For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms and words are defined, and the words “used or occupied” include the words “intended, designed, or arranged to be used or occupied.”
1. “Accessory use or structure” means a use or structure subordinate to the principal use of a building on the lot and serving a purpose customarily incidental to the use of the principal building. Accessory structures include, but are not limited to, garages, sheds, decks, gazebos, swimming pools, and playground equipment. For purposes of this chapter, fences, temporary swimming pools that are removed each winter, concrete patios, and driveways shall not be considered an accessory structure.
2. “Adult” refers to a person who has attained the age of 18 years.
3. “Adult entertainment business” means a business which as a part of or in the process of delivering goods and services displays to its patrons specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas in printed form or through any form of photographic medium or by use of male or female models. In reference to the above, the following definitions apply:
A. “Adult art studio” or “adult modeling studio” means an establishment or business which provides the services of modeling for the purpose of viewing and/or reproducing the human body wholly or partially in the nude by means of photography, painting, sketching, drawing or otherwise; provided entrance to such establishment and such services are available only to adults.
B. “Adult artist – body painting studio” means an establishment or business which provides the services of applying paint or other substance whether transparent or nontransparent to or on the human body when such body is wholly or partially nude; provided entrance to such establishment and such services are available only to adults.
C. “Adult bath house” means an establishment or business which provides the services of baths of all kinds, including all forms and methods of hydrotherapy; provided entrance to such establishment and such services are available only to adults; and not including such services provided by a medical practitioner or professional physical therapist licensed by the State of Iowa.
D. “Adult book store” means an establishment or business having a substantial part of its stock in trade, books, magazines, photographs, pictures and other periodicals 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, and limited in sale of such sexual materials to adults.
E. “Adult cabaret” means a cabaret which features go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators, or similar entertainers.
F. “Adult massage” means any method of treating the external parts of the human body by rubbing, stroking, kneading, tapping or vibrating with the hand, other parts of the body, or any instrument, for any consideration or gratuity.
G. “Adult massage establishment” means any establishment having a fixed place of business where massages are administered for any form of consideration or gratuity, including but not limited to, massage parlors, health clubs, sauna baths, and steam baths. This definition shall not be construed to include an establishments employing: (i) persons licensed by the State of Iowa under the provisions of Chapters 148, 148A, 148B, 148C, 149, 150, 150A, 151, 152, 152B, 152C, 157 or 158 of the Code of Iowa, when performing massage services as a part of the profession or trade for which licensed; (ii) persons performing massage therapy or massage services under the direction of a person licensed as described in (i) above; (iii) persons performing massage therapy or massage services upon a person pursuant to the written instruction or order of a licensed physician; (iv) nurses, aides, technicians and attendants at any hospital or health care facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 135B, 1 35C or 145A of the Code of Iowa, in the course of their employment and under the supervision of the administrator thereof or of a person licensed as described in (i) above; (v) an athletic coach or trainer in any accredited public or private secondary school, junior college, college or university, or employed by a professional or semi- professional athletic teams or organization, in the course of his or her employment as such coach or trainer. This definition shall not be construed to include a volunteer fire department, a volunteer rescue squad or a nonprofit organization operating a community center, swimming pool, tennis court, or other educational, cultural, or recreational and athletic facilities, and facilities for the welfare of the residents of the area.
H. “Adult mini motion picture theater” means an enclosed building with a capacity for less than 50 persons used for presenting motion pictures, slides or photographic reproductions distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matters depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas as defined herein for observation by patrons therein.
I. “Adult motel” means a motel wherein material is presented which is distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on depicting or describing specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
J. “Adult motion picture arcade” means any place to which the public is permitted or invited wherein coin or slug-operated or electronically, electrically or mechanically controlled still or motion picture machines, projectors, or other image-producing devices are maintained to show images to five (5) or fewer persons per machine at any one time, and where the images so displayed are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting or describing specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
K. “Adult motion picture theater” means an enclosed building used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting or describing specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas for observation by patrons therein.
L. “Juice bar” means any establishment where alcoholic beverages are prohibited and where for any form of consideration or gratuity, models, dancers, strippers, and similar entertainers perform in nude or semi-nude for observation by patrons therein.
M. “Model” means any person who for consideration or gratuity appears either nude or semi-nude to be either viewed, photographed, sketched, drawn, sculptured; to dance; to provide reading or counseling sessions; for body painting; to deliver a service or in connection with the sale of merchandise; or to present materials distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
N. “Model studio” means any establishment where for any form of consideration or gratuity, models who display specified anatomical areas are provided to be observed, or subject to lawful tactile conduct, sketched, drawn, painted, sculptured, photographed, or similarly depicted by persons paying such consideration or gratuity, or where for any form of consideration or gratuity, nude or semi-nude dancing, readings, counseling sessions, body painting and other activities that present materials distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas are provided for observation by or communication to persons paying such consideration or gratuity.
O. “Nude encounter parlor” means an establishment having a fixed place of business where any person, therein engages in, conducts, or carries on, or permits to be engaged in, conducted or carried on, any business of viewing any person or persons or the actual encounter of any person or persons depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities as defined herein.
P. “Nude photographic parlor” means an establishment having a fixed place of business, where any person, association, firm or corporation therein engages in, conducts, or carries on, or permits to be engaged in, conducted or carried on any business of photographing any person or persons depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, as defined herein.
Q. “Specified anatomical areas” means: human genitals, pubic region, buttocks and female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola.
R. “Specified sexual activities” means any sexual contact, actual or simulated, either natural or deviate, between two or more persons, or between a person and an animal, by penetration of the penis into the vagina or anus, or by contact between a finger of one person and the genitalia of another person or by use of artificial sexual organs or substitute therefor in contact with the genitalia or anus.
S. “Substantial” means more than 25% of the book, magazine, film or video tape inventory is distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
An adult entertainment business is any one or more of the above or similar uses, which are customarily not open to persons who have not attained the age of 18 years.
4. “Agriculture” means the use of land for purposes of growing the usual agricultural or farm products, including vegetables, fruit, trees and grains, pasturage, dairying, livestock and poultry husbandry, and the necessary accessory uses for treating or storing the produce, provided that the operation of such accessory uses shall be secondary to that of the regular agricultural activities. If the tract of land is less than ten acres, it shall be presumed by nature and area that the tract is not primarily used for agricultural purposes.
5. “Airport Hazard” or means any structure, tree or obstruction determined to have a substantial adverse effect on the safe and efficient utilization of the navigable airspace for the purpose of determining the height limits as set forth in Chapter 62 and Chapter 63 of the Marion County Code of Ordinances.
6. “Airport, Official” means an official airport having height restrictions approved by Marion County, included as a chapter in the Marion County Code of Ordinances, and regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
7. “Airstrip, private" means a private air strip or air field that is not an official airport but may be regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), provided a Special Use Permit and Airport Layout Plan have been approved by Marion County. The owner of the private airstrip shall own or have a legally recorded easement covering the airstrip, runway protection zone, and all facilities as shown on the approved site plan. For the purposes of this chapter, the leasing or selling of hanger space or runway use shall not be permitted in any private airstrip.
