§ 58-170. Definitions.

As used in this article, the following terms shall mean:

Affordable means the sales price cannot exceed 2½ times the income of people or households of low or moderate income, or the rental price cannot exceed 30 percent of the gross monthly income of people or households of low or moderate income.

Affordable housing means housing affordable to persons of low or moderate income.

Building permit means the permit required for new construction pursuant to the Fulton County Building Code. As used herein, the term shall not include permits required for remodeling, rehabilitation, or other improvements to an existing structure, provided there is no increase in gross square feet or number of dwelling units resulting therefrom.

Capital improvement means an improvement with a useful life of ten years or more, by new construction or other action, which increases the service capacity of a public facility.

Capital improvements element means that portion of the Comprehensive Plan: Unincorporated Fulton County, Georgia, which sets out projected needs for system improvements during a planning horizon established in the Comprehensive Plan: Unincorporated Fulton County, a schedule of capital improvements that will meet the anticipated need for system improvements, and a description of anticipated funding sources for each required improvement. (See the Capital Improvements Element of the Comprehensive Plan.)

Commencement of construction or commenced construction means expenditure of any funds, whether they be development impact fee funds or not, for a public facilities project, marshalling of forces to undertake a public facilities project, or advertising of bids to undertake a public facilities project, or any action normally found to proceed subsequent to these actions in a typical flow of project construction activities.

Completion of construction means a project or development has been issued the final certificate of occupancy by the county. The date of completion is the date at which such certificate is issued.

Comprehensive plan means the Comprehensive Plan: Unincorporated Fulton County, Georgia, adopted March 15, 1978, amended by the Fulton 2010 comprehensive plan updated on May 4, 1988, and on May 7, 1990, and as it may be amended in accord with O.C.G.A. tit. 36, ch. 70 (O.C.G.A. § 36-70-1 et seq.) (Growth Strategies) in the future.

County means Fulton County, a legal subdivision of the State of Georgia.

County manager means the County Manager of Fulton County, Georgia, or the county manager's designee.

Developer means any person or legal entity undertaking development.

Development means any construction or expansion of a building, structure, or use, any change in use of a building or structure, or any change in the use of land, any of which creates additional demand and need for public facilities.

Development approval means written authorization, such as issuance of a building permit, or other forms of development approval as required by other Fulton County codes, which authorizes commencement of construction.

Development impact fee means a payment of money imposed upon development as a condition of development approval to pay for a proportionate share of the cost of system improvements needed to serve new growth and development.

Encumber means to legally obligate by contract or otherwise commit to use by appropriation or other official act of the county.

Excess capacity means capacity of a public facility or system of public facilities which is beyond that necessary to provide service at a specified level of service.

Feepayor means that person or entity who pays a development impact fee or his/her successor in interest with the right or entitlement to any refund of previously paid development impact fees which is required by this article and which has been expressly transferred or assigned to the successor in interest. In the absence of an express transfer or assignment or entitlement to any refund or previously paid development impact fees, the right or entitlement shall be deemed "not to run with the land."

Fulton County median income means the median income of all residents of Fulton County, Georgia, incorporated and unincorporated, as documented in the most recent applicable report published by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Individual assessment determination means a finding that an individual assessment study does or does not meet the requirements for such a study and, if requirements are met, the fee calculated from an individual assessment study.

Individual assessment study means the engineering and/or economic documentation prepared by a feepayor to allow determination of a development impact fee other than by use of an applicable fee schedule, as required by O.C.G.A. § 36-71-4(g).

Level of service means a measure of the relationship between service capacity and service demand for public facilities in terms of demand to capacity ratios or the comfort and convenience of use or service of public facilities, or both.

Low income means persons or households with income equal to or less than 50 percent of the median income of Fulton County according to the most recent data published from time to time by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Moderate income means persons or households with income equal to or less than 80 percent of the median income of Fulton County according to the most recent data published from time to time by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Present value means the current value of past, present, or future payments, contributions, or dedications of goods, services, materials, construction, or money.

