AI not smarter than Fernando (human appraiser)

[sputnam]

AI gave me a link to their zoning. I checked and the linked site said it's not in their city.
I go back to AI and said it's not in the city. Then AI gave me alternative and eventually I got the zoning.
I had to help AI to get the answer.

Instead of all that, it would have been faster and just as easy to simply do the zoning research yourself.

 

[cashcatz]

Instead of all that, it would have been faster and just as easy to simply do the zoning research yourself.

Not necessary. Question to Perplexity:

Figure out the zoning for 2161 Pendly Road coming Georgia, find it's zoning description and summarize it's uses and restrictions.

Result in 15 second - even understood a spelling mistake:

2161 Pendly Road in coming, Georgia is zoned CBD, which in Forsyth County is the Commercial Business District. [1][2][3][4]

## Zoning designation

- Multiple commercial listings for 2161 Pendley Rd (note spelling variation) show the zoning as “CBD – Commercial Business District.” [1][2][5][6]
- Forsyth County’s Unified Development Code (UDC) lists “CBD – Commercial Business District” as one of the established zoning districts. [4][7]

## General intent of CBD

- The CBD district is a commercial district intended for higher‑intensity business uses compared with neighborhood‑scale commercial, typically along major roads and in activity centers. [8][9]
- It is designed to accommodate a broad mix of retail, service, office, and some related commercial uses, with development standards addressing intensity, building coverage, and site design. [8][10]

## Typical allowed uses

Under the Forsyth County UDC, specific permitted and conditional uses in CBD are defined in Table 12.1 for Commercial and Office Districts. [8][10] In practice, CBD generally allows:

- Retail stores, shops, and service businesses (e.g., general retail, personal services, many indoor commercial services). [8][10]
- Offices, banks, professional and business services. [8][10]
- Restaurants and many other customer‑oriented commercial uses, with some auto‑related and higher‑impact uses more likely in HB/HC than NS/UV but still within the broader commercial spectrum. [8][9]

Exact use eligibility (permitted vs. conditional vs. not permitted) depends on how the use is listed in Table 12.1 for the CBD column, and some specific uses are further regulated by Chapter 16 of the UDC. [8][10]

## Key development standards and restrictions

- Performance standards for CBD (Table 12.2) include items such as maximum building coverage (up to about 70%), minimum lot standards for rezoning, setbacks, height, and other site design requirements. [10]
- Around‑the‑clock operations typically require a conditional use approval in commercial districts, including CBD. [8]
- Residential dwellings in commercial districts are heavily restricted; any residential component in CBD is only allowed where there was a prior conditional use for residential and is capped as a percentage of acreage, so CBD should not be assumed to permit new residential by right. [10]

## Practical next steps

Because the UDC is detailed and periodically amended, any specific proposed use (for example, a particular industrial, automotive, or mixed‑use concept) should be checked directly against Table 12.1 (permitted/conditional uses in CBD), Table 12.2 (performance standards), and any applicable overlay districts, or confirmed with Forsyth County Planning & Community Development. [11][8][9]

