As used in this Zoning Code:
(1) “Abandoned” means to cease or discontinue a use or activity without intent to resume but excluding temporary or short-term interruptions to a use or activity during periods of remodeling, maintaining, or otherwise improving or rearranging a facility, or during normal periods of vacation or seasonal closure.
(2) “Abutting” means having a common border with, or being separated from such a common border by, a right-of-way, alley or easement.
(3) “Access management” means a technique to improve traffic operations along a roadway and decrease the potential for accidents through the control of driveway locations and design.
(4) “Accessory use, building or structure” means a use, building or structure which is clearly incidental to, customarily found in connection with, and located on the same site as the principal use to which it is related (except in the case of accessory off-street parking spaces), and devoted exclusively to the main use of the premise.
(5) “Accessory or ancillary oil and gas well use or structure” shall be defined and mean a use or structure used in association with or incidental to the exploration, drilling, operation, completion or abandonment of an oil or gas well in production or drilled for exploration, or a use or structure used for or incidental to or in association with the processing, production, handling, loading/unloading, or transmission of natural gas, oil, related hydrocarbons, or other associated substances; including but not limited to water wells, pipelines, flowlines, gathering lines, storage, handling, mixing, hauling, transporting, transporting structures, production or sweetening facilities, processing or compression facilities, or other ancillary or accessory building, structures, facilities, or equipment. Inclusive are all ancillary uses or structures regardless of whether the structure or use is located on the same legally described property with the oil and gas well, or other principal use, building, or structure.
(Ord. 260-A-454. Passed 1-11-16.)
(6) Adult Uses.
(6a) “Adult use” means a parlor, nude body painting or modeling studio, adult bookstore, adult novelty store, adult video store, cabaret, adult motion picture theater, adult outdoor motion picture theater, adult mini motion picture theater, escort services.
(6b) “Establishment of an adult use” means and includes any of the following:
A. The opening or commencement of any sexually oriented business as a new business;
B. The conversion of an existing business, whether or not sexually oriented, to any sexually oriented business;
C. The addition of any sexually oriented business to any other existing sexually oriented business; or
D. The relocation of any sexually oriented business.
(6c) “Adult book store” means a commercial establishment which offers for sale or rental for any form of consideration, and which has more than 10% of its stock in trade, books, magazines, periodicals or other printed matter, or photographs, films, motion pictures, videocassettes, slides or other visual representations, recordings, other audio matter, and novelties or devices which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas,” as defined herein. Other business purposes shall not exempt an establishment from being categorized as an adult bookstore, adult novelty store or adult video store so long as more than 10% of its business includes the offering for sale or rental for consideration of the specified materials which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas,” as defined herein.
(6d) “Adult video store” means an establishment having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock in trade, pictures, films or videotapes which are characterized or distinguished by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing, or relating to “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas” (as further defined).
(6e) “Adult cabaret” features semi-nude or nude dancers, female or male impersonators or similar entertainers.
(6f) “Massage parlor” means an establishment where, for any form of consideration, massage, alcohol rub, fomentation, electric or magnetic treatment or similar treatment or manipulation of the human body is administered, unless such treatment or manipulation is administered by a medical practitioner, chiropractor, acupuncturist, physical therapist or similar professional person licensed by the State of Michigan. Massage therapists licensed by the State of Michigan are excluded. This definition does not include an athletic club, health club, school, gymnasium, reducing salon, beauty salon or similar establishment where massage or similar manipulation of the human body is offered as an incidental or accessory service.
(6g) “Nude model studio” means any place where a person appears in a state of nudity or displays specified anatomical areas to be observed, sketched, drawn, painted, sculpted, photographed or similarly depicted by any other person who pays money or any other form of consideration.
(6h) “Nudity” or “state of nudity” means the exposure of the human male or female genitals, pubic area or anus with less than a fully-opaque covering, the showing of the female breasts with less than a fully-opaque covering of any part of the nipple or areola, or the showing of the covered male genitals in a discernibly turgid state.
(6i) “Semi-nude” means a state of dress in which clothing covers no more than the genitals, pubic region and areola of the female breast as well as portions of the body covered by supporting straps or devices.
(6j) “Sexual encounter center” means a business or commercial enterprise which, as one of its principal business purposes, offers, for any form of consideration:
A. Contact in the form of wrestling or tumbling between seminude or nude persons of the opposite sex; or
B. Physical contact between male and female persons and/or persons of the same sex, where one or more of the persons is in a state of nudity and the contact includes actual or simulated specified sexual activity.
(7) “Alley” means any way dedicated to the public and accepted by the governmental entity having jurisdiction and authority of the same, which affords a secondary means of access to abutting property and which is not intended for general traffic circulation and not more than 20 feet wide.
(8) “Alteration” means any change, addition, renovation or modification in the structural members of a structure or a building, such as walls or partitions, columns, beams or girders, the consummated act of which may be referred to herein as “altered” or “reconstructed,” or any change which is commenced with the purpose of creating, or which results in, a variation of the type of occupancy on the property.
(9) “Apartment” means a dwelling unit in a multiple-family development, including the following:
(9a) Efficiency apartment: A dwelling unit containing a minimum of 400 square feet of floor area and consisting of not more than one room in addition to kitchen and necessary sanitary facilities.
(9b) One-bedroom unit: A dwelling unit containing a minimum of at least 500 square feet of floor area consisting of not more than two rooms in addition to kitchen, dining and necessary sanitary facilities.
(9c) Two-bedroom unit: A dwelling unit containing a minimum of at least 700 square feet of floor area and consisting of not more than three rooms in addition to kitchen, dining and necessary sanitary facilities.
