For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms or words used herein shall be interpreted as follows. The words “used or occupied” include the words “intended, designed, or arranged to be used or occupied.” The word “lot” includes the words “plot or parcel,” and all other words or phrases used to denote an individual site that complies with the minimum provisions of this chapter. The following definitions apply to the interpretation of this chapter:
1. “Abutting” means having property or district lines in common.
2. “Access” means a way of approaching or entering a property from a public street or alley.
3. “Accessory living quarters” means living quarters within an accessory building for the sole use of persons fully employed on the premises or for temporary use by guests of the occupants of the premises.
4. “Accessory use or structure” means a use or structure subordinate to the principal use of a building on the lot and serving a purpose customarily incidental to the use of the principal building.
5. “Agriculture” means the use of land for agricultural purposes, including animal husbandry, apiculture, dairying, farming, floriculture, forestry, groves, horticulture, orchards, poultry husbandry, ranching, viticulture, and the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating or storing the produce; however, the operation of the accessory uses shall be subordinate to that of the normal agricultural activities.
6. “Alley” means any public space or thoroughfare less than 20 feet but not less than 10 feet in width and which has been dedicated or deeded to the public for public use.
7. “Amendment” means a change in the wording, context, or substance of this chapter, or any part thereof, or a change in the zoning or district boundaries of the Official Zoning Map, a part of this chapter, when adopted by ordinance passed by the City Council in the manner prescribed by law.
8. “Apartment house or building” means any building (or portion thereof) which is designed, built, rented, leased, let, or hired out to be occupied, or which is occupied as the home or residence of three or more families living independently of each other and doing their own cooking in the said building, and includes flats and apartments.
9. “Bar, saloon or tavern” means any place devoted primarily to the selling, serving, or dispensing and drinking of malt, vinous, or other alcoholic beverage, or any place where any sign is exhibited or displayed indicating that alcoholic beverages are obtainable within or thereon, and where such beverages are consumed on the premises. (See also “cocktail lounge” and “night club.”)
10. “Basement” means a story of a building having more than one-half of its height below grade. A basement shall not be counted as a story for the purpose of height regulation, providing that the finished floor level directly above is not more than six feet above grade. (See “basement - walkout,” “cellar” and “story.”)
11. “Basement, walkout” means a basement having a portion of its finished floor not more than four feet below the finished grade at any of its exterior walls and having not less than two-thirds of the vertical height of an exterior wall, which has a ground level exit to the outside, above ground. A walkout basement shall be considered the ground floor level of the building and shall be counted as a story. (See “basement,” “cellar,” and “story.”)
12. “Billboard” means all structures, regardless of the base of materials used in construction, which are erected, maintained, or used for public display of posters, painted signs, wall signs (whether the structure be placed on the wall or painted on the wall itself), pictures or other pictorial reading matter that advertises a business or attraction that is not carried on or manufactured in or upon the premises upon which said signs or billboards are located.
13. “Bed and breakfast” or “boarding house” means a building other than a hotel where, for compensation, meals and lodging are provided for persons other than permanent residents, but does not include rest homes.
14. “Boundary of district” means the centerline of a street or right-of-way or the centerline of the alleyway, between the rear or side property lines, or where no alley or passageway exists, the rear or side property lines of all lots bordering on any district limits or any district boundary shown on the Official Zoning Map, which is a part of this chapter.
15. “Building” means any structure having a roof supported by walls or by columns intended for enclosure, shelter or housing of persons, animals, or chattel. When any portion thereof is entirely separated by walls in which there are no communicating doors or windows or any similar opening, each portion so separated shall be deemed a separate building.
16. “Building, height of” means the vertical distance from the average finished ground grade of the building line to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, or to the deck line of a mansard roof, or to the mean height level between eaves and ridge for a gable, hip and gambrel roofs.
