Jan. 11—The Dalton City Council has voted 4-0 to create a new type of zoning called urban planned unit development (UPUD) as part of the city's unified zoning ordinance with Whitfield County and Varnell. Varnell has not yet approved the zoning type.
"This is similar to our existing planned unit development," said Ethan Calhoun, a planner with the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, who handles staff work for zoning for the county and the cities of Dalton and Varnell.
"A planned unit development is an attempt to create a little flexibility with site design, mixing different types of uses in a development, to have different types of housing, perhaps even commercial, if certain parameters are met," said Calhoun.
The zoning ordinance currently allows PUDs of at least 15 acres. The proposed new zoning type has no minimum size but has a maximum size of eight acres.
Before a PUD could be created the project would have to create a detailed site plan to be reviewed by planning staff, and the planning commission would have to vote on whether to recommend it and the county commissioners or city council would have to approve it. The site plan could not be changed without the approval of the county commissioners or city council members.
Calhoun said the zoning is a tool for development, particularly infill development of vacant or underutilized land "where development can be challenging."
The zoning would apply not only to the city of Dalton but to the entire urbanized area, which includes some areas surrounding the city.
The county Board of Commissioners approved the new zoning type at its Monday meeting. The Varnell City Council is set to vote on it when it meets Tuesday at 6 p.m. in City Hall.
City officials and the Dalton-Whitfield Joint Development Authority are looking at rezoning 3.25 acres at 900 S. Hamilton St. to UPUD from transitional commercial to create workforce housing.
That property, basically an entire city block, was donated to the city by Mohawk Industries in 2011 and was the site of a chenille plant. The city had the building demolished shortly after accepting the property.
The City Council members also voted 4-0 to:
—Approve the sale by Dalton Utilities of 16.61 acres under a transmission line in Gilmer County to Pinnacle Development for $24,000.
—Designate Bank OZK as the depository of public funds of the city.
—Renew the equitable sharing agreement with the federal Justice Department and Treasury Department that allows the city police department to take part in the federal asset forfeiture program, which provides the department a portion of any assets seized by federal law enforcement in cases in which the department participates.