8. “Apartment” means a room or suite of rooms in a multiple dwelling intended for or designed for use as a residence by a single family.
9. “Automobile salvage yard” means dismantling or wrecking of motor vehicles or trailers, or the storage, sale or dumping of dismantled or wrecked vehicles or their parts. The presence on any lot, parcel, or tract of land, of nine (9) or more vehicles which for a period exceeding thirty (30) days have not been capable of operating under their own power, and from which parts have been removed or are to be removed for reuse, salvage, or sale, shall constitute prima facie evidence of an automobile salvage yard. (See also “salvage yard.”)
10. “Basement” means a story having part but not more than one-half (1/2) of its height below grade. A basement is counted as a story for the purpose of height regulations.
11. “Bed and breakfast home” means a private residence which provides lodging and meals for guests, in which the host or hostess resides and in which no more than two (2) guest families are lodged at the same time and which, while it may advertise and accept reservations, does not hold itself out to the public to be a restaurant, hotel, or motel, does not require reservations and serves food only to overnight guests.
12. “Billboard” includes all structures, regardless of the material used in the construction of the same, that are erected, maintained, or used for public display of posters, painted signs, wall signs, whether the structure be placed on the wall or painted on the wall itself, pictures or other pictorial reading matter which advertise a business or attraction which is not carried on or manufactured in or upon the premises upon which said signs or billboards are located.
13. “Board” means Marion County Board of Adjustment.
14. “Boarding house” means a building, other than a hotel, where for compensation, meals or lodging and meals are provided for five (5) or more persons.
15. “Borrow pit” means any place or premises where dirt, soil, sand, gravel, or other material is removed below the grade of surrounding land for any purpose other than that necessary and incidental to site grading or building construction.
16. “Buffer zone” means an area of land used to visibly separate one use from another or to shield or block noise, lights, or other nuisances.
17. “Build-to line” is a line created by existing principal building lines of neighboring properties.
18. “Building” means any structure designed or intended for the support, enclosure, shelter or protection of persons, animals or property, but not including signs or billboards. When a structure is divided in separate parts by unpierced walls extending from the ground up, each part is deemed a separate building.
19. “Building line” means the extreme over-all dimensions of a building as determined from its exterior walls or any part of a structural support or component which is nearest to the property line, other than usual uncovered steps, patios and decks. Horizontally projecting roof overhangs and chimneys into the setback up to two (2) feet shall be permitted, provided no part of a side of a building for residential occupancy which is not attached to another building shall be closer than five (5) feet to a lot line or within ten (10) feet or another building.
20. “Building, height of” means the vertical distance from the average natural grade at the building line to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, or to the deck line of a mansard roof, or to the mean height level between eaves and ridge for gable, hip, and gambrel roofs.
21. “Building Permit” means a written statement issued by the Zoning Administrator authorizing buildings, structures or uses consistent with the terms of this Zoning Ordinance and for the purpose of carrying out and enforcing its provisions.
22. “Bulk stations” means distributing stations commonly known as bulk or tank stations, used for the storage and distribution of flammable liquids, or liquefied petroleum products where the aggregate capacity of all storage tanks is more than six thousand (6,000) gallons.
23. “Cabin” means a dwelling that is utilized primarily for recreational purposes. Such structure is not to be utilized as a primary residence nor will it be occupied for more than 182 days in a calendar year.
24. "Campground" means an area or tract of land on which accommodations for temporary occupancy are located or may be placed, including cabins, tents, and major recreational equipment, and which is primarily used for recreational purposes and retains an open air or natural character whether commercial or non-commercial. Commercial campgrounds contain one or more campsites that are available to the general public, including non- profit organizations, for short-term stays for a fee. Non-commercial campgrounds in any agricultural district shall not be considered a campground for purposes of this chapter unless the parcel contains permanent infrastructure related to said campgrounds. Noncommercial campgrounds in any residential district shall not be considered a campground for purposes of this chapter unless there is more than one occupied campsite on the parcel. Further, all campgrounds any campground that is developed, redeveloped, or improved with permanent infrastructure after the effective date of this ordinance shall be required to obtain Site Plan approval in accordance with this chapter.
25. “Canopy” means a permanent roofed structure, including marquees and awnings, attached to and supported by a building and projecting from a building.
26. “Car wash” means an area of land and/or a structure with machine- or hand-operated facilities used principally for the cleaning, washing, polishing, or waxing of motor vehicles.
27. “Carport” means a roofed structure providing space for the parking of motor vehicles and enclosed on not more than two (2) sides. For the purpose of this chapter, a carport attached to a principal building shall be considered as part of the principal building and subject to all yard requirements herein.
28. “Cellar” means that portion of a building having more than one-half (1/2) of its height below grade. A cellar is not included in computing the number of stories for the purpose of height measurement.
29. “Cemetery” means land used or intended to be used for the burial of the dead, including mausoleums, columbariums, and crematoriums when operated in conjunction with and within the boundary of such cemetery.
30. “Church or place of religious worship” means an institution that people regularly attend to participate in or hold religious services, meetings, and other activities. The term “church” shall not carry a secular connotation and shall include buildings in which the religious services of any denomination are held.
31. “Clinic, medical or dental” means a building or buildings in which physicians, dentists, or allied professional assistants are associated for the purpose of carrying on their professions.
32. “Club” means an organization of persons for special purposes or for the promulgation of sports, arts, literature, politics, fitness, or the like but not operated for profit, excluding churches, or other houses of worship.
33. “Cocktail lounge” means any place of business, other than a “night club,” located in and accessory to a hotel, motel, or restaurant, where liquor, beer or wine is sold for consumption on the premises, where music or other entertainment is limited to a piano bar or other one person performance.
34. “Commercial use” means the barter, exchange, sale, service or trade of goods, materials, or services, either tangible or intangible for financial, material, or monetary gain.
35. “Commission” means the Marion County Zoning Commission.
36. “Communications tower” means a structure that is intended for transmitting or receiving television, radio, or telephone communications.
37. “Comprehensive Plan” means the Comprehensive Plan for Marion County, Iowa, which sets forth the County’s long-range plans for land use and transportation management and development policies to guide the County’s growth and on which the County’s zoning regulations shall be based.
38. “Concentrating solar power system (CSP)” means an energy system that uses lenses/mirrors and tracking systems to focus or reflect a large area of sunlight onto a small area. The concentrated energy is absorbed by a thermal medium, such as water, salt, or a permanently gaseous fluid, and used as a heat source for a conventional power plan, such as a steam power plant, or for a power conversion unit, such as a sterling engine. Although several concentrating solar technologies exist, the most common types are the solar trough, parabolic dish, and solar power tower. Energy storage technologies used by concentrating solar thermal devices (e.g. molten salt storage) are also including within this definition.
39. “Conditional use” – see “special use.”
