(a) As used in this Zoning Code:
(1) Words used in the present tense include the future tense.
(2) The singular number includes the plural, and the plural the singular.
(3) The word “person” includes a corporation, limited liability company, partnership and association, as well as an individual.
(4) The term “shall” is always mandatory and not merely discretionary.
(5) Terms not herein defined shall have the meanings customarily assigned to them.
(Ord. 101. Passed 2-20-70.)
(b) In addition:
(1) Accessory use, building, or structure. “Accessory use, building, or structure” means a use, building or structure that is clearly incidental to, customarily found in connection with, subordinate to, and unless otherwise specifically permitted, is located on the same zoning lot as the principal use to which it is related. A garage or utility area attached to a residence or connected to it by a common roof or covered breezeway is not considered to be an accessory building. Solar and wind energy facilities are considered accessory structures.
(Ord. Unno. Passed 7-14-86.)
(2) Accessory use. “Accessory use” means a use naturally and normally incidental to, subordinate to and auxiliary to the permitted use of the premises.
(3) Alley. “Alley” means a dedicated public way providing a secondary means of ingress to or egress from land or structures thereon, as designated upon the Zoning Map.
(4) Alteration. “Alteration” means any change, addition or modification in construction; any change in structural members of a building, such as walls, partitions, columns, beams or girders; or any change which may be referred to herein as altered or reconstructed.
(Ord. 101. Passed 2-20-70.)
(4A) Antenna. Relative to wireless telecommunication facilities, “antenna” refers to the surface or device from which wireless radio signals are sent or received by a wireless telecommunication facility.
(Ord. 2004-04. Passed 12-13-04.)
(4B) Attached wireless telecommunication facility. “Attached wireless telecommunication facility” means a wireless telecommunication facility affixed to an existing structure, such as a building, tower, water tank, utility pole, and the like. This definition shall not include wireless telecommunication support structures.
(Ord. 98-41. Passed 3-16-98.)
(5) Automotive service station. “Automotive service station” means a building or structure designed or used for the retail sale or supply of fuels, lubricants, air, water and other operating commodities for motor vehicles, aircraft or boats, and includes the customary space and facilities for the installation of such commodities on or in such vehicles, and space for facilities for the temporary storage of vehicles not over forty-eight hours, and for minor repair or servicing, but not for bumping, painting, refinishing, major repairs, overhauling, steam cleaning, rustproofing or high-speed washing thereof.
(6) Bank. “Bank” means an establishment for the custody, loan, exchange or issue of money, for the extension of credit and for facilitating the transmission of funds by drafts or bills of exchange.
(7) Basement. “Basement” means a portion of a building partly or wholly below the finished grade level and so located that the vertical distance from said grade level to the floor is greater than the vertical distance from said grade level to the ceiling. (See Appendices A-1 and A-2 following the text of this Zoning Code.)
(7A) Bed. Wherever the term “bed” is herein referred to, it shall mean such beds as are occupied by patients or guests of the hospital or building in question, provided, however, that bassinets and incubators shall not be counted as beds.
(8) Block. “Block” means the property abutting one side of a street and lying between the two nearest intersecting streets or between the nearest such streets and unsubdivided acreage or a lake, or between any of the foregoing and any other barrier to the continuity of development.
(9) Board of Zoning Appeals. “Board of Zoning Appeals” or just “Board” means the Board of Zoning Appeals of the Village of Franklin. The Board shall have all the authority, rights, and duties of the Zoning Board of Appeals specified in Article VI of the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, PA 110 of 2006, as amended (M.C.L.A. 125.3601 to 125.3607).
(10) Breezeway. "Breezeway" means a structure connecting the principal building or house on a lot with an accessory building (e.g. a garage) and may, in addition to a roof, have enclosed side walls or screening or be open except for roof supports.
(11) Buildable area. "Buildable area" of a lot means the space remaining after the minimum open space requirements of this Zoning Code have been complied with.
(12) Building. "Building" means any structure having a roof, supported by columns or walls and intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of any person, animal or chattel. (See also "structure.")
(13) Building Department. "Building Department" means the Building Department of the Village of Franklin.
