(A) For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACCESSORY USE
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A use customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use or building and located on the same lot with principal use or building.
ALLEY
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A public or private thoroughfare which affords only a secondary means of access to abutting property and not intended for general traffic circulation.
BILLBOARD. Outdoor structure or display, pictorial or otherwise, either freestanding or attached to a building, which advertises or attracts attention to a business, commodity, service or other activity conducted, sold or offered elsewhere than on the premises on which the sign is located.
BUFFER STRIP. A buffer strip shall consist of a planted strip at least 10 feet in width, composed of deciduous or evergreen trees or a mixture of each, spaced not more than 20 feet apart, and not less than 1 row of dense shrubs, spaced not more than 5 feet apart. In some instances, a fence may be required by the Planning Board. Fence specifications shall be determined by the Planning Board.
BUILDING. Any structure enclosed and isolated by exterior walls or columns constructed or used for residence, business, industry or other public or private purposes, or accessory thereto. The term BUILDING shall be construed as if followed by the words “or parts thereof.”
BUILDING, ACCESSORY. A building subordinate to the main building on a lot and used for purposes customarily incidental to the main or principal building and located on the same lot therewith.
BUILDING, HEIGHT OF
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The vertical distance measured from the grade to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof; to the deck line of a mansard roof; or to the mean height level between the eaves and ridge of a gable, hip or gambrel roof.
BUILDING, PRINCIPAL. A building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which the building is situated.
BUILDING SETBACK LINE. A line establishing the minimum allowable distance between the nearest portion of any building, excluding the outermost 3 feet of any uncovered porches, steps, eaves, gutters and similar fixtures and the street right-of-way line when measured perpendicularly thereto.
CHANNEL. The bed where a river, stream or watercourse runs.
CUSTOMARY HOME OCCUPATION. Any use conducted for gain entirely within the dwelling and carried on by the occupants thereof, which use is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling for residential purposes and does not change the character thereof, and in connection with which there is no display; provided further, no person, not a resident on the premises shall be employed specifically in connection with the activity; no mechanical equipment shall be installed or used except as is normally used for domestic or professional purposes; and not over 25% of the total floor space shall be used for home occupations.
DISTRICT, ZONING. Any section of the Town of Fairmont or its extraterritorial jurisdiction in which zoning regulations are uniform.
DWELLING UNIT. A building or portion thereof, providing complete and permanent living facilities for 1 family. The term DWELLING shall not be deemed to include a motel, hotel, tourist home, mobile home or other structure designed for transient residence.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY. A building arranged or designed to be occupied by 1 family.
DWELLING, 2-FAMILY. A building arranged or designed to be occupied by 2 families living independently of each other.
DWELLING, MULTIFAMILY. A building or portion thereof used or designed as a residence for 3 or more families living independently of each other, including apartment houses, apartment hotels and group housing projects.
FAMILY. Any number of persons living together as a single housekeeping unit.
FAMILY CARE HOME. A residential housing unit that houses persons with disabilities, including a person with a temporary or permanent physical, emotional or mental disability, including, but not limited to, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, hearing and sight impairments, emotional disturbance and orthopedic impairment.
FLOOD or FLOODING. The general and temporary rise in stream, river or watercourse flow that results in water partially or completely overtopping its banks and inundating areas adjacent to the watercourse which are normally dry land areas.
FLOOD FRINGE. The land area located between the encroachment lines of the floodway and the maximum elevation subject to inundation by the regulatory flood.
FLOOD PLAIN. The relatively flat area or low land adjacent to the channel of a river, stream or watercourse, which has been or is likely to be covered by flood water. The flood plain includes the floodway and the flood fringe.
FLOOD PROOFING. A combination of structural provisions, changes or adjustments to properties and/or structures subject to flooding primarily for the reduction or elimination of flood damage to properties, water and sanitary facilities, structures and contents of buildings.
FLOOD PROTECTION ELEVATION. The elevation to which structures and uses regulated by this chapter and the flood insurance program are required to be elevated or flood proofed.
FLOOD, REGULATORY OR 100 YEAR. The regulatory or 100 year flood is a flood which is representative of large floods known to have occurred generally in the area and is characteristic of what can be expected on a particular watercourse. The regulatory flood or 100 year flood is likely to occur once every 100 years (i.e., that has a 1% chance of occurring each year).
FLOODWAY. The channel of a stream, river or watercourse and adjacent land which is required to carry and discharge the flood water or flood flows associated with the regulatory flood.
FLOODWAY, ARTIFICIAL OBSTRUCTION. Any dam, embankment levee, dike, pile, spoil material, bridge, conduit, culvert, building, wire, fence, refuse, fill, structure or matter which is not a natural obstruction that has been located in, along, across or projecting into any channel, watercourse or floodway zone which may impede, retard or change the direction of the flow of water, either in itself or by catching debris carried by water, or that is placed where the flow of water might carry the same downstream resulting in damage of life or property.
