(1) "Accessory use" or "accessory" means a use which is clearly incidental to, customarily found in connection with, and (except in the case of accessory off-street parking spaces or loading) located on the same zoning lot as, the principal use to which it is related.
When "accessory" is used in the text, it shall have the same meaning as accessory use.
An accessory use includes, but is not limited to, the following:
A. Residential accommodations for servants and/or caretakers.
B. Swimming pools for the use of the occupants of a residence, or their guests.
C. Domestic or agricultural storage in a barn, shed, tool room, or similar accessory building or other structure.
D. A newsstand primarily for the convenience of the occupants of a building, which is located wholly within such building and has no exterior signs or displays.
E. Storage of merchandise normally carried in stock in connection with a business or industrial use, unless such storage is excluded in the applicable district regulations.
F. Storage of goods used in or produced by industrial uses or related activities, unless such storage is excluded in the applicable district regulations.
G. Accessory off-street parking spaces, open or enclosed, subject to the accessory off-street parking regulations for the district in which the zoning lot is located.
H. Uses clearly incidental to a main use, such as but not limited to offices of an industrial or commercial complex located on the site of the commercial or industrial complex.
I. Accessory off-street loading, subject to the off-street loading regulations for the district in which the zoning lot is located.
J. Accessory signs, subject to the sign regulations for the district in which the zoning lot is located.
(Ord. 82-1970. Passed 11-2-70.)
(1.1) "Agriculture" means the use of land for agricultural purposes, including farming, dairying, pasturage, agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, and animal and poultry husbandry, and the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating or storing the produce, provided however, that the operation of any such accessory uses shall be secondary and incidental to the normal agricultural activities and provided further that the above uses shall not include the commercial feeding of garbage or offal to swine or other animals or the raising of mink, foxes, or other nondomesticated animals. A use shall be classified as agriculture only if agriculture is the principal or main use of the land.
(Ord. 5-1985. Passed 2-18-85.)
(2) "Alley" means dedicated public way less than twenty feet in width.
(Ord. 63-1975. Passed 9-22-75.)
(3) "Alterations" means any change, addition, or modification in construction or type of occupancy, or in the structural members of a building, such as walls or partitions, columns, beams or girders, the consummated act of which may be referred to herein as "altered" or "reconstructed".
(4) "Apartments" means a suite of rooms or a room in a multi-family building arranged and intended for a place of residence of a single family or a group of individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit.
(5) "Auto repair station" means a place where, along with the sale of engine fuels, the following services may be carried out: general repair, engine rebuilding, rebuilding or reconditioning of motor vehicles, collision service, such as body, frame or fender straightening and repair, overall painting and undercoating of automobiles.
(6) "Basement" means that portion of a building which is partly or wholly below grade but so located that the vertical distance from the average grade to the floor is greater than the vertical distance from the average grade to the ceiling. A basement shall not be counted as a story.
(7) "Block" means the property abutting one side of a street and lying between the two nearest intersecting streets, (crossing or terminating) or between the nearest such street and railroad right of way, unsubdivided acreage, lake , river or live stream; or between any of the foregoing and any other barrier to the continuity of development, or corporate boundary lines of the Municipality.
(8) "Building" means any structure, either temporary or permanent, having a roof supported by columns, or walls, and intended for the shelter, or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or property of any kind.
(9) "Building height" means the vertical distance measured from the established grade to the highest point of the roof surface for flat roofs; to the deck line of mansard roofs; and to the average height between eaves and ridge for gable, hip, and gambrel roofs. Where a building is located on sloping terrain, the height may be measured from the average ground level of the grade at the building wall.
(10) "Building line" means a line formed by the face of the building, and for the purposes of the Zoning Ordinance, a minimum building line is the same as a front setback line.
(11) "Certificate of occupancy" means a statement signed by the Building Inspector, setting forth that either a structure or zoning lot, or both, may lawfully be employed for specific uses. Such structure(s) and use shall conform to the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance.
(12) "Clinic" means an establishment where human patients, who are not lodged overnight, are admitted for examination and treatment by a group of physicians, dentists or similar professions.
