(a) Generally. For the purpose of this Zoning Ordinance certain terms and words are defined as follows: Words used in the present tense include the future, the plural number includes the singular and the singular the plural. The word "shall" is intended to be mandatory; "occupied" or "used" shall be considered as though followed by the words "or intended, arranged or designed to be used or occupied." Except where specifically defined, all words used in this Ordinance shall carry their customary meanings.
(b) Specific Definitions.
(1) "Accessory building and use" means:
A. A building or use subordinate to another structure or use located on the same lot, which does not change or alter the character of the premises, and which is not used for human occupancy except as hereinafter provided.
B. Public utility lines, including communication, electric, gas, water and sewer, their supports and incidental equipment.
(2) "Alley" means a right of way dedicated to public use, other than a street, road, crosswalk or easement, designed to provide a secondary means of access for the special accommodation of the property it reaches.
(3) "Agriculture" includes farming, dairying, pasturage, agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, animal and poultry husbandry and the processing and sale of agricultural products.
(4) "Animal hospital" or "clinic" means a building providing hospital and/or clinical facilities for the care of domestic pets and animals.
(5) "Automotive repair" means the repair, rebuilding or reconditioning of motor vehicles or parts thereof, including collision service, painting and steam cleaning of vehicles.
(6) "Automobile service station" (motor vehicle service) means a space, a building or part of a building used for retail sale or supply of motor fuels, lubricants, air, water and other commodities essential to the operation of a motor vehicle, including the customary facilities for the installation of such commodities in or on such vehicles, but not including facilities for tire recapping, metal repair, valve grinding, spray painting or similar operations which by nature may become noxious to occupants of adjacent property or the general public.
(7) "Automotive and trailer sales" means the sale or rental of new or used motor vehicles or trailers but not including repair work except minor incidental repair of automobiles or trailers to be displayed and sold on the premises.
(8) "Automotive wrecking" means the dismantling or wrecking of used motor vehicles or trailers, or the storage, sale or dumping of dismantled, partially dismantled, obsolete or wrecked vehicles or their parts.
(9) "Basement" means a story partly or wholly underground. For purposes of height measurement, a basement shall be counted as a building story where more than one-half of its height is above the average level of the adjoining ground.
(10) "Billboard" or "poster panel" means any sign or advertisement used as an outdoor display for the purpose of making anything known, the origin or point of sale of which is remote from such display.
(11) "Board" means the Board of Zoning Appeals of Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
(12) "Boardinghouse" means a building not open to transients, where lodging or meals are provided for three or more, but not over thirty persons regularly; a lodging house.
(13) "Breezeway" means a covered passage, open at least on one side, between two buildings.
(14) "Building" means a structure having a roof supported by columns or walls for the shelter, support or enclosure of persons, animals or chattels. When separated by division walls from the ground up without openings each portion of such construction shall be deemed a separate building.
(15) "Building, front line of" means the line of that face of the building nearest the front line of the lot. This face includes porches whether enclosed or unenclosed but does not include steps.
(16) "Building line" means the line nearest the front of and across a lot establishing the minimum open space to be provided between the front line of a building or structure and the street right-of-way line.
(17) "Building, principal or main" means a building in which is conducted the main or principal use of the lot on which such building is situated. Where a substantial part of an accessory building is attached to the main building in a substantial manner, as by a roof, such accessory building shall be counted as a part of the principal building.
(18) "Building, unit group" means two or more buildings, other than dwellings, grouped upon a lot and held under one ownership, such as universities, hospitals and institutions.
(19) "Business Classifications".
A. "Central business" means retail and service establishments which, in addition to catering to the community residents' and workers' daily needs for convenience goods and services, also include establishments offering comparative type shopping facilities. In addition, central business includes business and personal services, professional services, offices and other similar or related activities which can be logically accommodated in the City's Central Business District.
B. "Local retail or neighborhood business" means retail and service establishments which cater to and can be located in proximity to or within residential districts without creating undue vehicular congestion, excessive noise or other objectionable influence. To prevent congestion, local retail and service uses include only those enterprises which normally employ less than ten persons. Permitted uses include drugstores, beauty salons, barber shops, carry-outs, dry cleaning and laundry pickup facilities, and hardware and grocery stores, if less than 10,000 square feet of floor area. Other small businesses of an equally restricted and local nature may be permitted, based on the discretion of the Board of Zoning Appeals.