17. “Building line” means the extreme overall dimensions of a building as determined from its exterior walls and as staked on the ground, including all areas covered by vertical projection to the ground or overhang of walls, or any part of a primary structural support or component which is nearest to the property line, except roof overhangs and chimneys which may extend up to two feet into the setback. (See “setback.”)
18. “Building site” means the ground area of one lot, or the combined ground areas of more than one lot which have been combined for the use for one building or permitted group of buildings, together with all open spaces required by this chapter. (See “lot.”)
19. “Bulk stations” means distributing stations, commonly known as bulk or tank stations, used for the storage and distribution of flammable liquids or liquefied petroleum products, where the aggregate capacity of all storage tanks is more than 12,000 gallons.
20. “Cellar” means that portion of a building between floor and ceiling which is wholly or partly below grade and so located that the vertical distance from grade to the floor below is equal to or greater than the vertical distance from grade to ceiling. (See “story.”)
21. “Centerline, public thoroughfare” means the line running parallel with the thoroughfare right-of-way which is half the distance between the extreme edges of the official right-of-way width.
22. “Certified survey” means a sketch, plan, map, or other exhibit bearing a written statement of its accuracy or conformity to specified standards which is signed and sealed by a registered surveyor.
23. “Channel” means any natural or artificial watercourse exhibiting definite banks, boundaries, and beds, and which contains visible evidence of flow or occurrence of water.
24. “Channel flow” means that water and material discharge which moves within the limits of the defined channel.
25. “Club” means an association of persons for some common nonprofit purpose, but not including groups organized primarily to render a service which is customarily carried on as a business.
26. “Cocktail lounge, cabaret” means any place of business, other than a “night club,” located in and accessory to a hotel, motel, or restaurant, where liquor, beer or wine is sold for consumption on the premises, where music or other entertainment is limited to a piano bar or other one person performance and dancing is prohibited. (See also “tavern” and “night club.”)
27. “Commercial use” means the barter, exchange, sale, service or trade of goods, materials, or services, either tangible or intangible for financial, material or monetary gain.
28. “Commission” means the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Adel, Iowa.
29. “Courtyard” means a space, open and unobstructed to the sky, located at or above grade level on a lot and bounded on three or more sides by walls of a building.
30. “Crown of road” means the grade at the centerline of the pavement within a public thoroughfare, or where no pavement exists, grade at the right-of-way centerline.
31. “Development” means any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, or drilling operation.
32. “District” means a section or sections of land area, depicted on the Official Zoning Map as a Zoning District, within which the regulations governing the use of land, buildings and premises, or the height and lot area of building sites and premises conform to uniform standards.
33. “Dump” means a premises used for the disposal of “clean” type fill or refuse such as dirt, rocks, tree branches and similar materials, but not including organic matter of any type such as garbage or dead animals or portions thereof.
34. “Dwelling” means any building or any portion thereof, which is not an apartment house, lodging house or a hotel as defined in this chapter, which contains one or two dwelling units or guest rooms used, intended, or designed to be built, used, rented, leased, let or hired out to be occupied, or which are occupied for living purposes. Dwelling excludes tents, cabins, trailers, or mobile homes.
35. “Dwelling unit” means one or more habitable rooms that are occupied or which are intended or designed to be occupied by one family with facilities for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating.
36. “Dwelling, one-family” means a detached building, on a building site, designed for and used exclusively for residential purposes by one family and containing one dwelling unit.
37. “Dwelling, two-family” means a building designed for and used exclusively for occupancy by two families living independently of each other and containing two dwelling units.
38. “Dwelling, multiple” means a building or buildings, on a common lot designed for and used for occupancy by three or more families living independently of each other and containing three or more dwelling units.
39. “Encroachment line or limit” means the inside boundary line closest to the drainage channel delineating the floodway.
40. “Factory-built structure” means any structure, building, component, assembly or system which is of closed construction and which is made or assembled in manufacturing facilities, on or off the building site, for installation or assembly and installation, on the building site. Factory-built structures may also mean, at the option of the manufacturer, any structure or building of open construction, made or assembled in manufacturing facilities away from the building site, for installation, or assembly and installation, on the building site. Factory-built structure also means “factory-built unit.”
