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Byron Mayor and Council review zoning updates, tighten rules on home-based commercial vehicles
Summary
At a Feb. 22 work session, Byron's mayor and council reviewed comprehensive zoning updates, agreed to limit commercial vehicles at residences to those traveling to and from employment, raised R-3 minimum lot size from 6,000 to 9,000 sq ft (with sewer), and directed correction of a mis-zoned city parcel.
On Feb. 22, 2024, the City of Byron Mayor and Council met in a work session and reviewed proposed updates to Appendix A of the city's Land Development, Zoning Ordinances and Subdivision Regulations, Part IV (Zoning Regulations). City Attorney Brian Causey distributed the latest draft for review, and members discussed a series of changes affecting residential districts, downtown design standards and several ordinance sections.
The council examined rules to prohibit parking on sidewalks and tightened language on home occupations in the R-2 district, focusing on commercial vehicles kept at residences. Members agreed the zoning update should prohibit residential property from being used for commercial operations and limit commercial vehicles to those used to travel to and from employment. Council discussed including a specific cap tied to household size, citing suggested verbiage to "limit the amount of commercial vehicles not to exceed the number of bedrooms" as referenced to the tax assessor's legal description. The council indicated the same restrictions should apply in R-3 districts.
Councilors also agreed to change the R-3 district minimum lot area for parcels with sewer from 6,000 square feet to 9,000 square feet. The minutes record that the R-3 adjustment and the commercial-vehicle language were incorporated into the draft regulations during the session; the minutes do not record a roll-call vote on those edits.
City Administrator Tiffany Sandefur flagged a zoning-map mistake: a city-owned property was listed as R-4, while Peach County's R-4 corresponds to the city's R-1 designation. Sandefur asked that the property be advertised and the classification corrected.
Councilors reviewed other sections of the draft, including Appendix Z-1, Section 11.1.3 on prohibited uses and Section 12.1 (the FH-1 Flood Hazard district). They decided to remove Section 13 (Special Purposes Recreation Areas) from the zoning article and instead create or update a separate Special Event Ordinance to govern those activities. Article II (the Permitted Use Table) remained under review, and the council discussed Section 6.6 (Design Standards) and architectural standards for the C-2 downtown development overlay district covering facades, canopies and sign standards.
The work session began at 8:06 a.m. and adjourned at 10:34 a.m. Attendees recorded in the minutes included Mayor Michael Chidester; Council Members James Richardson, Michael Chumbley, Rusty Adams and Chris Hodges (Council Member Alan Dorsey was absent); City Administrator Tiffany Sandefur; City Clerk Telina Allred; and City Attorney Brian Causey. The minutes note four visitors and no media at the meeting.
Next steps recorded in the session minutes include advertising the mis-zoned property for correction and continuing review of the draft ordinance sections; the minutes do not list formal motions, seconder names or vote tallies for the substantive edits made during the work session.