(9d) Three or more bedroom unit: A dwelling unit wherein, for each room in addition to the three rooms permitted in a two-bedroom unit, there shall be provided an additional minimum of at least 200 square feet of floor area to the required minimum of 700 square feet.
(10) “Arcade” means any place of business or establishment containing mechanical or electrical devices which provide amusement or entertainment, and which may be operated or set in motion upon the insertion of a coin or token.
(10a) Type “A” Arcade: A principal use of a business or establishment containing six or more devices and is subject to all requirements of Chapter 814 of the Business Regulation and Taxation Code.
(10b) Type “B” Arcade: Any place of business or establishment containing five or fewer devices.
(11) “Area of shallow flooding” means a designated AO zone on the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for Clinton Township, with base flood depths from one to three feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and indeterminate and where velocity flow may be evident.
(12) “Area of special flood hazard” means the land in the floodplain within the Township of Clinton subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
(13) “Automotive repair garage” means a building or enclosed structure where services such as general repair, refinishing, engine rebuilding, rebuilding or reconditioning of motor vehicles and collision service, including body, frame or fender straightening, repair, painting and undercoating of vehicles, can be performed.
(14) “Automotive service station” means a space, building or structure designed or used for the retail sale or supply of fuels, lubricants, air, water and other operating commodities for motor vehicles, including the customary space and facilities for the installation of such commodities in or on such vehicles, but not including space or facilities for the storage, repair or refinishing thereof, except that minor repairs of vehicles shall be permitted, but not including space or facilities for open storage, engine overhaul, major body repair, refinishing or other such service.
(15) “Automotive service center” means that portion of, or accessory to, a designated retail outlet located within a planned commercial shopping center wherein automotive products, such as motor oils, lubricants and various automotive parts, are retailed directly to the public by said retail outlet and may be serviced or installed in a vehicle.
(16) “Base flood” means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
(17) “Basement” means that portion of a building which is partly or wholly below grade level, but is so located that the vertical distance from the average grade to the floor is greater than the vertical distance from the average grade to the ceiling. A basement shall not be counted as a story and a basement shall not be used in computing the minimum required floor area. (See Appendix I, Sketch 1.)
(18) “Berm” means a man-formed earthen mound with landscaping of definite height and width used for screening purposes. (See Appendix I, Sketch 3.)
(19) “Block” means the property abutting one side of a thoroughfare and lying between the two nearest intersecting thoroughfares (crossing or terminating), between the nearest such thoroughfare and any railroad right-of-way, unsubdivided acreage, lake, river or live stream, or between any of the foregoing and any other barrier to the continuity of the development or corporate boundary lines of the Municipality.
(20) “Board” means the Township Board of the Township of Clinton, Macomb County, Michigan.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(21) “Body art studio” means a business engaged in the practice of providing an indelible mark or figure fixed upon the human body by insertion of pigment on or under the skin or by the production of scars.
(22) “Bottomlands” means the land area of a lake, stream or watercourse which lies below the ordinary high-water mark and which may or may not be covered by water.
(Ord. 260-A-204. Passed 8-13-90.)
(23) “Building” means a structure used for or intended for the support or shelter of any use or occupancy as permitted in this Zoning Code and includes any structure having columns or walls and covered, wholly or partially, by a roof consisting of any material.
(23a) “Accessory building” means a building located on the same lot as a principal building and includes garages, sheds and other structures that require building permits.
(23b) “Temporary building” means a structure without any foundation or footings to be used for a limited period of time and shall include awnings, canopies, tents and trailers or other vehicles which are intended to serve the purpose of a building.
(Ord. 260-A-381. Passed 10-6-03.)
(24) “Building height” means the vertical distance measured from the established grade to the highest point of the roof surface for flat roofs, to the deck line of mansard roofs and to the average height between eaves and ridge for gable, hip and gambrel roofs. Where a structure is located on sloping terrain, the height may be measured from the average grade at the wall. In a structure having a flat roof, the parapet, if provided, may exceed the maximum building height by three feet.
(25) “Building Official” means the Superintendent of the Township of Clinton Building Department.
(26) “Building line” means a line formed by the face of the principal building, and, for the purposes of this Zoning Code, means the same as a front setback line. (See Appendix I, Sketch 3.)
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(27) “Building permits” is the written authority issued by the building official permitting the construction, removal, moving, alteration or use of a building in conformity with the provisions of this Zoning Code and as further defined under the State Construction Code.
(28) “Canopy” means a suspended covering, often movable, placed above a door, window, or other entranceway constructed of cloth, metal, wood, or other materials.
(29) “Carnival” means a recreational or entertainment activity not contained in a building, whether publicly or privately owned, operated or sponsored, which includes amusement rides.
(Ord. 260-A-107. Passed 12-9-85.)
(30) “Car wash” means an automatic or self-service facility designed for the cleaning of automobiles.
(31) “Cemetery” means land used or intended to be used for the burial of the dead and dedicated for cemetery purposes, including columbariums, mausoleums and mortuaries, when operated in conjunction with and within the boundaries of such cemetery.
(32) “Channel” means the geographical area within the natural or artificial banks of a watercourse required to convey continuously or intermittently flowing water.
(Ord. 260-A-204. Passed 8-13-90.)
(33) “Child foster care facility” means a facility providing for the care and keeping of displaced children, such as an orphanage.
(34) “Child care center” means a facility, other than a private residence, receiving one or more preschool or school-age children for care for periods of less than 24 hours a day, where the parents or guardians are not immediately available to the child.