41. “Family” means an individual or two or more persons related by blood or marriage or a group of not more than five persons (excluding servants) who need not be related by blood or marriage living together in a dwelling unit.
42. “Family home” means a community-based residential home that is licensed as a residential care facility under Chapter 135C of the Code of Iowa or as a child foster care facility under Chapter 237 of the Code of Iowa to provide room and board, personal care, habilitation services, and supervision in a family environment exclusively for not more than eight developmentally disabled persons and any necessary support personnel. However, family home does not mean an individual foster care family home licensed under Chapter 237 of the Code of Iowa.
43. “Farm” means an area comprising 10 acres or more which is used for agriculture.
44. “Fence” and “wall” are synonymous and are herein defined as a barrier consisting of wood, stone, or metal intended to prevent ingress or egress, and/or enhance the appearance of the structure of the landscape.
45. “Flood” means any rise in channel flow which results in water or material exceeding channel banks, over flowing, and inundating areas adjacent to the channel not ordinarily covered by flow.
46. “Floodway fringe” means that portion of the floodplain beyond the floodway which shall from time to time be inundated by shallow, slow moving discharge.
47. “Flood proofing” means any structural or non-structural feature, addition, change, or adjustment to buildings, structures and properties primarily for the reduction or elimination of flood damage to land, water, sanitary facilities, buildings, structures, and contents of buildings. Such measures shall be designated consistent with the flood protection elevation for the particular area, flood velocities, durations, rates of rise, hydrostatic and hydrodynamic forces, and other factors associated with a flood. Flood proofing measures may include but are not limited to the following:
A. Anchorage to resist flotation.
B. Installation of water-tight doors, bulkheads and shutters.
C. Reinforcement of walls to resist water pressures.
D. Use of paints, membranes, or mortars to reduce seepage of water through walls.
E. Addition of mass or weight to structures to resist flotation.
F. Cut off valves on sewer lines or elimination of gravity flow basement drains.
G. Construction to resist rupture or collapse caused by water pressure or floating debris; construction of any type so as to prevent the entrance of flood waters.
H. Pumping facilities for subsurface external foundation walls and basement floor pressures, or installation of pumps to lower water levels inside structures.
48. “Flood stage” means the height or elevation of a flood as referred to mean sea level (MSL) datum.
49. “Floodplain” means the channel of any watercourse and the area adjoining a river, stream, water course, pond, lake, or quarry which has been or may become covered by floodwater and must be reserved in order to discharge the 100-year flood without cumulatively increasing the floodwater surface elevation more than a specified height at any point.
50. “Frontage” means the distance of a front lot line as measured along the public thoroughfare, except single-family detached residential lots in an R District shall be measured at the front yard setback, provided no lot shall have less than 40 feet adjoining the public thoroughfare. (See “lot lines, front.”)
51. “Frost free foundation” means foundation supporting a structure and which is required to be at least 42 inches below grade.
52. “Garage, community” means a structure, or a series of structures under one roof, and under one ownership, used primarily for storage of vehicles by three or more owners or occupants of property in the vicinity.
53. “Garage, mechanical” means a structure in which major mechanical repair or rebuilding of motor powered vehicles is performed for commercial gain and in which the storage, care, and minor servicing is an accessory use.
54. “Garage, private” means a building, or a portion of a building, not more than 1,200 square feet in area, in which only motor vehicles used by the residents or tenants of the building or buildings on the premises are stored or kept.
55. “Garage, public” means any garage other than a private garage.
56. “Gas station” means a structure designed or used for the retail sale or supply of fuels, lubricants, air, water, and other operating commodities or accessories for motor vehicles and including the customary space and facilities for the installation of such commodities or accessories on or in such vehicles, but not including space or facilities for the storage, painting, repair, refinishing, body work, or other major servicing of motor vehicles.