40. “Condominium” means an estate in real property as regulated by Chapter 499B of the Code of Iowa consisting of an undivided interest in common with other purchasers in a portion of a parcel of real property, together with a separate interest in space in a building, such as an apartment. A condominium may include, in addition, a separate interest in other portions of such real property.
41. “Conservation easement” means an easement granting a right or interest in real property that is appropriate to retaining land or water areas predominantly in their natural, scenic, open, wooded, or topographic condition, retaining such areas as suitable habitat for fish, plants, or wildlife; or maintaining existing slopes and land use.
42. “Convenience store” means any retail establishment offering for sale food products, household items and other goods commonly found in grocery stores, as well as retail gas sales, and having a gross floor area of more than 1,200 square feet but less than 5,000 square feet.
43. “Cul-de-sac” means a local street, one end of which is closed and consists of a circular turn around.
44. “Day care center, day nursery or nursery school” means any private or public agency, institution, establishment, or place which provides supplemental parental care and/or educational work, other than lodging overnight, for seven (7) or more unrelated children of preschool age, for compensation.
45. “Day care home” means a private residence where care, protection and supervision are provided, for a fee, at least twice a week to less than seven (7) children at one time.
46. “Density, gross” means the gross number of dwelling units permitted per gross acre of gross land within a defined area including public streets and open spaces.
47. “Density, net” means the number of dwelling units per net acre of land being developed exclusive of public streets and open spaces.
48. “Development” means any subdivision of land or man-made changes to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to the construction of buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation, or drilling operations.
49. “District” means a section or sections of the County within which the regulations governing the use of buildings and premises or the height and area of buildings and premises are uniform.
50. “Drive-in facility” means an establishment that, by design of physical facilities or by service or packaging procedures, permits customers to receive a service or obtain a product while remaining in a motor vehicle or to be entertained while remaining in a motor vehicle.
51. “Driveway” means a privately owned roadway giving access from a public street to a building plat or abutting property.
52. “Dump” means a premises used for illegal discarding of trash, garbage, junk or other refuse; but not including legally operating, and fills or junk yards.
53. “Dwelling” means a structure or portion thereof that is used exclusively for human habitation.
54. “Dwelling unit” means a room or group of rooms which are arranged, designed, or used as a dwelling for the occupancy of one (1) family containing sleeping, bathroom, and kitchen facilities.
55. “Dwelling, condominium” means a multiple dwelling as defined herein whereby the title to each dwelling unit is held in separate ownership, and the real estate on which the units are located is held in common ownership solely by the owners of the units, with each owner having an undivided interest in the common real estate.
56. “Dwelling, garden home” means a building containing only one dwelling unit on a separate lot and designed for and occupied exclusively for residence purposes by only one family within a townhome development.
57. “Dwelling, multiple family” means a residence designed for or occupied by three (3) or more families, with separate housekeeping and cooking facilities for each.
58. “Dwelling, row” means any one (1) of two (2) or more horizontally attached dwelling units in a continuous row located within a townhome development. Each dwelling is erected as a unit on a separate lot having an individual entrance. No more than six units shall be permitted in a single structure.
59. “Dwelling, single-family” means a detached residence designed for or occupied by one family only.
60. “Dwelling, two-family” (duplex) means a residence designed for or occupied by two (2) families only, with separate housekeeping and cooking facilities for each.
61. “Dwelling, tiny house” means a small building designed for use as a residential dwelling, generally 400 square feet or less. Tiny houses on wheels shall be considered an RV or camper for purposes of this ordinance, unless properly tied-down and skirted, in which case it shall be considered as a mobile homes. Tiny houses on permanent foundations shall be considered to be a single-family detached dwelling.
62. “Dwelling, townhome” or “townhouse” means a row dwelling or garden home which is characterized by common elements which are specified in or determined under the rules and regulations set forth by recorded covenants. Said covenants shall establish the guidelines for maintenance of common elements and permit free movement through common areas by members of the homeowners association to assure access to the structure exterior of each townhome unit by the individual unit owner.
63. “Easement” means a granted right by a landowner to a person, government agency, or public utility company to use land owned by another for a specific purpose.
64. “Exotic animals” means animals, other than domesticated livestock, poultry, or common pets such as cats, dogs, hamsters, guinea pigs, canaries, or other similar pets as determined by the Zoning Administrator.
65. “Fall zone” means the area of land centered beneath the tower and circumscribed by a circle with a radius equal to a length of one (1) foot for every ten (10) feet of tower structure height. No structures other than fences shall be constructed or permitted with any required fall zone. The area within any required fall zone shall be owned, leased, or in an easement running to the benefit of the tower owner.
66. “Family” means one or more persons occupying a single dwelling unit, provided that unless all members are related by blood, marriage, or adoption, no such family shall contain over four (4) persons.
67. “Farm” means a land area comprised of ten (10) acres or more which is used for agriculture.
68. “Feedlot” means any parcel of land or premises on which the principal use is the concentrated feeding within a confined area of cattle, hogs or sheep. The term does not include areas which are used for the raising of crops or other vegetation, and upon which livestock are allowed to graze or feed.
69. “Fill” means to raise the grade of land with the depositing of earth.
70. “Flashing lights” means a sudden or transient outburst of bright light; a flood of light briefly appearing and disappearing, or a single flash at regular intervals, the duration of light always being less than the duration of darkness.
71. “Flea market” means an occasional or periodic sales activity held within a building, structure, or open area where groups of individual sellers offer goods for sale to the public, not to include private garage sales.
72. “Flood” means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas resulting from the overflow of streams or rivers or from the unusual and rapid runoff of surface waters from any source.
73. “Flood plain” means a land area susceptible to being inundated by water as a result of a flood.
74. “Floor” means the lower horizontal surface of a hollow structure, story or room, or the horizontal structure which separates stories in a building.
75. “Floor area” means the total area of all floors of a building or portion thereof measured to the outside surface of exterior walls or the centerline of walls to attached buildings or uses. It does not include garages, porches, balconies, and other appurtenances. Space in the basement or cellar and all other space shall be included as floor area if habitable and used for a principal or accessory use permitted in the zone in which the building is located.
76. “Floor area ratio” means the square footage of floor area on all floors divided by the land area within the property lines.
77. “Foundation” means the part of the structure that supports the weight and transfers the load to the underlying soil or rock.
78. “Freeboard” means a safety factor indicating the height above a projected flood occurrence level to which a levy or floodwall is constructed.
79. “Frontage” means the lot line adjoining a public street as measured along the street.
80. “Funeral home” means a building or part thereof used for human funeral services. Such building may contain space and facilities for: (i) embalming and the performance of other services used in preparation of the dead for burial; (ii) the performance of autopsies and other surgical procedures; (iii) the storage of caskets, urns, and other related funeral supplies; (iv) the storage of funeral vehicles; and (v) facilities for cremation. Where a funeral home is permitted, a funeral chapel shall also be permitted.
81. “Garage, private” means a building for the private use of the owner or occupant of a principal building situated on the same lot of the principal building for the storage of motor vehicles with no facilities for mechanical service or repair of a commercial or public nature.