(35) “Church or place of religious worship” means a site used for or intended for the regular assembly of persons for the conducting of religious services and accessory uses therewithin.
(36) “Clinic” means a public or proprietary establishment providing diagnostic, therapeutic or preventive medical, osteopathic, chiropractic, dental and psychological treatment to ambulatory patients on an out-patient basis by a group of practitioners licensed to perform such services and acting conjointly and in the same building for the aforesaid purpose.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(37) “Commission” means the Planning Commission of the Township of Clinton, Macomb County, Michigan. (Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(38) “Congregate care facility” means group living facility for seniors who may or may not require assistance with daily living. Typically provide more intensive services than assisted living facilities, but require residents to have at least partial mobility and reasonably good health.
(39) “Construction, new” means a structure or building for which the start of construction is commenced on or after the effective date of this Zoning Code.
(40) “Crematory” means an enclosed facility wherein human remains are cremated in a cremation retort.
(41) “Deposit” means to fill, place or dump. (Ord. 260-A-204. Passed 8-13-90.)
(42) “Density” means the number of families residing on, or dwelling units developed on, an acre of land.
(43) “Development” means any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, and mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations.
(44) “District” means a portion of the unincorporated area of the Township of Clinton within which certain regulations and requirements or various combinations thereof apply under the provisions of this Zoning Code.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(45) “Drainage Map” means the official Charter Township of Clinton Drainage, Flood Plain and Wetlands Maps, which delineate the 100-year flood plains, wetlands and watercourses in Clinton Township, the composite of which is the Master Drainage Plan, as amended and/or updated from time to time.
(Ord. 260-A-204. Passed 8-13-90.)
(46) “Drive-in” and “drive-through” mean an establishment developed so that its retail or service character provides a driveway approach or parking spaces for motor vehicles so as to serve patrons while they are in the motor vehicle. Such establishments may also serve patrons within a building.
(47) “Dwelling unit” means a building designed for occupancy by one family for residential purposes and having cooking and sanitary facilities solely designed for utilization by that family.
(48) “Dwelling, one-family” means a building designed exclusively for, and occupied exclusively by, one family as a dwelling unit.
(49) “Dwelling, two-family” means a building designed exclusively for occupancy by two families living independently of each other.
(50) “Dwelling, multiple-family” means a building designed exclusively for occupancy by three or more families living independently of each other.
(51) “Electric vehicle” means any vehicle that is licensed and registered for operation on public and private highways, roads and streets and operates either partially or exclusively, on electrical energy that is stored on-board via a battery for motive purpose. Electric vehicle includes:
A. A battery electric vehicle; and
B. A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
(52) “Electric vehicle charging stations” means a public or private parking space that is served by battery charging station equipment for the purpose of transferring electric energy to a battery or energy storage device in an electric vehicle.
(53) “Electric charging station charging levels” means the standardized indicators of electrical force or voltage, that an electric vehicle’s battery is recharged. The standard levels of charge include:
A. Level-1 is slow charging and operates on a low amp breaker on a voltage range of 0 to 120.
B. Level-2 is medium charging and operates on a mid-range amp breaker on a voltage range of 120 to 240.
C. Level-3 is fast or rapid charging and operates on a high amp breaker on a voltage range higher than 240. Level-3 charging is primarily for commercial and public use and are characterized by having industrial grade electrical outlets.
(54) “Erection” means building, construction, alteration, reconstruction, movement upon or any physical operations on the premises which are required for construction. Excavation, fill, drainage and any other work requiring mechanical or hand tools or implements shall be considered a part of erection.
(55) “Escort” means a person who, for monetary or other consideration, agrees or offers to act as a companion, guide or date for another person or who agrees to privately model lingerie or to privately perform a striptease for another person.
(56) “Escort agency” means a person or business association who or which furnishes, offers to furnish or advertises to furnish escorts as one of his, her or its primary business purposes for a fee, tip or other consideration.
(57) “Essential services” means the erection, construction, alteration, maintenance and use by public utilities or municipal departments of underground, surface or overhead gas, electrical, steam, fuel or water transmission or distribution systems, or collection, communication, supply or disposal systems, including poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm and police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants and similar accessories in connection therewith, but not including buildings which are necessary for the furnishing of adequate service by such utilities or Municipal departments for the general health, safety or welfare.
(58) “Excavation” means any breaking of ground, except common household gardening and ground care.
(59) “Family” means any number of persons living together, comprising a single housekeeping unit, related by blood or marriage and including adopted and foster children and wards, as well as the domestic employees thereof, with not more than two additional persons not so related. Each additional person living in such housekeeping unit shall be considered a separate family for the purposes of this Zoning Code.
(60) “Fence” means any artificially constructed barrier of any material or combination of materials erected to enclose or screen areas of land.
(61) “Festival” means any recreational or entertainment activity involving the assembly of more than 50 persons either out of doors, in a temporary structure or in a building that is customarily used for another purpose and for which an admission fee is charged or a donation received. A festival may include such activities as games or contests for the purpose of winning a prize and for which participants are charged a fee. A festival may include displays or performances of holiday-related activities such as haunted houses, hay rides, egg hunts and similar events, but shall not include amusement rides. Festivals are subject to a special approval process in accordance with Section 1299.01(k) of this Zoning Code.
(Ord. 260-A-314. Passed 8-10-98.)
(62) “Filling” means the depositing or dumping of any matter onto or into the ground, except common household gardening and ground care.
