§ 26-428. Definitions.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following terms shall have the meaning indicated herein.

Administrative guidelines means a Fulton County document that contains technical specifications for stream buffer width averaging and mitigation measures (i.e. stream bank restoration); and stream buffer variance appeal procedures and required documentation.

Affected area means all of unincorporated Fulton County.

Applicant means any person who seeks permission to engage in any regulated activity on any property within the affected area that contains any protected areas, as those terms are defined herein.

Board of commissioners means the Board of Commissioners of Fulton County, Georgia.

Concept plan means a drawing that shows the proposed layout of a subdivision in sufficient detail to indicate its workability and feasibility, but is not in final form for recording, pursuant to these regulations. The conceptual plan is the first stage in securing a land disturbance permit.

Director means the authorized administrator or his/her designee of the Fulton County Department of Environment and Community Development.

Existing structure means a land use which, prior to the effective date of this article, is: (1) completed; (2) under construction; (3) permitted by the Fulton County; or (4) the subject of a completed land disturbance permit application which has been submitted for approval to Fulton County and where a concept plan approval was granted (with all required supporting documentation).

Fees means permit processing and/or costs that may be established from time to time by the director.

Fulton County action means any review or approval of plans, site plans, improvements, permits, or any other government-related decision, constitutes an action.

Georgia Erosion and Sedimentation Act (GESA) means the latest edition of the Act that establishes rules and regulations for best management practices for erosion and sedimentation control in the State of Georgia (O.C.G.A. § 12-7-1 et seq.).

Impervious surface means any gravel, paved, hardened, or structural surface, including, but not limited to, buildings, driveways, walkways, parking areas, patios, decks, streets, swimming pools, dams, tennis courts, or other similar materials and structures as identified by Fulton County.

Land disturbance permit means an official authorization issued by the department, allowing defoliation or altercation of a site or the commencement of any construction activities, including but not limited to, clearing, grubbing, dredging, grading, excavating, transporting, and filling of land, but not including agricultural practices as defined in the O.C.G.A. § 1-3-3.

Land disturbing activity means any grading, scraping, excavating, or filling of land; clearing of vegetation; and any construction, rebuilding, or alteration of a structure which involves disturbance of the land in and around the structure.

Large water supply watershed means a watershed containing 100 square miles or more of land within the drainage basin upstream of a governmentally owned public drinking water supply intake.

Metropolitan River Protection Act (MRPA) means the latest edition of the Act that establishes a 2,000-foot river corridor along both sides of the banks of the Chattahoochee River and its impoundments within the Atlanta Regional Commission's planning area (O.C.G.A. § 12-5-440 et seq.).

Person means any individual, partnership, firm, association, joint venture, public or private corporation, trust, estate, commission, board, public or private institution, utility, cooperative, state agency, municipality, or other similar legal entities.

Point of wrested vegetation means point where vegetation has been persistently twisted or bent (wrested) by normal stream flow or wave action.

Private project means any other project not defined as a public project.

Protection area means any and all land and vegetation within the undisturbed buffer and impervious surface setback.

Public project means any local, state or federal government utility that is being built and funded (in full or in part) by a government authority.

Reservoir boundary means the edge of a water supply reservoir defined by its normal pool elevation.

Riparian [means] belonging to or related to the bank of a river stream, lake, pond or impoundment.

Septic tank (onsite sanitary sewer system) means a Fulton County Board of Health approved watertight structure installed underground to receive sewage from a building affecting separation and organic decomposition of sewage solids and discharging effluent to an absorption field or other element, of an onsite sewage management system.

Setback [means] the area extending beyond any buffer applicable to the stream in which no impervious surface is allowed.

Small water supply watershed means a watershed that contains less than 100 square miles of land within the drainage basin upstream of a public drinking water supply intake.

State waters means (per GESA) any and all rivers, streams, creeks, branches, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, drainage systems, springs, wells, and other bodies of surface or subsurface water, natural or artificial, lying within or forming a part of the boundaries of the state which are not entirely confined and retained completely upon the property of a single individual, partnership, or corporation.

Stream means any stream, beginning at 1) the location of a spring, seep, or groundwater outflow that sustains stream flow; or 2) a point in the channel with a drainage area of 25 acres or more; or 3) where evidence indicates the presence of a stream in a drainage area of other than 25 acres, the Fulton County Department of Environment and Community Development may require field studies to verify the existence of a stream.

Undisturbed buffer means a naturally vegetated strip of land where no improvements shall take place or have been made and which lies adjacent to a stream, river, or lake and provides such functions as protecting water quality, providing wildlife habitat, and storing floodwaters.

Utilities means water or sewer systems, water or sewer pumping stations, electric power/transmission lines, fuel pipelines, telephone lines, roads, driveways, bridges, river and lake access facilities, railroads, and other similarly functions/uses as identified by Fulton County.

USGS blueline stream means a perennial stream that is depicted on a United States Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5-minute quadrangle map (scale 1:24,000) with a solid blue line.

Water supply reservoir means a public-owned impoundment of water for the primary purpose of providing water to one or more public drinking water systems. This excludes the multipurpose reservoirs owned by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (COE).

Water supply watershed means the area of land within the drainage basin upstream of a public drinking water supply intake.

(Res. No. 05-0566, Exh. A, 3-4-05; Ord. No. 18-0340, Att. A, 5-16-18)