57. “Grade” means the average of the finished ground level at the center of all walls of a building. In case walls are parallel to and within five feet of a sidewalk, alley, or other public way, the above ground level shall be measured at the elevation of the sidewalk, alley, or public way.
58. “Greenhouse” means a building or accessory structure constructed chiefly of glass or other translucent material, which is devoted to the protection or cultivation of flowers or other tender plants.
59. “Guest house” means an accessory building used as a dwelling unit by domestic employees or for the use by a guest of the occupants of the premises.
60. “Half-story” means a story with at least two of its opposite sides situated in a sloping roof, the floor area of which does not exceed two-thirds of the floor area of the floor immediately below it.
61. “Health care facility” means any residential care facility, intermediate care facility, or skilled nursing facility.
A. “Residential care facility” means any institution, place, building, or agency providing for a period exceeding 24 consecutive hours’ accommodation, board, personal assistance, and other essential daily living activities to three or more individuals, not related to the administrator or owner thereof within the third degree of consanguinity, who by reason of illness, disease, or physical or mental infirmity are unable to sufficiently or properly care for themselves but who do not require the services of a registered or licensed practical nurse except on an emergency basis.
B. “Intermediate care facility” means any institution, place, building or agency providing for a period exceeding 24 consecutive hours’ accommodation, board, and nursing services, the need for which is certified by a physician, to three or more individuals, not related to the administrator or owner thereof within the third degree of consanguinity, who by reason of illness, disease, or physical or mental infirmity require nursing services which can be provided only under the direction of a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse.
C. “Skilled nursing facility” means any institution, place, building, or agency providing for a period exceeding 24 consecutive hours’ accommodation, board, and nursing services, the need for which is certified by a physician, to three or more individuals not related to the administrator or owner thereof within the third degree of consanguinity, who by reason of illness, disease, or physical or mental infirmity require continuous nursing care services and related medical services, but do not require hospital care. The nursing care services provided must be under the direction of a registered nurse on a 24-hour-per-day basis.
62. “Home occupation” means an occupation conducted in a dwelling unit or an accessory building, provided that:
A. Direct or on-site consumer retail sales businesses shall not be allowed as a home occupation unless said on-site sales are incidental in nature.
B. The use of the dwelling unit for the home occupation shall be clearly incidental and subordinate to its use for residential purposes by its occupants, and not more than 50 percent of the gross floor area of the dwelling unit shall be used in the conduct of the home occupation.
C. There shall be no change in the outside appearance of the building or premises, or other visible evidence of the conduct of such home occupation other than one sign, not exceeding three square feet in area, non-illuminated, and mounted flat against the wall of the principal building.
D. There shall be no outdoor storage of materials or vehicles utilized in the conduct of a home occupation.
E. No traffic shall be generated by such home occupation in greater volumes than would normally be expected in a residential neighborhood, and any need for parking generated by the conduct of such home occupation shall be met by providing off-street parking and shall not be in a required front yard.
F. No equipment or process shall be used in such home occupation which creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors, or electrical interference detectable to the normal senses off the lot, if the occupation is conducted in a single-family residence, or outside the dwelling unit if conducted in other than a single-family residence. No equipment or process shall be used which creates visual or audible interference in any radio or television receivers off the premises or causes fluctuations in line voltage off the premises.
G. No home occupation shall be allowed except by special exception and a registration permit granted by the Board of Adjustment.
63. “Hospital” means an institution specializing in giving clinical, temporary and emergency service of a medical or surgical nature to injured persons and patients, other than persons suffering from a lingering mental sickness, disease, disorder, or ailment.
64. “Hotel” means any building containing five or more guest rooms intended or designed to be used, or which are used, rented or hired out to be occupied, or which are occupied for sleeping purposes by guests.