82. “Garage, public” means a building designed and used for the storage of automotive vehicles operated as a business enterprise with a service charge or fee being paid to the owner or operator for the parking or storage of privately owned vehicles.
83. “Garage, repair” means any building, premises, or land in which or upon which a business, service, or industry involving the maintenance, servicing, repair or painting of motor vehicles is conducted or rendered.
84. “Garage, storage” means any building or premises, used for housing only, of motor-driven vehicles pursuant to previous arrangements and not to transients, and at which automobile fuels and oils are not sold and motor-driven vehicles are not equipped, repaired, hired or sold.
85. “Gas, filling or service station” means any building or premises used for the retail sale of liquefied petroleum products for the propulsion of motor vehicles, and including such products as kerosene, fuel oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, packaged naphtha, lubricants, tires, batteries, antifreeze, motor vehicle accessories, and other items customarily associated with the sale of such products. The rendering of accessory services is permitted including automatic car wash for one vehicle at a time, and making of repairs to motor vehicles except those of a major type. Repairs of a major type are defined to be spray painting; body, fender, differential, axle, spring, and frame repairs; major overhauling of engines requiring the removal of engine cylinder head or crankcase pan; repairs to radiators requiring the removal thereof; or complete recapping or retreading of tires.
86. “Grade” means the average of the finished ground level at the center of all walls of a building. In case walls are parallel to and within five (5) feet of a sidewalk, alley or other public way, the above ground level shall be measured at the elevation of the sidewalk, alley or public way.
87. “Greenhouse” means a building or accessory structure constructed chiefly of glass or other translucent material, which is devoted to the protection or cultivation of flowers or other tender plants.
88. “Group care facility” means a government licensed or approved facility which provides resident services in a dwelling to more than eight (8) individuals not including resident staff, but not exceeding 30 individuals. These individuals are developmentally disabled, aged or undergoing rehabilitation; are in need of adult supervision; and are provided services in accordance with their individual needs. Group care facilities shall not include nursing homes.
89. “Half-story” means a story with at least two (2) of its opposite sides situated in a sloping roof, the floor area of which does not exceed two-thirds (2/3) of the floor area of the floor immediately below it.
90. “Hazardous materials” means any substances or materials that, by reason of their toxic, caustic, corrosive, abrasive, or otherwise injurious properties may be detrimental or deleterious to the health of any person handling or otherwise coming into contact with such material or substance.
91. “Health club” means an establishment providing physical fitness facilities and services to the public for a fee, including but not limited to: game courts, exercise equipment, exercise areas, running tracks, swimming pools, physical fitness maintenance and weight control services and instructors, locker rooms, saunas and associated retail shop intended for members of club only.
92. “Home occupation” means a business, profession, occupation or trade conducted for gain or support as an accessory use entirely within a dwelling, or a structure, which is incidental and secondary to the use of such building for dwelling purposes and which does not change the essential residential character of such building.
93. “Homeowners or property owners association” means a formally constituted non-profit association or corporation made up of the property owners and/or residents of a definitive area; who collectively may take permanent responsibility for costs and upkeep of commonly owned or designated community property.
94. “Hospital” means an institution licensed by State law providing health services primarily for human in-patient medical or surgical care for the sick or injured and including related facilities such as laboratories, out-patient departments, training facilities, central services facilities, and staff offices that are an integral part of the facilities.
95. “Hotel or motel” means a building containing six (6) or more guest rooms in which lodging is provided and offered to the public on a temporary basis for compensation, and which is open to transient guests, in contrast to a boarding house or rooming house.
96. “Inoperable vehicle” means any motor vehicle, recreational vehicle, boat, trailer or semi-trailer which lacks a current registration or component part which renders the vehicle unfit for legal use.
97. “Insignias and flags” means insignias, flags and emblems of the United States, the State of Iowa, Marion County, municipal and other bodies of established government, or flags which display the recognized symbol of a non-profit or non-commercial organization.
98. “Junk” means old, wrecked, inoperable, or discarded automobiles, trucks, tractors and other such vehicles and parts thereof, wagons and other kinds of vehicles and parts thereof, scrap, used building materials, scrap contractor’s equipment, tanks, cans, barrels, boxes, drums, piping, bottles, glass, old iron, machinery, rags, paper excelsior, hair, mattresses, beds or bedding or any other kind of scrap or waste material which is stored, kept, handled or displayed for barter, resale, reuse, salvage, stripping, or trade.
99. “Junk yard” means any area where waste, discarded or salvaged materials are bought, sold, exchanged, baled or packed, disassembled or handled, including the dismantling or “wrecking” of automobiles or other vehicles or machinery, house wrecking yards, used lumber yards and places or yards for storage of salvaged house wrecking and structural steel materials and equipment; but not including areas where such uses are conducted entirely within a completely enclosed building. The presence on any property of ten (10) or more motor vehicles (as defined by Chapter 321 of the Code of Iowa) without current registration which for a period exceeding thirty (30) days have not been capable of operating under their own power, and/or from which parts have been removed for re-use, salvage, or sale, shall constitute prima facie evidence of a junk yard.
100. “Kennel” means any premises on which five (5) or more dogs, six months or older, are kept for board, breeding, or sales purposes.
101. “Landfill” means a disposal site employing an engineering method of disposing of solid wastes in a manner that minimizes environmental hazards by spreading, compacting to the smallest volume, and applying cover material over all exposed waste at the end of each operating day.
102. “Laundry, self-service” means a business that provides home-type washing, drying and/or ironing machines for hire to be used by customers on the premises.
103. “Livestock” means animals kept, or raised for use or pleasure including cattle, horses, sheep, goats, swine, mules, donkeys, llamas, and similar hoofed animals excluding buffalo and elk.
104. “Loading space” means any off-street space or berth on the same lot with a building or contiguous to a group of buildings, for the temporary parking (less than twenty-four hours) for a commercial vehicle while loading or unloading merchandise or materials.
105. “Lodging house” means a building where lodging only is provided for compensation for four (4) or more persons.
106. “Lot” means a parcel of land of at least sufficient size to meet minimum zoning requirements for use, coverage and area and to provide such yards and other open space as are herein required. Such lot shall have frontage on a public road or approved private street and may consist of:
A. A single lot of record;
B. A portion of a lot of record;
C. A combination of complete lots of record, of complete lots of record and portions of lots of record, or of portions of lots of record; and
D. A parcel of land described by metes and bounds, provided that in no case of division or combination shall any residual lot or parcel be created which does not meet the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance.
107. “Lot lines” means the lines bounding a lot, including the right-of-way line of any public road or highway acquired by easement.
108. “Lot of record” means a lot which is a part of a subdivision recorded in the office of the County Recorder of Marion County, or a lot or parcel described by metes and bounds, the description of which has been so recorded.
109. “Lot width” means the width of a lot measured at the building line and at right angles to its depth.
110. “Lot, corner” means a lot abutting upon two (2) or more streets at their intersection.
111. “Lot, depth of” means the mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.
112. “Lot, double frontage” means a lot having a frontage on two (2) non-intersecting streets, as distinguished from a corner lot. Such lots shall provide the required front yard depth on both street frontages.
