§ 19-1006. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning set forth below:

Act means O.C.G.A. title 36, chapter 71.

Affordable means new sales housing or rental housing units that do not exceed the maximum prices and/or maximum rents as defined in sections 19-1006 and 19-1016.

Affordable Housing Units means housing units that are affordable within the meaning of this chapter.

Atlanta Empowerment Zone means that area designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a federal empowerment zone pursuant to provisions of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.

Atlanta metropolitan statistical area means the 18 county areas designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Building permit means any official document issued by the City of Atlanta authorizing the construction, repair, alteration or addition to a building or structure, including site work and foundation work related thereto. As used herein, the term shall include conversions, but otherwise shall not include permits required for remodeling, rehabilitation, or other improvements to: (i) an existing residential structure provided there is no increase in the number of dwelling units resulting therefrom; or (ii) an existing nonresidential structure provided there is no increase in the gross square footage.

Capital improvement means an improvement with a useful life of 10 years or more, by new construction or other action, which increases the service capacity of a public facility.

Capital improvements program means that document approved by council which sets out projected needs for system improvements during the planning horizon established therein, which provides a schedule of capital improvements that will meet the anticipated need for system improvements, and which provides a description of anticipated funding sources for each required improvement.

City means the City of Atlanta, Georgia.

Commencement of construction or Commenced construction means expenditure or encumbrance of any funds, whether they be development impact fee funds or not, for a public facilities project, or advertising of bids to undertake a public facilities project.

Commercial when used in the impact fee schedules means all retail and service activities as well as all activities within shopping centers.

Completion of construction shall mean the issuance of the final certificate of occupancy by the city. The date of completion is the date on which such certificate is issued.

Comprehensive development plan means the City of Atlanta Comprehensive Development Plan, as it may be amended from time to time.

Conversion means any change in use of an existing building or structure.

Council means the City Council of the City of Atlanta.

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 requiring the issuance of a building permit, which creates additional demand on or need for public facilities.

Development approval means written authorization, such as approval of a rezoning application or issuance of a building permit or other forms of official action required by local law in the city prior to commencement of construction.

Development impact fee means the payment of money imposed upon and paid by new development as a condition of development approval as its proportionate share of the cost of system improvements needed to serve such development, and includes parks and recreation impact fees, public safety impact fees and transportation impact fees.

Director means the director, bureau of buildings and/or such other official designated by the director, bureau of buildings, to administer the provisions of this chapter.

Dwelling unit means a room or rooms connected together, constituting a separate housekeeping establishment for a family, for owner occupancy or rental or lease on weekly or longer terms, physically separate from any other rooms or dwelling units which may be in the same structure, and containing independent kitchen and sleeping facilities. When in multifamily buildings, dwelling units may be referred to as apartments.

Economic development project means any project that meets one or more of the following criteria:

(a)

Any development located within a designated housing, commercial, industrial, or mixed-use enterprise zone; or

(b)

Any development located within the Atlanta Empowerment Zone or a Linkage Community; or

(c)

Any commercial development project located outside the Atlanta Empowerment Zone or a Linkage Community but within a community development impact area which, in opinion of the city council as expressed through an appropriate resolution, would either (1) generate annual revenues of $500,000.00 or more, of which at least 75 percent would be derived from the sale of goods and services to residents of the empowerment zone and linkage communities, or (2) create ten or more permanent jobs, of which at least 75 percent would be filled through the first source jobs program by qualified residents of the empowerment zone and linkage communities; or

(d)

The rehabilitation or conversion of any historic building; or

(e)

The construction of any new not-for-profit day care, vocational training, or educational facility located in a community development impact area; or

(f)

The construction of any private not-for-profit recreational facility.

(g)

The construction of any not for profit homeless facility.

(h)

Development projects associated with corporate relocation from outside the city limits into the city limits and which is anticipated to create at least 8,000 new full time jobs and/or $1,000,000,000.00 in new investment.

Effective date means the date on which this chapter becomes effective.

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

Excess capacity means that portion of the capacity of a public facility or system of public facilities which is beyond that necessary to provide adequate service at the then-existing level of service.

