	C
Kennels, Animal Hospitals, Veterinary Clinics	C	X	X
Landfills	X	C	C
Linoleum manufacturers	X	C	X
Lumber yards, planing and sawmills	P	P	P
Machine shops	P	P	X
Manufacturing, processing, recycling, and assembling within buildings, not otherwise specified	P	C	C
Manufacturing, processing, recycling, and assembling of chemicals, floor coverings, glass, and rubber, unless more specifically listed in this table	X	C	X
Metal products manufacturing	P	P	X
Micro-brewery	C	C	X
Micro-distillery	C	C	X
Miscellaneous service establishments	P	C	X
Offices and showrooms, as a principal use or as accessory uses to one or more permitted principal uses	P	P	P
Office Commercial Multiple Story (OCMS) Zoning District uses and performance standards	C (Note 3)	X	X
Open air businesses, subject to limitations for open storage yards as provided in this table	P	P	P
Open storage yards, not exceeding 20% of the total lot	C	C	C
Open storage yards, more than 20% but not exceeding 80% of the total lot	C	C	C
Optical goods manufacturers	P	P	X
Petroleum bulk storage sites	X	P	C
Pharmaceuticals and medical supplies manufacturers	P	P	X
Place of worship 10,000 square feet or less in aggregate size (Note 7)	P (Note 2)	X	X
	Restricted Industrial District (M1)	Heavy Industrial District (M2)	Mining Operations District (MINE)
Place of worship more than 10,000 square feet in aggregate size (Note 7)	P (Note 2)	X	X
Pool Hall	C	X	X
Printing, blueprinting, publishing, and book binding facilities	P	P	X
Public and semi-public uses	P	P	P
Pulp mills	X	C	X
Recycling and recovery facilities	C	C	X
Research laboratories, and ancillary manufacturing	C	C	C
Restaurants, not including drive- throughs	P	P	X
Retail Trade Establishments	X	X	X
Salon	P	X	X
Salvage yards	C	P	X
Schools, private, parochial, vocational—Technical and business 10,000 square feet or less in aggregate size	P (Note 2)	X	X
Schools, private, parochial, vocational—Technical and business more than 10,000 square feet in aggregate size	P (Note 2)	X	X
Shooting range, indoor	C (Note 4)	C (Note 4)	X
Shooting range, outdoor	C (Note 4)	C (Note 4)	C (Note 4)
Short-term Rental	X	X	X
Sign fabrication and painting shops	P	P	X
Solid waste transfer stations	C	C	C
Solvent metal cleaning	X	C	X
Stock yards and slaughterhouses	X	C	X
Storage, self-service, climate controlled	C	C	X
Storage, self-service, courtyard	C	C	X
Storage, self-service, mini-warehouse	C	C	X
Temporary structures and uses	C	C	C
Textile manufacturing and processing	P	P	X
Theaters	C	X	X
Tire retreading and recapping facilities	C	P	X
Transportation, communication, and utility facilities, except truck terminals	C	C	C
	Restricted Industrial District (M1)	Heavy Industrial District (M2)	Mining Operations District (MINE)
Truck terminals	C	C	C
Uses not specified in this table	(Note 5)	(Note 5)	(Note 5)
Vehicle rental establishment	X	X	X
Vehicle sales dealership	C (Note 6)	X	X
Volatile organic liquid handling and storage	X	C	X
Warehouses and storage buildings	P	P	P
Wholesale trade establishments	P	P	X
Wineries	C	P	X
Wood products manufacturing	P	P	X

Notes

TABLE 14.2


	TABLE 14.2
	PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR INDUSTRIAL AND MINING OPERATIONS
Performance Standard		Industrial and Mining Zoning Districts
		Restricted Industrial District (M1)	Heavy Industrial District (M2)	Mining Operations District (MINE)
Minimum lot area for zoning to the district		1 acre (Note 1)	1 acre	50 acres where blasting or crushing operations are involved; 5 acres without blasting or crushing operations
Maximum building coverage (% of lot)		55 percent	55 percent	55 percent
Minimum landscaped open space (percentage of total lot area)		20 percent	15 percent	10 percent
Minimum width of landscape strip paralleling right-of-way (Note 2)		25 feet	25 feet	50 feet
Minimum front setback from lot lines abutting right-of-way (Note 2 and 4)		50 feet	50 feet	50 feet
Minimum buffer along lot line abutting a commercial or office district, except the OR district		20 feet	25 feet	30 feet
Minimum setback along lot line abutting a commercial or office district, except the OR district (Note 4)		30 feet	35 feet	40 feet
Minimum buffer along lot line abutting a residential, OR, A1 or AG-Res district (Note 3)		40 feet	75 feet	100 feet
Minimum setback along lot line abutting a residential, OR, A1 or AG-Res district (Note 3 & 4)		50 feet	90 feet	125 feet
Minimum side setback (Note 4)		15 feet	15 feet	15 feet
Minimum rear setback (Note 4)		25 feet	25 feet	25 feet
Minimum rear setback abutting an alley designed for industrial uses		None	None	None
Electromagnetic interference		There shall be no electromagnetic interference that adversely affects the operation of any equipment other than that belonging to the creator of such interference, or that does not conform to the regulations of the Federal Communications Commission.

Character Areas South Big Haw Creek & Chestatee Sawnee McFarland GA 400 Creek Daves Creek Lanier Vickery Creek Campground North GA 400 / Jot Em Etowah Mountain Down Maximum McFarland McFarland/ Shiloh Road Regional Node South GA 400 South GA 400/ Highway 141 Regional Node Big Creek Peachtree Parkway Community Node Haw Creek & Daves Creek Haw Creek Community Node Lanier Lake Lanier/ Mary Alice Park Community Node Vickery Creek Castleberry/ Bethelview Community Node Campground Highway 20 Neighborhood Node Highway 20 Community Node North GA 400 Hammond's Crossing Regional Node Chestatee/Jot Em Down Chestatee Neighborhood Node Etowah Matt and Silver City Neighborhood Nodes Sawnee Mountain Coal Mountain Community Node height Office Uses: Office 80’ Uses Non- Non- Non-(Note and Residential Residential Residential 50’ 6) 50’ Mixed 40’ 50’ 40’ Uses and 40’ 60’ 40’ Uses and 30’ 40’ 50’ 50’ Uses and 30’ 40’ 30’ 40’ 30’ 40’

Mixed Use: Mixed Use: Mixed Use: Mixed Use:

Use: 60’ 50’ 60’ 80’

70’ (Note (Note 5) (Note 5) (Note 5) (Note 5)

Notes

Reading grid · rebuilt for display · verify at source (p. 191) ↗