113. “Lot, flag” means a lot with access provided to the bulk of the lot by means of a narrow corridor which does not meet the minimum permitted lot width requirements at the minimum setback distance from the public street.
114. “Lot, interior” means a lot other than a corner lot.
115. “Lot, reversed frontage” means a corner lot the side street line of which is substantially a continuation of the front lot line of the first platted lot to its rear.
116. “Lumber yard” means a premises on which primarily new lumber and related building materials are sold.
117. “Manufactured home” is a factory-built structure, which is built under the authority of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 5403, is required by Federal law to display a seal from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and was constructed on or after June 15, 1976. If a manufactured home is placed in a mobile home park, the home must be titled and is subject to the mobile home square foot tax. If a manufactured home is placed outside a mobile home park, the home must be titled and is to be assessed and taxed as real estate.
118. “Marina” means a facility for storing, servicing, fueling, berthing, and securing and launching of private pleasure water craft that may include the sale of fuel and incidental supplies for the boat owners, crews, and guests.
119. “Mini-warehouse” means a building or group of buildings, no more than twenty-five (25) feet in height and not having any dimensions greater than one hundred fifty (150) feet per building, containing varying sizes of individualized, compartmentalized, and controlled stalls or lockers for the dead storage of customers’ goods or wares, excluding junk, explosive, or flammable materials, and other noxious or dangerous materials. No business activities other than rental of storage units shall be conducted on the premises.
120. “Mobile home” means a factory-built housing unit used for living, sleeping, business, or storage purposes, having no foundation other than wheels, blocks, skids, jacks, horses or skirtings, and which is, has been or reasonably may be equipped with wheels or other devices for transporting the structure from place to place, whether by motive power or other means. All properties as defined by Chapter 322 of the Code of Iowa “mobile homes” are subject to inspections by the Department of Public Safety, State of Iowa.
121. “Mobile home park” means any lot or portion of a lot upon which two (2) or more mobile homes, occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes, are located, regardless of whether or not a charge is made for such accommodation.
122. “Modular home” means a factory-built structure which is manufactured to be used as a place of human habitation, is constructed to comply with the Iowa State Building Code for modular factory-built structures, and must display the seal issued by the State Building Code Commissioner. If a modular home is placed in a mobile home park, the home is subject to the annual tax as required by Section 435.22, Code of Iowa. If a modular home is placed outside a mobile home park the home shall be considered real property and is to be assessed and taxed as real estate.
123. “Motel, auto court” means a building or group of attached or detached buildings containing individual sleeping or living units for overnight auto tourists, with garage attached or parking facilities conveniently located to each such unit.
124. “New construction” means those structures or development for which the start of construction or installation commenced on or after the effective date of this Zoning Ordinance.
125. “Night club” means any place of business located within any building or establishment, established and operated for the purpose of supplying entertainment or music and a dance floor and providing meals and/or refreshments prepared for consumption on the premises.
126. “Nonconforming lot” means a lot which lawfully existed prior to the adoption, revision, or amendment of this Zoning Ordinance, but which fails by reason of such adoption, revision, or amendment to conform to the new district regulation in which it is located.
127. “Nonconforming structure” means a building or structure existing at the effective date of adoption or amendment of this Zoning Ordinance which is allowed to lawfully exist, but does not comply with the terms of this chapter by reason of restrictions on area, lot coverage, height, setbacks, architecture, or other characteristics of the structure or its location on the lot.
128. “Nonconforming use” means a lawful use of land or building that does not comply with the use regulations for its zoning district, but which complied with applicable regulations at the time the use was established.
129. “Non-profit institution” means a non-profit establishment maintained and operated by a society, corporation, individual, foundation or public agency for the purpose of providing charitable, social, education or similar services to the public, groups, or individuals. Cooperative non-profit associations, performing a service normally associated with retail sales or trade such as cooperative groceries, granaries, equipment sales, etc., shall not be considered a non-profit institution under this chapter.
130. “Nursing or convalescent home” means a building or structure having accommodations and where care is provided for invalid, infirm, aged, convalescent, or physically disabled, or injured persons; not including mentally insane, mental deficiency or deterioration, inebriate, or contagious cases.
131. “Off premises” means the purpose is to advertise, identify and/or direct attention to a profession, business, service, activity, product, campaign or attraction which is not carried on, sold, offered, or manufactured in or upon the premises.
132. “Oscillating light” means light which is totally eclipsed at regular intervals; the duration of light is always greater than the duration of darkness (such as an electronic information display).
133. “Parcel or tract” means an aliquot part of a section, a lot within an official plat, or a government lot; said parcel must be contiguous in order to be considered as one parcel for purposes of this chapter.
134. “Park” means any public or private land reserved for active and passive recreation to include such facilities as playgrounds, swimming pools, tennis courts, trails, shelters, and other similar uses associated with a designed recreation area. The term park is not intended to include private or public amusement parks, permanent carnivals, or similar type activities.
135. “Parking area, satellite” means off-street parking spaces located on a separate lot not adjoining the principal use for which they are required or associated with, whether in the same ownership as the property occupied by the principal use or leased from a separate owner.
136. “Parking space” means an area on a lot and/or within a building intended for the use of parking of a personal vehicle. This term is used interchangeably with parking stall.
137. “Patron” means a customer who purchases a commodity or service.
138. “Place of business” means any vehicle, building, structure, yard, area, lot, premises, or part thereof, or any other place in which or on which one or more persons engage in gainful occupation.
139. “Planned Unit Development” (PUD) means any development in which the proposed land use, transportation elements, population densities, building arrangement and types are set out in a unified, contiguous plan.
140. “Plant nursery” means any land used to raise trees, shrubs, flowers, and other plants for transplanting.
141. “Porch, unenclosed” means a roofed projection which has no more than fifty percent (50%) of each outside wall area enclosed by a building or siding material other than meshed screens.
142. “Poultry” means domesticated fowl valued for their meat or eggs and kept or raised for use or pleasure including chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, ostriches, emus and similar fowl.
143. “Premises” means any lot, plot, parcel or tract of land, building or buildings, structure or structures, used publicly or privately as a place of business, dwelling or meeting place.
144. “Principal building” means a building in which the principal use of the lot on which the building is located is conducted.
145. “Principal use” means the main use of land or structures as distinguished from an accessory use.
146. “Print shop” means a retail establishment that provides duplicating services using photocopy, blueprint, and offset printing equipment, including collating of booklets and reports.
147. “Public”; when used as an adjective for a particular use such as “public library” or “school, public”; means a specific use that is under the jurisdiction and maintenance of a governmental agency of the Federal, State, County or City government which may be used by the general public.
148. “Public thoroughfare” means any right-of-way under the jurisdiction and maintenance of the governmental agencies of the federal, State or County government, which may be used by the public in general, and which may or may not serve as a frontage street to the abutting property.
149. “Quarter-quarter section” means the northeast, northwest, southwest or southeast quarter of a quarter section delineated by the United States Government system of land survey, and which is approximately 40 acres in size.