65. “Improvement, substantial” means any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure, either: (i) before the improvement or repair is started; or (ii) if the structure has been damaged, and is to be restored, before the damage occurred. For the purposes of this definition “substantial improvement” is considered to occur when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure. The term does not, however, include either: (a) any project for the improvement of a structure to comply with existing State or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications, which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions; or (b) any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places.
66. “Junk” means old and dilapidated automobiles, trucks, tractors, and other such vehicles and parts thereof, wagons and other kinds of vehicles and parts thereof, scrap, used building materials, scrap contractor’s equipment, tanks, cans, barrels, boxes, drums, piping, bottles, glass, old iron, machinery, rags, paper, hair, mattresses, beds or bedding or any other kind of scrap or waste material which is stored, kept, handled or displayed for barter, resale, reuse, salvage, stripping, or trade. (See also “trash.”)
67. “Junk yard” means any area where junk is bought, sold, exchanged, baled or packed, disassembled or handled, including house wrecking yards, used lumber yards and places or yards for storage of salvaged house wrecking or structural steel materials and equipment; but not including areas where such uses are conducted entirely within a completely enclosed building, and not including the processing of used, discarded or salvaged materials necessary as a part of manufacturing operations.
68. “Kennel” means an establishment in which dogs or domestic animals more than one year old are housed, bred, boarded and sold.
69. “Kitchen” means any room or portion of a building used, intended or designed to be used for cooking and other preparation of food, including any room having a sink and provisions for either a gas or electric stove.
70. “Loading space” means any off-street space or berth on the same lot with a building or contiguous to a group of buildings, for the temporary parking (less than twenty-four hours) of a commercial vehicle while loading or unloading merchandise or materials.
71. “Lodging house” means any building or portion thereof, containing not more than five guests where rent is paid in money, goods, labor or otherwise. A lodging house shall comply with all the requirements of this chapter for dwellings.
72. “Lot” means, for zoning purposes, a parcel of real property of at least sufficient size to meet minimum zoning requirements for use, coverage and area, and to provide such yards and other open spaces as are required in this chapter. Such lot shall have frontage on a dedicated street, and may consist of any one of the following:
A. A combination of complete lots of record, or of complete lots of record and portions of lots of record, or of portions of lots of record.
B. A parcel of land described by metes and bounds; provided that in no case of division or combination shall any residential lot or parcel be created which does not meet the requirements of this chapter.
C. A portion of a lot of record.
D. Single lot of record.
73. “Lot lines” means:
A. Front – the line separating the front of the lot from a public street.
B. Rear – that boundary that is opposite and most distant from the front lot line.
(1) In the case of a corner lot, one of the two lot lines opposite and most distant from the two front lot lines shall be designated as a rear lot line to apply the rear yard setback.
(2) In case of an interior triangular or gore-shaped lot, it means a straight line 10 feet in length that is parallel to the front lot line or its cord and intersects the two other lot lines at points most distant from the front lot line.
C. Side – any lot boundary line not a front lot line or a rear lot line.
74. “Lot measurements” means:
A. Area – the gross area, exclusive of streets or other public rights-of-way, within the boundary lines of a lot.
B. Depth – the mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines as measured perpendicular to the midpoint of the mean front lot line. In the case of an interior triangular or gore-shaped lot, the depth shall be the horizontal distance between the midpoints at the front and rear lot lines.
C. Width – the horizontal distance between the side lot lines as measured perpendicular to the line compromising the lot depth at its point of intersection with the required minimum front setback. Where the lot width is decreasing from front to rear, the horizontal distance between the side lot lines as described above shall be measured at its point of intersection with the required minimum rear setback.
75. “Lot of record” means a lot which is part of the Original City or a subdivision, the deed of which is recorded in the Office of the County Recorder, or a lot or parcel described by metes and bounds, the description of which has been so recorded.
76. “Lot types” are as follows:
A. Corner lot – a lot located at and adjoining the intersection of two or more streets, and having the street right-of-way abut two or more front lot lines.