Fair market rent means the monthly rate of rental housing cost, by bedroom size, published periodically by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In the event that HUD fails to publish said data for a period of one year or more, the commissioner of planning and development shall publish annually a set of fair market rents for new construction by adjusting the most recently published HUD data in proportion to the residential rent component of the consumer price index as published annually by the United States Department of Labor.

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

Fire/EMS facilities means fire protection and emergency medical services facilities, including but not limited to fire stations, fire engines and fire fighting equipment, truck and other mobile units, and related facilities.

Functional population means the effective population of the city, including residents and nonresidents, during a given period of time, as used in the calculation of development impact fees and as described in the impact fee study.

Gross floor area means the sum of the gross horizontal area of the several stories of a building measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or from the center line of walls separating two buildings or different uses, including attic space with headroom of seven feet or greater and served by a permanent, fixed stair, but not including enclosed off-street parking or loading areas.

Historic building means any building designated by the City of Atlanta as a "Landmark building or site" (LBS) or "Contributing building" within a "Landmark district" (LD) as those terms are defined in chapter 20 of part 16 of the Code of Ordinances.

Homeless facilities means any not for profit facility for the purpose of housing homeless persons or families, to include but not be limited to: shelters, dormitories, hotels or rooming houses that are federally funded through the city and included in the Comprehensive Development Plan.

Impact fee study means that certain report entitled "Impact fee study, City of Atlanta, Georgia," dated March 18, 1993, as said report may be amended and supplemented from time to time, which is attached hereto as Attachment 3 and which by this reference is incorporated herein.

Independent fee determination means a finding by the director that an independent fee study does or does not meet the requirements for such a study as established by this chapter and, if the requirements are met, the fee calculated by the director therefrom.

Independent fee study means the engineering, financial and/or economic documentation prepared by a feepayor or applicant in accordance with section 19-1009 of this chapter to allow individual determination of a development impact fee other than by use of the applicable fee schedule, all as required by O.C.G.A. section 36-71-4(g).

Level of service means a measure of the relationship between the ratio of service capacity and service demand for specified public facilities in terms of demand to capacity ratios or the comfort and convenience of use or service of such facilities, or both, as established by the council as a matter of policy.

Linkage community means any census tract outside the Atlanta Empowerment Zone with a poverty rate of 35 percent or more as determined by the U.S. Bureau of the Census in the most recent decennial census.

Major road network system means all arterial and several major collector roads within the city, as shown on the long range road classification map including new arterial and major collector roads necessitated by land development. A list of all roads included in the major road network system is included in the impact fee study.

Maximum price means, in the case of low-income sales housing units, that the pro-forma sales price is equal to or less than one and one-half times median family income, and in the case of moderate-income housing units, that the pro-forma sales price is greater than one and one-half times median family income but does not exceed two and one-half times median family income.

Maximum rents means, in the case of low-income rental housing units, that the pro-forma rental rate is equal to or less than 60 percent times fair market rent, and in the case of moderate-income rental housing units, that the pro-forma rental rate is greater than 60 percent times fair market rent but does not exceed 80 percent times fair market rent.

Median family income means the median income of all families of the Atlanta metropolitan statistical area according to the most recent data published from time to time by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Multifamily when used in the impact fee schedules attached hereto means all residential dwelling unit types other than single-family detached dwelling units, as that use is defined in the City of Atlanta Code of Ordinances, part 16, "Zoning," section 16.01.001 et seq.

Nonprofit educational facility means a public or private academic institution, operated for nonprofit and accredited by the State of Georgia, that offers a program or series of programs of academic study.

Nursing home means a residential board and care home appropriately licensed by the State of Georgia.

Office when used in the impact fee schedules attached hereto means all general purpose office buildings, including business, medical and government office uses, as well as ancillary retail and service activities, provided that professional office buildings utilizing at least 75 percent of their floor area for medical offices and clinics shall be included in the "Hospital" category.

Parks and recreation facilities means capital improvements consisting of parks, open space, recreation and related facilities, including but not limited to, land, group picnic shelters, gymnasiums, playcourts, ballcourts, ballfields, playgrounds, art centers, swimming pools, golf courses, nature preserves, bike ways and similar facilities.

