Union City › Zoning Ordinance

Article 15 — Planning Commission

current as of 2025-02-18verified current · checked 2026-08-24Officialofficial source ↗15 sections · full chapter

§ 15-1

Creation.

In order to guide and accomplish a coordinated and harmonious development of the municipality which will, in accordance with existing and future needs, best promote the public health, safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity and the general welfare, as well as efficiency and economy in the process of development, the Union City Planning and Zoning Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Planning Commission, is hereby created and established as authorized by state laws. The Planning Commission shall be organized and empowered as set out in this article.

§ 15-2

Membership.

A.Membership. The Planning Commission shall consist of five (5) members, who shall be residents of the city appointed by the mayor and council of the city.

B.Terms. The terms of the members shall be for four (4) years, except that in the appointment of the first Planning Commission under the terms of this section, the first member shall be appointed for a term of one (1) year, the second member shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years, the third member shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years, and the remaining members shall be appointed for terms of four (4) years each.

C.Vacancies. Any vacancy in membership shall be filled for the unexpired term by the mayor and council of the city, who shall also have the authority to remove any member for cause, on written charges, after a public hearing.

D.Compensation. The Planning Commission members shall receive compensation for their service as determined by the Mayor and Council of Union City.

§ 15-3

Rules and Procedures.

The Planning Commission shall elect a chairperson and vice-chairperson from among its members. The terms of the chairperson and vice-chairperson shall be one (1) year with eligibility for reelection. The chairperson shall preside over all meetings of the Planning Commission. The vice-chairperson shall have the authority to act as the chairperson in the chairperson’s absence. The chairperson can make and/or second motions and can vote on any matter presented to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission shall appoint a secretary, who may be an officer or employee of the municipality. The Planning Commission shall make its own rules of procedure and determine its time of meeting. All meetings of the Planning Commission at which official action is taken shall be open to the public and all records of the Planning Commission shall be a public record. The Planning Commission may appoint such employees and staff as it may deem necessary for its work and may contract with the state Planning agency, city planners and other consultants for such services as it may require. The expenditures of the planning commission, exclusive of gifts received, shall be within the amounts appropriated for the purpose by the mayor and council of the city.

§ 15-4

Powers and Duties.

From and after the time when the Planning Commission shall have organized and selected its officers and shall have adopted its rules of procedure, the planning commission shall have all the powers, duties and responsibilities set forth in the General Planning and Zoning Enabling Act of 1957. In addition to the jurisdiction provided by this Article or the Subdivision Regulations of the city, the Planning Commission shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all those matters provided for in Article XIII of this Ordinance.

§ 15-5

Initiation of Amendments.

Applications to amend this Ordinance may be in the form of proposals to amend the text or proposals to amend the Official Zoning Map. An application to amend the text may be initiated by the Planning Commission or be submitted to the Planning Commission by the Mayor and Council or by any person having a property interest in the City. An application to amend the Official Zoning Map may be initiated by the Planning Commission, by the Mayor and Council or by any person who owns property within the zoning jurisdiction of the City. Unless submitted by the Mayor and Council or the Planning Commission, all applications for map amendments must be submitted by the owner of the subject property or the authorized agent of the owner. Such authorization shall be notarized and attached to the application.

§ 15-6

Limitation on Re-Applying.

Any application for a zoning amendment which is denied by the Mayor and Council shall not be reconsidered for a period of six (6) months. This limitation shall not apply to applications initiated by the Mayor and Council or the Planning Commission.

§ 15-7

Application for Amendment.

Each application to amend the text of this Ordinance or the Official Zoning Map shall be filed with the Zoning Administrator. Application for rezoning shall be made to the Planning Commission and the applicant shall file the information required by the planning department in keeping with this Ordinance and rules and regulations. Application may be made by the owner, agent, owner’s agent, or his attorney in fact or at law; provided, however, that if any person other than the owner makes said application, he shall sign an affidavit setting forth his position with relationship to the owner, provide the planning department with the current, accurate address of the owner and furnish any other documents that may be required by the Planning Commission so as to insure the owner receiving notice of the application to rezone. The Planning Commission shall furnish notice to the owner, by certified mail, of the application having been made and no hearing shall be had on the application no sooner than 10 days from the mailing of notice to the owner of the property. Applications shall be submitted in compliance with the following regulations:

A.Text and Map Amendment Applications. All text and map amendment applications must include the following information:

1.Text Amendments:

a.Name and address of appellant;

b.Current text provision to be affected by amendment;

c.Proposed text amendment;

d.Reason for text amendment request;

e.Application must be signed by appellant and be duly notarized; and

f.Appropriate filing fee.