(14) Building height. In the RO-1 and C-1 districts, "building height" means the vertical distance measured from the reference level to the highest point of the roof surface if a flat roof, to the deck of mansard roofs and to the mean height level between eaves and ridge of gable, hip and gambrel roofs. (See Appendix A-3 following the text of this Zoning Code.) In all other districts, "building height" means the vertical distance measured from the reference level to the highest point of the roof surface (excluding the chimney). (Ord. 2005-05. Passed 1-10-05.)
(15) Building line. "Building line" means a line established in general, parallel to the front street right-of-way line, between which line and the front street line no part of a building shall project, except as otherwise provided by this Zoning Code.
(16) Building Official. "Building Official" means the Building Official of the Building Department of the Village of Franklin, or his or her authorized representative.
(17) Building, principal. "Principal building" means a building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is located.
(18) Catch terms and titles. Catch terms and titles used in this Zoning Code shall not be construed as specific regulations but rather as guides to the various articles, sections and subsections of this Zoning Code.
(19) Clerk. "Clerk" means the Clerk of the Village of Franklin.
(Ord. 101. Passed 2-20-70.)
(19A) Colocation. "Colocation" means the location by two or more wireless telecommunication providers of wireless telecommunication facilities on a common structure, tower or building, in a manner that reduces the overall number of, or the need for, wireless telecommunication facilities and/or support structures within the Village.
(Ord. 98-41. Passed 3-16-98.)
(19B) Commercial vehicle. "Commercial vehicle" means any vehicle bearing or required to bear commercial license plates and which can be classified in one or more of the following categories:
A. Truck tractors;
B. Trailers, whether attached or unattached to other vehicles or equipment;
C. Semitrailers, which shall include flat beds, stake beds, roll-off containers, tanker bodies, dump bodies and full or partial box-type enclosures;
D. Vehicles of a type that are commonly used for the delivery of ice cream, milk, bread, fruit, or similar vending supply or delivery purposes, such as box or step vans. This category shall include vehicles of a similar nature that are commonly used by electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, and other construction or service oriented contractors, sometimes referred to as step vans.
E. Tow trucks;
F. Commercial hauling trucks;
G. Vehicle repair service trucks;
H. Vehicles with blades attached for plowing, grading, or mowing;
I. Any construction vehicle or equipment, such as a bulldozer, backhoe, or similar vehicle used in construction, earth moving, or landscaping;
J. Any vehicle that has permanently mounted outside brackets or holders for ladders, tools, pipes, or other similar equipment;
K. Any vehicle that bears external advertising or signage, identifying a particular business;
L. Busses and motor coaches;
M. Vehicles previously used for public safety purposes, such as fire engines or other fire apparatus and ambulances;
N. Vehicles that are similar in appearance to private passenger vehicles but which are used for, or are intended to be used for, commercial purposes and which are owned or leased for use in a commercial enterprise, such as "fleet" vehicles; and
O. The definition of "commercial vehicle" does not include traditional passenger cars or vehicles, including SUVs or pick up trucks, which do not bear external advertising or other similar signage, and which are routinely used by the owner or operator for ordinary personal transportation and are not primarily for business or fleet purposes. (Ord. 96-13. Passed 1-8-96; Ord. 2020-06. Passed 11-9-20.)
(20) Cubic content. "Cubic content" means the actual space enclosed within the outer surfaces of the outside walls and contained between the outside of the roof and the bottom of the first floor joist or floor slab. Bays, oriels and dormers are to be taken in full volume. "Cubic content" shall not include private garages, either attached or detached, parapets, outside steps, terraces, porches, breezeways, light shafts, cornices, footings, piles, caissons, deep foundations, exterior garden walls, outside stairways, fire escapes, fire towers, platforms, balconies, other projections, accessory buildings, any nonhabitable rooms or areas or any part of a building which is below grade.
(21) District. "District" means a portion of the Village of Franklin within which, on a uniform basis, certain uses of land and buildings are permitted and within which certain yard, open space, lot area and other requirements are established.
(22) Dwelling, multiple. "Multiple dwelling" means a building or portion thereof used or designed as a residence for two or more families living independently of each other and doing their own cooking in said building. This definition includes two-family houses, three-family houses, four-family houses and apartment houses, but does not include hotels, motels, trailer camps or mobile home parks.
(23) Dwelling unit. "Dwelling unit" means a building or portion thereof designed or used as a place of residence for a single family.