Sources
[1] 2161 Pendley Rd, coming, GA 30041 - Industrial for Sale - LoopNet https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/2161-Pendley-Rd-coming-GA/38117286/
[2] 2161 Pendley Rd, coming, GA 30041 | CommercialCafe.com https://www.commercialcafe.com/commercial-property/us/ga/coming/2161-pendley-rd/
[3] [PDF] Zoning Districts - Forsyth County https://www.forsythco.com/Portals/0/Documents/GIS/OpenData/SubFolder/ZONING_34x44_frames.pdf
[4] [PDF] Chapter 9, Zoning and Overlay Districts https://mcclibraryfunctions-stage.azurewebsites.us/api/ordinanceDownload/13631/1222854/pdf
[5] Bagley Commercial Properties | coming GA - Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BagleyCommercial/
[6] Featured Properties - coming https://www.bagleycommercial.com/properties/
[7] [PDF] Chapter 9, Zoning and Overlay Districts Unified Development Code ... https://www.forsythco.com/Portals/0/Documents/CommunityDevelopment/UDC/udc_011_ch9.pdf
[8] [PDF] Chapter 12, Commercial and Office Districts Unified Development ... https://www.forsythco.com/Portals/0/Documents/CommunityDevelopment/UDC/udc_014_ch12.pdf
[9] [PDF] forsythcounty - unified development code https://www.forsythco.com/Portals/0/Documents/CommunityDevelopment/UDC/UDC Complete.pdf
[10] [PDF] Forsyth County, GA Code of Ordinances https://images1.showcase.com/d2/U7Y4vnLnp81u3lXcqD3_rP9DT6a-JlSkWbuLQLsprPM/document.pdf
[11] Zoning - Forsyth County https://www.forsythco.com/Departments-Offices/Planning-Community-Development/Zoning
[12] 2161 Pendley Rd coming, GA 30041-6453 https://www.northgeorgiacommercial.com/2161-pendley-rd-coming-ga-30041-6453/
[13] [PDF] Official Zoning Map - City of coming https://www.cityofcumming.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Zoning-Map-Aug-2022.pdf
[14] .89 AC 6 Lane - Sewer On Site - Zoned CBD - CommercialSearch https://www.commercialsearch.com/co...89-ac-canton-highway-development-opportunity/
[15] Zoning Districts | Forsyth County Georgia GIS Open Data https://geo-forsythcoga.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/zoning-districts
[16] Closing Day Countdown: Atlanta Road Property Under Contract [instagram]DRN1t2IEWmE
[17] [PDF] JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE 2008 - Pickens County, GA https://www.pickenscountyga.gov/DocumentCenter/View/135/Supporting-Data-PDF
[18] Unified Development Code (UDC) - Forsyth County https://www.forsythco.com/UDC
[19] Forsyth County Georgia GIS Open Data https://geo-forsythcoga.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets
[20] [PDF] Chapter 11 – Residential Districts - Forsyth County https://www.forsythco.com/Portals/0/Documents/CommunityDevelopment/UDC/udc_013_ch11.pdf
[21] Mapping / GIS - Forsyth County https://www.forsyth.cc/tax/mapping.aspx
[22] Search | Forsyth County, GA | Municode Library https://library.municode.com/search?stateId=10&clientId=5343&searchText=zoning&contentTypeId=CODES
[23] Geographic Information Services - Forsyth County https://www.forsythco.com/Departments-Offices/Geographic-Information-Services
[24] Unified Development Ordinances (UDO) & Amendments https://www.cityofws.org/1593/Unified-Development-Ordinances-UDO-Amend
[25] [PDF] Chapter 12, Commercial and Office Districts Unified Development ... https://www.forsythco.com/Portals/0/Documents/CommunityDevelopment/UDC Ordinance Changes/2022 UDC Modifications/udc_014_ch12_Comp Plan reference draft.pdf?ver=2022-09-21-083943-767
[26] § 21-9.4. Sub-area 1 (regional mixed-use)., Article IX. RONALD ... http://forsythcounty-ga.elaws.us/code/coor_apxa_ch21_artix_sec21-9.4
[27] Code of Ordinances | Forsyth County, GA - Municode Library https://library.municode.com/ga/forsyth_county
[28] [PDF] an ordinance - Forsyth County https://www.forsythco.com/Portals/0/Documents/CommunityDevelopment/CMTCO Draft 9.27.22.pdf?ver=2022-10-20-102736-530
[29] [PDF] Chapter 21, Overlay Districts Unified Development Code of Forsyth ... https://mcclibraryfunctions-stage.a...Download/13631/1385392/pdf?forceDownload=true
[30] [PDF] zoning ordinance city of forsyth, georgia https://www.cityofforsyth.net/sites...ing-ordinance-article-0-table-of-contents.pdf
[31] Public Hearing Case File No. 18-0049 Hy-Vee 125th Avenue and ... https://www.facebook.com/groups/youknowyourefromblaine/posts/2117551731636911/
[32] § 21-9.3. Relationship to underlying zoning and other regulations ... http://forsythcounty-ga.elaws.us/code/coor_apxa_ch21_artix_sec21-9.3
[33] [PDF] article ix, ronald reagan/union hill overlay district - Forsyth County https://www.forsythco.com/Portals/0/Documents/CommunityDevelopment/UDC Ordinance Changes/2024 UDC Modifications/The Gathering Draft 10.30 for Web.pdf?ver=Un_7WpQ1aHqtdS6cGgQd8w==
[34] [PDF] Chapter 21 – Overlay Districts - Forsyth County https://www.forsythco.com/Portals/0/Documents/CommunityDevelopment/UDC/udc_024_ch21.pdf
[35] The Forsyth County news., November 01, 2023, Image 15 https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn84007709/2023-11-01/ed-1/seq-15/
[36] 11.21.2024 Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting/Public Hearings https://forsythcoga.portal.civicclerk.com/event/340/overview
[37] The Forsyth County news. (coming, Ga.) 19??-current, March 23 ... https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn84007709/2022-03-23/ed-1/seq-15/ocr/