2.Map Amendments:

a.Name and address of applicant;

b.Name and address of property owner;

c.Location and legal description of property;

d.Present zoning of property;

e.Proposed zoning of property;

f.Copies of plat, drawn to scale, showing north arrow, land lot and district, the dimensions, acreage and location of the tract(s), prepared by an architect, engineer, landscape architect or land surveyor whose state registration is current and valid. His/her seal shall be affixed to the plat.

g.A sketch plan or preliminary plan indicating the intended use of the property, including, but not limited to, proposed streets and lot layouts, access and egress routes, buffer areas, parking, etc. In general, the plat should contain sufficient data so as to clearly indicate proposed land uses. A sketch plan, with a scale not less than 1” per 200’ shall be acceptable; however, should the applicant prefer, a preliminary plat meeting all the requirements of the Union City Subdivision Regulations shall be submitted.

h.A letter of intent indicating specifically how the property is to be used. Said letter shall be detailed as necessary to clearly describe the proposed site development. Existing uses and zoning of nearby property.

i.The applicant’s explanation of how the following criteria apply to his or her request:

i.The extent to which property values are diminished by the particular zoning restrictions.

ii.The extent to which the destruction of property values of the applicant promotes health, safety, morals or general welfare of the public.

iii.The relative gain to the public as compared to the hardship imposed upon the individual property owner.

iv.The suitability of the subject property for the zoned purposes.

v.The length of time the property has been vacant as zoned, considered in the context of land development in the immediate area of the property.

vi.Specific, unusual or unique facts of each case which give rise to special hardships incurred by the applicant and/or surrounding property owners.

j.Application must be signed by applicant and be duly notarized. If the property owner and applicant are not the same person, a “Property Owner’s Authorization” form must be completed.

k.Names and addresses of owners of all property within 250 feet of the subject property (from County Tax Assessors Office). Applicants must also demonstrate that all property owners within 250 feet of the subject property have been notified of the Public Hearing (see sample letter).

l.Appropriate filing fee.

B.Properties affected by map amendment applications shall be of sufficient size and shape to meet the minimum developmental standards of the District for which the application is made.

C.Unless all information, exhibits, etc., as required herein are received by the Zoning Administrator at the time the application is filed, all advertising of public hearings and any posting of property shall be delayed until the completed application has been filed.

§ 15-8

Public Hearings.

A.Date, Place and Time. Applications for zoning amendments shall be filed with the Planning Commission by the first Friday of the month before the month of the public hearing. Public hearings will be heard by the Planning Commission on the last Monday night of each month except when said Monday night falls on a legal holiday or when the City Hall is officially closed, and in that event, the public hearing will be held on the following business day night. The Mayor and Council of Union City will hold a public hearing on all petitions referred to them by the planning commission at the next regularly scheduled council meeting. All public hearings set forth in this Section before the planning commission and mayor and council shall be held at 7 o’clock p.m. in the City Hall in Union City, Georgia.

B.Conduct of Hearing. Public hearings on amendments shall be conducted with equal time provided for the proponents and opponents of an application for rezoning with each side receiving at least ten minutes. An applicant may reserve part or all of the allotted time for rebuttal. Decisions of the Planning Commission and Mayor and Council on applications for rezoning shall be made subsequent to the public hearing.

§ 15-9

Planning Commission.

Within a reasonable time of the acceptance of any completed application for amendment, the Zoning Administrator shall transmit copies thereof to the Planning Commission for its review and recommendation to the Mayor and Council. The Planning Commission shall review and make a recommendation of approval, denial, deferral or withdrawal without prejudice on each application. A report of the Planning Commission’s decision shall be submitted to the Mayor and Council and to the applicant by certified mail. The report shall contain the decision and shall be signed and approved by the Chairman of the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission may also recommend amendments to the applicant’s request which would reduce the land area for which the application is made, change the District requested or recommend conditions of rezoning which may be deemed advisable so that the purpose of this Ordinance will be served and the public health, safety and general welfare secured. If the Planning Commission fails to submit a report within 30 days from the acceptance of the completed amendment application, it shall be deemed to have recommended approval of the application.

§ 15-10

Mayor and Council.

Before taking action on a proposed amendment and after receipt of the Planning Commission’s report and recommendation thereon, the Mayor and Council shall hold a public hearing on the proposed amendment. The Mayor and Council may approve, deny or defer any application at the public hearing. An action to defer shall include a justification of such action and a specific meeting date to which the application is deferred. The Mayor and Council may, by a majority vote of members, allow an application to be withdrawn without prejudice with respect to the six (6) month limitation of this Article except once a hearing has begun no withdrawal shall be allowed. The Mayor and Council may also recommend amendments to the applicant’s request which would reduce the land area for which the application is made, change the District requested or recommend conditions of rezoning which may be deemed advisable so that the purpose of this Ordinance will be served and the public health, safety and general welfare secured. The decision of the Mayor and Council shall be contained in a written report prepared by the City Clerk. The report shall contain the decision of the Mayor and Council and all grounds for the decision and shall be signed and approved by the Mayor and Council. One (1) copy of the report shall become part of the application file.