(Ord. 101. Passed 2-20-70.)
(23A) Dwelling unit, rental. "Rental dwelling unit" means any dwelling unit that is rented wholly or partly for compensation, in which the owner does not reside, to a person who is not the legal owner of record, for a term of twenty-eight days or longer, pursuant to a written or oral agreement. “Rental dwelling unit” does not include state-licensed residential facilities, subject to the provisions of Section 206 of the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, PA 110 of 2006, as amended (MCL 125.3206).
(23B) Dwelling unit, short term rental. "Short term rental dwelling unit" means any dwelling unit that is rented wholly or partly for compensation, in which the owner does not reside, to a person who is not the legal owner of record, for a term of less than twenty-eight days, pursuant to a written or oral agreement. "Short term rental dwelling unit" is considered to be a commercial use of land. "Short term rental dwelling unit" does not include state-licensed residential facilities, subject to the provisions of Section 206 of the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, PA 110 of 2006, as amended (MCL 125.3206).
(23C) Electric fence. "Electric fence" means a type of barrier composed of underground low-voltage electrical devices intended to contain domestic animals on or off a property.
(Ord. 95-284. Passed 12-11-95.)
(24) Endangered species habitat. "Endangered species habitat" means a land or water area supporting or protecting any fish, animal or plant listed as threatened or endangered by the State of Michigan.
(Ord. Unno. Passed 7-14-86.)
(25) Erected. "Erected" means built, constructed, reconstructed, moved upon or any physical operations on the premises required for the building. Excavations, fill, drainage and the like shall be considered a part of erection.
(26) Essential services. "Essential services" means the erection, construction, alteration or maintenance by public utilities or municipal departments or commissions of underground, surface or overhead gas, electrical, steam or water transmission or distribution systems, or of collection, communication, supply or disposal systems, including mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, wires, cables, fire alarm boxes, police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants, towers, poles and other similar equipment and accessories in connection therewith, reasonably necessary for the furnishing of adequate service by such public utilities or municipal departments or commissions for the general public health, safety or general welfare, but not including buildings other than such buildings as are primarily enclosures or shelters of the above essential service equipment.
(27) Family, domestic. "Domestic family" means one or more persons living together and interrelated by bonds of consanguinity, marriage or legal adoption, or guardianship, and occupying a dwelling unit as a single nonprofit housekeeping unit. A family shall be deemed to include domestic servants, gratuitous guests foster or boarded children whose room and board is paid by a recognized child care agency or organization.
(Ord. 101. Passed 2-20-70.)
(27A) Family, functional. "Functional family" means persons living together in a dwelling unit whose relationship is of a permanent and distinct character and is the functional equivalent of a domestic family with demonstrable and recognizable bond, which constitutes the functional equivalent of the bonds that render the domestic family a cohesive unit. This definition shall not include any group occupying a hotel, club, boarding house, fraternity or sorority house. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the number of persons who may reside as a functional family shall be limited to six. Such presumption may be rebutted by application for special approval based on the applicable standards in this Zoning Code.
(27B) Fence. "Fence" means an artificially constructed barrier of wood, wire, metal or any other material or combination of materials, used to prevent or control entrance, confine within or mark a boundary. A fence may be decorative or ornamental. Gates or barriers to entry and exit, screening walls and other types of boundary protection shall be included in this definition.
(Ord. 95-284. Passed 12-11-95.)
(28) Filling. "Filling" means the depositing or dumping of any matter on or into the ground, except deposits resulting from common household gardening.
(29) Floor area, gross. "Gross floor area" means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the floor within outside walls of a building, including the basement, elevator shafts and stairwells at each story, floor space used for mechanical equipment, a penthouse, a half story and a mezzanine or interior balcony. Garages, covered porches, enclosed breezeways, and similar attached structures shall be included in the calculation for gross floor area.
(29A) Floor area, ground. "Ground floor area" means the sum of the horizontal areas of the ground floor of a building measured from the exterior face of exterior walls, but not including open porches, decks, terraces, garages, or exterior stairways.
(30) Floor area, usable. "Usable floor area" means the gross floor area less twenty percent thereof.
(31) Foster child. "Foster child" means a child unrelated to a family by blood or adoption with whom he or she lives for the purposes of care and/or education.