Parks and recreation impact fees means development impact fees imposed by the city for park and recreation facilities.

Police facilities means capital improvements consisting of buildings and equipment, including precincts, headquarters buildings, training facilities electronic equipment, radio equipment, and certain vehicles or other equipment with a useful life in excess of 10 years.

Present value means the current value of past, present or future payments, contributions or dedications of goods, services, materials, construction, or money, taking into account, when appropriate, depreciation and inflation.

Pro-forma rental rate means the projected rental rates of rental housing based upon total development costs.

Pro-forma sales price means the projected sales price of sales housing based upon total development costs.

Project or Development project means a principal building or structure, or group of buildings or structures, planned and designed as an interdependent unit together with all accessory uses or structures, utilities, drainage, access, and circulation facilities, whether built in whole or in phases on an identified parcel of land.

Project improvements means site specific improvements or facilities that are planned, designed or built to provide service for a specific development project and that are necessary for the use and convenience of the occupants or users of that 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 on-site or off-site shall not be considered determinative of whether an improvement is a project improvement or a system improvement. No improvement or facility included in a plan for public facilities approved by the council shall be considered a project 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. Direct access improvements to the particular development project are project improvements. Direct access improvements include but are not limited to the following: (1) site driveways and local residential and nonresidential streets, (2) median cuts made necessary by those driveways or local residential and nonresidential streets, (3) right turn and left turn, and deceleration or acceleration lanes leading to or from those driveways or local residential and nonresidential streets, (4) traffic control measures for those driveways or local residential and nonresidential streets, (5) local residential and nonresidential streets that are not shown as publicly-owned roads on the city's long range road classification map, as amended, (6) local residential and nonresidential streets or intersection improvements whose primary purpose at the time of construction is to provide direct access to the development project, and (7) necessary right-of-way dedications required for those items set forth in (1)—(6) above.

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

Public facility or Public facilities means fire/EMS facilities, police facilities, transportation facilities, and parks and recreation facilities.

Public safety impact fees means development impact fees imposed by the city for fire/EMS facilities and police facilities.

Redevelopment means new construction of one (1) or more buildings or portions thereof on a lot of record upon which ground has been broken for said new construction within one (1) year following demolition of one (1) or more buildings or portions thereof on the same lot of record.

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

Road or Roads mean arterial or collector streets or roads which have been designated in the long range road classification map together with all necessary appurtenances, including, but not limited to, right of way, bridges, traffic, signals, and landscaping.

Sales housing means a newly constructed dwelling unit that is to be transferred from one (1) 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 real property.

Service area means a geographically defined area of the city, designated in the City of Atlanta comprehensive development plan or a component thereof, in which a defined set of public facilities provides service to development within the area or in which development potential creates the need for the imposition of development impact fees.

System improvements means capital improvements that are public facilities designed to provide service to more than one (1) project or to the community at large, in contrast to "Project improvements."

System improvement costs means costs incurred to provide system improvements needed to serve new growth and development, including the costs of 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, attorney's 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 program, and administrative costs equal to three percent (3%) of the total amount of the costs. Projected interest charges and other finance costs may be included if the development 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 the city to finance system improvements, but such costs do not include routine and periodic maintenance expenditures, personnel training, and other operating costs.

Total development costs means all costs associated with new construction, including construction costs, land costs, and soft costs.

Transportation facilities means roads, streets, and bridges, including rights-of-way, traffic signals, sidewalks and landscaping, and any local components of state or federal highways.

Transportation impact fee means development impact fees imposed by the city for transportation facilities.

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 facilities is based.

VMC means vehicle-miles of capacity.

VMT means vehicle-miles of travel.

(Code 1977, § 19-1006; Ord. No. 1995-27, § 1, 5-21-95; Ord. No. 1996-64, § 1, 8-26-96; Ord. No. 1998-43, §§ 1, 2, 6-23-98; Ord. No. 2017-79(17-O-1707), § 3, 11-29-17 )