§ 15-11

Public Notification.

A.Legal Notice. Due notice of scheduled public hearings shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the City in which are carried the legal advertisements of the City, by advertising the date, time, place and purpose of the hearings, as well as the application number and a summary of the proposed amendment. In addition, when in the case of a map amendment, the location of the subject property, its area, the name of the owner, the present zoning classification shall be published. The notice shall contain the dates of both the Planning Commission and the Mayor and Council public hearings, and shall be advertised in such a manner as to give at least 15, but no more than 45, days’ notice of the public hearing.

B.Notice to Interested Parties. Notice giving the date, time, place and purpose of the public hearing shall be given by certified mail to the applicant. All application files shall be in the custody of the Zoning Administrator and shall be open to public inspection during regular office hours.

C.Posting of Property. The Zoning Administrator shall cause a sign to be placed in a conspicuous location on the property for which the application was submitted. Said sign shall have a minimum size of 24” by 36” and shall indicate the application number, the present zoning classification, the proposed zoning classification and the scheduled date, time and place of the public hearing of the Planning Commission and, as later determined the public hearing before the Mayor and Council. The sign shall be placed on the property not less than 15 days prior to the date of the hearing.

§ 15-12

Standards for Map Amendment (Rezoning) Evaluation.

All proposed map amendments shall be evaluated with special emphasis being placed on the relationship of the proposal to the Official Zoning Map and related development policies in Union City. The following factors shall be considered by the Planning Commission and the Mayor and Council when reviewing a request for rezoning:

A.Existing uses and zoning of nearby property;

B.The extent to which property values are diminished by the particular zoning restrictions;

C.The extent to which the destruction of property values of the applicant promotes health, safety, morals or general welfare of the public;

D.The relative gain to the public as compared to the hardship imposed upon the individual property owner;

E.The suitability of the subject property for the zoned purposes;

F.The length of time the property has been vacant as zoned, considered in the context of land development in the immediate area of the property; and

G.Specific, unusual or unique facts of each case which give rise to special hardships incurred by the applicant and/or surrounding property owners.

§ 15-13

Public Copies of Procedures and Standards.

Copies of Union City’s policies and procedures which control calling and conducting hearings, as well as the standards governing the exercise of its zoning power, shall be made available for distribution to the general public.

§ 15-14

Disclosure of Campaign Contributions.

A.When any applicant for a text amendment or map amendment has made, within two years immediately preceding the filing of that applicant’s application for said text amendment or map amendment, campaign contributions aggregating $250.00 or more to a member of the mayor and council, it shall be the duty of the applicant to file a disclosure report with the mayor and council showing:

1.The name and official position of the official to whom the campaign contribution was made; and

2.The dollar amount and description of each campaign contribution made by the applicant to the official during the two years immediately preceding the filing of the application for the text amendment or map amendment and the date of each such contribution.

Said disclosures shall be filed within ten (10) days after the application for the rezoning action is first filed.

B.When any opponent of a proposed text amendment or map amendment has made, within two years immediately preceding the filing of the application for said text amendment or map amendment, campaign contributions aggregating $250.00 or more to a member of the mayor and council, it shall be the duty of the opponent to file a disclosure with the mayor and council showing:

1.The name and official position of the official to whom the campaign contribution was made; and

2.The dollar amount and description of each campaign contribution made by the opponent to the official during the two years immediately preceding the filing of the application for the text amendment or map amendment and the date of each such contribution.

The disclosures shall be filed at least five (5) calendar days prior to the first hearing by the Planning Commission on the application for text amendment or map amendment.

§ 15-15

Challenges to Zoning Decisions.

Text amendment or map amendment decisions made subject to this Article shall be subject to direct constitutional challenge regarding the validity of said decisions in the superior court pursuant to its original jurisdiction over declaratory judgments and equity jurisdiction. Such challenges shall be by way of de novo review by the superior court wherein such review brings up the whole record from the city and all competent evidence shall be admissible in the trial thereof, whether adduced in the process before the city or not and employing the presumption that the city’s zoning decision is valid and can be overcome substantively by a petitioner showing clear and convincing evidence that the zoning classification is a significant detriment to the petitioner and is insubstantially related to the public health, safety, morality, or general welfare. Such challenge shall be brought within 30 days of the written decision of the challenged action.

ARTICLE XVI

REPEAL AND CONSTITUTIONALITY