(32) Garage, commercial. "Commercial garage" means any premises used for the storage, care, repair or refinishing of motor vehicles, but not including a place where any such vehicles are for hire or sale. (See also "automotive service station."
(33) Garage, community. "Community garage" means a series of private garages located jointly on a parcel of land under a single ownership.
(34) Garage, private. "Private garage" means an accessory building designed or used for the storage of motor vehicles used by the occupants of the principal residence which it is accessory.
(35) Grade. "Grade" means:
A. For buildings adjoining one street only, the elevation of the established curb at the center of the wall adjoining the street.
B. For buildings adjoining more than one street, the average of the elevations of the established curbs at the center of all walls adjoining streets.
C. For buildings having no wall adjoining the street, the average level of the ground adjacent to the exterior walls of the building.
All walls approximately parallel to and not more than fifteen feet from a street line are to be considered as adjoining the street.
(36) Greenbelt. "Greenbelt" means a landscaped area that is intended to serve as a buffer between residential and nonresidential land uses and as beautification for land uses in other places.
(Ord. 101. Passed 2-20-70.)
(37) Heritage tree. "Heritage tree" means any tree standing alone in the open, or any woodlot tree which stands distinctively apart from its neighbors by size, form or species. Trees equal to or greater than the diameters shown will be considered heritage trees regardless of location. (See Appendix A-4
following the text of this Zoning Code.)
(Ord. Unno. Passed 7-14-86.)
(38) Home occupation. "Home occupation" means any use customarily conducted entirely within a dwelling and carried on entirely by the inhabitants thereof, which use is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling for dwelling purposes and does not change the character thereof, provided that the use does not result in any physical exchange of goods or commodities on the premises, and that no treatment is performed on humans or animals, and that such occupation shall not require internal or external alterations or construction features, equipment, machinery, outdoor storage or signs attached to the building or placed on the premises, aside from those commonly found on a residential premises.
(39) Kennel. "Kennel" means any lot on which three or more dogs are either permanently or temporarily quartered.
(40) Loading space. "Loading space" means an off-street space on the same lot with a building or group of buildings, for the temporary parking of a commercial vehicle while loading and unloading merchandise or materials.
(41) Lot. "Lot" means land occupied or to be occupied by a use, building or structure and permitted accessory buildings, together with such open spaces, lot width and lot area as are required by this Zoning Code and having its principal frontage upon a public street or upon a private way used for street purposes. A "lot" need not be a lot within a plat of record.
(42) Lot area. "Lot area" means the total horizontal area of a lot within the lot lines as defined herein. As of September 4, 1991, for all newly created sidwell parcels, the computation for minimum lot size shall not include any portion of the road right of way.
(43) Lot, corner. "Corner lot" means a lot which has at least two adjacent sides abutting for their full length upon a street, provided that such two sides intersect at an angle of not more than 135 degrees. Where a lot is on a curve, if tangents through the extreme point of the street line of such lot make an interior angle of not more than 135 degrees, it is a corner lot. In the case of a corner lot with a curved street line, the corner is that point on the street lot line nearest to the point of intersection of the tangents described above. (See Appendix A-5
following the text of this Zoning Code.)
(44) Lot coverage. "Lot coverage" means the part or percent of the lot occupied by buildings or structures, including accessory buildings or structures, swimming pools, and other impervious surfaces such as driveways, patios, recreational courts, and decks.
(45) Lot depth. "Lot depth" means the mean horizontal distance from the front street line to the rear lot line.
(46) Lot, double frontage. "Double frontage lot" means an interior lot having frontage on two more or less parallel streets as distinguished from a corner lot. In the case of a row of double frontage lots, one street will be designated as the front street in the plat and the request for a building permit. (See Appendix A-5
following the text of this Zoning Code.)
(47) Lot, interior. "Interior lot" means a lot other than a corner lot. (See Appendix A-5
following the text of this Zoning Code.)
(48) Lot lines. "Lot lines" means the property lines bounding the lot. Specifically:
A. Front lot line. "Front lot line," in the case of a lot abutting upon one public or private street, means the line separating such lot from such street or easement right of way. In the case of any lot facing on two or more streets, the owner shall, for the purpose of this Zoning Code, have the privilege of electing any street lot line as the front lot line, provided that such choice, in the opinion of the Building Official, will not be injurious to the existing adjacent properties or the desirable future development of the same. In no case shall the front lot line include any portion of the road right of way. (See Appendix A-6
following the text of this Zoning Code.)