150. “Recreational vehicle” (RV) means a vehicle which is: (i) built on a single chassis; (ii) 400 square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection; (iii) designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty vehicle; and (iv) designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
151. Recreational vehicle park or RV park” means any parcel of land upon which two or more recreational vehicle sites are located, established, or maintained for occupancy by recreational vehicles of the general public as temporary living quarters for recreation or vacation purposes.
152. “Recycling center” means a building in which used material is separated and processed prior to shipment to others who will use those materials to manufacture new products.
153. “Recycling collection point” means an incidental use that serves as a neighborhood drop-off point for temporary storage of recoverable resources. No processing of such items is allowed. This facility would generally be located in a shopping center parking lot or in other public/quasi-public areas, such as in churches and schools.
154. “Research laboratory” means a building or group of buildings in which are located facilities for scientific research, investigation, testing, or experimentation, but not facilities for the manufacture or sale of products except as incidental to the main purpose of the laboratory.
155. “Residential” or “residence” means any lot, plot, parcel, tract, area, or place of land or any building used exclusively for family dwelling purposes or intended to be used, including accessory uses specified herein.
156. “Restaurant” means an establishment that prepares and serves food and beverages to persons for immediate consumption.
A. “Carry-out” means a restaurant which prepares food and/or beverages which are packaged and delivered to the patrons or are picked up at the establishment by the customer, there is no consumption of food or beverages on the premises by patrons.
B. “Dine-in” means a restaurant where the patron consumes foods and beverages while seated at tables or counters located on the premises.
C. “Drive-in” means a restaurant that delivers prepared food and/or beverages to patrons in motor vehicles, regardless of whether or not it also serves prepared food and/or beverages to customers who are not in motor vehicles, for consumption on or off the premises.
157. “Resubdivision” means any change in the shape or size of any lot, tract, or parcel of land previously platted for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale, rent, lease, building development, or other use. Any change in the shape or size of any lot, tract or parcel of land previously approved for building purposes whether immediate or future and regardless of whether or not the same is vacant or improved in whole or in part, for sale, rent, lease, building development or other use.
158. “Right-of-way” means a strip of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a road, walkway, drainageway, railroad, electric transmission line, oil or gas pipeline, water main, sanitary or storm sewer, trail, or other public use.
159. “Road, private” means a right-of-way open to vehicular ingress and egress established as a separate tract for the common use and benefit of certain, adjacent properties. This definition does not apply to individual driveways.
160. “Salvage dealer” means any person who buys, sells, transfers, delivers, or stores junk, including all persons who carry on such businesses at a shop, a salvage yard or as a peddler, and any person who by advertisement, sign or otherwise holds himself or herself out as a salvage dealer, or dealer in old or discarded metals, machinery, rags, paper stock, and the like.
161. “Salvage yard” means any place not fully enclosed within a building where a salvage dealer, in connection with the salvage dealer business, stores or deposits junk encompassing either (i) an area of 200 square feet or more, or (ii) ten or more inoperable motor vehicles, or used parts and materials thereof, which taken together equal the bulk of ten or more motor vehicles.
162. “School” means a facility that provides a curriculum of elementary and secondary academic instruction, including kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools, middle schools, and high schools.
163. “School, business training” means a school which specializes in business, commercial and industrial training courses and is operated for commercial gain.
164. “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. (See also “buffer zone.”)
165. “Seating capacity” means the actual seating capacity of an area based upon the number of seats or one seat per eighteen (18) inches of bench or pew length.
166. “Setback” means the required minimum horizontal distance permitted between the building line and the related front, side, or rear property line.
167. “Shipping container” means a metal sided container typically used for multimodal shipping, not placed on a foundation. Shipping containers shall also include portions or enclosures removed from a chassis and no longer with wheels or axels like a semi-trailer box, panel truck enclosure, or box trailer.
168. “Shopping center” means a grouping of retail businesses and service uses within a single Master Planned Complex of one or more buildings with common parking facilities, access and open space.
169. “Sidewalk café” means an area which is part of and adjacent to and directly in front of a street-level restaurant and located within the sidewalk area of the public right-of-way exclusively for dining, drinking, and pedestrian circulation. The encroachment area of the sidewalk cafe may be separated from the remainder of the sidewalk by railings, fencing, or landscaping planter boxes or a combination thereof as required by the Board.
170. “Sign” means any device designed to inform or attract the attention of persons not on the premises on which the sign is located; provided, however, the following shall not be included in the application of the regulations herein:
A. Signs not exceeding one (1) square foot in area and bearing only property numbers, post box numbers, names of occupants of premises, or other identification of premises not having commercial connotations;
B. Flags and insignia of any government except when displayed in connection with commercial promotion;
C. Legal notices; identification, informational or directional signs erected or required by governmental bodies;
D. Integral, decorative or architectural features of buildings, except letters, trademarks, moving parts or moving lights;
E. Signs directing and guiding traffic and parking on private property, and bearing no advertising matter; not exceeding two (2) square feet in area.
171. “Sign area” means the surface area of a sign shall be computed as including the entire area within a regular geometric form or combinations of regular geometric forms comprising all of the display area of the sign and including all of the elements of the matter displayed. Frames and structural members not bearing advertising matter shall not be included in computation of the surface area, except where such frames and structural members are used as an integral primary or subsidiary portion of the graphic, literal, or numerical display, such as forming a picture frame to facilitate continuity or providing contrasts to emphasize the intended purpose of the sign.
172. “Sign, awning” means a sign painted on or incorporated into an awning. The area of an awning sign shall be the area of the inscription or message incorporated into the awning, provided the awning is not internally illuminated. For an awning sign incorporated on an awning internally illuminated, the area of the entire awning shall be considered the sign area.
173. “Sign, building” means a sign which is wholly supported by the building wall, parallel to the plane thereof and which does not extend beyond the surface of said building wall more than twelve (12) inches. A building sign may be painted on, incorporated in, or affixed to the building wall, or any sign consisting of cut-out letters or devices affixed to the building wall with no background defined on the building wall.
174. “Sign, bulletin board” means a sign containing a surface area upon which is displayed the name of a religious institution, charitable organization, school, library, community center or similar institution and the announcement of its services or activities.
175. “Sign, construction” means signs identifying the architects, engineers, contractors and other individuals involved in the construction of a building and such signs announcing the character of the building enterprise or the purpose for the building is intended but not including product advertising.
176. “Sign, development identification” means a sign incorporated in or on the face of a wall which is approved as part of a subdivision plat or site plan and not a building sign.
177. “Sign, development off-premises” means signs identifying location or direction to a specific development or facility that is located on premises or off premises of the development or facility site.
178. “Sign, directory” means any sign that does not advertise a product or place of business but exists solely to direct vehicular or pedestrian traffic to a location of a business or part of a business.
179. “Sign, free standing” means free standing signs including pole and ground signs, as regulated by this chapter, and includes any sign which is supported by one or more uprights or braces in or upon the ground and not attached to any building or wall.
