JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
Whitwell’s Board of Mayor & Commissioners have recently approved three readings regarding zoning across different districts within the community.
As the meeting ensued, Mayor Sandra Crabtree and all city commissioners in attendance reviewed all three readings for the ordinances before approving each one. The first ordinance examined, Ordinance #379, permits the addition of recreational facilities within the C2 Highway Commercial District of the town. Crabtree explained how the ordinance was formed to allow for new recreational facilities to be established in town, as the city council received requests from citizens to have more recreational activities be added for the community to enjoy. And by establishing the ordinance under the C2 Highway District, facilities such as a jump park can now officially be built within the given district.
“We had some people who were asking about maybe putting a jump park, or something like that in. And so we added that so that if they wanted to come in on Highway 28 and do that, they could,” explained Crabtree.
The ordinance was officially approved during its third and final reading, with it now in effect in Whitwell.
The last two ordinances, Ordinance #377 and #380, were reviewed during their second readings. Ordinance #380 pertains allowing individuals the opportunity to live in a RV or camper on owned land while construction for a new home is underway. However, a temporary-use permit is required, and those looking to do so are only allowed to live in a mobile home for up to a year while construction is ongoing .
Ordinance #377 allows permitted use to modify all single-family dwellings within the Mixed-Use district of the community. The ordinance allows for permitted use of modifying single family homes within the district. Originally and still in effect , it is required that a full review of a home be conducted before official permission to modify a home can be granted by the city. However, the ordinance aims to outright remove the required review and instead allow for permitted use from the city straight away.
Both ordinances for their second readings have officially been approved by the board, alongside the third and final reading of Ordinance #379. Both ordinances #380 and #377 will be reviewed once more for their third and final readings during next month’s meeting.