FLOODWAY ENCROACHMENT LINES. Lateral limits of the floodway zone along streams or other watercourses, within which, in the direction of the stream or watercourse, no structure or fill may be added, unless specifically permitted herein. Their purpose is to preserve the flood carrying capacity of the floodway. Their location is so that the floodway between them, including the channel, will handle a designated flood flow.
FLOODWAY, NATURAL OBSTRUCTION. Any rock, tree, gravel or analogous natural occurrence that is an obstruction to the flood-carrying capacity of river, stream or watercourse and has been located within the floodway by a nonhuman cause.
GAME ROOM. A game room for the purpose of this chapter shall be any place of business that operates 3 or more mechanical games or pay devices for which charge is made either directly or indirectly (included by way of illustration, video games, pool tables, bowling lanes), provided that games or pay devices shall not include vending machines or photo laminating machines.
(Ord. passed - -)
GROSS FLOOR AREA. The total area of all buildings in the project including basements, mezzanines and upper floors, exclusive of stairways and elevator shafts. It excludes separate service facilities outside the main building such as boiler rooms and maintenance shops.
GROUP DEVELOPMENT. A group of 2 or more principal structures built on a single lot, tract or parcel of land not subdivided into the customary streets and lots and which will not be so subdivided, and designed for occupancy by separate families, businesses or other enterprises. Examples would be: cluster type subdivisions, row houses, apartment courts, housing projects, school and hospital campuses, shopping centers and industrial parks.
JUNK YARD. The use of more than 600 square feet of the area of any lot for the storage, keeping or abandonment of junk, including scrap metals or other scrap materials or for the dismantling, demolition or abandonment of automobiles or other vehicles or machinery or parts thereof.
LEVEL IV GROUP FACILITY. A group facility that houses mentally ill persons who are dangerous to others as defined in G.S. 122C-3(11)b.
LOT. A parcel of land whose boundaries have been established by some legal instrument such as a deed or a recorded map and which is recognized as a separate legal entity for purposes of transfer of title. If a public road crosses a parcel of land otherwise characterized as a lot by this definition, the land on each side of the public road shall constitute a separate lot.
LOT, CORNER. A lot which occupies the interior angle at the intersection of 2 street lines which make an angle of more than 45 degrees and less than 135 degrees with each other. The street line forming the least frontage shall be deemed the front of the lot except where the 2 street lines are equal, in which case the owner shall be required to specify which is the front when requesting a zoning permit.
LOT, DEPTH. The mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.
LOT OF RECORD. A lot which is part of a subdivision, a plat of which has been recorded in the office of the County Register of Deeds or a lot described by metes and bounds, the description of which has been so recorded.
LOT WIDTH. The distance between side lot lines measured at the building setback line.
MOBILE HOME. A structure that consists of a single unit, or of 2 or 3 principle components (single-wide, double-wide or triple-wide, respectively) totally assembled at the factory and joined together at the building site; is designed so that the total structure, or principle component thereof can be transported on its own chassis; must be at least 50 feet long and 10 feet wide; is designed to be used as a dwelling and provides complete, independent living facilities for 1 family, including permanent provision for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation, and is actually being used, or is held ready for use as a dwelling.
MOBILE HOME PARK. Any place or tract of land maintained, offered or used for the parking of 2 or more mobile homes or trailer houses, used or intended to be used for living or sleeping purposes; a piece of land so designed and improved that it is licensed as a mobile home park under this chapter; or a piece of land licensed as a nonconforming park as specified in this chapter; this tract of land shall be under single ownership or owned by a group development association and it shall be maintained under a single management system.
MOBILE HOME LOT. A piece of land within a mobile home park: whose boundaries are delineated in accordance with the requirements of the chapter (some ordinances require physical markings on the ground; others specify that the plat submitted in the permit-application process must indicate the lot lines); that is designed and improved in accordance with the requirements of the chapter to accommodate a single mobile home.
MODULAR HOME. Any building or structure, designed for living or sleeping purposes, which are premanufactured, all or in part, at some point other than the building site for assembly or installation later at the building site. Further defined, a building may be assembled from premanufactured rooms, wall panels, frame units or other factory manufactured parts, which may be fabricated of wood, foundation or foundation materials at the building site. This definition does not include vehicles or structures that are designed to be mounted on wheels to be moved to a lot such as mobile homes defined above.
NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM. This program makes available to residents of flood-prone areas, flood insurance at reasonable premium rates through the means of a federal subsidy. Local jurisdictions are required to enact land use and control measures designed to guide the rational use of the flood plain and minimize potential damage from future flooding as a condition for the availability of the federally subsidized flood insurance.
NONCONFORMING SITUATION. A situation that occurs when, on the effective date of this chapter or any amendment to it, an existing lot or structure or use of an existing lot or structure does not conform to 1 or more of the regulations applicable to the district in which the lot or structure is located. Among other possibilities, a nonconforming situation may arise because a lot does not meet minimum acreage requirements, because structures do not satisfy maximum height or minimum floor-space limitations, because the relationship between existing buildings and the land (in matters such as density and setback requirements) is not in conformity with this chapter, or because land or buildings are used for purposes made unlawful by this chapter.