B. Rear lot line. "Rear lot line" means ordinarily that lot line which is opposite and most distant from the front lot line of the lot. In the case of an irregular, triangular or gore-shaped lot, a line ten feet in length entirely within the lot parallel to and at the maximum distance from the front lot line of the lot shall be considered to be the rear lot line for the purpose of determining the depth of the rear yard. In cases where none of these definitions is applicable, the Building Official shall designate the rear lot line. (See Appendix A-6
following the text of this Zoning Code.)
C. Side lot line. "Side lot line" means any lot line not a front lot line or a rear lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from another lot or lots is an interior side lot line. In the case of any lot facing on two or more streets, the street lot lines not defined as a front lot line or rear lot line are exterior side lot lines. (See Appendix A-6
following the text of this Zoning Code.)
D. Street or alley lot line. "Street or alley lot line" means a lot line separating a lot from the right of way of a street or an alley.
(49) Lot width. "Lot width" means the straight line distance between the side lot lines, measured at the two points where the minimum front yard setback line intersects the side lot lines.
(49A) Mast. "Mast" means a thin pole that resembles a street light standard or utility pole.
(Ord. 2004-04. Passed 12-13-04.)
(50) Mobile home. "Mobile home" means any structure intended for or capable of human habitation, sleeping or cooking, mounted on wheels or any other devices and capable of being moved from place to place, either by its own power or by the power supplied by some vehicle attached thereto. This definition shall not include travel homes eight feet or under in width and thirty-two feet or under in length as hereafter defined.
(51) Motor vehicle repair. "Motor vehicle repair" means the general repair, engine rebuilding, rebuilding or reconditioning of a motor vehicle; collision service such as body, frame or fender straightening and repair; and overall painting; but not including undercoating of automobiles unless conducted in a completely enclosed spray booth.
(Ord. 101. Passed 2-20-70; Ord. 192. Passed 8-8-94; Ord. 193. Passed 11-14-94.)
(52) Natural asset. "Natural asset" means natural features such as woods, waterways, wetlands, slopes, topographic features, rivers, ponds, marshes, floodplains, wildlife habitat, poor soil, endangered plant species, archeological and historic sites or other natural features occurring or existing naturally on a parcel which has physical, biotic, cultural or aesthetic importance.
(Ord. Unno. Passed 7-14-86.)
(53) Nonconforming building. "Nonconforming building" means a building or portion thereof which lawfully existed at the effective date of this Zoning Code, or amendments thereto, and which does not conform to the provisions of this Zoning Code in the zoning district in which it is located.
(54) Nonconforming use. "Nonconforming use" means a use which lawfully occupied a building or land at the effective date of this Zoning Code, or amendments thereto, and which does not conform to the use regulations of the zoning district in which it is located.
(55) Nursery, day nursery, nursery school or child care center. "Nursery, day nursery, nursery school or child care center" means an establishment wherein three or more children, not related by bonds of consanguinity or fostership to the family residing on the same premises, are, for remuneration, cared for. Such nurseries or centers need not have a resident family on premises.
(56) Off-street parking lot. "Off-street parking lot" means a facility providing vehicular parking spaces, along with adequate drives and aisles for maneuvering, so as to provide access for entrance and exit for the parking of more than two automobiles. (Ord. 101. Passed 2-20-70.)
(56A) Opacity. "Opacity" means the percentage measurement of the area obstructed by wood, metal, wire, plants and all other materials used in the creation of a perimeter feature.
(Ord. 95-284. Passed 12-11-95.)
(57) Parking space. "Parking space" means a rectangular area for each automobile or motor vehicle, such space being exclusive of necessary drives, aisles, entrances or exits and being fully accessible for the storage or parking of permitted vehicles. (Ord. 101. Passed 2-20-70.)
(57A) Perimeter feature. "Perimeter feature" means a type of fence or lot line delineation that is a low barrier of natural or artificial materials located at or near the perimeter of a lot and adjacent to a street or road front. Materials commonly used in perimeter feature construction include wood, wire, metal or any other material or combination of materials commonly used in fence construction.
