Planning Commission

Scope

No person shall construct any improvements, including any site work involving clearing, grading, filling, dredging, excavating or alike, nor alter the use of any land or structure, until the Building Director issues a Development Permit for improvements, site work, or construction.  No Development Permit is required for normal maintenance and repairs.

1. Types of Uses
   1. Permitted Use.  A Development Permit for a Permitted Use may be issued by the Building Director.
   2. Conditional Use, Site Plan Review, Variance.  A Development Permit for a use requiring a Conditional Use or Variance shall be issued by the Building Director only upon the order of the appropriate body having final review.
2. Application
   1. All applications for a Development Permit shall be in writing on a form provided by the Building Director and shall be submitted to the Building Director.
   2. All applications for a Development Permit shall include a plot plan drawn to scale showing the location and dimensions of the lot area and of the proposed uses of buildings and/or land.  The Building Director may require any additional information which is deemed necessary to properly evaluate the application for the purposes of determining its conformity with this Ordinance.
   3. Prior to the issuance of any Development Permit, the Building Director shall review the application for such permit to determine if all other necessary governmental permits have been obtained.  No permit shall be issued until this determination has been made.
   4. The Building Director may submit a copy of any plan and application to any appropriate agencies and/or individuals (e.g., Planning Commission, City Engineer, etc.) for review and comment.
3. Issuance
   1. The Building Director shall issue or refuse an application for a Development Permit within fifteen (15) days after the date such application was made, except as specifically provided for in this Ordinance.
   2. A Development Permit shall be issued in at least triplicate.
   3. One (1) copy shall be kept conspicuously on the premises.
   4. No person shall perform building operations of any kind unless a Development Permit is being displayed as required by this Ordinance.
   5. After the issuance of a Development Permit by the Building Director, no changes of any kind shall be made to the application, permit, plans, specifications, or other documents submitted with the application without the written consent or approval of the Building Official.

REQUIRED AT POOLS.

All unattended public and private swimming pools shall have a fence or enclosure separating the entire pool from public access with a minimum height of six feet (6’-0”) measured on the side of the barrier which faces away from the swimming pool. This barrier shall comply with all conditions required by this article except requirements set forth in Section 9.12 and all height requirements set forth in Section 9.12 A.  If the pool contains over 24 inches of water it must be fully enclosed by a fence.  Gates that provide access to swimming pools must be self-closing, self-latching and child resistant.

PERMITS REQUIRED

It shall be unlawful for any person to erect, construct, enlarge, alter, repair, replace, remove or demolish any fence regulated by this article without first obtaining a separate permit for each fence from the Building Official. A FENCE PERMIT APPLICATION shall be required other than for minor repair or painting as necessary.

APPLICATION FOR PERMIT

To obtain a permit required by this division, the applicant shall first me a FENCE PERMIT APPLICATION for permit on a form furnished by the Building Official.

PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS

Three sets of plans and such other data as deemed necessary by the Building Department shall be submitted with each application for a permit under this article.

INFORMATION ON PLANS.

Plans shall be drawn to scale and shall include the following:

1. Building locations and area to be fenced;
2. Legal description of land to be fenced;
3. Height of fence and type of materials to be used;
4. intersections of streets, roads, highways, alleys and driveways;
5. Zoning; and
6. Corner “visibility range,” when required, shall be shown.

PERMIT ISSUANCE.

Application

The FENCE PERMIT APPLICATION, plans and other data, flied by an applicant for a permit under this article shall be reviewed by the Building and Zoning department.  If the work described in an application for a permit and the plans and other data flied therewith conform to the requirements of this article and all other pertinent laws and ordinances, and the fees specified in the City Ordinance providing for permit, inspection and license fees have been paid, the permit shall be issued to the applicant.

Endorsement

The plans shall be endorsed by the City in writing and shall not be changed, modified or altered without authorization from the Building and Zoning department, and all work shall be done in accordance with the approved plans.

Plan Retention

One set of approved plans shall be retained by the Building and Zoning department for a period of not less than 90 days from the date of completion of the work covered, (one set of the approved 2 plans shall be retained by the engineering department and one set of the approved plans shall be returned to the applicant.)