NONCONFORMING USE. A nonconforming situation that occurs when property is used for a purpose or in a manner made unlawful by the use regulations applicable to the district in which the property is located. (For example, a commercial office building in a residential district may be a nonconforming use.) The term also refers to the activity that constitutes the use made of the property. (For example, all the activity associated with running a bakery in a residentially zoned area is a nonconforming use.)
NONCONFORMING LOT. A lot existing at the effective date of this chapter or any amendment to it (and not created for the purpose of evading the restrictions of this chapter) that cannot meet the minimum area or lot-width requirements of the district in which the lot is located.
NONCONFORMING PROJECT. Any structure, development or undertaking that is incomplete at the effective date of this chapter and would be inconsistent with any regulation applicable to the district in which it is located if completed as proposed or planned.
NONCONFORMITY, DIMENSIONAL. A nonconforming situation that occurs when the height, size or minimum floor space of a structure or the relationship between an existing building or buildings and other buildings or lot lines does not conform to the regulations applicable to the district in which the property is located.
OPEN STORAGE. Unroofed storage area, whether fenced or not.
PARKING SPACE. A storage space of not less than 10 feet by 20 feet for 1 automobile, plus the necessary access space. It shall always be located outside the dedicated street right-of-way.
PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT. A tract or parcel of land which is developed for residential use as an integrated unit under single ownership or control, and which is at least 4 acres in area and includes 2 or more principal buildings. Development shall be based on a plan which allows for flexibility of design most available under normal zoning district requirements.
SEWERAGE SYSTEM, PUBLIC. A system serving 2 or more connections. Plans for public and community sewer systems must be approved by the Office of Water and Air Resources, N.C. Department of Natural and Economic Resources.
SEWERAGE SYSTEM, INDIVIDUAL. A septic tank arrangement of sewage disposal. Individual sewage disposal systems must be installed and maintained in accordance with the State Board of Health “Rules and Regulations Governing the Disposal of Sewage from any Residence, Place of Business, or Place of Public Assembly in North Carolina,” and regulations of the County Board of Health. State Board of Health Bulletin No. 519, “Residential Sewage Disposal Plants,” contains helpful information.
SIGN AREA. Sign area shall be measured by the smallest square, rectangle, triangle, circle or combination thereof, which will encompass the entire advertising copy area, excluding architectural trim and structural members. In computing area, only 1 side of a double-faced sign shall be considered.
SIGNS, ANNOUNCEMENT OR SIGNS, BUSINESS. Any outdoor notice containing words, letters, figures, numerals, emblems, devices, trademarks or trade names or combinations thereof, by which anything is made known such as the designation of a firm, corporation, profession, business, commodity or product located or available on the premises.
STREAM. A watercourse that collects surface runoff from an area of 1 square mile or greater.
STREET or ROAD. A dedicated and accepted public right-of-way for vehicular traffic which affords the principal means of access to abutting properties.
STRUCTURE. Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires more or less permanent location on the ground or which is attached to something having more or less permanent location on the ground.
TRACT. A piece of land whose boundaries have been described or delimited by a legal instrument or map recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds.
VIDEO ARCADES and GAME ROOMS. Any establishment that has on its premises more than 2 video games, pinball machines or other games for the purpose of monetary gain or the enjoyment of its patrons.
(Ord. passed 9-13-1983)
WATER SYSTEM, PUBLIC. Water supply systems serving 10 or more connections are classified as a public water supply by state law. Plans and specifications must be approved by the Sanitary Engineering Division, State Board of Health, N.C. Department of Human Resources.
WATER SYSTEM, SEMI-PUBLIC. Water supply systems serving from 2 to 9 connections, inclusive. This system may be regulated by the County Board of Health, and plans should be approved by the County Health Department.
WATER SYSTEM, INDIVIDUAL. A drilled well which serves a single connection. Individual water supply systems should be located, constructed and operated in accordance with State Board of Health Bulletin No. 476, “Protection of Private Water Supplies.”
YARD. An open space on the same lot with a principal building, unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward.
YARD, FRONT. An open space on the same lot with a principal building, between the front line of the building (exclusive of steps) and the front property or street right-of-way line and extending across the full width of the lot.
YARD, REAR. An open, unoccupied space extending the full width of the lot and situated between the rear line of the lot and the rear line of the building projected to the side lines of the lot.
YARD, SIDE. An open, unoccupied space situated between the side line of the building and the adjacent side line of the lot and extending from the rear line of the front yard to the front line of the rear yard.
(B) Words used in the present tense include the future tense. Words used in the singular number include the plural, and words used in the plural number include the singular, unless the natural construction of the wording indicates otherwise.
CONDITIONAL. Includes the word SPECIAL.
LOT. Includes the words PLOT, PARCEL or TRACT.
PERSON. Includes a firm, association, corporation, trust and company as well as an individual.
SHALL. Always mandatory and not merely directory.
STRUCTURE. Includes the word BUILDING.
USED FOR. Includes the meaning DESIGNED FOR.
(Ord. passed 5- -1977; Am. Ord. 08-115, passed 3-18-2008; Am. Ord. 15-158, passed 3-17-2015)