(57B) Perimeter feature area. "Perimeter feature area" means a rectangular area with sides defined as follows: The base of the rectangle shall be the existing average ground surface elevation at the nearest lot line; the upper side of the rectangle (parallel to the base) shall be sixty inches above the base; and the two remaining sides of the rectangle shall be lines extending sixty inches vertically from the nearest lot corners at opposite ends of the base of the rectangle. Only one rectangle shall be used to measure the perimeter feature area on each street or road front.
(Ord. 95-284. Passed 12-11-95.)
(58) Person. "Person" means, in addition to a natural person, any firm, co-partnership, corporation, or limited liability company and any association of natural persons acting jointly or by a servant, agent or otherwise.
(59) Prefabricated building. "Prefabricated building" means a preassembled, pre-cut or other type of manufactured building or structure which is moved onto a premises (e.g. mobile home) or is brought to a site for residential or commercial purposes. (Ord. 101. Passed 2-20-70.)
(59A) Privacy screen. "Privacy screen" means an artificially constructed barrier of wood, wire, metal or any other material or combination of materials commonly used in fence construction. A privacy screen is intended to screen a selected use or area in a private residential yard.
(Ord. 95-284. Passed 12-11-95.)
(60) Public utility. "Public utility" means any person, firm, corporation or municipal department or board, duly authorized to furnish, and furnishing, under Federal, State or municipal regulations, electricity, gas, steam, communications, telegraph, transportation or water to the public.
(61) Reference level. "Reference level," for any building within ten feet of the front lot line, means the official established curb grade opposite the center of the front of such building. For any building more than ten feet from the front lot line, or where no curb grade is established, "reference level" means the mean level of the finished grade of the ground across the front of such building. When the mean finished grade abutting any portion of a building varies five feet or more from that at the front, such mean may be taken as the reference level for such portion of such building.
(61A) Restaurant. An establishment serving foods and/or beverages primarily for consumption upon the premises for remuneration. A restaurant may provide carry-out service as an accessory use.
(61B) Restaurant, Carry-Out. A restaurant that primarily sells food or beverages in disposable containers or wrappers for consumption primarily off the premises.
(61C) Restaurant, Drive-in. A restaurant at which patrons are served from a drive-up window, by employees serving patrons in a motor vehicle or at which consumption of food takes place within the motor vehicle on the premises.
(61D) Restaurant, Drive-Thru. A restaurant at which patrons pay for an order and pick up the order at a drive-thru window in a motor vehicle.
(61E) Retail Food Store. Grocery stores, meat and fish markets, fruit and vegetable markets, candy, nut and confectionary stores, dairy product stores, and retail bakeries. A retail food store may offer food or beverages in disposable containers or wrappers for consumption primarily off the premises.
(62) Rubbish. "Rubbish" means the miscellaneous waste materials resulting from housekeeping, mercantile enterprises, trades, manufacturing and offices, including other waste matter, such as slag, stone, broken concrete, fly ash, ashes, tin cans, glass, scrap metal, rubber, paper, rags, chemicals or any similar or related combinations thereof.
(62A) Seating capacity or seats. "Seating capacity" or "seats" mean, for parking requirements, that every 20 inches of seating facilities shall be counted as one seat, except that where specifications and plans filed with the Building Department specify a certain seating capacity for a particular building, such specified seating capacity, if approved by the Building Department, shall be used as the basis for required parking space.
(63) Sign, outdoor advertising. "Outdoor advertising sign" means any card, cloth, paper, metal, glass, plastic, wood, plaster, stone or sign, or other material of any kind, placed for outdoor advertising purposes on the ground or on any tree, wall, bush, rock, post, fence, building, structure or thing whatsoever. The term "placed," as used in the definition of "outdoor advertising sign" and "outdoor advertising structure," shall include erecting, constructing, posting, painting, printing, tacking, nailing, gluing, sticking, carving or other fastening, affixing or making visible in any manner whatsoever.
(64) Soil removal. "Soil removal" means the removal of any kind of soil or earth matter, which includes topsoil, sand, gravel, clay or similar materials, or any combination thereof, except common household gardening and general farm care.
