§ 134-203. RSL residential senior living district.

The regulations for the RSL residential senior living facilities district are as follows:

(1)

Purpose and intent. The RSL district is established to provide locations for the development of appropriate housing for the population 55 and older. In order to insure that older Cobb County residents can live in attached or detached dwelling units and/or multistage housing and care facilities appropriate to their specific needs, the following regulations are designed to facilitate development which addresses the decreasing mobility, changing health and distinct consumer preferences of the older adult market. These uses shall not be established as a precedent for any other residential or nonresidential district.

(2)

Definitions.

Accessory retail uses in RSL means retail sales and personal services intended for the residents or their guests within a RSL facility. These uses shall include eating and drinking establishments, barber shops, beauty shops, laundry and dry cleaning pickup establishments, newsstand, florist, gift shop, film developing and printing stores, stationary stores and convenience food stores (no fuel sales). This use shall also allow clinics for medical and dental care, and storage for the residents' personal items. Every public entrance for accessory retail uses shall be from inside the primary building, no show window, advertising, or display shall be visible from the exterior of the primary building and no signage shall be visible from a public road.

Nonsupportive facilities means individual housing units (attached or detached) designed for senior adults that do not include or provide any type of supportive services such as transportation, medical care, food preparation and the like. However, these non-supportive facilities may plan social events or trips for their residents.

Supportive facilities means housing units designed for senior adults that include or provide supportive services such as transportation, medical care, food preparation and the like. This use may include assisted living, skilled nursing care and hospice care.

Underground parking means a portion of a building partly underground which has more than three-quarters of its height, measured from finished floor to finished celling, below the average grade of the adjoining ground. An underground parking level shall not be deemed a story, and shall not be calculated in the overall building height, unless more than 25 percent of the parking level is above the average grade of the adjoining ground. This definition shall be used in the calculation of height for all types of RSL developments.

(3)

Permitted uses. Anything not permitted or allowed by special exception is prohibited. Permitted uses are as follows:

Supportive housing facilities as defined in section 134-203.1 of this district.

Nonsupportive housing units as defined in section 134-203.2 of this district.

Nonsupportive urban rental units as defined in section 134-203.3 of this district.

(4)

Lot size and setback requirements. (See section 134-203.1, section 134-203.2 and section 134-203.3 for applicable use limitations.)

(5)

Landscape buffer and screening requirements. Unless otherwise noted within this district's requirements, any property within an RSL district which abuts a more restrictive residentially zoned property shall have a minimum 20-foot (nonsupportive) or 40-foot (supportive) landscaped screening or maintained natural buffer adjacent to all residential property. Minimum buffers may be increased by the board of commissioners based on existing conditions such as tract size, topographic conditions, etc in order to provide compatibility with adjacent residential uses. When abutting a nonresidentially zoned property, a ten-foot landscaped screening or maintained natural buffer is required. The buffer shall be subject to approval by county staff. Required buffers may be included within required setbacks; however, in such case that the required buffer is greater than the required setback, the required buffer shall be adhered to. Additionally, necessary private utilities and/or access drives may be allowed through, over or across a landscaped buffer. Any such uses which are proposed through, over or across a designated, undisturbed buffer must be approved pursuant to an original site plan or site plan modification as set forth under section 134-126.

a.

Objectives. Undisturbed buffers, planted landscape, maintained natural buffers and berms shall be implemented in connection with a permitted project and shall address the following objectives:

1.

Screening to enhance aesthetic appeal;

2.

Control or direction of vehicular and pedestrian movement;

3.

Reduction of glare;

4.

Buffering of noise; and

5.

Establishment of privacy.

b.

Landscape buffers. Landscape buffers are subject to review and approval by county staff in accordance with the following standards:

1.

Plantings are to be a mix of evergreen trees and shrubs;

2.

Species are to be ecologically compatible to the site and appropriate for design situation;

3.

Unless public safety concerns dictate otherwise, buffer should maximize visual barrier to height of six feet within two years of planting;

4.

Minimum height of plant materials at installation is to be five feet for trees and two feet for shrubs;

5.

Fencing or walls are to be minimum six feet in height as approved by county staff;

6.

Trees included in buffer plantings may not be counted toward site density calculations as required by chapter 50, article VI, pertaining to tree preservation and replacement, subject to review and approval of county staff;

7.