VALIDITY OF PERMIT

The issuance or granting of a permit under this article or approval of plans shall not be construed to be a permit for, or an approval of, any violation of any of the provisions of this article or any other code or ordinance of the City.  The issuance of a permit based community development from thereafter requiring correction of errors in such plans and other data, or from preventing building operations being carried on there under when in violation of this article or any other code or ordinance of the City.

PERMIT EXPIRATION

Every permit issued by the Building and Zoning department under the provisions of this article shall expire by limitation and become null and void if the authorized work is not commenced within 60 days from the date of permitting, or if the authorized work is not completed, or is abandoned for a period of 60 days.  Before the work can be recommenced, a new permit shall be first obtained and the fee shall be one half the amount required for a new permit for such work, provided the elapsed time does not exceed 180 days in which case the permittee shall pay a new full permit fee in order to renew the permit.

SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF PERMIT

The Building Director may, in writing, suspend or revoke a permit issued under the provisions of this article whenever the permit is issued in error or on the basis of incorrect information supplied, or in violation of any code or ordinance of the City or any of the provisions of this article.

APPEAL

Any applicant for a fence permit whose request is denied by the City staff for noncompliance with this article, or whose permit is suspended or revoked, may, within ten days from the date of written notification, appeal such decision as allowed by statute.

PERMIT FEES

The fee for each permit shall be as set forth in the City ordinance providing for permit, inspection and license fees which are set out in Section 9.15. No permit fees shall be refunded.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND RESTRICTION