(13) "Club" means an organization of persons for special purposes or for the promulgation of sports, arts, sciences, literature, politics, or the like, but not operated for profit.
(14) "Convalescent" or "Nursing Home" means a structure with sleeping rooms, where persons are housed or lodged and are furnished with meals, nursing and medical care.
(15) "Development" means the construction of a new building or other structure on a zoning lot, the relocation of an existing building on another zoning lot, or the use of open land for a new use.
(16) "District" means a portion of the incorporated area of the Municipality within which certain regulations and requirements or various combinations thereof apply under the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance.
(17) "Drive-in" means a business establishment so developed that its retail or service character is dependent on providing a driveway approach or parking spaces for motor vehicles so as to serve patrons while in the motor vehicle rather than within a building or structure.
(18) "Dwelling unit" means a building, or portion thereof, designed for occupancy by one family for residential purposes and having cooking facilities.
(19) "Dwelling, one-family" means a building designed exclusively for and occupied exclusively by one family.
(20) "Dwelling, two-family" means a building designed exclusively for occupancy by two families living independently of each other.
(21) "Dwelling, multiple-family" means a building, or a portion thereof, designed exclusively for occupancy by three or more families living independently of each other.
(22) "Erected" means built, constructed, altered, reconstructed, moved upon, or any physical operations on the premises which are required for construction. Excavation, fill drainage, and the like, shall be considered a part of erection.
(Ord. 82-1970. Passed 11-2-70.)
(Ord. 82-1970. Passed 11-2-70.)
(23) "Essential services" means the erection, construction, alteration or maintenance by public utilities or Municipal departments of underground, surface, or overhead gas, electrical, steam, fuel or water transmission or distribution system, collection, communication, supply or disposal systems, including towers, poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm and police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants and similar equipment in connection herewith, but not including buildings which are necessary for the furnishing of adequate service by such utilities or Municipal departments for the general health, safety, or welfare, and further excluding from the definition of “essential services” under the Codified Ordinances, cellular or wireless communications systems, towers, facilities, structures, support structures and all other facilities attendant thereto.
(23.1) “Cellular communications antenna, tower, communication systems, or wireless communication systems” shall mean any structure or device used to receive or transmit electromagnetic waves between cellular phones, pagers, and ground wired communication systems, including both directional antennas, such as panels, microwave dishes, and satellite dishes, and omni, directional antennas such as whips or other equipment utilized to serve personal communication services. (Ord. 143-2007. Passed 1-7-08.)
(24) "Excavation" means any breakage of ground, except common household gardening and ground care.
(25) "Family" means one or two persons or parents, with their direct lineal descendants and adopted children (and including the domestic employees thereof) together with not more than two persons not so related, living together in the whole or part of a dwelling unit. Every additional group of two or less persons living in such dwelling unit shall be considered a separate family for the purpose of the Zoning Ordinance.
(26) "Farm" means the carrying on of any agricultural activity or the raising of livestock or small animals as a source of income.
(27) "Floor area ratio" means the ratio of the floor area of a building to its lot area. For example: When a floor-area ratio of five-tenths (0.5) is specified the floor area of a building constructed on a lot of 10,000 square feet in area is limited to a maximum of 5,000 square feet. The number of stories being optional, the building area may be 5,000 square feet for one story; 2,500 square feet for each of two stories, and so forth. The purpose of this ratio is to control the bulk of buildings and encourage the development of open space or plazas about structures in the intensely developed portions of the City.
(28) "Floor area, residential". For the purpose of computing the minimum allowable floor area in a residential dwelling unit, the sum of the horizontal areas of each story of the building shall be measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating two buildings. The floor area measurement is exclusive of areas of basements, unfinished attics, attached garages, breezeways and enclosed and unenclosed porches.
(Ord. 82-1970. Passed 11-2-70.)
(29) "Floor area, gross" (For purposes of computing parking) means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of all of a building, measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or from the center line of common walls separating two buildings. Gross floor area shall not include garages, attic space, terraces, breezeways, open porches and uncovered steps.