(63) “Flood hazard area” means land which, on the basis of available floodplain information, is subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(64) “Flood/flooding” means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland or tidal waters or the unusual and rapid accumulation or run-off of surface waters from any source.
(Ord. 260-A-204. Passed 8-13-90.)
(65) “Flood Boundary and Floodway Map” means an official map of the Township of Clinton, issued by the Federal Insurance Administration, where the boundaries of the areas of special flood hazards have been designated.
(66) “Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)” means an official map of the Township of Clinton on which the Federal Insurance Administration has delineated both the areas of special flood hazard and the risk premium zones applicable to the Township of Clinton.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(67) “Flood Insurance Study” means the Flood Insurance Study for the Charter Township of Clinton, Macomb County, dated December 30, 2020, which contains a Flood Insurance Rate Map, and which provides the flood plain information used on these maps.
(68) “Floodproofed” means watertight with walls substantially impermeable to the passage of water and with structural components having the capability of resisting hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loads and effects of buoyancy.
(Ord. 260-A-204. Passed 8-13-90.)
(69) “Floodway” means the channel of the Clinton River or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas designated on the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map which must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(70) “Floodway obstruction, artificial” means obstructions, such as any dam, wall, wharf, embankment, levee, dike, pile, abutment, excavation, channel rectification, bridge, conduit, culvert, building, wire, fence, rock, gravel, refuse, fill or other analogous structure or matter in, along, across or projecting into any floodway which may impede, retard, change the direction of the flow of water or increase the flooding height, either in itself or by catching or collecting debris carried by such water, or that is placed where the natural flow of the water would carry the same downstream to the damage or detriment of either life or property.
(71) “Floodway obstruction, natural” means any rock, tree, gravel or analogous natural matter in which is an obstruction and has been located within a floodway by a non-human cause.
(72) “Floodway operation” means the removal or deposition of materials, or any construction, use or activity, or a combination thereof, which in any way modifies the condition of watercourses or lands subject to this Zoning Code as they exist on the effective date hereof.
(Ord. 260-A-204. Passed 8-13-90.)
(73) “Floor area” means, for the purposes of computing the minimum allowable floor area in a residential dwelling unit, the sum of the horizontal areas of each story of the building measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls, exclusive of areas of basements, unfinished attics, attached garages, breezeways, utility rooms and enclosed and unenclosed porches. (See Appendix I, Sketch 2.)
(74) “Floor area, gross” means the sum of the horizontal areas of the floors of the building, measured from the interior faces of the exterior walls, including hallways, elevators, stairs, utilities, etc., but excluding basements or floors used exclusively for storage. For those uses not enclosed within a building, the area for sales, display or service shall be measured to determine equivalent gross floor area.
(75) “Floor area, usable” means the area intended to be used for the sale of merchandise or services and for service to patrons, clients or customers and all the area used for employee work space. Such floor area which is to be used principally for the storage or processing of merchandise, hallways, elevators, stairs, bulkheads, utilities or sanitary facilities, shall be excluded from usable floor area. Measurement of usable floor area shall be the sum of the horizontal areas of the several floors of the building, measured from the interior faces of the exterior walls. For those uses not enclosed within a building, the area for sales, display or service shall be measured to determine equivalent usable floor area.
(76) “Foot candle” means the unit of illumination when the foot is taken as the unit of length. It is the illumination on a surface one square foot in area on which there is a uniformly distributed flux of one lumen, or the illumination produced on a surface all points of which are at a distance of one foot from a directionally uniform point source of one candela.
(77) “Frontage” means the front or frontage is that side of a lot abutting on a street or way and ordinarily regarded as the front of the lot, but it shall not be considered as the ordinary side line of a corner lot.
(78) “Funeral home” means a building, or part thereof, used for human funeral services. Such building may contain space and facilities for: a) embalming and the performance of other services used in preparation of the dead for burial; b) the performance of autopsies and other surgical procedures; c) the storage of caskets, funeral urns and other related funeral supplies; and d) the storage of funeral vehicles. Where a funeral home is permitted, a funeral chapel shall also be permitted. A crematory may be accessory to the funeral home, but may not be adjacent to any residentially zoned or occupied property.
(79) “Gasoline service station” means a place for the dispensing, sale or offering for sale of motor fuels directly to users of motor vehicles, together with the sale of minor accessories and services for motor vehicles, but not including major automobile repair as herein defined for automobile repair stations.
(80) “Grade” means the ground elevation established for the purpose of regulating the number of stories and the height of buildings. The building grade shall be the level of the ground adjacent to the walls of the building if the finished grade is level. If the ground is not entirely level, the grade shall be determined by computing the average elevation of the ground for each face of the building and taking the average of the several averages. (See Appendix I, Sketches 1, 2 and 3.)
(81) “Greenbelt” means a strip of land of definite width and location reserved for the planting of shrubs and/or trees to serve as an obscuring screen or buffer to comply with the requirements of this Zoning Code.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(82) “High water elevation” means the line between upland and bottomland which persists through successive changes in water levels, below which the precedence and action of the water is so common or recurrent that the character of the land is marked distinctly from the upland and is apparent in the soil itself, the configuration of the surface of the soil and the vegetation.
(83) “High water elevation: inland lake” means the established high-water level on an inland lake which has a water level established by law.
(84) “High water elevation: undammed” means the natural ordinary high-water mark where water returns to its natural level as the result of the permanent removal or abandonment of a dam.
(Ord. 260-A-204. Passed 8-13-90.)
(85) “Home occupation” means an activity carried on by an occupant of a dwelling unit as a secondary use which is clearly incidental to the use of the dwelling unit for residential purposes.