1. Fences constructed on any lot, and specifically comer lots, will be subject to, and shall conform to the visibility range requirements contained in Section 5.4.3 Traffic Visibility Across Corners of this ordinance.  An addition clear zone may be required by the Building Director.
2. No fence, guy wire, brace or post shall be constructed upon or extend over property that the City has control over, owns or has an easement over or under, except upon:
   1. Underground drainage easements that contain non-pressurized storm sewer pipes if written permission is granted by all users.
   2. Underground sanitary sewer easements that contain non-pressurized pipes if written permission is granted by all users.
   3. Utility easements if written permission is granted by all users.
3. No drainage easement, public or private, shall be fenced or obstructed in any manner, without prior written permission by all users. A gate shall be constructed in a fence along easements to allow ingress and egress for maintenance.
4. No fence shall exceed ten feet in height measured from the finished grade of the lot or property upon which the fence is being erected except as otherwise provided for in this article.
5. No fence erected within the City limits shall be electrically charged in any manner, without prior written permission by the authority having jurisdiction.
6. No fence shall be constructed of barbed wire or other sharp, pointed material except on property zoned agriculture and is five acres or greater in size, or except as provided for in subsection (H) of this section.
7. All fences shall have a minimum of one gate for emergency ingress and egress.  The minimum width of such gate shall be three feet. A driveway approach, in conformance with the general development ordinance and approved by the engineering division, shall be required for all vehicle gates.
8. In C-1 and C-2 zoning districts, fences six feet or greater in height may be constructed with angle arms at the top and such angle arms may be armed with barbed wire. Such arms shall not extend over public property, city, county, or state rights-of-way, easements or private property. Any property that requires a screening device shall conform to the general development ordinance.
9. Construction material may be wood, vinyl, chain link, masonry, or other approved material except in the case where a screening device is required; in all such cases the City Zoning Ordinance requirements shall prevail.
10. All semi-public swimming pools shall have a fence or enclosure which complies with the following:
    1. The top of the barrier shall be at least 48 inches above grade measured on the side of the barrier which faces away from the swimming pool.  The maximum vertical clearance between grade and the bottom of the barrier which faces away from the swimming pool shall be two inches.  Where the barrier is mounted on top of the pool structure, the maximum vertical clearance between the top of the pool structure and the bottom of the barrier shall be two inches.
    2. Openings in the barrier shall not allow passage of more than a four-inch diameter sphere.
    3. Solid barriers which do not have openings, such as a masonry or stone Wall, shall not contain indentations or protrusions except for normal construction tolerances and tooled masonry joints.
    4. Where the barrier is composed of horizontal and vertical members and the distance between the tops of the horizontal members is less than 45 inches, the horizontal members shall be located on the swimming pool side of the fence.  Spacing between vertical members shall not exceed 1¾ inches in width.
    5. Where the barrier is composed of horizontal and vertical members and the distance between the tops of the horizontal members is 45 inches or more, spacing between vertical members shall not exceed four inches. Where there are decorative cut outs within vertical members, spacing within the cutouts shall not exceed 1¾ inches in width.
    6. Maximum mesh size for chain link fences shall be 1¾ -inch square unless the fence is provided with slats fastened at the top and the bottom which reduce the openings to no more than 1¾ inches.
    7. Where the barrier is composed of diagonal members, such as a lattice fence, the maximum opening formed by the diagonal members shall be no more than 1¾. inches.
    8. Access gates shall comply with the requirements of previous paragraphs i. through vii. of this subsection, and shall be equipped to accommodate a locking device. Gates shall have self-closing and self-latching devices which shall meet the following three requirements:
       1. The release mechanism of the self-latching device must be located not less than 45 inches from the grade below the gate.
       2. The release mechanism shall be located on the pool side of the gate at least three inches below the top of the gate.
       3. The gate and barrier shall have no opening greater than one-half inch within 18 inches of the release mechanism.
    9. Where a wall of a dwelling serves as part of the barrier, direct access to the pool through the wall shall be limited to doors and windows which meet the following conditions:
       1. Windows leading to the pool area shall have a latching device at least 54 inches above the floor.
       2. Hinged doors leading to the pool area shall be self-closing and shall have a self latching device. The release mechanism, if not self-locking, shall be located at least 54 inches above the floor.
       3. Sliding doors or sliding screen doors leading to the pool area shall be self-locking and shall have a self-latching device. The release mechanism, if not self-locking, shall be located at least 54 inches above the floor.
11. Barriers shall be located so as to prohibit permanent structures, landscaping objects, stationary equipment, or similar objects from being used to climb the barrier.
12. No fence shall be constructed in the required front yard building setback area of R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, R-O, C-1, C-2 or WF zoning districts; except that a decorative fence may be constructed outside of any defined and/or dedicated easement, a height no greater than 3½ feet above the finished lot grade and the solid area of such fence shall not exceed 50 percent of the total.
13. In all zoning districts where outside storage of material, equipment, goods and supplies is allowed, all fencing shall comply with the general development ordinance.
14. In the C-3 Interstate Commercial District shall conform to the following criteria:
    1. No chain link fences shall be permitted within the district, any section, on commercially developed property, except for security purposes when approved by the planning commission.
    2. All fences shall maintain as a minimum a thirty-five (35) percent transparency unless permitted as an exception by the planning commission.
    3. Fences shall not exceed four (4) feet in height unless utilized for security or screening purposes, in which case such fence may not exceed seven (7) feet in height within the build able area of the lot.

INSPECTIONS

Upon completion of work authorized under this article it shall be the duty of the permittee to notify the director of the Building and Zoning department that such work is ready for inspection. Required inspections shall include:

1. Alignment inspection. (To be made after all post or support structures are in place or to be made when the holes are dug before the posts are inserted or concrete is poured.)
2. Final inspection. To be made after the fence has been completed.

MAINTENANCE

FENCE FEE SCHEDULE

Building permit fees for fences shall be as listed below:

VARIANCE

Variances shall be administered in accordance with Section 2.6 Variance Procedure.

TREE ORDINANCE
SCOPE

The provisions of this Ordinance shall apply to Live Oaks, Magnolia, Cypress, Sycamore, and Cedar trees within the City limits of the City of D’Iberville, Mississippi, on all privately owned property.

PERMIT REQUIRED PRIOR TO TREE DESTRUCTION

Except as provided and permitted herein, it shall be unlawful to cut down, remove, deface, burn, poison or take any other action that results ultimately in the destruction of any tree designated in this Ordinance on private property which has a trunk circumference of at least eighteen inches (18″) when measured at a point five feet (5′) above ground level from the base of such tree unless a proper permit is issued under the provisions of this Ordinance.