180. “Sign, ground or monument” means an on-premises statuary, memorial or work of art or an on-premises free standing sign, other than a pole sign, that is supported in or upon the ground with a supporting column that has a perimeter which is not less than 50% of the sign perimeter.
181. “Sign, identification” means an on-premises sign that displays no more than the name, address, crest or insignia, occupation, or profession of an occupant of the premises, name of any building on the premises or the trademark of the occupant.
182. “Sign, illuminated” means any sign which has characters, letters, figures, designs or outline illuminated by electric lights or luminous tubes as-part of the sign proper.
183. “Sign, highway” means an on-premises pole sign which is constructed to attract the attention of highway travelers and is located within one thousand two hundred (1,200) feet of a State or County highway
184. “Sign, memorial” means signs or tablets, names of buildings and date of erection when engraved into any masonry surface or when constructed of bronze or other incombustible materials. Memorial signs shall not contrast in color from the material of which said sign is constructed.
185. “Sign, obsolete” means signs that advertise an activity, business, product, or service no longer conducted on the premises on which the sign is located.
186. “Sign, on-premises” means a sign the primary purpose of which is to advertise, identify, and/or direct attention to a profession, business, service, activity, product, campaign, or attraction which is carried on, sold, offered or manufactured in or upon the premises.
187. “Sign, panel” means a message, inscription or logo which is painted or affixed to a panel of wood, plastic, cloth, fiberglass, or other material, which is not part of the building’s exterior materials, is of greater area than the message, inscription, or logo, and provides a background for the message, inscription or logo.
188. “Sign, perimeter” means the external boundary of a sign at its widest point per plain view.
189. “Sign, pole” means an on-premises free standing sign that is supported by one or more uprights not attached to, or braced by, any other structure.
190. “Sign, political campaign” means a sign, either on or off premises, announcing candidates seeking public political office in a forthcoming election or signs announcing political issues, for or against, to be considered in a forthcoming election.
191. “Sign, portable” means a free-standing sign not permanently anchored or secured to the ground or any building or wall.
192. “Sign, projecting” means a sign, other than a wall sign, which projects from and is supported by a wall of a building or structure.
193. “Sign, public” means a sign of a non-commercial nature and in the public interest, erected by or upon the order of a public officer in the performance of public duty, such as safety signs, danger signs, trespassing signs, traffic signs, memorial plaques, signs of historical interest and all other similar signs, including signs designating hospitals, libraries, schools, airports and other institutions or places of public interest or concern.
194. “Sign, real estate” means a sign advertising the sale, rental or lease of the premises or part of the premises on which the sign is displayed.
195. “Sign, roof” means a sign erected upon or above a roof or parapet of a building.
196. “Sign, service” means a sign identifying restrooms, public telephone facilities, first aid stations, emergency shelters and other similar public service facilities.
197. “Sign, temporary” means a sign not permanently attached to the ground, wall or building, and intended to be displayed for a short and limited period of time.
198. “Sign, vehicle” means a message, inscription or logo painted, attached, or incorporated on a motor vehicle which advertises or promotes the interest of any private or public firm, person, organization, or other entity, or to draw attention to the use on the premises.
199. “Site improvements” include all improvements to a site plan in addition to proposed buildings, and including but not limited to utilities, storm water management, parking, loading areas, landscaping, buffers, and free-standing signs.
200. “Site plan” means a plan, prepared to scale, showing accurately and with complete dimensions the boundaries of a site and the location of all buildings, structures, uses, and principal site development features including contours proposed for a specific parcel of land as required by these regulations.
201. "Site plan, temporary" means a plan, prepared to scale, showing the location of buildings, proposed uses, parking stalls, access, and similar site elements.
202. “Slope” means the change in ground elevation between two points.
203. “Small wireless facility” means a wireless facility that meets the following requirements: (1) Each antenna is no more than six cubic feet in volume. And (2) All other equipment associated with the small wireless facility is cumulatively no more than twenty-eight cubic feet in volume. For purposes of this definition, volume shall be measured by the external displacement of the primary equipment enclosure, not the internal volume of such enclosure. An associated electric meter, concealment, telecommunications demarcation box, ground-based enclosures, battery backup power systems, grounding equipment, power transfer switch, cutoff switch, cable, conduit, and any equipment that is concealed from public view within or behind an existing structure or concealment may be located outside of the primary equipment enclosure and shall not be included in the calculation of the equipment volume. Small wireless facility does not include any structure that supports, or houses equipment described in this definition.
204. “Solar array” means a grouping of photovoltaic solar panels and any necessary hardware used to assemble and connect them. This definition encompasses all styles installation including but no limited to structure mounted, ground mounted, or integrated as a mechanical or structural component of a structure.
205. “Solar energy system, private” means an energy system that uses one or more solar arrays to convert energy for immediate onsite use and/or storage or to be fed back to the electrical grid. Private solar energy systems are an accessory use on the lot or parcel.
206. “Solar energy system, utility scale” means an energy system, commonly referred to as a solar farm, which uses one or more solar arrays to convert energy for transmission through the electrical grid for offsite use or wholesale and/or retail sale. Utility scale solar energy systems are the principal use on the lot or parcel.
207. “Special use” means use of land, water or building which is allowable only after the issuance of a special use permit by the Board of Adjustment under conditions specified in this chapter.
208. “Stable, private” means an accessory building in which horses are kept for private use and not for remuneration, hire or sale.
209. “Stable, public” means an accessory building in which horses are kept for commercial use including boarding, hire, instructions, and sale.
210. “Stable, riding club” means a building or structure used or intended to be used for the housing only of horses by a group of persons for noncommercial purposes.
211. “Start of construction” means the actual start which occurs when footings or structural support columns are installed or constructed. For a factory-built home, actual start will occur when it is placed on a site or foundation is constructed.
212. “Storage, outdoor” means the storage of items not wholly contained within the walls and under the roof of a structure. Items stored within or under carports, porches, and similar structures, whether said structures stand alone or are attached to an enclosed structure, are considered as outdoor storage.
213. “Story” means that portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above, except that the topmost story shall be that portion of a building included between the surface of the topmost floor and the ceiling or roof above. If the finished floor level directly above a walkout basement is more than five (5) feet above grade such basement shall be considered a story.
214. “Street or road line” means a dividing line between a lot, tract, or parcel of land and a contiguous street or road.
215. “Street or road, public” means any thoroughfare or public way which has been dedicated to the public or deeded to the County for street or road purposes.
216. “Street or road, private” means any roadway providing access to more than one parcel or land use, whether said parcels are under the same ownership or different ownership, that has not been dedicated to the public or deed to the County for street or road purposes. No private street or road shall be accepted by the County unless said street or road and associated right-of-way conform to the requirements of Chapter 56.
217. “Structural alterations” means any replacement or changes in the type of construction or in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams, or girders beyond ordinary repairs and maintenance.
218. “Structural trim” means the molding, battens, capping, nailing strips, lattice, and platforms which are attached to the sign structure.
