For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACCESSORY STRUCTUREor USE. Any structure or use, other than the principal structure or use, directly incident to or required for the employment of the permitted use of any premises, also as specifically designated under the zoning district regulations of this chapter.
ADVERTISING SIGN. Any work, lettering, parts of letters, figures, numbers, phrases, sentences, designs, pictures, emblems, devices (including loud speakers), trade names, or trademarks by which anything is made known, such as are used to designate an individual, a firm or association, a corporation, a profession, a business, a service, a commodity, or a product, which are visible from any public street or right-of-way and designed to attract attention. The term SIGN shall not include the flag, pennant, or insignia of any nation, state, city or other political unit, or of any political, educational, charitable, philanthropic, civic, professional, religious or like campaign, drive, movement or event.
ALLEY. A public passage or way affording a secondary means of vehicle access to abutting property and not intended for general traffic circulation.
ALTERATION. Any change or addition to the supporting members or foundation of a structure.
BUILDING. Any structure constructed or used for residence, business, industry, or other public or private purposes, and similar structures which fully encloses space for occupancy by persons or their activities.
COMMERCIAL FLOOR AREA. Floor area of a building which is devoted to the storage and display of merchandise, the performance of consumer services, or the circulation and accommodation of customers.
CONDITIONAL USE. A use which is essential to or which would promote the public health, safety, or welfare in one or more zones, but which would impair the integrity and character of the zone in which it is located or in adjoining zones unless restrictions on location, size, extent and character of performance are imposed in addition to those imposed in this chapter.
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. Legal authorization to undertake a conditional use, issued by the administrative official pursuant to authorization by the Board of Adjustment consisting of two parts:
(1) A statement of the factual determination by the Board of Adjustment which justifies the issuance of the permit.
(2) A statement of the special conditions which must be met in order for the use to be permitted.
CONSUMER SERVICES. Sale of any service to individual customers for their own personal benefit, enjoyment, or convenience, and for fulfillment of their own personal needs. For example, consumer services include the provision of the personal services such as beautician and barbering services, the provision of lodging, entertainment, specialized instruction, financial service, automobile storage, transportation, laundry and dry cleaning services, and all other similar services.
CORNER LOT. A lot which abuts on two intersecting streets at their intersection.
DIMENSIONAL VARIANCE. Departure from the terms of the zoning regulations pertaining to height or width of structures and size of yards and open spaces where such departure will not be contrary to the public interest, and where owing to conditions peculiar to the property because of its size, shape, or topography and not as a result of the action of the applicant, the literal enforcement of this chapter would result in unnecessary and undue hardship.
DOUBLE-FRONTAGE LOT. Any lot other than a corner lot which abuts on two streets.
DWELLING. A dwelling is a building providing shelter, sanitation, and the amenities for permanent habitation. It does not include mobile homes, temporary lodging, or sleeping rooms.
DWELLING UNIT. One room or rooms connected together (including apartments) constituting a separate, independent housekeeping establishment for owner occupancy, or rental or lease on a weekly, monthly, or longer basis, and physically separated from any other rooms or dwelling units which may be in the same structure, and containing independent cooking and sleeping facilities.
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER. Any administrative official designated by the City Council who shall be charged with and provided with the authority to enforce the ordinances, regulations, codes and orders of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council.
FLOODPLAIN. Those areas subject to frequent periodic flooding delineated on the soil survey as alluvial soils by the Soil Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
HOME OCCUPATION. Professional offices, studios, and personal services maintained or conducted within a dwelling. Neither the selling of any merchandise nor processing of any product shall qualify as a home occupation. Home occupations include only those which meet the following performance standards:
(1) Home occupations shall be incidental to the principal residential use.
(2) Home occupations shall result in no exterior evidence, excepting a permitted sign, that the dwelling is used for a nonresidential use.
(3) Home occupations shall not generate any atmospheric pollution, light flashes, glare, odors, noise, vibration, or truck or other heavy traffic.
(4) Any activity in which the selling of any merchandise is the primary function is not a home occupation.
(5) Home occupations shall occupy no more than 50% of the total floor area of a dwelling.
INDUSTRY. The processing of products or raw materials. The two categories of industry are defined according to the following performance standards:
(1) HEAVY INDUSTRY. Those industries whose processing operations result in the outdoor storage or processing of materials or products, the emission of any atmospheric pollution, visible light flashes or glare, odors, or noise or vibration which may be heard or felt off the premises, or those industries which constitute a fire or explosion hazard.
(2) LIGHT INDUSTRY. Those industries whose processing operations result in none of the above conditions.
INFORMATION SIGN. A sign indicating direction to a local commercial, industrial, or other type of establishment.
JUNKYARD. Property used for the outdoor storage, display, or keeping of inoperative machinery, whether or not it is capable of operation, of the accumulation of trash, waste material, or vegetation, in a manner which is unsightly, offensive, or not in harmony with surrounding property.