(Ord. 111-1977. Passed 11-21-77.)
(30) "Garage, private" means an accessory building or portion of a main building designed or used solely for the storage of motordriven vehicles, boats, and similar vehicles owned and used by the occupants of the building to which it is accessory.
(31) "Garage, service" means any premises used for the storage or care of motor-driven vehicles, or where any such vehicles are equipped for operation, repaired or kept for remuneration, hire or sale.
(32) "Gasoline service station" means a place for the dispensing, sale or offering for sale of motor fuels directly to users of motor vehicles, together with the sale of minor accessories and services for motor vehicles, but not including major automobile repair.
(33) "Grade" means the ground elevation established for the purpose of regulating the number of stories and the height of buildings. The building grade shall be the level of the ground adjacent to the walls of the building if the finished grade is level. If the ground is not entirely level, the grade shall be determined by averaging the elevation of the ground for each face of the building.
(34) "Hotel" means a building or part of a building with a common entrance or entrances, in which the dwelling units or rooming units are used primarily for transient occupancy, and in which one or more of the following services are offered:
A. Mail service.
B. Furnishing of linen.
C. Telephone, secretarial or desk service.
D. Bellboy service.
A hotel may include a restaurant or cocktail lounge, public banquet hall, ballrooms or meeting rooms.
(35) "Junkyard" means an open area where waste, used or second hand materials are bought and sold, exchanged, stored, baled, packed, disassembled or handled, including but not limited to scrap iron and other metals, paper, rags, rubber tires, and bottles. A junkyard includes automobile wrecking yards and includes any area of more than 200 square feet for storage, keeping or abandonment of junk but does not include uses established entirely within enclosed buildings.
(36) "Kennel, commercial" means any lot or premise on which three or more dogs, cats or other household pets are either permanently or temporarily boarded. Kennel shall also include any lot or premises where household pets are bred or sold.
(37) "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.
(38) "Lot" means a parcel of land occupied, or intended to be occupied, by a main building or a group of such buildings and accessory buildings, or utilized for the principal use and uses accessory thereto, together with such yards and open spaces as are required under the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance. A lot may or may not be specifically designated as such on public records.
(Ord. 143-2007. Passed 1-7-08.)
(38.1) The word “lot” includes the word “plot” or “parcel”; the words “used” or “occupied” include the words “arranged,”, “intended” or “designed to be used or occupied”; the words “building” or “structure” include the words “or portion thereof”; the word “located” includes the words “erected” and “altered”. (Ord. 96-2017. Passed 9-5-17.)
(39) "Lot, corner" means a lot where the interior angle of two adjacent sides at the intersection of two streets is less than 135 degrees. A lot abutting upon a curved street or streets shall be considered a corner lot for the purposes of the Zoning Ordinance if the arc is of less radius than 150 feet and the tangents to the curve, at the two points where the lot lines meet the curve or the straight street line extended, form an interior angle of less than 135 degrees.
(40) "Lot, interior" means any lot other than a corner lot.
(41) "Lot, through" means any 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, all yards of such lots adjacent to streets shall be considered frontage, and front yard setbacks shall be provided as required.
(42) "Lot, zoning" means a single tract of land, located within a single block, which, at the time of filing for a building permit, is designated by its owner or developer as a tract to be used, developed, or built upon as a unit, under single ownership or control.
A zoning lot shall satisfy the Zoning Ordinance with respect to area, size, dimensions and frontage as required in the district in which the zoning lot is located. A zoning lot, therefore, may not coincide with a lot of record as filed with the County Recorder's Office, but may include one or more lots of record.
(43) "Lot area" means the total horizontal area with the lot lines of the lot.
(44) "Lot coverage" means the part or percent of the lot occupied by a building including accessory buildings.
(45) "Lot depth" means the horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines, measured along the median between the side lot lines.
(46) "Lot lines" means the lines bounding a lot as defined herein:
A. Front lot line: In the case of an interior lot, is that line separating the lot from the street. In the case of a corner lot, or double frontage lot, is that line separating the lot from either street.
