ORDINANCE NO. 012-18
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE TEXT OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OPELIKA SPECIFICALLY TO AMEND SECTION 8.13 THEREOF
BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council (the “City Council”) of the City of Opelika, Alabama (the “City”) as follows:
Section 1. Amendment. That Section 8.13 of Ordinance 124-91 entitled “Zoning Ordinance of the City of Opelika, Alabama”, adopted on September 17, 1991, as amended, is further amended by the deletion of the entire language of said section and
substitution of the following, so that hereinafter said Section 8.13 shall read, in its
entirety, as follows:
Sec. 8.13 TOWNHOUSE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS
The regulations as contained in this section shall be applied to developments involving townhouses. A development plan, satisfying all the requirements of this ordinance shall be submitted to, reviewed by, and approved by the Planning Commission. Information required by
Section 8.16.
A. Site Plan and Design Criteria, General.
It is the intent of this ordinance that townhouses, in areas where they are or may be permitted.
1. May be appropriately intermingled with other types of housing; and
2. Shall not form, long unbroken lines of row housing, but shall be staggered, singularly or in pairs, not less than three feet (3’) or more than twelve feet (12’); and
3. Shall constitute groupings making efficient, economical, comfortable and convenient use of land and open space and serving the public purposes of zoning by means alternative to conventional arrangements of yards and building areas.
4. Shall provide adequate common open space free of buildings, streets, driveways, or parking areas. The common open space shall be so designed and located that it is easily accessible to all occupants of the project and is usable for open space and recreational purposes. Moreover, the Planning Commission may require that an association of owners or tenants be created for the purpose of maintaining such open spaces. It shall be created in such a manner that owners of property shall automatically be members and shall be subject to assessments levied to maintain said open space for the purposes intended for as long as the existence of the development.
B. Site Plan and Design Criteria, Details. In line with the general considerations above the following criteria shall be met.
1. Maximum Units. Not more than twelve (12) contiguous townhouses, nor fewer than two (2) shall be built in a row with approximately the same front line; however in no event shall the number of units exceed the density allowed in the zone where the townhouse unit is to be constructed.
2. Minimum Width. The area on which any townhouse unit is to be constructed shall be
twenty (20) feet.
3. Separation Requirements-interior or Project. No portion of townhouse or accessory structure in or related to one (1) group of contiguous townhouses shall be closer than twenty (20) feet to any portion of a townhouse or accessory structure related to another group.
4. Yards. Front, sides and rear yards for the overall development or site shall not be less than those permitted on zoning lots for the district; Each townhouse shall have one (1) abutting yard, which may be in the required front, side or rear yard equal to the width of the townhouse and have an area not less than fifty (50%) percent of the first floor areas of the townhouse, private and reasonable secluded from view or from neighboring property.
Such yard shall not be used for any accessory building.
5. Access Strip. Each group of contiguous townhomes shall have a five (5) foot access easement adjacent to the private yard that connects to the public or private street
providing vehicular access.
6. Group Parking Facilities.
a) Insofar as practicable, off-street parking shall be grouped in bays, in the interior of the project areas. No off-street parking space shall be more than one hundred
(100) feet by the most direct pedestrian route, from a door of the dwelling unit it is intended to serve. Two (2) parking spaces shall be provided for each dwelling
unit. Parking bays shall be separated from street paving by curb or by curbed island, in either case the curb shall be a minimum of four (4) inches in width; except in driveway turnouts that will be provided between street paving and parking bays. This arrangement shall be constructed to prevent backing out into street from parking area.
b) Townhouse units that front open space, have individual garages/carports or are
accessed by a rear alley may utilize alternative parking configurations as approved by the City of Opelika.
7. Density. The density of the development shall coincide with the “dwelling units per acre” requirement as specified in Section 7.3A. according to the appropriate zoning district.
8. Maintenance. Provision for the maintenance of all common parking, open access and other spaces and areas shall be included in the plat restrictions of the property. Individual utility connections shall be provided to each townhouse dwelling unit.
9. Fire Lanes. All townhouse buildings and developments shall comply with all building, fire, and life safety codes adopted by the City of Opelika at the time of permitting for that
building and as administered by the building official or fire chief, or their respective representatives. This shall include among other criteria any requirements prescribed for fire lanes, fire-rated construction or building separation.
