The Montezuma Planning and Zoning Commission is made up of citizens appointed by the Mayor and City Council. The members of the P&Z Commission are:
Carl Adams, Chairman (478)-472-1959 Board Members: Charles Glover, Mary Helen Jackson, Ed Turley, Byron Thompson, Hazel Thompson
The P&Z Commission meets eight (8) days before City Council meetings at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. All meetings are open to the public. P&Z does not meet if there are no agenda items for discussion. Please contact City Hall to be placed on the agenda.
See our Documents, Maps, and Forms section for meeting minutes and other related information.
Signs
The City of Montezuma is covered by a comprehensive sign ordinance. Most signs require a sign permit. Check our Documents, Maps, and Forms section for current regulations and Sign Permit Application forms.
Zoning Districts and Rezoning
The City of Montezuma is divided into several zoning districts. You may click on the district below to see a list of the allowed land uses in that district.
A-1 Agricultural
The following uses are permitted in this district:
- • Any type of agricultural use.
- • Any use permitted in the R-1 residential district.
- • Hospitals.
- • Cemeteries.
- • Golf course.
- • Facilities providing municipal services.
R-1 Single-family residential
The following uses are allowed in this district:
- • Single-family dwellings, except trailers and mobile homes.
- • Agriculture, excluding the commercial raising of poultry and livestock.
- • Church bulletin boards not exceeding twenty (20) square feet in area.
- • Churches, fraternal organizations and clubs not operating for profit. Provided that:
- • There is a planted buffer strip at least ten(10) feet wide along the side and rear lines; and
- • The building are located not less than fifty (50) feed from any lot line.
- • Customary accessory uses or buildings.
- • Customary incidental home occupation including the professional offices of an architect, artist, beautician, dentist, engineer, lawyer, and physician provided there is no external evidence of such occupations except an announcement sign not more than two (2) sqare feet in area and that the operations are conducted withing the dwelling by not more than one (1) person in addition to those persons residing therein. Off-street parking provision of article VI, section, 62, are applicable to incidental home occupations.
- • Substations, electric or gas, provided that:
- • The structures are placed not less than fifty (5) feed from any property line;
- • The structures are enclosed by a woven wire fence at least eight (8) feet high;
- • No vehicles or equipment stored on the premises; and
- • The lot includes a planted buffer strip of at least ten (10) feet wide along the side and rear property lines.
- • Public buildings, structures and grounds, except cemeteries.
- • Schools, including private schools, nursery schools, and kindergartens. The off-street parking provision of article VI, section 62, are applicable to these uses.
- • Signs not more than six (6) square feet in area advertising the sale or rental of the property on which they are located.
R-2 Multifamily residential
The following uses are permitted in this district:
- • Any use permitted in the R-1 district.
- • Multifamily residence.
- • Boardinghouses and roominghouses.
- • Hospitals.
R-3 Multifamily residential (mobile homes allowed)
The following uses are permitted in this district:
- • Any user permitted in the R-1 district.
- • Multifamily residence.
- • Boardinghouses and rooming houses.
- • Hospitals.
- • House trailers (mobile homes) shall be permitted providing that:
- • A single house trailer shall be allowed on a single lot in the R-3 district proved said lot, whether existing or created, has the minimum square feet as herein specified for a lot in this district and provided that adequate sanitary sewage facilities are installed or connected to as recommended by the state health department.
- • House trailer or trailers shall be allowed in the R-3 district on property that has been designated and developed as a trailer park, which has been constructed according to standards recommended by the American National Standards Institute.
R-3R Manufactured residential housing (double wide mobile homes allowed)
The following uses are permitted in this district:
- • Any use permitted in the R-1 district.
- • Any new double-wide manufacture home shall be allowed on a single lot in the R-3R district proved such lot, whether existing or created, has the minimum square footage as here specified for a lot in this district and proved that adequate sanitary sewage facilities are installed or connected to as recommended by the state health department. prior to the connection of such manufactured homes to city utilities and all other public utilities, the following restrictions and requirement shall be complied with:
- • Proper moving permit is obtained from city hall.
- • The lot and manufacture home has been landscaped in front of such home.
- • All wheels, axles and tow bars have been removed.
- • The manufactured home has met the required manufactures or industry standards for tie downs and anchors.
- • The manufactured home is owned by the lot owner.
FP-1R Floodplain restricted
This property was purchased under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, authorized by Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1988, PL 93-288 as amended; and the state has entered into a cooperative agreement with the city to use the property as described hereafter under the terms and conditions there under:
- • The premises shall only be used for purpose consistent with open space, recreational, or wetlands management purposes (as defined in Title 44, Code of Federal Regulations part 206.434, as it appears now or may hereafter be amended).
- • No future disaster assistance for any purpose from any federal source will be sought or provided with respect to the property.
- • There shall not be erected on the premises any new structures or other improvements other than rest rooms, or public facility that is open on all sided and functionally related to open space uses.