(86) “Hospital” means an institution providing health services primarily for in-patient medical or surgical care of sick or injured humans and including related facilities, such as laboratories, out-patient departments, training facilities, central service facilities and staff offices which are an integral part of the facilities.
(87) “Hotel” means a series of attached, semi-detached or detached rental units which provide overnight lodging and are offered to the public for compensation. Hotels may include a restaurant or cocktail lounge, public banquet halls, ballrooms or meeting rooms.
(88) “Impervious surface” means a surface that has been compacted or covered with a layer of material so that it is highly resistant to infiltration by water. It includes surfaces such as compacted sand, lime rock or clay, as well as most conventionally surfaced streets, roofs, sidewalks, parking lots and other similar improvements and structures.
(89) “Industrial park” means a planned, coordinated development of a tract of land with two or more separate industrial buildings. Such development is planned, designed, constructed and managed on an integrated and coordinated basis with special attention given to on-site vehicular circulation, parking, utility needs, building design and orientation, and open space.
(90) “Intermodal transportation facility” means a hub or other facility that gathers many modes of transportation together, such as transit, bikes, and cars. The hub or facility is typically located in a strategic location near denser areas to help increase access to mobility.
(91) “Internet sales establishment” means an establishment that solely sells goods and services via the internet to customers off-premises. Goods and services provided are received digitally or delivered by delivery service to off-premises customers.
(92) “Junk yard” means an open area where waste, used or second-hand materials are bought and sold, exchanged, stored, baled, packed, disassembled or handled, including, but not limited to, scrap iron and other metals, paper, rags, rubber tires and bottles. A junk yard includes automobile wrecking yards and any area of more than 120 square feet for storage, keeping or abandonment of junk, but does not include uses established entirely within wholly enclosed buildings.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(93) “Kennel, commercial” means any lot or any premises on which five or more dogs or cats are either permanently or temporarily boarded, used for breeding purposes or kept for purchase or sale.
(Ord. 260-A-221. Passed 1-20-92.)
(94) “Lake” means an area of inland depression, consistently filled with water which is supplied by ground water or artesian springs and exhibits inflow and outflow characteristics.
(95) “Lake, closed” means an area of inland depression, being mainly a pothole or seepage lake without inflowing or outflowing characteristics.
(Ord. 200-A-204. Passed 8-13-90.)
(96) “Loading space” means an off-street space on the same site with a building or group of buildings for the temporary parking of a commercial vehicle while loading and unloading merchandise or materials.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(97) “Locate” means to construct, place, insert or excavate.
(Ord. 260-A-204. Passed 8-13-90.)
(98) “Lot” means a parcel of land occupied or to be occupied by a main building or a group of such buildings and accessory buildings, or utilized for the principal use and uses accessory thereto, together with such open spaces as are required under the provisions of this Zoning Code.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(99) “Lot of record” means a parcel of land, the dimensions of which are shown on a plat on file with the Macomb County Register of Deeds and recorded prior to July 9, 1979, or any parcel which has been separated therefrom prior to July 9, 1979, in accordance with the provisions of the Subdivision Control Act and which exists as described.
(Ord. 260-A-292. Passed 8-18-97.)
(100) “Lot area” means the total horizontal area within boundaries of the lot.
(101) “Lot, corner” means a lot where the interior angle of two adjacent sides at the intersection of two thoroughfares is less than 135 degrees. A lot abutting upon a curved street or streets shall be considered a corner lot for the purposes of this Zoning Code if the arc is of less radius than 150 feet and the tangents to the curve at the two points where the lot lines meet the curve, or the straight street line extended, form an interior angle of less than 135 degrees. (See Appendix I, Sketch 4.)
(102) “Lot coverage” means that part or percent of the lot occupied by any main and accessory buildings.
(103) “Lot depth” means the horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines measured along the median between the side lot lines.
(104) “Lot, double frontage (through lot)” means any interior lot having frontages on two more-or-less parallel thoroughfares. In the case of a row of double-frontage lots, all sides of said lots adjacent to thoroughfares shall be considered frontage and front yards shall be provided as required. (See Appendix I, Sketch 4.)
(106) “Lot lines” means the boundaries of a lot defined as:
(106a) Front lot line: In the case of an interior lot, it is that line separating said lot from the thoroughfare. In the case of a corner lot or double-frontage lot, it is that line separating said lot from that thoroughfare designated as the fronting thoroughfare in the plat.
(106b) Rear lot line: That lot line opposite the front lot line. In the case of a lot pointed at the rear, the rear lot line shall be an imaginary line parallel to the front lot line, not less than ten feet long, lying farthest from the front lot line and wholly within the lot.
(106c) Side lot line: Any lot line other than the front lot line or rear lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from a street is an exterior side lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from any other lot is an interior side lot line. (See Appendix I, Sketch 4.)
(107) “Lot width” means the horizontal distance between the side lot lines, measured at the two points where the required minimum front yard setback line intersects the side lot lines. The front lot line shall, in every instance, abut a public thoroughfare or private trafficway by being contiguous with the public right-of-way line or the private trafficway easement line.
(108) “Main building” means a building in which the principal use of the lot upon which it is situated is conducted.
(109) “Main use” means the principal use to which the premises are devoted and the principal purpose for which the premises exist.
(110) “Major thoroughfare” means an arterial trafficway intended to serve as a large- volume conductor for both the immediate area and the region beyond and which may be designated as a major thoroughfare, parkway, freeway, expressway or equivalent term to identify those trafficways comprising the basic structure of the Township Major Thoroughfare Plan. Any thoroughfare with a width, existing or proposed, of 120 feet or greater, shall be considered a major thoroughfare.