C. "Highway and general business" includes commercial uses requiring locations on major thoroughfares and at their principal intersections. Highway uses include motels, gas stations, restaurants, drive-in establishments, auto and farm implement sales and services, building trades and services, commercial recreation and similar commercial activities. General business includes, but is not limited to supermarkets and stores for the sale of drugs, hardware, appliances, furniture, apparel, footwear, business and personal services, offices and other similar related business activities.
(20) "Business services" means any activity conducted for gain which renders services primarily to other commercial or industrial enterprises, or which services and repairs appliances and machines used in homes or business.
(21) "Camp, public" means any area or tract of land used or designed to accommodate two or more automobile house trailers, mobile homes, or two or more camping parties, including cabins, tents or other camping outfits.
(22) "Cemetery" means land used for the burial of the dead and dedicated for cemetery purposes, including columbariums, crematories, mausoleums and mortuaries when operated in conjunction with and within the boundary of such cemetery.
(23) "Certificate of occupancy" means a certificate signed by the Zoning Officer stating that the occupancy and use of land or a building or structure referred to therein complies with the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance.
(24) "Clinic" means an establishment where patients who are not lodged overnight are admitted for examination and treatment by a group of physicians practicing medicine together.
(25) "Club" means a building or portion thereof or premises owned or operated by a corporation, association, person or persons for a social, educational or recreational purpose, but not primarily for profit or to render a service which is customarily carried on as a business.
(26) "Commercial entertainment facilities" means any activity conducted for gain which is generally related to the entertainment field, such as motion picture theaters, carnivals, nightclubs and similar entertainment activities.
(27) "Commission" means the Planning Commission of Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
(28) "Conditional use" means a use which is subject to approval by the Board of Zoning Appeals. A conditional use may be granted by the Board only when there is a specified provision for such in this Zoning Ordinance. A conditional use is not a nonconforming use.
(28.1) “Condominium” means real estate, such as a unit in an apartment complex, that combines fee simple title to the unit and joint ownership in the common elements shared with other unit owners. (8-25-03)
(29) "Districts" or "Zoning Districts" means administrative tracts designating the uses to which land can legally be utilized. Boundaries of the districts are shown on the Zoning District Map which is a part of this Zoning Ordinance.
(30) "Dormitory" means a building other than a hotel or apartment house where sleeping rooms for more than five persons are provided for compensation pursuant to previous arrangement.
(31) "Drive-in commercial uses" means any retail commercial use providing considerable off-street parking and catering primarily to vehicular trade such as drive-in restaurants, drive-in theaters and similar uses.
(32) "Dwelling" means a building or portion thereof designed exclusively for residential occupancy, including one-family, two-family and multiple-family dwellings, but not including hotels, boardinghouses and rooming houses.
(33) "Dwelling unit" means one or more rooms in a dwelling or apartment building designed for occupancy by one family for living purposes and having cooking facilities.
(34) "Dwelling, single-family" means a building designed for or occupied exclusively by one family.
(35) "Dwelling, two-family" means a building designed exclusively for occupancy by two families living independently of each other, including a duplex (one dwelling unit above the other), or a semi-detached dwelling (one dwelling unit beside the other).
(36) "Dwelling, multiple-family" (apartment) means a building used or designed as a residence for three or more families living independently of each other and doing their own cooking therein, including apartment houses, garden apartments and row houses.
(37) "Dwelling, row" means a row of three to six attached, one-family dwellings, not more than two rooms deep.
(38) "Educational institution" means a college, university, academy or school giving general academic instruction equivalent to the standards prescribed by the State Board of Education.
(39) "Essential services" means the erection, construction alteration or maintenance, by public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies, of underground gas, electrical or water transmission or distribution systems, collection, communication, supply or disposal systems, including poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, traffic signals, hydrants or other similar equipment and accessories in connection therewith which are reasonably necessary for the furnishing of adequate service by such public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies or for the public health or safety or general welfare, but not including buildings.
