Agenda - Planning Commission - 06/01/1999

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L goB. May 25, 1999. Page 7 Trubey asked the court to dismiss Hall's lawsuit because Hall didn't sue the county as well. The court denied Trubey's request, and she appealed. The appeals court said the county didn't have to be named in the lawsuit because its participation wasn't required to grant Hall the relief she sought, and returned the matter to the trial court. After another hearing, the trial court found Trubey had illegally subdivided her lot. Relying on the lot size requirements for single-family homes in resi- dential districts, the court determined each of Trubey's three homes required at least one acre of land. Because Trubey's lot was only 1.19 acres, she could have only one home on her property. The court ordered Trubey to remove the two manufactured homes and pro- hibited her from further violating local zoning ordinances. Trubey appealed, arguing the court shouldn't have applied the residential districts' lot-size requirements to her commercially zoned property even though the buildings in question were residences. DECISION: Reversed. Trubey didn't have to remove the additional manufactured homes. The lot- size requirements for commercial- not residential lots applied. The county zoning ordinance defined the permitted uses in the commercial district to include all uses allowed in the residential districts, which meant single-family homes were allowed on Trubey's commercial property. The trial court should not, however, have applied the stricter lot-size re- quirements that applied to residential lots when it determined Trubey violated the zoning ordinance. Trubey's property was in a commercial district, so the lot-size and other restrictions for commercial districts applied. Zoning regula- tions allowed multiple-family houses on commercial lots and had smaller lot- size requirements. Because the commercial district's lot-size requirements would allow three houses on Trubey's property, the court should not have ordered her to remove the manufactured homes. Citation: Trubey u Hall, Court of Appeals of Georgia, No. A99A0744 (1999). see also: DeKalb County v. Post Apartment Homes, 506 S.E.2d 899 (1998). see also: Board of Commissioners of Henry County v. Welch, 324 &E.2d 178 (1985). Appeal . Can neighbor appeal before zoning commission reviews zoning officer's decision? CONNECTICUT (4/6/99) ~ In May 1998, Garbo Lobster applied to the City of Groton Planning and Zoning Commission for a special permit to operate a seafood wholesale business on property zoned waterfront business residence; The zoning enforcement officer approved Garbo's permit application with- out first holding a public hearing. The zoning officer found Garbo's proposal met the requirements for a facility that stored, distributed, and engaged in the wholesale of seafood.