Project means a particular development on an identified parcel of land or as may be identified by a particular zoning petition.

Project improvements means site improvements and facilities that are planned and designed to provide service for a particular development project and that are necessary for the use and convenience of the occupants or users of the project and that are not system improvements. The character of the improvement shall control a determination of whether an improvement is a project improvement or a system improvement and the physical location of the improvement onsite or offsite shall not be considered determinative of whether an improvement is a project improvement or a system improvement. If an improvement or facility provides or will provide more than incidental service or facilities capacity to persons other than users or occupants of a particular project, the improvement or facility is a system improvement and shall not be considered a project improvement. No improvement or facility included in a plan for public facilities approved by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners shall be considered a project improvement.

Property owner means that person or entity which holds title to property.

Proportionate share means that portion of the cost of system improvements which is reasonably related to the service demands and needs of the project.

Public facilities means:

(1)

Water supply production, treatment, and distribution facilities;

(2)

Wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal facilities;

(3)

Roads, streets, and bridges, including rights-of-way, traffic signals, landscaping, and any local components of state or federal highways;

(4)

Stormwater collection, retention, detention, treatment, and disposal facilities, flood control facilities, and bank and shore protection and enhancement improvements;

(5)

Parks, open space, and recreation areas and related facilities;

(6)

Public safety facilities, including police, fire, emergency medical, and rescue facilities; and

(7)

Libraries and related facilities.

Rental housing means a dwelling unit for which periodic payments are paid by a tenant to a landlord for its use or occupation.

Rents affordable to low income families means that the sum of the utility allowance and the rent payable monthly to the owner with respect to a unit is at or below the fair market rent published annually by HUD. In case of cooperative or mutual housing, rent means the occupancy charges under the occupancy agreement between the members and the cooperative.

Sales housing means a dwelling unit that is to be transferred from one person to another called, respectively, the seller (or vendor) and the buyer (or purchaser), by which the former, in consideration of the payment or promise of payment of a certain price in money, transfers to the latter the title and the possession of property.

Service area means geographically defined areas of the county, designated in the Comprehensive Plan: Unincorporated Fulton County, or a component thereof, or designated by intergovernmental agreement, as areas in which a defined set of public facilities provide service to development within the area and/or in which development potential creates the need for the imposition of development impact fees.

System improvement costs means costs incurred to provide additional public facilities capacity needed to serve new growth and development for planning, design, and construction, land acquisition, land improvement, design, and engineering related thereto, including the cost of constructing or reconstructing system improvements or facility expansions including, but not limited to, the construction contract price, surveying and engineering fees, related land acquisition costs (including land purchases, court awards and costs, attorneys' fees, and expert witness fees), and expenses incurred for qualified staff or any qualified engineer, planner, architect, landscape architect, or financial consultant for preparing or updating the capital improvement element, and administrative costs, provided that such administrative costs shall not exceed three percent of the total amount of the costs. Projected interest charges and other finance costs may be included if the impact fees are to be used for the payment of principal and interest on bonds, notes, or other financial obligations issued by or on behalf of Fulton County to finance the capital improvements element but such costs do not include routine and periodic maintenance expenditures, personnel training, and other operating costs.

System improvements means capital improvements that are public facilities designed to provide service to the community at large, in contrast to project improvements.

Unit of development means the standard incremental measure of land development activity for a specific type of land use upon which the rate of demand for public service and facilities is based. As an illustration, the standard unit of measurement for most types of housing development is dwelling unit, whereas the standard unit of development for office development is gross square footage of floor area.

Unused or excess impact fee means any individual impact fee payment paid to the county from which no amount of money has been encumbered or expended according to the requirements of section 58-174(d) herein within the time specified in section 58-176(a) herein.

Utility allowance means the amount for the cost of utilities (except telephones) and other housing services that is not included in the rent payable to the owner, but is the responsibility of the family occupying the unit.

(94-RM-121, pt. 1, art. V, 5-18-94)

Cross reference

Definitions generally, § 1-2.