(111) “Manufactured home” means a vehicular, detached, portable structure built on a chassis and designed to be used without a permanent foundation as a dwelling when connected to required utilities and which is, or is intended to be, attached to the ground, to another structure, or to a utility system on the same premises for more than 30 consecutive days. Manufactured home shall also mean a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a chassis and is designed to be used as a dwelling with or without permanent foundation, when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained in the structure. Manufactured home may, but need not, include the real property to which the manufactured home may be attached. Manufactured home does not include a recreational vehicle.
(112) “Manufactured home park” means a parcel or tract of land under the control of a person upon which two or more manufactured homes are located on a continual nonrecreational basis and which is offered to the public for that purpose regardless of whether a charge is made therefore, together with any building, structure, enclosure, street, equipment or facility used or intended for use incident to the occupancy of a manufactured home and which is not intended for use as a temporary trailer park and licensed pursuant to the provisions of Public Act No. 59 of 1978 (M.C.L.A. 559.101 et seq., MSA 26.50(101) et seq.).
(113) “Marginal access road” means a service trafficway parallel to a major thoroughfare, which trafficway provides access to abutting properties and protection from through traffic.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(114) “Master Drainage Plan” means a plan adopted by the Township showing flood plains, floodways, watercourses and wetlands in the Charter Township of Clinton.
(Ord. 260-A-204. Passed 8-13-90.)
(115) “Master Plan” means the comprehensive future land use plan of and for the Township, including graphic and written proposals indicating the general location for streets, parks, schools, public buildings and all physical development of the Township, and including any unit or part of such plan and any amendment to such plan or parts thereof. Such plan may be adopted by the Planning Commission and/or the Township Board.
(116) “Mezzanine” means an intermediate or fractional floor in any story occupying not more than one-third of the floor area of such story. (See Appendix I, Sketch 2.)
(117) “Mixed-use building” means a single structure containing two or more principal uses, which could include retail and multi-family, retail and office and multi-family. These uses are physically attached either vertically or horizontally.
(118) “Mobile food vendor” means a vendor vending, serving or offering for sale food and/or beverages from a movable vehicle and/or trailer.
(119) “Motel” means a series of attached, semi-detached or detached rental units containing a bedroom, a bathroom and closet space. Units shall provide for overnight lodging, shall be offered to the public for compensation and shall cater primarily to the public traveling by motor vehicle. Motels that rent by the hour are prohibited.
(120) “Municipality” means the Township of Clinton, Macomb County, Michigan.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(121) “Nonconforming structure” means a structure lawfully existing on the effective date of this Zoning Code, or any amendment thereto, which does not conform to the regulations of this Zoning Code, or amendments at the time of adoption, in the district in which it is located or otherwise pursuant to law is deemed nonconforming.
(122) “Nonconforming use” means a use which lawfully occupied a building or land on the effective date of this Zoning Code, or any amendment thereto, which does not conform to the use regulations of the district in which it is located or otherwise pursuant to law is deemed nonconforming.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(123) “Nursery, plant material” means a space, building or structure, or combination thereof, for the storage of live trees, shrubs or plants offered for retail sale on the premises, including products used for gardening or landscaping, not including any space, building or structure used for the sale of fruits, vegetables or Christmas trees.
(124) “Nursing or convalescent home” means a nursing care facility, including a county medical care facility, but excluding a hospital or a facility created by Act No. 152 of the Public Acts of 1985, as amended, being Sections 36.1 to 36.12 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, which provides organized nursing care and medical treatment to unrelated individuals suffering or recovering from illness, injury, or infirmity. Nursing or convalescent home provides a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living.
(125) “Nuisance factors” means an offensive, annoying, unpleasant or obnoxious thing or practice, a cause or source of annoyance, especially a continuing or repeating invasion of any physical characteristics of an activity or use across a property line which can be perceived by or which adversely affects a human being, or the generation of an excessive or concentrated movement of people or things such as, but not limited to, noise, dust, smoke, odor, glare, fumes, flashes, vibration, shock waves, heat, electronic or atomic radiation, objectionable effluent, noise of congregation of people, particularly at night, and passenger traffic.
(126) “Off-street parking lot” means a facility providing more than two parking spaces and adequate drives and aisles for maneuvering, as well as ingress to and egress from a public right of way or private trafficway. (See Appendix I, Sketch 5.)
(127) “Oil and gas well” means any natural gas, oil or related hydrocarbon well, or other wells drilled for oil or gas exploration purposes. It does not include mineral mining or extractive operations subject to regulation under State law.
(Ord. 260-A-454. Passed 1-11-16.)
(128) “Open space” means land used for recreation, resource protection, amenity and/or buffers. In no event shall any area of a lot constituting the minimum lot area nor any part of an existing or future road or right-of-way be counted as constituting open space.
(129) “Open storage” means the keeping in the open, for a period exceeding three days or 72 hours, of any material which is man-made or man-assembled, fabricated or treated in any manner, not anchored to the ground and which has not received Township approval or which is not permitted by this Zoning Code. In residential areas, materials used in the landscape improvement of the specific property on which used, as well as firewood and lawn furniture, shall not be considered as open storage.
(130) “Parking” means to put or leave, for a period of time, a motor vehicle upon land unattended by an operator thereof.
(Ord. 260-A-450. Passed 5-4-15.)