Buffers shall be regularly maintained by the property owners to ensure that the objectives and standards set out in this section are met;

8.

When topography and existing conditions allow, the required buffer should be an undisturbed buffer; and

9.

Any appeals from a determination by county staff shall be to the board of zoning appeals.

c.

Berms. Berms are subject to review and approval by county staff in accordance with the following standards:

1.

Berms shall be utilized when consistent with surrounding property features;

2.

Berms shall be stabilized;

3.

Berms shall be constructed to be consistent with natural or proposed drainage patterns; and

4.

Berms shall be regularly maintained by the property owner.

(6)

Flood plain/wetlands preservation requirements. Any development must meet all state and federal requirements relating to flood plains and wetlands. The board of commissioners encourages preservation of wetland areas. Any development must also meet state and federal requirements relating to areas subject to the provisions of section 134-283, regarding mountain and river corridor protection act areas, and section 134-284, regarding metropolitan river protection areas. No flood plain and/or wetlands may be used in calculating the overall density of the development.

(7)

Building and structure requirements. (See section 134-203.1 and section 134-203.2 for applicable use limitations)

(8)

Parking requirements. (See section 134-203.1 and section 134-203.2 for applicable use limitations)

(9)

Lighting requirements. Any project permitted within the RSL district, which proposes a lighted facility, must have a county department of transportation approved lighting plan in accordance with the minimum conditions listed in section 134-269.

(10)

Special exception uses. (Not applicable)

(11)

Reserved.

(12)

Accessory buildings, structures, uses and decks. Any accessory building or structure which exceeds 1,000 square feet of gross space must have the approval of the division manager of zoning or his designee as to the location, architectural design and size prior to commencing construction. The division manager of zoning or his designee shall consider the following criteria for determining the appropriateness of the architectural design and size of the accessory building or structure: Compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood, style of exterior (the exterior is to be compatible in style with the primary structure), use of the proposed accessory structure, impact on adjacent properties, and requirements as deemed appropriate by plan review as set forth in this subsection. All accessory buildings, structures and uses in excess of 1,000 gross square feet shall be required to submit for plan review through the community development department or receive approval from the director of the community development department or his designee.

a.

Accessory buildings, structures, uses or decks shall be subject to the following conditions:

1.

Maximum height is one story or 15 feet.

2.

Accessory uses shall include garbage dumpsters, designated recycling collection locations, clubhouse and recreation centers, amenities, swimming pools and tennis courts, antennas and satellite dishes, heating and air conditioning units, jacuzzis, subject to the following conditions:

i.

Uses must be located within building setbacks.

ii.

No ground-based antenna or satellite dish shall exceed 35 feet in height without compliance with standards in section 134-273.

iii.

No accessory building, structure, use or deck shall be built until construction of the principal building has commenced.

iv.

Outdoor activities shall cease by 11:00 p.m. within clubhouse and recreation centers and swimming pools and tennis courts.

3.

Such buildings, structures, uses or decks shall be located on the same lot as the principal use to which the building, structure use or deck is accessory.

b.

Antennas and satellite dishes shall meet the requirements set forth in section 134-274.

c.

Incidental storage is permitted, provided that the material stored is incidental to the permitted use, as determined by the division manager of zoning or his designee, and stored completely within a portion of the enclosed principal structure permitted within the district, or within a permitted accessory structure.

(13)

Supportive and nonsupportive uses may be included and/or developed together on the same property in order to encourage multistage housing and care options for senior citizens. Ownership may be in fee simple, for lease, or via a contract which allows movement between lifestyle choices (levels of support and care) as the individual residents' needs evolve (provided the resident meets contract obligations). When used together, the project shall be designed to place the least intense part of the project adjacent to the more restrictive zoning districts, and the more intense, higher structures shall be placed in the center of the project to reduce the impact to the adjacent and nearby uses.

(Ord. of 3-9-99; Ord. of 3-16-99; Ord. of 11-23-99; Ord. of 7-10-01; Ord. of 9-10-02; Ord. of 9-10-02; Ord. of 7-27-04; Ord. of 1-25-05; Ord. of 7-26-05; Ord. of 1-24-06; Amd. of 2-28-17)