(a) Platting Required. No use shall be established or altered and no structure shall be constructed or altered except upon a lot that has been platted in accordance with, or which otherwise meets, the requirements of the Subdivision Regulations.
(b) Minimum Requirements. Development standards are minimum requirements for the arrangement of lots and spaces to be achieved in all developments.
(c) Lot Area and Yard Space Preserved. The lot area and yard space required for a use or structure shall be maintained during its life and shall not be reduced below the minimum requirement, occupied by another use or structure, paved for parking, or counted as yard space for any other use or structure.
(d) Yards Required Open. The yard space required for a use or structure shall, during its life, remain free of all uses or occupancies except as follows:
(1) Fences, walls, and landscaping shall be permitted in any required yard, or along the edge of any yard, provided that it meets the requirements of Chapter 1173.
(2) Eaves, cornices, windowsills, and belt courses may project into any required yard a distance not to exceed two feet.
(3) Open and uncovered porches may project beyond the front building line or into a required rear yard a distance not to exceed five feet.
(4) Driveways shall be permitted in required yards, but shall be three feet or more from any property line, except where such driveways are developed jointly as a common drive to adjoining lots.
(e) Yard Requirements for Multi-Family or Group Dwellings. Group or multi-family dwellings shall be considered as one building for the purpose of determining front, side, and rear yard requirements. The entire group as a unit shall require one front, one rear, and two side yards as specified for dwellings in the appropriate district.
(f) Yards Not Otherwise Required. Yard space not otherwise required but provided shall be five feet or more in width.
(g) Yards Maintained. All yard space shall be maintained in accordance with one or more of the following provisions:
(1) Fenced as permitted or required.
(2) Landscaped by lawns, shrubberies, trees, and other plantings maintained in a neat and orderly, natural state, or used for permitted accessory or ancillary use.
(h) Side and Rear Yard Requirements for Nonresidential Uses Abutting Residential Districts. Nonresidential buildings or uses shall not be located nor conducted closer than forty feet to any lot line of a residential district, except that the minimum yard requirements may be reduced to fifty percent (50%) of the requirement if acceptable landscaping or screening approved by the Zoning Inspector is provided.