(64A) Solar energy facility, roof-mounted. "Roof-mounted solar energy facility" shall mean any solar collector or other solar energy device and related facilities, or any structural design feature, mounted on a building, and whose primary purpose is to provide for the collection, storage, and distribution of solar energy for space heating or cooling, for water heating, or for electricity. This shall include building-integrated solar energy facilities, where solar panels themselves act as a building material or structural element.
(64B) Solar energy facility, ground-mounted. "Ground-mounted solar energy facility" shall mean any solar collector or other solar energy device and related facilities not mounted on a building, and whose primary purpose is to provide for the collection, storage, and distribution of solar energy for space heating or cooling, for water heating, or for electricity.
(64C) Special event. "Special event" means a temporary indoor or outdoor use on private or public property that extends beyond the normal uses and standards allowed in the Zoning Code, including, but not limited to, art shows, music and other artistic performances, festivals, and bazaars.
(65) Stable, private. "Private stable" means a building for the keeping of horses for the noncommercial use of the residents of the principal building on the lot, and shall not include the keeping of horses for other than the residents of said principal building.
(66) Stable, public. "Public stable" means any other stable except a private stable.
(67) State equalized valuation. "State equalized valuation (SEV)" means the value shown on the Village assessment roll as equalized through the process of State and/or County equalization.
(67A) State licensed residential facility. State licensed residential facility means a structure constructed for residential purposes which is licensed by the state under the Adult Foster Care Licensing Act, PA 218 of 1979 (M.C.L.A. 400.701 to 400.737) or the Child Care Licensing Act, PA 116 of 1973 (M.C.L.A. 722.111 to 722.128) and which provides residential services to six or fewer persons under 24-hour supervision or care. Such facilities include adult foster care family homes, foster family homes, and foster family group homes, as defined in the respective licensing acts referenced above. This definition excludes state licensed facilities for the care and treatment of persons released from or assigned to adult correctional institutions.
(Ord. 2006-03. Passed 11-13-06.)
(68) Story. "Story" means that portion of a building, other than a cellar or mezzanine, included between the surface of any floor and the floor next above it, or, if there be no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it. (See Appendices A-1
and A-2
following the text of this Zoning Code.) Specifically:
A. Ground story. "Ground story" means the lowest story of a building, the floor of which is not more than twelve inches below the elevation of the reference level.
B. Half story. "Half story" means the part of a building between a pitched roof and the uppermost full story, said part having a floor area which does not exceed one-half of the floor area of said full story.
C. Mezzanine. "Mezzanine" shall be deemed a full story when it covers more than 50% of the story underneath said mezzanine, or if the vertical distance from the floor next below it to the floor next above it is 24 feet or more. As used in this Zoning Code, a basement or cellar shall be counted as a story if over 50% of its height is above the level from which the height of the building is measured, if it is used for business purposes or if it is used for dwelling purposes by other than a janitor or domestic servants employed in the same building, including the family of the same.
(69) Street. "Street" means a thoroughfare which affords traffic circulation and principal means of access to abutting property, including avenue, place, way, drive, lane, boulevard, highway, road and any other thoroughfare except an alley. Specifically:
A. "Private street" means any street designated as such on a recorded plat, provided it has not been accepted as a public street by the Village.
B. "Public street" means a street accepted by dedication or otherwise by the Village of Franklin or other governmental jurisdictions.
(70) Structural alteration. "Structural alteration" means any change in the supporting members of a building or structure, such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams or girders, any change in the width or number of exits or any substantial change in the roof.
(71) Structure. "Structure" means anything constructed or erected that requires permanent location on the ground or attachment to something that has a permanent location.
(72) Structure, outdoor advertising. "Outdoor advertising structure" means any structure of any kind or character erected or maintained for outdoor advertising purposes, upon which any outdoor advertising sign may be placed, including also outdoor advertising statuary. As used herein, the term "placed" shall be as defined in paragraph (63) hereof.
(72A) Substantial justice. "Substantial justice" means justice of a sufficient degree to satisfy a standard of fairness.
(73) Travel home and travel trailer. "Travel home" and "travel trailer" mean any structure intended for or capable of human habitation, sleeping or eating, mounted upon wheels and capable of being moved from place to place, either by its own power or power supplied by some other vehicle attached thereto. This definition shall include all such vehicles eight feet or under in width and 32 feet or under in length. Such definition shall include travel trailers, motor homes, campers, etc.
(74) Treasurer. “Treasurer” means the Village Treasurer of the Village of Franklin.