PERMIT PROCESS; TREE PROTECTION COMMITTEE

Application

Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity seeking permission to take any action which may result in the removal or destruction of a tree, as defined in this Ordinance, shall first make application TREE PRUNING/ABATEMENT PERMIT to the Tree Protection Committee which shall be composed of three (3) members, one of which shall be a full-time City employee.

Review; Initial Decision

The Tree Protection Committee shall receive and review applications for any work proposed to be done which may result in destruction of any tree or trees covered by this Ordinance and shall render such decision in writing as they deem to be in the best interest of the City of D’Iberville.

Decision on Appeal to Mayor and City Council.

The Mayor and City Council upon written appeal from a decision of the Tree Protection Committee shall make a final decision as to the disposition of the tree or trees in question, and this decision shall be made a part of the City minutes.

Appeal to Circuit Court

Any person being aggrieved by the decision of the Mayor and Members of the Council may appeal said decision to the Circuit Court of Harrison County in the time and manner provided by law.

PERMIT APPLICATION CONTENTS

Any person, firm, partnership, corporation or other legal entity seeking permission to cut down, remove, deface, burn, poison, or take any other action that results ultimately in the destruction of any tree designated in this Ordinance shall first make written application to the Tree Protection Committee in triplicate which shall contain the following information:

The plat map describing the property on which the tree or trees are located naming streets adjacent to the property and showing the location of the tree or trees on said plat.  The map may be prepared by the petitioner (compass direction shall show on the map).  The scale of the map shall be as follows:

Property over 1200′ x 1800′ should have a key plan base plot map with attached partial plot maps at the larger appropriate scale.

1. Trees to be affected shall be so denoted on the map by a circle and numbered in sequence so that they may be identified by the same code with any written material accompanying the map.
2. An explanation or description of the work or alteration to be performed on each tree.
3. The name, legal residence, mailing- address, and phone number of the property owner making the request and the same information of the person or firm doing the work.

CONSIDERATION OF A TREE LOSS VERSUS ECONOMIC HARDSHIP

The Tree Protection Committee shall, in reaching its decision for recommendation, weigh the loss created by the removal of the tree against the economic hardship that would be imposed upon the applicant were the permit denied.

TREES ON PUBLIC PROPERTY

All trees of any kind, regardless of size, located on public property belonging unto the City of D’Iberville shall not be removed, cut down nor destroyed except upon action of the City Manager.  Provided, however, any tree removed under authority of the City Manager shall nonetheless be reported to the City Council by the City Manager stating his reasons therefor.

EXEMPTION FOR PUBLIC UTILITIES

Any public utility operating within the City of D’Iberville may, upon order of the City Manager, be exempt from the provisions of this Ordinance, upon a finding that the services provided by them are necessary for the general health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City of D’Iberville, but such cutting, removal, defacing, burning, poisoning or taking of any other action that would ultimately result in the destruction of any tree designated in this Ordinance shall be limited to the amount necessary in order to provide such utility service.

REPLACEMENT TREES

Person removing tree or trees covered by this Ordinance shall plant new tree or trees as per the tree mitigation schedule established in Section 11.9

TREE MITIGATION PROCESS

Location of New Trees

The location of new plantings will be determined by the tree protection committee.

Mitigation Chart

The following chart in Table 11.1 will be used as a guideline for mitigation:

Planting

Normally, the new trees will be furnished to the city and the city will plant the new trees.

Substitutions

Shrubs or other landscaping (of similar dollar value may be subsisted for new trees if so determined by the tree committee to be in the best interest of the city.

Download Permit Application

Unless explicitly provided for in a City of D’Iberville ordinance, all businesses, trades and professions conducting a trade, occupation, performing a service, or selling foods or services within the City are required to purchase a Privilege License prior to beginning operations. This statement applies to the City of D’Iberville with certain exceptions. The Privilege License is required to legally operate anywhere within the City of D’Iberville. This requirement applies to all businesses, whether operated for profit, non-profit or home-based.

A City license may be required in addition to any State or County licenses already held.

Download Application