(131) “Parking space” means an area of definite length and width, exclusive of drives, aisles or entrances giving access thereto, which is fully accessible for the parking of permitted vehicles. (See Appendix I, Sketch 5.)
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(132) “Pawnbroker use” means a pawnbroker business that loans money on deposit, or pledge of personal property or other valuable thing other than securities or printed evidence of indebtedness, or which deals with the purchasing of personal property or other valuable things on condition of selling the same back again at a stipulated price.
(133) “Permittee” and/or “licensee” means a person in whose name a permit and/or license to operate a business has been issued, as well as the individual listed as the applicant on the application for a permit and/or license.
(134) “Person” means any individual, proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association, limited liability company, or any other legal entity.
(Ord. 260-A-277. Passed 9-30-96.)
(135) “Planned shopping center” means a business development consisting of four or more retail units on five or more acres of land, characterized by a unified grouping of stores and served by a common traffic circulation pattern and off-street parking area.
(Ord. 260-A-122. Passed 7-7-86; Ord. 260-A-402. Passed 12-20-04.)
(136) “Planned unit development (PUD” means a development of land that is under unified control and is planned and developed as a whole in a single development operation or programmed series of development stages. The development may include streets, circulation ways, utilities, buildings, open spaces, and other site features and improvements.
(137) “Principal building” means a building which contains the primary use of the lot.
(138) “Principal use” means the principal purpose for which land or a building is arranged, designed or intended or for which land or a building is or may be occupied.
(139) “Public utility” means any person, firm, corporation or municipal department, board or commission duly authorized to furnish to the public, under Federal, State or Municipal regulations, gas, steam, electricity, sewage disposal, communication, telegraph, transportation or water.
(140) “Quarry” means any tract or parcel of land or part thereof used for the purpose of searching for or the extraction of stone, gravel, marl, sand, peat, topsoil or similar materials, including stripping and pit operations.
(141) “Recreation vehicle” means a vehicle designed or constructed for recreational purposes and which may permit occupancy thereof as a dwelling or sleeping place, such as, but not limited to, motor homes, campers, camper trailers, off-road vehicles and boats.
(142) “Remove” means to dig, dredge, suck, pump, bulldoze, dragline or blast.
(Ord. 260-A-204. Passed 8-13-90.)
(143) “Restaurant” is defined as follows:
(143a) Bar/lounge: A building or part thereof designed, maintained and operated primarily for the dispensing of alcoholic beverages. The selling of food and/or snacks may also be permitted. If the bar/lounge area is part of a larger dining facility, it shall be defined as that part of the structure so designated and/or operated.
(143b) Carry-out: A building maintained. operated and/or advertised as a place where food, beverage and/or desserts are served in disposable containers or wrappers from a serving counter for consumption exclusively off the premises.
(143c) Dining room: A building maintained, operated and/or advertised as a place where food and beverage are served and consumed primarily within the structure. Such food and beverage are served primarily in non-disposable (reusable by the restaurant) containers.
(143d) Drive-in/drive-through fast-food: A building maintained, operated and/or advertised as a place where food, beverage and/or desserts are ordered through a speaker system and served to customers from window while in a motor vehicle. Such food, beverage and/or desserts may be consumed inside the building or outside the building at facilities provided or carried out for consumption off the premises.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(144) “Retail, general” means a commercial enterprise devoted in whole or in part to the sale, rental, and/or servicing of goods or commodities, where such goods or commodities are available for immediate purchase and removal from the premises by the purchaser.
(145) “Right-of-way” shall be the line established by the Macomb County Road Department or Michigan Department of Transportation in their right-of-way requirements established for Clinton Township or the Township’s adopted Master Plan.
(146) “Satellite dish antenna” means an apparatus capable of receiving communications from a transmitter or transmitter relay located in a planetary orbit.
(Ord. 260-A-119. Passed 5-27-86.)
(147) “Screening” means the method by which a view of one site from another adjacent site is shielded, concealed or hidden. Screening techniques include fences, walls, hedges, berms or other features. Screening may include one or a combination of the following materials of sufficient mass to be opaque or that shall become opaque after 12 months and which shall be maintained in an opaque condition: walls, berms or plantings.
(148) “Secondary thoroughfare” means a trafficway which collects vehicles from local streets and distributes them to either local destinations or major thoroughfares and which has an existing or proposed right of way of 86 feet or more but less than 120 feet.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(149) “Self-storage facility” means a building or group of buildings divided into separate units or compartments used to meet the temporary storage needs of businesses, apartment dwellers and other individuals or firms, and is also known as a mini-warehouse.
(Ord. 260-A-119. Passed 5-27-86.)
(150) “Setback” means the distance regulated to obtain the minimum front, side or rear yard open space requirements of this Zoning Code. (See Appendix I, Sketches 3 and 6.)
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(151) “Sexual encounter center” means a business or commercial enterprise which, as one of its principal business purposes, offers, for any form of consideration:
A. Contact in the form of wrestling or tumbling between seminude or nude persons of the opposite sex; or
B. Physical contact between male and female persons and/or persons of the same sex, where one or more of the persons is in a state of nudity and the contact includes actual or simulated specified sexual activity.
(152) “Sign” means the use of any words, numerals, figures, devices, designs or trademarks by which anything is made known (other than billboards) such as are used to show an individual firm, profession or business, and which are visible to the general public.
(153) “Sign, accessory” means a sign which is accessory to the principal use of the premises.
(154) “Sign, nonaccessory” means a sign which is not accessory to the principal use of the premises.
(155) “Site plan” means a plan showing all salient features of a proposed development so that it may be evaluated to determine if it meets the regulations of this Zoning Code.