LOT. A parcel of land under one ownership deed to a common use or occupied by a single principal building plus accessory structures.
LOT LINE. The boundary dividing a lot from a right-of-way, adjoining lot, or other adjoining tract of land. Front, rear, and side lot lines are self-explanatory.
LOT OF RECORD. A lot which is recorded in the office of the County Clerk.
MOBILE HOMES. Any vehicle or similar portable structure used or so constructed as to permit its being used as a conveyance upon streets and as a dwelling for one or more persons or as a permanent place of business.
MOBILE HOME PARK. A tract of land prepared and approved according to the procedures in this chapter to accommodate ten or more mobile homes.
MOBILE HOME SPACE. A parcel of land delineated within a mobile home park upon which may be located one mobile home. The word SPACE, used in § 154.050 shall be held to mean MOBILE HOME SPACE.
NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE or USE. A structure or use on any premises which does not conform with all applicable provisions of this chapter but which existed before being designated as nonconforming by the adoption or amendment of this chapter.
NONRETAIL COMMERCIAL. Commercial sales and services to customers who intend resale of the products or merchandise sold or handled. For example, nonretail commercial includes wholesaling, warehousing, trucking terminals, and similar commercial enterprises.
OUTDOOR. Refers to that which is not within a building.
PLANNED-DEVELOPMENT PROJECT. A complex of structures and uses planned as an integral unit of development rather than as single structures on single lots which includes townhouses.
PREMISES. A lot or other tract of land under one ownership and all the structures on it.
PRINCIPAL BUILDING. A buildings including covered porches, carports and attached garages, in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is situated. In any residential districts any dwelling shall be deemed to be the principal building on the lot on which the same is situated.
PROCESSING. Manufacturing, reduction, extraction, packaging, repairing, cleaning, and any other similar original or restorative treatment applied to raw materials, products or personal property. Processing does not refer to the fabrication of structures.
PUBLIC SERVICE BUILDING. Any building necessary for the operation and maintenance of a utility.
RETAIL SALES. Sale of any product or merchandise to customers for their own personal consumption or use, and not for resale.
ROAD. A traffic-carrying way. As used in this chapter, a road may be privately owned.
SIGN, ADVERTISING. Any device designed to inform or attract the attention of persons not on the premises on which the sign is located, provided, however, that the following shall not be included in the application of the regulations herein:
(1) Signs not exceeding one 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;
(2) Flags and insignia of any government except when displayed in connection with commercial promotion;
(3) Legal notices, identification, informational, or directional signs erected or required by, government bodies;
(4) Integral decorative or architectural features of buildings except letters, trademarks, moving parts, or moving lights; and
(5) Signs directing and guiding traffic and parking on private property, but bearing no advertising matter and four square feet or less in area.
SIGN, NUMBER and SURFACE AREA.
(1) For the purpose of determining number of signs, a sign shall be considered to be a single display surface or display device containing elements organized, related, and composed to form a unit. Where matter is displayed in a random matter without organized relationship of elements, or where there is reasonable doubt about the relationship of elements, each element shall be considered to be a single sign.
(2) The surface area of a sign shall be computed as including the entire area with 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 hearing advertising matter shall not be included in computation of the surface area.
SIGN, OFF-SITE. A sign other than an on-site sign.
SIGN, ON-SITE. A sign relating in its subject matter to the premises on which it is located, or to products, accommodations, services, or activities on the premises. On-site signs do not include signs erected by the outdoor advertising industry in the conduct of the outdoor advertising business.
SLEEPING ROOM. A single room rented for dwelling purposes but without the amenities for separate and independent housekeeping.
STREET. Any highway or other public traffic-carrying way. An arterial street is any numbered federal, state, or county highway unless otherwise designated by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
STRUCTURE. Any combination of materials fabricated to fulfill a function in a filed location on the land including buildings.
TRAILER. Any vehicle or similar portable structure used or so constructed as to permit its being used as a conveyance to transport cargo other than persons upon the streets and highways. The term TRAILER does not mean MOBILE HOME as defined and used in this chapter.
USE. Use broadly refers to the activities which take place on any land or premises and also refers to the structures located thereon and designed for those activities.
VARIANCE. A departure from the strict conformance with the dimension and area regulations which must first receive the approval of the Board of Adjustment.
YARD. The open space surrounding the principal building on any lot, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of that building from the ground to the sky except where specifically permitted by this chapter. Yards are further defined as follows:
(1) FRONT YARD. The portion of the yard extending the full width of the lot and measured between the front lot line and a principal building, which line shall be designated as the front yard line.
(2) REAR YARD. The portion of the yard extending the full width of the lot measured between the rear lot line and a parallel line tangent to the nearest part of the principal building.
(3) SIDE YARD. The portion of the yard extending from the front yard to the rear yard and measured between the side lot lines and parallel lines tangent to the nearest parts of the principal buildings.
(Ord. 71-09, passed 9-7-71)