B. Double frontage lot – a lot, other than a corner lot, with frontage on more than one street or public thoroughfare.
C. Interior lot – a lot, other than a corner lot, having frontage on but one street or public thoroughfare.
D. Key lot – a lot so subdivided as to have its side lines coincide with the rear lot lines of adjacent lots on either or both sides of the aforesaid key lots.
E. Reversed corner lot – a corner lot, the side street lines of which is substantially a continuation of the front lot line of the first lot to its rear.
77. “Lowest floor” means the floor of the lowest enclosed area in a building including a basement except when all the following criteria are met:
A. The enclosed area is designed to flood to equalize hydrostatic pressure during floods with walls or openings; and
B. The enclosed area is unfinished (not carpeted, dry walled, etc.) and used solely for low damage potential uses such as building access, parking or storage; and
C. Machinery and service facilities (e.g., hot water heater, furnace, electrical service) contained in the enclosed area are located at least one foot above the 100-year flood level; and
D. The enclosed area is not a basement as defined in this chapter.
In cases where the lowest enclosed area satisfies criteria A, B, and C above, the lowest floor is the floor of the next highest enclosed area that does not satisfy the criteria above.
78. “Mental institution, hospital or home” means an institution specializing in giving clinical and psychiatric aid and treatment to and in conjunction with the housing of persons and patients suffering from a temporary or lingering mental ailment, disorder or sickness.
79. “Manufactured home” (previously called “mobile home”) means a structure transportable in one or more sections which when erected on site measures eight body feet or more in width and forty body feet or more in length or when erected on site is three hundred twenty square feet or more in area, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling unit with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein.
80. “Mobile home park” means any lot, lots or portion of lots upon which two or more trailers or manufactured homes, occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes, are located, regardless of whether or not a charge is made for such accommodation.
81. “Modular home” means factory-built housing certified as meeting the State building codes as applicable to modular housing. Once certified by the State, modular homes shall be subjected to the same standards as site built homes.
82. “Motel” or “motor hotel” means a building or group of two or more buildings designed to provide sleeping accommodations for transient or overnight guests, with exterior access for each unit and parking facilities conveniently located to each such unit.
83. “Night club” means any place of business located within any building or establishment, established and operated for the purpose of supplying entertainment or music, or both, and providing meals and refreshments prepared on the premises.
84. “Nonconforming use” means the use of a building or land or any portion thereof, which was originally lawfully established and maintained, but which, because of the application of this chapter to it, no longer conforms to the use regulations of the district in which it is located.
85. “Nonprofit institution” means a nonprofit establishment maintained and operated by a society, corporation, individual, foundation or public agency for the purpose of providing charitable, social, educational or similar services to the public, groups, or individuals. Cooperative nonprofit associations, performing a service normally associated with retail sales or trade such as cooperative groceries, granaries, equipment sales, etc., are not considered nonprofit institutions under this chapter.
86. “Nursing and convalescent home” means a building or structure having accommodations and where care is provided for invalid, infirm, aged, convalescent, or physically disabled persons.
87. “Obstruction” means any dam, dike, embankment, structure, building, wall, wharf, pile, abutment, projection, levy, excavation, channel rectification, bridge, conduit, culvert, wire, fence, refuse, fill, or matter in, along, across, or projecting into any channel, watercourse, or floodplain area which may impede, retard, or change the direction of the flow of water, either in itself or by catching or collecting debris carried by such water, or that is placed where the flow of water might carry the same downstream, to the damage of life or property.
88. “Overlay district” means a district which may be established to overlay and act in conjunction with the underlying zoning district or districts.
89. “Parking area, public” means an open area, other than a street or alley, which is used for the temporary parking of more than four automobiles and is available for public use whether free, for compensation, or as an accommodation for clients or customers.
90. “Parking space, automobile” means an area other than a street or alley, reserved for the parking of a private transportation vehicle, plus such additional area as is necessary to afford adequate ingress and egress.
91. “Permitted use” means a use by right which is specifically authorized in a particular zoning district.
92. “Place of business” means any vehicle, building, structure, yard, area, lot, premises, or part thereof, or any other place in which or on which one or more persons engage in a gainful occupation.
93. “Planning Commission” or “Commission” means the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Adel, Iowa.
94. “Premises” means any lot, plot, parcel or tract of land, building or buildings, structure or structures, used publicly or privately as a place of business, dwelling or meeting place.
95. “Principal building” means the building situated or to be placed nearest the front property line and the use of which conforms to the primary use permitted by the zoning classification in which it is located.
96. “Principal use” means the main use of land or structures as distinguished from an accessory use.
97. “Projections” (into yards) means parts of buildings such as architectural features that extend beyond the building’s exterior wall.
98. “Public thoroughfare” means any right-of-way under the jurisdiction and maintenance of the governmental agencies of the federal, State and municipal government; which may be used by the public in general, and which serves as the frontage street to the abutting property. (See “street.”)
99. “Reach” is a term describing a longitudinal section of a stream, river, or watercourse.
100. “Residential” or “residence” is applied herein to any lot, plot, parcel, tract, area, or place of land or any building used exclusively for family dwelling purposes or intended to be used, including concomitant uses specified herein.
101. “Restaurant” means a building, room or rooms, not operated as a dining room in connection with a hotel, motel, or other multiple dwelling, where food is prepared and served to a group of families, a club or to the public and for consumption on the premises.
102. “Re-subdivision” means any change in the shape or size of any lot, tract or parcel of land previously platted for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale, rent, lease, building development, anchorages or other use. Any change in the shape or size of any lot, tract or parcel of land previously approved for building purposes whether immediate or future and regardless whether or not the same is vacant or improved in whole or in part, for sale, rent, lease, building development, anchorage or other use.
103. “Rooming house” means a residential building used, or intended to be used, as a place where sleeping accommodations are furnished or provided for pay, but which does not maintain a public dining room or cafe in the same building, nor in any building in connection therewith.
104. “Servant’s quarters” means a secondary residential building occupied by a domestic employee of the occupant of the principal residential building and conforming to the restrictions of this chapter including those for accessory buildings.
105. “Service station” – (See “gas station.”)
106. “Setback” means the minimum horizontal distance between the front, rear or side lines of the lot and the front, rear or side lines of the building respectively. When two or more lots under one ownership are used, the exterior property line of the lots so grouped shall be used in determining off-sets.
107. “Signs” means any advertising device or surface out-of-doors, on or off premises, on which letters, illustrations, designs, figures or symbols are printed or attached and which conveys information or identification.
108. “Signs, off-premises” means an advertising device, including the supporting structure, which directs the attention of the general public to a business, service, or activity not usually conducted or a product not usually sold upon the premises where such a sign is located. Such a sign shall not include on-premises signs, directional or other official sign or signs that have a significant portion of their face devoted to giving public service information (date, time, temperature, weather, information, etc.).
109. “Signs on-premises” means an advertising device concerning the sale or lease of the property upon which they are located and advertising devices concerning activities conducted or products sold on the property upon which they are located.
110. “Site” (See “lot.”)
111. “Special permit” means the authorization of a zoning certificate for an unclassified or special use of a lot by the Council following a review of the application for use by the Commission. A special permit may be issued only for those uses listed under the unclassified and special uses in this chapter.
112. “Stables” means:
A. Private – a building or structure used, or intended to be used for housing horses belonging to the owner of the property and for noncommercial purposes.
B. Public and riding academy – a building or structure used or intended to be used for the housing only of horses on a fee basis. Riding instructions may be given in connection with a public stable or riding academy.
C. Riding club – a building or structure used or intended to be used, for the housing only of horses by a group of persons for non-commercial purposes.
113. “Story” means that portion of a building included between the upper surface of any floor and the upper surface of the floor next above, except that the topmost story is that portion of a building included between the upper surface of the topmost floor and the ceiling or roof above. If the finished floor level directly above a basement or cellar is more than six feet above grade, such basement or cellar is considered a story.
114. “Story, half” means a space under a sloping roof which has the line of intersection of roof, decking, and wall face not more than four feet above the top floor level. A half story containing independent apartments or living quarters is counted as a full story.
115. “Street” means any thoroughfare or public space not less than 16 feet in width which has been dedicated or deeded to the public for public use.
116. “Street line” means a dividing line between a lot, tract or parcel of land and a contiguous street. (See “lot line, front.”)
117. “Structural alterations” means any replacement or change in the shape or size of any portion of a building or of the supporting members of a building or structure such as walls, columns, beams, arches, girders, floor joist, roof joist, or roof trusses, beyond ordinary repairs and maintenance.
118. “Structure” means that which is built or constructed, a building of any kind, or any piece of work artificially built up or composed of parts joined together in some definite manner. “Structure” includes unenclosed or uncovered decks and porches.
119. “Subdivision” means a division of a lot, tract or parcel of land into three or more lots, plats, sites, or other subdivisions of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale, rent, lease, building development, anchorage, right-of-way dedication, or other use.
120. “Swimming pool” means a water-filled enclosure, permanently constructed or portable, having a depth of more than 18 inches below the level of the surrounding land, or an above surface pool, having a depth of more than 30 inches, designed, used, and maintained for swimming and bathing.
121. “Tent” means any structure or enclosure, the roof or one-half or more of the sides of which are of silk, cotton, canvas, nylon, or any light material, either attached to a building or structure, or unattached.
122. “Townhouse” means a dwelling unit which is attached horizontally and not vertically to one or more other dwelling units, wherein the land or lot beneath each dwelling, may be individually owned by the owner of the dwelling. A townhouse subdivision shall have common elements which are specified in or determined under the rules and regulations set forth by recorded covenants. Covenants for a townhouse subdivision shall establish the guidelines for maintenance of common elements and permit free movement through common areas by members of the Homeowners Association (Council of Co-owners) to assure access to the structural exterior of each townhouse unit by the individual unit owner.
123. “Trailer” means any structure used for sleeping, living, business or storage purposes, having no foundation other than wheels, blocks, skids, jacks, horses, or skirting, or being attached to a permanent foundation, and which is, has been, or reasonably may be, equipped with wheels or other devices for transporting the structure from place to place, whether by motive power or other means.
124. “Trash” means cuttings from vegetation, refuse, paper, bottles, and rags. (Also see “junk.”)
125. “Use” means the purpose for which a building, lot, sign, or other structure is arranged, intended, designed, occupied, or maintained.
126. “Variance” means a modification of the specific regulations of this chapter granted by the Board of Adjustment in accordance with the terms of this chapter for the purpose of assuring that no property, because of special circumstances applicable to it, shall be deprived of privileges commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same vicinity and district.
127. “Yard” means an open space other than a court, on a lot, unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except for landscaping or as otherwise provided in this chapter.
128. “Yard, front” means the yard area lying to the front of the principal building or between the front building line and the front lot line.
129. “Yard, rear” means the yard lying to the rear of the principal building, or between the rear building line and the rear lot line.
130. “Yard, side” means the yard area lying to the sides of the principal building or between the side building lines and the side lot lines.
131. “Zoning/Building Administrator” means the administrative officer designated or appointed by the Council to administer and enforce the regulations contained in this chapter.
132. “Zoning certificate” means the written statement issued by the Zoning Administrator authorizing buildings, structures, or uses consistent with the terms of this chapter and for the purpose of carrying out and enforcing its provisions.
133. “Zoning district” means a section the City designated in the text of the Zoning Ordinance and delineated on the Zoning Map in which requirements for the use of land, the building and development standards are prescribed. Within each district, all requirements are uniform.
134. “Zoning map” means the map delineating the boundaries of districts which, along with the zoning text, comprises the Zoning Code.