(74A) Useable floor area. "Useable floor area" in the case of offices, merchandising or service types of uses, means the gross floor area used or intended to be used by customers, patrons, clients, patients, owners and tenants, less 20% thereof.
(75) Use. “Use” means the purpose for which land or premises or a building thereon is designed, arranged or intended, or for which it is occupied or maintained, let or leased.
(76) Utility room. “Utility room” means a room or space, located other than in the basement, specifically designed and constructed to house any home utilities or laundry facilities.
(77) Variance. “Variance” means a modification of the literal provisions of this Zoning Code granted when strict enforcement of this Zoning Code would cause practical difficulties owing to circumstances unique to the individual property on which the variance is granted.
(Ord. 2006-03. Passed 11-13-06.)
(78) Village. “Village” means the Village of Franklin, Oakland County, Michigan.
(79) Village Council. “Village Council” or “Council” means the Village Council of the Village of Franklin.
(80) Village Engineer. “Village Engineer” means the Village Engineer of the Village of Franklin, or his or her authorized representative.
(81) Village Planning Commission. “Village Planning Commission,” “Planning Commission” or “Commission” means the Village of Franklin Planning Commission.
(Ord. 101. Passed 2-20-70.)
(82) Wetlands. “Wetlands” means low areas and floodplain adjoining and including any watercourse or drainage way or body of water subject to periodic flooding or overflow; and those marsh, wooded marsh, submerged marsh, inundation area, intermittent lake, or intermittent streams as designated by the Franklin Village Master Plan, or any geological survey map on file in the Village office.
(Ord. Unno. Passed 7-14-86.)
(82A) Wireless telecommunication facility. “Wireless telecommunication facility” means facilities and equipment for the provision of personal wireless services, as defined by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, 47 USC § 332, as amended. Not included within this definition are citizen band, short wave, ham or amateur radio facilities, television reception antennas, satellite dishes, and governmental facilities which are subject to State or Federal law or regulations which preempt municipal regulatory authority, or telecommunication facilities that are regulated under the Metropolitan Extension Telecommunications Rights-of-Way Oversight Act (the “Metro” Act), MCL 484.3101, et seq. A wireless telecommunication facility located upon municipally-owned or operated sites and incorporated into the Village’s emergency communication network shall be considered to be an “essential service,” as defined and used in this section and in Section 1268.24. No other wireless telecommunication facilities shall be considered an “essential service” for purposes of this Zoning Code. (Ord. 2004-04. Passed 12-13-04.)
(83) Woodland. “Woodland” means any lands on which there are found growing trees, shrubs or similar woody vegetation with a trunk diameter of three inches or more, and any other lands with smaller forms of woody growth which are defined as wetlands.
(Ord. Unno. Passed 7-14-86.)
(84) Yard. “Yard” means an open space on the same lot with a building unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided herein. The measurement of a yard is the minimum horizontal distance between the lot line and the building or structure. (See Appendices A-6
and A-8
following the text of this Zoning Code.)
(85) Yard, front. “Front yard” means a yard extending the full width of the lot, the depth of which is the minimum horizontal distance between the front lot line and the nearest line of the principal building on the lot.
(86) Yard, rear. “Rear yard” means a yard extending the full width of the lot, the depth of which is the horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the rear line or lines of the principal building on the lot.
(87) Yard, side. “Side yard” means a yard between the side line of the lot and the nearest line of the principal building and extending from the front yard to the rear yard, or, in the absence of either of such yards, to the front and rear lot lines as the case may be; except that on a corner lot, the side yard adjacent to a street shall extend the full depth of the lot.
(88) Zoning district. “Zoning district” means a portion of the Village of Franklin within which, on a uniform basis, certain uses of land and buildings are permitted and within which certain yards, open spaces, lot areas and other requirements are established.
(Ord. 101. Passed 2-20-70; Ord. 2009-03. Passed 5-11-09; Ord. 2010-05. Passed 5-10-10; Ord. 2017-02. Passed 2-13-17; Ord. 2019-05. Passed 6-10-19; Ord. 2020-05. Passed 9-14-20; Ord. 2020-06. Passed 11-9-20; Ord. 2021-02. Passed 7-19-21; Ord. 2021-04. Passed 10-11-21.)