Know Your Code

Key Words

The words that come up most in Ashburn's code, in plain English. In the code itself, tap a dotted word to see its meaning.

abatement: Fixing or removing a nuisance. If the owner won't do it, the city can do it and bill the owner.
at large: For animals, it means loose: off your property and not on a leash or under your control.
charter: The law that creates the city government: the mayor and council, their powers, and the city court. Ashburn's was passed by the Georgia General Assembly and took effect in 2001.
conditional use: A use that's allowed only if it meets extra conditions the city sets, like hours, parking, or fencing.
franchise: Permission from the city for a company, like a cable or power company, to use city streets and right-of-way to run its lines. The company usually pays the city a fee for it.
history note: The note in parentheses at the end of a section. It tells you which ordinance passed or changed that section, and when.
home rule: A Georgia city's power to make its own local laws, as long as they don't conflict with state law, the state constitution or the city's charter.
impound: When the city picks something up and holds it, like a loose dog or a junked car, until the owner pays and claims it.
misdemeanor: A lesser crime, below a felony. It can still mean a fine or time in jail.
municipal court: The city's own court. It handles city ordinance violations and many traffic tickets inside Ashburn.
nonconforming use: Something that was legal before the zoning rules changed and gets to stay, even though it wouldn't be allowed if it started today. There are limits on growing it or bringing it back once it stops.
nuisance: Something on a property that causes a problem for the neighbors or the public, like junk, standing water, or a building about to fall in. The city can order it cleaned up.
O.C.G.A.: Short for the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. That's state law. When our city code points to it, the state rule is the one that counts.
occupation tax: What most folks call a business license. It's the yearly fee a business pays the city to operate here.
ordinance: A local law. When the city council votes to pass one, it goes into the city code.
preemption: When the state (or federal) government takes over a subject, like guns or minimum wage, so cities can't make their own rules about it.
reserved: An empty spot in the code's numbering, saved for rules the city might add later. There's no law there right now.
setback: How far a building has to sit back from the property line or the road.
special exception: A use the zoning rules allow in a district, but only after the board looks at it and says yes for that spot.
variance: Permission to break one zoning rule on one piece of property, usually because the lot is shaped oddly or the rule causes a real hardship. You have to ask for it and get a yes.
zoning district: An area on the city's zoning map with its own rules for what can be built and what it can be used for, like homes only, or shops and offices.

New to the code? Start with the basics: what the city code is, and how it fits under Georgia and federal law.