- • The city agrees that it shall convey the property only to another public entity and only with prior approval from GEMA and the Regional Director of FEMA. Such conveyance shall be made expressly subject to the above-referenced conditions and restrictions which shall run with the property in perpetuity. In addition, for property that is transferred to another public entity; that public entity must obtain approval from GEMA and the Regional Director of FEMA to convey the property to another public entity.
C-1 General commercial
The following uses are permitted in this district:
- • Any retail business or service, including manufacturing in connection with a retail store or shop providing that such manufacturing is incidental to the retail use and all goods manufactured are sold on the premises.
- • Automobile sales rooms and repair garages.
- • Bus terminals and taxicab stands.
- • Clubs and lodges.
- • Funeral parlors.
- • Gasoline service stations, provided that points of access and egress shall be located ten (10) feet or more from the intersection of street lines; shall not exceed forty (40) feet in width; and shall not be closer than twenty (20) feet apart.
- • Hotels and motels.
- • Offices and banks.
- • Newspapers and printing plants.
- • Off-street parking lots.
- • Professional offices for physicians, dentists, lawyers, engineers, and the like.
- • Public uses and structures.
- • Public utility structures.
- • Radio stations.
- • Restaurants, bars, grills, and similar eating and/or drinking establishments, excluding drive-in establishments.
- • Signs: Outdoor advertising, and professional, or announcement.
- • Theaters, indoor.
- • Existing buildings in the C-1 area may be converted in whole or in part for residential use either for single-family occupancy or multifamily occupancy, including apartments but excluding boardinghouses and roominghouses. Any new buildings constructed in the C-1 area may also be used for residential purposes, including single-family occupancy or multifamily occupancy but excluding boardinghouses and roominghouses. Also excluded are single-family dwellings.
C-2 Highway commercial
The following uses are permitted in this district:
- • Retail shops customarily serving tourist or highway trade.
- • Agricultural equipment sales and service.
- • Automobile parts sales stores.
- • Automobile sales rooms and used car lots.
- • Boat sales, or rental, new or used.
- • Bus terminals.
- • Business and outdoor advertising signs.
- • Car wash.
- • Funeral parlor.
- • Cold storage and frozen food lockers.
- • Commercial greenhouses and nurseries.
- • Drive-in grocery.
- • Drive-in theaters.
- • Drugstores.
- • Gasoline service stations, provided the points of access and egress shall be located ten (10) or more feet from the intersection of street lines; shall not exceed thirty (30) feet in width; and shall not be closer than forty (40) feet apart.
- • Laundry and dry cleaning establishments.
- • Miniature golf course.
- • Monument sales establishment.
- • Mobile home and travel trailer sales.
- • Motels.
- • Off-street parking lots.
- • Private clubs, lodges, and meeting halls.
- • Public and semipublic recreation facilities, including bowling alleys.
- • Public uses and structures.
- • Repair garages.
- • Restaurants, grills, and similar eating establishments, including drive-ins.
- • Trailer parks.
- • Signs: Outdoor advertising, and professional or announcement.
- • Veterinarian office, animal hospital and kennel.
C-3 Neighborhood commercial
Allows uses in the district are retails stores and shops which supply the regular and customary needs of the residents of the neighborhood and which are primarily for their convenience as follows:
- • Antique shop
- • Automobile parking lot
- • Baby shop
- • Bakery goods store
- • Bank and savings and loan office
- • Barbershop
- • Beauty shop
- • Book or stationary store
- • Camera shop
- • Curio or gift shop
- • Drugstore or fountain
- • Dairy products or ice cream store
- • Delicatessen
- • Dress shop
- • Florist shop, greenhouse, nursery
- • Furniture store
- • Grocery store
- • Hardware store
- • Jewelry or notion store
- • Lodge hall
- • Meat market
- • Medical facility
- • Messenger or telegraph service
- • Newspaper or magazine sales
- • Office business
- • Optometrists sales and service
- • Photographer studio
- • Pharmacy
- • Radio and television sales and service
- • Restaurant
- • Self-service laundry or dry cleaning
- • Sewing machine sales, instruction
- • Sporting goods sales
- • Shoe repair shop
- • Tailor shop
- • Toy store
- • Variety store
- • Accessory buildings and uses customarily incidental to the above uses.
I-1 Light industrial
I-2 Heavy industrial
Each of these districts are clearly defined on the Zoning District Map in this section. Please note that the official Zoning District Map hangs in the Council Chamber at City Hall.
See the Documents and Forms section for the complete Zoning Ordinance as well as forms for zoning change requests. The Zoning District Map can also be found here.
Citizens wishing to use property in a manner that is not consistent with the allowed uses may apply to the Clerk / Administrator for a re-zoning or a Certificate of Nonconforming Use. Effective October 1, 1998 there is a $60 fee for all applications.
Requests will be reviewed by the P&Z Commission at their next regular meeting. The Commission will vote on the request and make a recommendation to the Mayor and City Council based on that vote.
All requests require a public hearing. Generally these hearings are held immediately prior to the next regularly scheduled City Council Meeting. The Mayor and Council will usually vote on the request at the regular City Council meeting immediately following the public hearing. State law requires that public hearings be advertised in the legal organ at least two week prior to the meeting.