 

[Mark K]

My bet is that the old Radio Shack TRS 80 (Trash 80) is smarter than nando. AI will look at his internet activity and laugh.

 

[Vermonter]

AI will look at his internet activity and laugh.

Or maybe the AI is being trained on him and getting dumber by the minute?

He could be our savior!

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

Or maybe the AI is being trained on him and getting dumber by the minute?

He could be our savior!

Hmmm. One of the recent AF posters did a wonderful job to explain for me how AI can do what it does. But... what if the majority of published info about a topic is incorrect???

 

[Alsie35]

I'm gonna hafta try Copilot on zoning ... since I get the zoning from CRSDATA, I'll basically just be double-checking it. I've caught Copilot giving me the wrong answer a bunch of times ... like giving you the 2024 schedule of Christmas events for a location after you asked it for THIS year's schedule ... you gotta know to keep asking questions several times in different ways ... and to correct it when something seems amiss ... AI is only as good as what it pulls up ... it is not "omniscient", nor does it pull up the entire internet automatically (yet) ... it needs some guidance, but its a DAMNED useful tool ...

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

I'm gonna hafta try Copilot on zoning ... since I get the zoning from CRSDATA, I'll basically just be double-checking it. I've caught Copilot giving me the wrong answer a bunch of times ... like giving you the 2024 schedule of Christmas events for a location after you asked it for THIS year's schedule ... you gotta know to keep asking questions several times in different ways ... and to correct it when something seems amiss ... AI is only as good as what it pulls up ... it is not "omniscient", nor does it pull up the entire internet automatically (yet) ... it needs some guidance, but its a DAMNED useful tool ...

"Asking the question several times in different ways"... like trying to.pry an answer from a rude Planning tech at the counter--IMO one of tbe most challenging skills for a newbie appraiser...

 

[Fernando]

Instead of all that, it would have been faster and just as easy to simply do the zoning research yourself.

Usually AI is faster.
I have to go into city website, look at zoning map, and see what the zoning entails.

 

[sputnam]

Usually AI is faster.
I have to go into city website, look at zoning map, and see what the zoning entails.

It's not faster when it's wrong and you have to look it up yourself anyway. It takes, at most, 5 minutes to look up the zoning of a property in online public records.

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

It's not faster when it's wrong and you have to look it up yourself anyway. It takes, at most, 5 minutes to look up the zoning of a property in online public records.

Exactly which "Public record" are you referencing? Only published zoing documentation of which I'm aware is the occasional online zoning map with an interactive search function, but even then the user must cross ref the z designation with the General Code, etc.