219. “Structure” means anything constructed or erected with a fixed location on the ground, or attached to something having a fixed location on the ground. Among other things, structures include buildings, antenna, mobile homes, billboards, poster panels, factories, sheds, cabins, factory-built homes, satellite dish antenna, storage tanks, towers, and other similar uses.
220. “Subdivision” means a division of a lot, tract, or parcel of land into two (2) or more lots, building plots or sites, or other subdivisions of land for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of sale, transfer for building development, right-of-way dedication, or other use; provided, however, this definition of a subdivision does not include divisions of land into aliquot forty (40) acres or more in size parcels of land for agricultural purposes.
221. “Substantial damage” means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damage condition would equal or exceed fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.
222. “Substantial improvement” means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the market value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement. This includes structures which have incurred substantial damage regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement officer and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions.
223. “Subterranean home” means a home which has all but one wall completely covered and landscaped with earth including the roof.
224. “Tent” means any structure or enclosure, the roof or one-half or more of the sides of which are of silk, cotton, canvas, or any light material, either attached to a building or structure, or unattached.
225. “Tourist cabin” means a small, single-family dwelling of simple construction used as one of the units of a tourist park.
226. “Tourist park” means any lot or plot of real property upon which two (2) or more tourist cabins or two (2) or more recreational vehicles, camp sites, travel trailers or any combination of tourist cabins, recreational vehicles, camp sites are located and maintained for seasonal temporary occupancy.
227. “Tower, guyed” means a tower that is supported, in whole or in part., by guy wires and ground anchors.
228. “Tower, lattice” means a self-supporting tower with three or four sides, open, steel framed structure used to support equipment.
229. “Tower, monopole” means a tower consisting of a single pole, constructed without guy wires and ground anchors.
230. “Townhouse” means a dwelling unit which is attached horizontally, and not vertically to one or more other dwelling units, wherein the land or lot beneath each dwelling is individually owned by the owner of the dwelling. A townhouse subdivision shall have common elements which are specified in or determined under the rules and regulations set forth by recorded covenants. Covenants for a townhouse subdivision shall establish the guidelines for maintenance of common elements and permit free movement through common areas by members of the homeowners association (council of co-owners) to assure access to the structural exterior of each townhouse unit by the individual unit owner.
231. “Trail” means a walkway or bike-way designed with a paved surfaced pathway for travel by means other than by motorized vehicles.
232. “Trash” means cuttings from vegetation, refuse, paper, bottles, rags. (See also “junk.”)
233. “Travel trailer park” see “recreational vehicle park.”
234. “Travel trailer” see “recreation vehicle.”
235. “Truck stop” means a service station which is designed principally for the servicing and temporary parking of trucks.
236. “Truck terminal” means land and buildings used as a relay station for the transfer of a load from one vehicle to another or one party to another. The terminal cannot be used for permanent or long-term storage. The terminal facility may include storage areas for trucks, and buildings or areas for the repair of trucks associated with the terminal.
237. “Utility pole” means a pole or similar structure owned or utilized in whole or in part by a public utility, municipality, wireless service provider, or electric utility that is designed specifically for and used to carry lines, cable, transmission equipment, or wires for telephone, wireless service, cable television, or electricity service, or for lighting, the vertical portion of support structures for traffic control signals or devices, signage, information kiosks, or other similar functions.”
238. “Variance” means a modification of the specific regulations of this chapter granted by resolution of the Board of Adjustment in accordance with the terms of this chapter for the purpose of assuring that no property, because of special circumstances and hardships applicable to it, shall be deprived of privileges commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same vicinity and zoning district.
239. “Vineyard” means the use of land for purposes of growing grapes and other fruits, or vegetables and the necessary accessory uses for storming the produce, but not including winery uses.
240. “Warehouse” means a building used primarily for the storage of goods and materials.
241. “Waterfront” means any site shall be considered as waterfront premises providing any of its lot lines abut on or are contiguous to any body of water, including a creek, canal, lake, river, or any other body of water, natural or artificial, not including a swimming pool, whether said lot line is front, rear or side.
242. “Wind energy conversion system” or “WECS” means a wind turbine electrical generating facility comprised of an aggregation of parts, including the base, tower, generator, rotor, blades, supports, guy wires, and accessory equipment such as power lines, transformers, and battery banks, in such configuration as necessary to convert the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. The energy may be used on-site or distributed into the electrical grid.
243. “Small wind energy conversion system” or “SWECS” means a wind energy conversion system that has a rated capacity of up to one hundred (100) kilowatts and that is incidental and subordinate to a permitted use on the same parcel. A system is considered a SWECS only if it supplies electrical power solely for on-site use, except that when a parcel on which the system is installed also receives electrical power supplied by a utility company, excess electrical power generated and not presently needed for on site use may be used by the utility company in accordance with Section 199, Chapter 15.11(5) of the Iowa Administrative Code
244. “Wind turbine generator” means the component of a wind energy conversion system that transforms mechanical energy from the wind into electrical energy.
245. “Winery” means the production of wines from grapes or other fruits and vegetables and including wholesale and retail sales, catering, restaurant, banquet rooms, vineyard, or any combination thereof and provided all necessary permits and licenses have been approved.
246. “Yard” means an open space on the same lot with a building, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from thirty (30) inches above the general ground level upward, except as otherwise provided herein. In measuring a yard for the purpose of determining the depth of a front yard or the depth of a rear yard, the least distance between the lot line, exclusive of public or private right-of-way, and the main building shall be used. In measuring a yard for the purpose of determining the width of a side yard, the least distance between the lot line, exclusive of public or private right-of-way, and the nearest permitted building shall be used.
247. “Yard, front” means a yard extending across the full width of the lot and measured between the front lot line, exclusive of public or private right-of-way, and the building or any projection thereof, other than the projection of the usual steps or unenclosed porches; the narrow frontage on a corner lot. In all cases, the front yard depth shall be measured from the right-of-way line.
248. “Yard, rear” means a yard extending across the full width of the lot measure between the rear lot line and the building or any projections other than steps, unenclosed balconies or unenclosed porches. On corner lots the rear yard shall be considered as parallel to the street upon which the lot has its least dimension. On both corner lots and interior lots, the rear yard is the opposite end of the lot from the front yard.
249. “Yard, side” means a yard extending from the front yard to the rear yard and measured between the side lot line and the nearest building.
250. “Yard, interior side” means any side yard that is not facing or adjacent to a public or private street or right-of-way.
251. “Yard, street side” means a side yard on a corner lot that abuts a public or private street or right-of-way.
252. “Zero lot line” means the location of a building on a lot in such a manner that one or more of the building’s sides rests directly on a lot line.
253. “Zone” means any one of the classes of districts established by this chapter which is designated by area upon the Official Zoning Map of Marion County.
254. “Zoning Administrator” means the administrative officer designated or appointed by the Board of Supervisors to administer and enforce the regulations contained in this Zoning Ordinance.
255. “Zoning certificate/building permit” means a written statement issued by the Zoning Administrator authorizing buildings, structures or uses consistent with the terms of this Zoning Ordinance and for the purpose of carrying out and enforcing its provisions.