These provisions of these Regulations are adopted for the purposes and intent of providing for the health and welfare of the citizens of the Garden Plain Zoning Jurisdiction through promotion of appropriate patterns and practices of urban development. Within this general purpose, these Zoning Regulations are intended to:

A.   Promote the health and general welfare of the citizens.

B.    Provide for adequate light, air, and acceptable noise levels.

C.    Encourage the most productive use of urban land resources through promotion of compatible land use patterns.

D.   Prevent the overcrowding of land and undue concentration of population.

E.    Facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewage, schools, parks, and other public requirements.

F.    Protect property values and conserve energy resources.

G.   Regulate and restrict the location and use of buildings and the uses of land within each district for residential, commercial, industrial, and other purposes.

H.   Regulate and restrict the height, number of stories, and size of buildings; the percentage of the lot that may be occupied by buildings and other structures; and the size of yards and other open spaces.

I.     Guard against loss of life and damage to property due to flooding through protection of natural drainage features.

J.     Preserve  features  of  historical  significance  and  the  conservation  of  natural resources.

K.   Implement goals, policies, and proposals of the comprehensive plan for the zoning jurisdiction.

L.    Provide required public notice on proposed revisions in these regulations and zoning maps and an opportunity for the public to be heard.

M.   Establish and outline requirements for the Planning Commission and Governing Body.

The following structures  and  uses  shall  be  exempt  from  the provisions of these regulations:

A.   Poles, wires, cables, conduits, vaults, lift stations, laterals, pipes, mains, valves, or other similar equipment for the distribution to consumers of telephones or other communications, electricity, gas or water, or the collection of sewage or surface water, but not including major utility substations located on or above the surface of the ground.

B.    Railroad tracks, signals, bridges and similar facilities and equipment located on railroad rights-of-way, and maintenance and repair work on such facilities and equipment.

C.    Buildings, structures, or land uses owned but not just leased, by the federal government.

D.   Use of land for agricultural purposes including accessory buildings and structures thereon not in a designated flood plain, while actively being farmed with crops. When any structure or land ceases to be actively farmed for the season or it is no longer only for agricultural purposes, then it shall be subject to the applicable provisions of these regulations regarding land use, including code enforcement.