B. Rear lot line: That lot line opposite the front lot line. In the case of a lot pointed at the rear, the rear lot line shall be an imaginary line parallel to the front lot line, not less than ten feet long lying farthest from the front lot line and wholly within the lot.
C. Side lot line: Any lot line other than the front lot line or rear lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from a street is a side street lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from another lot or lots is an interior side lot line.
(47) "Lot of record" means a parcel of land, the dimensions of which are shown on a document, map or plate on file with the County Recorder's Office or in common use by Municipal or County Officials, and which actually exists as so shown, or any part of such parcel held in a record ownership separate from that of the remainder thereof.
(48) "Lot width" means the horizontal distance between the side lot lines, measured at the two points where the building line, or setback line intersects the side lot lines.
(49) "Main (principal) building" means a building in which is conducted the main or principal use of the lot upon which it is situated.
(50) "Main (principal) use" means the main or principal use to which the premises are devoted and the principal purpose for which the premises exist.
(51) "Major thoroughfare" means an arterial street which is intended to serve as a large volume trafficway for both the immediate municipal area and the region beyond, and is designated as a major thoroughfare, parkway, freeway, expressway or equivalent term on the Major Thoroughfare Plan to identify those streets comprising the basic structure of the Major Thorofare Plan.
(52) "Master plan" means the Comprehensive Community Plan including graphic and written proposals indicating the general location for streets, parks, schools, public buildings and all physical development of the Municipality, and includes any unit or part of such plan, and any amendment to such plan or parts thereof. Such plan may or may not be adopted by the Planning Commission and/or the Legislative Body.
(Ord. 143-2007. Passed 1-7-08.)
(52.1) “Medical Marijuana Facility(ies)” includes Cultivation Facilities, Processing Facilities, Dispensaries, and Testing Laboratories as provided in Ohio Revised Code 3796. (Ord. 96-2017. Passed 9-5-17.)
(53) "Mezzanine" means an intermediate floor in any story occupying not to exceed one-third of the floor area of such story.
(54) "Mobile home" or "trailer coach" means any vehicle designed, used or so constructed as to permit its being used as a conveyance upon the public streets or highways and duly licensable as such, and constructed in such a manner as will permit occupancy thereof as a dwelling or sleeping place for one or more persons.
(55) "Mobile home park" or "trailer coach" means any plot of ground upon which two or more trailer coaches, occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes are located.
(56) "Motel" means a series of attached, semi-detached or detached rental units containing a bedroom, bathroom and closet space. Units shall provide for overnight lodging and are offered to the public for compensation, and shall cater primarily to the public traveling by motor vehicle.
(57) "Municipality" means the City of Massillon, Ohio.
(58) "Nonconforming building" means a building or portion thereof lawfully existing at the effective date of the Zoning Ordinance, and that does not conform to the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance in the district in which it is located.
(59) "Nonconforming use" means a use which lawfully occupied a building or land at the effective date of the Zoning Ordinance, or amendments thereto, and that does not conform to the use regulations of the district in which it is located.
(60) "Nursery, plant materials" means a space, building or structure, or combination thereof, for the storage of live trees, shrubs or plants offered for retail sale on the premises including products used for gardening or landscaping. The definition of nursery within the meaning of the Zoning Ordinance does not include any space, building or structure used for the sale of fruits, vegetables or Christmas trees.
(61) "Nuisance factors" means an offensive, annoying, unpleasant or obnoxious thing or practice, a cause or source of annoyance, especially a continuing or repeating invasion of any physical characteristics of activity or use across a property line which can be perceived by or affects a human being, or the generation of an excessive or concentrated movement of people or things, such as: noise, dust, smoke, odor, glare, fumes, flashes, vibration, shock waves, heat, electronic or atomic radiation, objectionable effluent, noise of congregation of people, particularly at night, passenger traffic, invasion of non-abutting street frontage by traffic.
(62) "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 three vehicles.
