Building & Zoning Department
Welcome to our city's Building & Zoning department. We would like to briefly remind our current and new residents of several items that require permits. Please review them below.
Zoning
What is Zoning?
Zoning can be defined as the division of a jurisdiction into districts to enable the regulation of land according to the nature and use of the land in order to promote the orderly development of the area, and the protection of public health, safety and general welfare. Zoning permits the enjoyment of all property rights, so long as the owner does not infringe upon or impair the exercise of the same rights of others.
What is the purpose of Zoning?
The purpose of zoning is to protect public health, safety, and welfare. For a zoning resolution to be legal, it must be wholly in the concept of general welfare. This means the zoning resolution must:
secure a public purpose
be reasonable
not be confiscatory
be consistent
The "public purpose" is to prevent landowners or tenants from using their site to the detriment of the general welfare of the community at large. Actions that have no bearing on public health, safety, and general welfare are outside the scope of zoning.
Zoning regulation must be reasonable. For example, the size and location of signs may be regulated, but to ban them completely is considered unreasonable.
Zoning must not be confiscatory. If land is regulated to the extent it cannot be used for anything of economic value, the effect is to take the land. The courts have ruled that these regulations have exceeded the boundaries of power and are unconstitutional.
Ordinances must be uniform for each class of property throughout any zone. For example, the City's ordinances may require that all structures within a particular zone have the same setback distance from the road. All housing developments in a particular zone might require the same distance of road frontage as all other housing districts in the same type zone.
To view the City's zoning maps please visit our "Forms & Publications" page on the City's main website.
To request a zoning change, visit our "Forms & Publications" page on the City's main website and look for the appropriate zoning application under the "Building & Zoning" section.
You can also email buildingdepartment@cityofmacclenny.com or call the "Building and Zoning" department at 904-259-7529 for more information about zoning.
Permitting
The following are some of the items that require permits.
Installation of heating and air conditioning
Plumbing where fixtures are added or replaced
Electrical where new or additional wiring is installed
Irrigation systems (back-flow prevention device and rain sensor heads required on most systems)
Driveways and culverts (minimum culvert diameter is 18 inches)
Fences
To request a "Permitting Application", visit our "Forms & Publications" page on the City's main website and look for the "Permit Application" form under the "Building & Zoning" section.
For more information about permits call 904-259-7529 or email buildingdepartment@cityofmacclenny.com.
Open Burning
Ordinance 9403 allows open burning by permit only. The Fire Chief & Public Safety Director must issue permits. Call 904-259-3331 or email firedepartment@cityofmacclenny.com for permitting or more information.
For detailed information on the City Of Macclenny's Ordinances follow the link below: