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No yard or lot existing at the time of passage of the Zoning Ordinance shall be reduced in dimension or area below the minimum required by this Zoning Ordinance. No part of a yard or other open space, or off-street parking or loading space, provided about any building, structure or use for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance, shall be included as part of a yard, open space or off-street parking or loading space for another building, structure or use. Off-street parking and loading areas may occupy part of any required yard, subject to the provisions of Section 194.01.
The building height limitations of this Zoning Ordinance shall be modified as follows:
1. Chimneys, cooling towers, elevator bulkheads, fire towers, monuments, penthouses, stacks, stage towers or scenery lofts, tanks, water towers, ornamental towers and spires, radio, cellular communication, or television towers, or necessary mechanical appurtenances may be erected to a height allowed in the zone district in which the structure is located and shall meet all height requirements stated in the adopted ordinances of the City.
2. Public, semipublic or private service buildings, hospitals, sanatoriums, schools, business colleges and related structures, and churches and temples, when permitted in a district, may be erected to a height not exceeding 125 feet, if the building is set back from each property line at least one foot for each foot of additional building height above the height limit otherwise provided in the district in which the building is located.
3. Single-family dwellings and two-family dwellings in the residence districts may be increased in height by not more than ten feet when two side yards of not less than 15 feet each are provided, but they shall not exceed three stories in height.
Nothing contained in this Zoning Ordinance shall require any change in the overall layout, plans, construction, size or designated use of any building or part thereof, for which approvals and required building permits have been granted before the enactment of the Zoning Ordinance, the construction of which in conformance with such plans has been started prior to the effective date of the Zoning Ordinance, and completion thereof has been carried on in a normal manner and not discontinued for reasons other than those beyond the builder’s control.
Where one parcel of property is divided into two or more portions by reason of different zoning district classifications, each of these portions shall be used independently of the others in its respective zoning classification and, for the purpose of applying the regulations of this Zoning Ordinance, each portion shall be considered as if in separate and different ownership.
1. Permit Required. No person shall erect, alter or relocate any fence, wall, or other vision barrier without first obtaining a building permit, the fee for which shall be established by resolution of the City Council.
2. Residential fences shall be permitted in any yard in residential zoning districts or residential use areas. Front and side yards adjacent to a street in residential zone districts shall be considered front yards and fences in front yards shall not exceed 48 inches in height if chain link and 42 inches in height for all other fence materials. On corner lots fences that exceed 48 inches in height if open chain link and 42 inches in height for all other fence materials shall conform to principal building setback requirements. (See Section 191.05 – Corner Lots.) In side and rear yards, opaque and/or solid fences or walls shall not exceed six-feet in height, but fences may extend to eight-feet in height if the portion of fence higher than six feet is constructed with 70% of the surface area open. Fences in the designated rear yard of a though lot shall be located no closer to the street right-of-way than the far edge from the street right-of-way of the landscape or open space buffer or easement. No setback is required from the street-right-of-way for fences six-feet and under in height in the designated rear yard of through lots when there is no landscape or open space buffer or easement. Residential fences taller than six feet in the designated rear yard of a through lot with no landscape or open space buffer or easement shall have a minimum setback of five feet from the property line. (See Section 191.06 – Through Lots.) All fences shall adhere to the requirements for visibility at intersections. (See Section 191.15.)
3. Fences shall be permitted in any yard in commercial and industrial zoning districts except that fences or walls shall not in any case exceed eight feet in height in side and rear yards. Fences in yards adjacent to street right-of-way lines on corner and interior lots shall be at the height and location shown on the approved site plan. Fences in the designated rear yard of a through lot shall be located no closer to the street right-of-way than the far edge from the street right-of-way of a landscape or open space buffer or easement or, when there is no buffer or easement, shall be at the height and location shown on the approved site plan. All fences shall adhere to the requirements for visibility at intersections. (See Section 191.15.)
4. No hedge, landscape planting or other vegetation shall be permitted in any district which impedes vision greater than fifty percent of an imaginary plane, perpendicular to the street, extending the full depth of the front yard and vertically from a height of 42 inches to ten feet.
5. Fences of any height shall be permitted in connection with any agricultural use, provided that the requirements of traffic visibility at intersections are observed.
6. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to apply to public tennis courts, public pools, public baseball fields, and any other public recreational use facility accessible to the public, except where traffic visibility is impaired.
The total land area devoted to open space, exclusive of one-family and two-family lots, shall not be less than twenty percent of the gross land area included in the building lot. Such open space shall be maintained as grassed and landscaped areas, interior or exterior malls, pedestrian walks, and ornamental structures, when part of the landscaping theme. Open space shall not include structures or buildings, off-street parking areas, loading areas and access drives. Trees and shrubbery shall be provided at a minimum of one landscape unit per 3,000 square feet of required open space with one landscape unit consisting of two trees and six shrubs or three trees and three shrubs. There shall be a minimum of one landscape unit per building lot. Landscape units are in addition to screen plantings.
No fence, wall, shrubbery, earthen berm, sign, billboard, or other obstruction to vision shall be permitted which serves to obstruct vision between a height of 30 inches and ten feet on any corner lot within a triangle of 30 feet formed by intersecting street right-of-way lines or, in the case of interior lots, within a triangle of 20 feet formed by intersecting driveway edge and street right-of-way lines.
As an alternative to the 30-foot and 20-foot visibility triangles defined in the paragraph above, an unobstructed area between a height of 30 inches and ten feet at intersections formed by intersecting street right-of-way lines or driveway edge and street right-of-way lines may comply with the sight distance specifications established by Iowa SUDAS (State Urban Design Standards Manual) in Chapter 5, Roadway Design, Urban Geometric Design Criteria if approved by the City.
Reserved
The outdoor storage of materials, equipment, or supplies, when permitted in any commercial or industrial district, shall be so located or screened, fenced or landscaped so as to effectively prevent visibility of such storage from all abutting residential zoning districts or abutting existing residential uses and public rights-of-way. Such screening shall be sufficient if it prevents visibility of such storage area by persons traveling on public rights-of-way or standing at grade level on the side or rear lot lines of such property. Such screening may be accomplished by any one of the following methods:
1. Wall or Fence. Such fence shall not be less than six feet in height and shall be constructed in such a manner as to effectively accomplish the requirements of this section.
2. Landscaped Strip. Such strip shall be designed and landscaped by a qualified architect, engineer, or landscape architect; predominant planting shall be evergreen type trees, shrubs and plants so as to assure year-round effectiveness. Density and height of plantings shall be adequate to serve as a screen.
Nothing in this Zoning Ordinance shall be deemed to require screening from the street side of the outdoor storage of new and used motor vehicles which are kept for resale to the general public by a licensed dealer. The screening of landscape plantings, or any new merchandise or products held for resale to the general public may be required, and such requirements shall be determined by the Department Director. If a property within a commercial zoning district is put to a residential use subsequent to the establishment of an outdoor storage area adjacent thereto, this section shall not apply.
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