(63) "Open front store" means a business establishment so developed that service to the patron may be extended beyond the walls of the structure, not requiring the patron to enter the structure. The term "Open Front Store" shall not include automobile repair stations or automobile service stations.
(64) "Out lot" means a lot included within the boundary of a recorded plot which has been set aside as a park or other land dedicated to public use or reserved to private use.
(65) "Parking space" means an area of definite length and width. Such area shall be exclusive of drives, aisles or entrances giving access thereto, and shall be fully accessible for the parking of permitted vehicles.
(66) "Planned shopping center" means a single development consisting of 100,000 square feet or more of retail floor space.
(Ord. 5-1985. Passed 2-18-85.)
(Ord. 5-1985. Passed 2-18-85.)
(67) "Public utility" means a person, firm or corporation, municipal department, board or commission duly authorized to furnish and furnishing under Federal, State or Municipal regulations to the public, gas, steam, electricity, sewage disposal, wired communication, wired telegraph, transportation or water.
(Ord. 143-2007. Passed 1-7-08.)
(67.1) "Roadside stand" means a temporary structure used seasonally, designed or used for the display or sale of neighborhood agricultural products produced on the premises upon which such a stand is located. (Ord. 5-1985. Passed 2-18-85.)
(68) "Room." For the purpose of determining lot area requirements and density in a multiple-family district, a room is a living room, dining room or bedroom, equal to at least seventy square feet in area. A room shall not include the area in kitchen, sanitary facilities, utility provisions, corridors, hallways and storage. Plans present showing 1, 2, or 3 bedroom units and including a "den", "library" or other extra room shall count such extra room as a bedroom for the purpose of computing density.
(69) "Setback" means the distance required to obtain front, side or rear yard open space provisions of this Zoning Ordinance.
(70) "Sign" means the use of any words, numerals, figures, devices, designs, or trademarks by which anything is made known such as are used to show an individual, firm, profession, or business, and are visible to the general public.
(71) "Sign, accessory" means a sign which is accessory to the principal use of the premises.
(72) "Sign, nonaccessory" means a sign which is not accessory to the principal use of the premises.
(73) "Stable, public" means a stable other than a private stable with a capacity for more than two horses, and carried on within an unplatted tract of land of not less than forty acres.
(74) "Stable, private" means a stable or building for the keeping of horses for the noncommercial use of the residents of the principal use and shall not include the keeping of horses for other or for commercial boarding of horses.
(75) "Story" means that part of a building, except a mezzanine as defined herein, included between the surface of one floor and the surface of the next floor, or if there is no floor above, then the ceiling next above. A story thus defined shall not be counted as a story when more than fifty percent (50%), by cubic content, is below the height level of the adjoining ground.
(76) "Story, half" means an uppermost story lying under a sloping roof having an area of at least 200 square feet with a clear height of seven feet six inches. For the purposes of the Zoning Ordinance, the usable floor area is only that area having at least four feet clear height between floor and ceiling.
(Ord. 82-1970. Passed 11-2-70.)
(77) "Street" means a public dedicated right of way twenty feet or more in width. (Ord. 63-1975. Passed 9-22-75.)
(78) "Structure" means anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires location on the ground or attachment to something having location on the ground.
(79) "Temporary use or building" means a use or building permitted by the Board of Appeals to exist during periods of construction of the main building or use, or for special events.
(80) "Trailer, travel" means a vehicle designed as a travel unit for occupancy on a temporary or seasonal dwelling unit not exceeding 200 square feet in living area.
(81) "Use" means the principal purpose for which land or a building is arranged, designed or intended, or for which land or a building is or may be occupied.
(82) "Yards" means the open spaces on the same lot with a main building unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward except as otherwise provided in the Zoning Ordinance, and as defined herein:
A. Front Yard: An open space extending the full width of the lot, the depth of which is the minimum horizontal distance between the front lot line and the nearest point of the main building.
B. Rear Yard: An open space extending the full width of the lot the depth of which is the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the nearest point of the main building. In the case of a corner lot, the rear yard may be opposite either street frontage.