10. Design. Townhouse developments should reflect the character and complement of the surrounding housing.
a) Townhouse developments and buildings shall address the street when placed on local streets or existing residential neighborhoods unless prohibited by the lot configuration, topographic issues or other design issues.
i. This shall include having the front façade of the building face the street.
ii. Any buildings located behind the front row of buildings may have different orientations.
iii. Corner lots are only required to address one street side, although blank or uninterrupted walls are discouraged and should be screened or landscaped when possible.
b) Townhouse developments located on arterial or collector streets may be oriented away from the street.
c) Any fences or walls constructed abutting a public street shall be consistent in
material, height and depth along a group of contiguous townhouse units.
C. Design Criteria of Townhouses, Individual Owners. In districts where townhouse buildings are permitted and townhouses are to be constructed for sale, each on its own lot, to individual owners:
1. Minimum Requirements. Townhouse developments shall be subject to the minimum requirements specified in the subdivision regulation; such townhouses shall be constructed in accordance with applicable provisions of all codes of the City with no more than twelve (12) units per building, nor fewer than two (2) in a row with approximately the same front line.
2. Minimum Width. The width of the lot on which any single townhouse is to be constructed shall be twenty (20) feet or greater at front lot line.
3. Minimum Lot Area. The minimum lot area per townhouse shall be no less than
eighteen hundred (1,800) square feet. The minimum areas required shall be exclusive of any paved common parking areas or driveways. The minimum lot area may include any required buffers, individual parking, garages or carports, or rear access alleyways.
4. Separation Requirements-interior of Projects. No portion of a townhouse or accessory structure shall be closer than twenty (20) feet to any portion of a townhouse or accessory structure related to another group.
5. Yards.
a. On lots containing townhouse dwellings, fronting on a public way, there shall be a minimum front yard as required in each zone.
b. A ten (10) feet side yard shall be required at the end of each townhouse building
for a total of twenty (20) feet between structures. Each townhouse shall have one abutting yard, which may be within the required front, side or rear yard, equal in width of the townhouse and have an area not less than fifty percent (50%) of the first floor area of the townhouse, private and reasonable secluded from view from streets or from neighboring property. Such yards shall not be used for any accessory buildings.
c. On corner lots facing or siding on a public street, the side yard minimum shall
conform to side yard on street yard minimum requirements, satisfying the zone in which development is located.
6. Access. A townhouse development shall front on a public right-of-way. However, individual townhouse lots need not abut public streets. When such lots do not abut public streets, they shall abut private roads, parking lots or access easements.
a. Any private road, parking aisle or access easement used for frontage requirements shall meet the minimum standards as designated in the City of Opelika Code of Ordinances, Chapter 26, Article V, Section 26-168.
b. The City Engineer shall review and approve proposed access specifications to ensure that the proposed road way is adequate to handle the expected usage.
c. The length and extent of private roads, driveways and parking aisles providing access to lots shall be minimized, and public streets shall be provided in larger subdivisions when substantial distances are involved. Individual lots shall be no more than 1,000 feet from a public street as measured along the private access road. The Planning Commission may waive this distance requirements if it is determined that the design will allow a better internal street network or in cases where topography limits connectivity.
d. Any private road, parking aisle or access aisle used for frontage requirements or
access shall be maintained in good repair and free of defect or deformations so that passability shall not be impaired.
e. The City Engineer or other authorized representative shall be authorized to
inspect private roads that provide a means of ingress or egress and may cause
corrective action or abatement as described in City of Opelika Code of Ordinances, Chapter 26, Article V.
Section 2. Repeal of Conflicting Ordinances. Any ordinance or parts thereof in conflict with provisions of this Ordinance be and the same are hereby repealed.
Section 3. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective upon its adoption, approval and publication as required by law.
Section 4. Publication. The City Clerk is directed to publish a synopsis of this Ordinance in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Opelika, Lee County, Alabama pursuant to Section 11-45-8(b)(2), Code of Alabama, (1975) as amended.
ADOPTED AND APPROVED this the 7th day of August, 2018.
/s/ Eddie Smith
PRESIDENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF OPELIKA, ALABAMA
ATTEST:
/s/ R. G. Shuman
CITY CLERK
TRANSMITTED TO MAYOR on this the 8th day of August, 2018.
/s/ R. G. Shuman
CITY CLERK
ACTION BY MAYOR
APPROVED this the 8th day of August, 2018.
/s/ Gary Fuller – MAYOR
ATTEST:
/s/ R. G. Shuman
CITY CLERK
Legal Run 08/08/2018
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE TEXT OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF OPELIKA SPECIFICALLY TO AMEND SECTION 8.13 THEREOF