(156) “Solar panel” means a group of connected solar cells combined to form a panel contained by perimeter frame.
(157) “Solar cell” means an electrical device that converts sunlight, or other form of visible light, directly into electricity and is a building block of a solar panel.
(158) “Solar energy system (SES)” means two or more solar panels linked or connected for the purpose of storing, collecting and/or distributing solar energy.
(159) “Solid waste” means garbage, rubbish, ashes, incinerator ash, incinerator residue, street cleanings, Municipal and industrial sludges, solid commercial and solid industrial waste and animal waste, but does not include human body waste, liquid or other waste regulated by statute or ferrous or nonferrous scrap directed to a scrap metal processor or to a reuser of ferrous or nonferrous products.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(160) “Specified anatomical areas” means the less than completely and opaquely- covered human genitals, pubic region, buttock, female breast below the point immediately above the top of the areola and human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.
(161) “Specified sexual activities” means and includes any of the following:
A. The fondling or other erotic touching of the human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus or female breasts.
B. Sex acts, actual or simulated, including intercourse or oral copulation, masturbation or sodomy.
C. Excretory functions as part of or in connection with any of the activities set forth in paragraphs A. or B. hereof.
(Ord. 260-A-277. Passed 9-30-96.)
(162) “State licensed residential facility” means a building constructed for residential purposes which is licensed by the state under the Adult Foster Care Facility Licensing Act (P.A. 218 of 1979, as amended) or the Child Care Organizations Act (P.A. 116 of 1973, as amended) and provides residential services for six or fewer individuals under 24-hour supervision or care.
(163) “Storage” means to put or leave, for future use, a motor vehicle upon land unattended by the operator thereof.
(Ord. 260-A-450. Passed 5-4-15.)
(164) “Story” means that part of a building, except a mezzanine as defined herein, included between the surface of one floor and the surface of the next floor, or if there is no floor above, then the ceiling next above. A story thus defined shall not be counted as a story when more than 50%, by cubic content, is below the height level of the adjoining ground. (See Appendix I, Sketches 1 and 2.)
(165) “Story, half” means an uppermost story lying under a sloping roof, the usable floor area of which, at a height of four feet above the floor, does not exceed two-thirds of the floor area of the story directly below, and at least 200 square feet of such floor area shall have a height of not less than seven feet, six inches.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(166) “Streams” means natural estuary flow systems of surface waters occurring at the lowest points of the system, exhibiting consistent water flow patterns from the highest levels of collection to the mouth or outflow points.
(Ord. 260-A-204. Passed 8-13-90.)
(167) “Structure” means anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires temporary or permanent location on the ground or attachment to something having location on the ground and includes all buildings as defined herein but does not include, for purposes of this Code, pavement, curbs, fences, swimming pools, playground equipment, landscaping features or ornamental statuary.
(Ord. 260-A-381. Passed 10-6-03.)
(168) “Substantial improvement” means any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent of the market value of the structure either before the improvement or repair is started or, if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. For the purposes of this paragraph, 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 any project for 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 any alteration of a structure listed on the national Register of Historic Places or a State Inventory of Historic Places.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(169) “Temporary use” means a use permitted by the Township Board to exist for a limited period of time.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79; Ord. 260-A-381. Passed 10-6-03.)
(170) “Usable satellite signal” means a satellite signal which, when viewed on a conventional television set, is at least equal in picture quality to that received from local commercial television stations or by way of cable television.
(Ord. 260-A-119. Passed 5-27-86.)
(171) “Use, principal” means the principal purpose for which land or a building is arranged, designed or intended or for which land or a building is or may be occupied.
(172) “Wall, obscuring” means a structure of definite height and location to serve as an obscuring screen in meeting the requirements of this Zoning Code.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(173) “Watercourse” means any waterway or other body of water having reasonably well defined banks, including rivers, streams, creeks and brooks, whether continually or intermittently flowing, and lakes and ponds as shown on the Charter Township of Clinton Master Drainage Plan Maps.
(174) “Warehousing and distribution” means the storage, wholesale and distribution of manufactured products, supplies and equipment, but excluding bulk storage of materials that are inflammable or explosive or that create hazardous or commonly recognized offensive conditions.
(175) “Wireless communication equipment” means the set of equipment and network components used in the provision of wireless communication services, including, but not limited to, antennas, transmitters, receivers, base stations, equipment shelters, cabinets, emergency generators, power supply cables, and coaxial and fiber optic cables, but excluding wireless communications support structures.
(176) “Yards” means the open spaces on the same lot with a main building, unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided in this Zoning Code, and as defined herein. (See Appendix I, Sketches 3 and 6.)
(176a) Front yard: An open space extending the full width of the lot, the depth of which is the minimum horizontal distance between the front lot line and the nearest point of the main building.
(176b) Rear yard: An open space extending the full width of the lot, the depth of which is the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the nearest point of the main building. In the case of a corner lot, the rear yard is opposite the front yard.
(176c) Side yard: An open space between a main building and the side lot line, extending from the front yard to the rear yard, the width of which is the horizontal distance from the nearest point on the side lot line to the nearest point of the main building.
(Ord. 260. Passed 7-9-79.)
(177) “Zoning variance” and “variance” means a modification of the literal provisions of this Zoning Code granted when strict enforcement of this Zoning Code would cause practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship due to circumstances unique to the individual property as a lawfully granted variance in full force and effect.
(Ord. 260-A-31. Passed 5-4-81; Ord. Passed 10-30-23.)