C. Side Yard: An open space between a main building and the side lot line, extending from the front yard to the rear yard, the width of which is the horizontal distance from the nearest point on the side lot line to the nearest point of the main building.
(83) "Zoning exceptions and variances"
A. Exception: An exception is a use permitted only after review of an application by the Board of Appeals or Commission other than the Administrative Official (Building Inspector), such review being necessary because the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance covering conditions, precedent or subsequent, are not precise enough to all applications without interpretation, and such review is required by the Zoning Ordinance.
B. Variance: A modification of the literal provisions of the Zoning Ordinance granted when strict enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance would cause undue hardship owing to circumstances unique to the individual property on which the variance is granted.
The crucial points of variance are undue hardship and unique circumstances applying to the property. A variance is not justified unless both elements are present in the case.
C. The "Exception" differs from the "Variance" in several respects. An exception does not require "undue hardship" in order to be allowable. The exceptions that are found in the Zoning Ordinance appear as "special approval" by Planning Commission, Council, or Board of Appeals. These land uses could not be conveniently allocated to one zone or another, or the affects of such uses could not be definitely foreseen as of a given time. The general characteristics of these uses include one or more of the following:
1. They require large areas;
2. They are infrequent;
3. They sometimes create an unusual amount of traffic;
4. They are sometimes obnoxious or hazardous;
5. They are required for public safety and convenience.
(84) "Zoning Ordinance" means Titles Three, Five and Seven of this Part Eleven - Planning and Zoning Code.
(Ord. 82-1970. Passed 11-2-70.)
(85) "Residential Social Service Facility" means a facility or home whose primary purpose is to provide supervised room, board, and care in a residential setting to three or more residents thereof whose disabilities or status limit their ability to live independently, and secondarily for training, rehabilitation, and non-clinical services. These residents may be mentally retarded, released from State institutions, juvenile offenders, drug or alcoholic offenders, or wards of the court or welfare system. Such a facility excludes use as a clinic, nursery school, dormitory, or other similar use. However, for the purposes of licensing, the term is included within "Rooming House" as defined in Section 1357.01.
(86) "Family Home" means a Residential Social Service Facility, licensed under Ohio R.C. 5123.19, that provides room and board, personal care, habilitation services, and supervision in a family setting for not more than eight persons with developmental disabilities.
(87) "Group Home" means a Residential Social Service Facility, licensed under Ohio R.C. 5123.19, that provides room and board, personal care, habilitation services, and supervision in a family setting for at least nine, but not more than sixteen persons with developmental disabilities.
(88) "Developmental disability" means a disability that originated before the attainment of eighteen years of age and can be expected to continue indefinitely, constitutes a substantial handicap to the person's ability to function normally in society, and is attributable to mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or any other condition found to be closely related to mental retardation because such condition results in similar impairment of general intellectual functioning or adaptive behavior or requires similar treatment and services. (Ord. 163-1984. Passed 12-17-84.)
(89) “Golf course” means a tract of land laid out for playing the game of golf and consisting of a minimum of nine (9) holes situated on said land. The land would also be improved with tees, greens, fairways, and hazards. Further, a golf course must be comprised of real estate in excess of five (5) acres of land. A “Miniature Golf Facility” or “Miniature Golf Course” is not a golf course as defined under this paragraph.
(90) “Miniature Golf Course” is a miniature version of the sport of golf. Miniature Golf Course is also known by the names: Mini Golf, Midget Golf, Goofy Golf, Extreme Golf, Mini Putt, Putt Putt, and other similar variations. Miniature Golf Course typically is built on a parcel of real estate less than five (5) acres in size, is composed of fake or artificial surfaces, grass, miniature obstacles, including windmills, castles and wishing wells, and miniature hazards. A Miniature Golf Course typically involves the use of one (1) club per player and is played by putting on a series of artificial surfaces, golf holes that are one-tenth (1/10) of the size of regular golf course holes, and man made obstacles as part of the miniature golf course.
(Ord. 28-2010. Passed 4-5-10.)