(40) "Family" means one or more persons occupying a dwelling and living as a single housekeeping unit and doing their own cooking on the premises as distinguished from a group occupying a boardinghouse or hotel, as herein defined.
(41) "Food processing" means the preparation or processing of food products. Examples of activities included are bakeries and dairies.
(42) "Forestry" means the growing and care of trees for commercial purposes, including the cutting and marketing of timber.
(43) "Frontage" means all the property on one side of a street between two intersecting streets (crossing or terminating), measured at the setback building line; or if the street is dead-ended, then all of the property abutting on one side between an intersecting street and the dead-end of the street.
(44) "Garage, private" means a detached accessory building or portion of a main building for the parking or temporary storage of automobiles of the occupants of the premises, and wherein: not more than one space is rented for parking to persons not residents on the premises; not more than one commercial vehicle per dwelling unit is parked or stored; and the commercial vehicles permitted do not exceed two tons capacity.
(45) "Garage, public" means a building or portion thereof, other than a private or storage garage, designed or used for equipping, servicing, repairing, hiring, selling or storing motor-driven vehicles.
(46) "Ground floor area" means the square-foot area of a building within its largest outside dimensions computed on a horizontal plane at the ground floor level, exclusive of open porches, breezeways, terraces, garages, exterior and interior stairways.
(47) "Highway, major" means a street or road of considerable continuity and used primarily as a traffic artery for intercommunication among large areas. (6-30-72)
(48) “Home Occupation” means an accessory use of a service character, profession, hobby, or internet business that does not impact or negatively effect the neighborhood in which it is conducted within the home or accessory building.
A. The following criteria must be met:
1. The use is limited in extent and incidental and insubordinate to the use of the dwelling unit for residential purposes and does not change the character thereof.
2. Only one resident of the dwelling unit or member of their immediate family is employed in the occupation, profession, hobby, or internet business unless approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals.
3. The total floor area devoted to such use shall not exceed twenty five percent of the gross floor area of the dwelling unit, and not more than twenty five percent of the gross floor area of any story shall be devoted to such use.
4. The occupation, service, profession, hobby, or internet business shall be conducted entirely within the dwelling or accessory building.
5. There shall be no storage, production, or sale of merchandise or stock in trade other than those necessary for that particular home occupation.
6. No exterior evidence of the home occupation shall be permitted other than a small sign not more than two square feet in size to be placed on the entrance of the dwelling.
7. Sufficient off street parking shall be provided that does not include a front yard or grassy area not intended for parking.
8. The home occupation does not significantly increase traffic flow into the neighborhood where it is conducted.
9. The property owner must apply for the conditional use.
B. The following examples may be deemed but not limited to home occupations. All cases shall be heard by the Planning Commission and decided by Board of Zoning Appeals:
1. The care of non-relative children for profit, not more than three at a time.
2. Beauty salon, single operator, not to include tanning beds.
3. Real estate business limited to one agent.
4. The sale of arts and crafts.
5. Insurance sales, limited to one agent.
6. Housekeeping or maid service, limited to one operator.
7. Appraisers of personal property, limited to one appraiser.
8. Musical instructor, limited to one pupil at a time.
(9-13-04)
(49) "Hotel" or "motel" means a building or group of buildings in which lodging is provided and offered to the public for compensation and which is open to transient guests, in contradistinction to a boardinghouse or lodging house.
(50) "Industrial park" means a tract of land containing not less than the area specified for this purpose in this Zoning Ordinance, which is designed to accommodate two or more industrial uses in accordance with a plan of development which presents a unified and organized arrangement of buildings, service facilities and related improvements, such as open spaces and planting areas, all of which have a functional relationship and will be in harmony with the use of land immediately adjacent or across the street.
(51) "Industry, general" means any manufacturing or industrial production which by the nature of the materials, equipment and process utilized are not objectionable by reason of odor, radiation, noise, vibration, cinders, gas fumes, dust, smoke, refuse matter or water-carried waste. Any manufacturing or industrial process permitted in an "M-2" District shall comply with the performance standards of Section 1335.01.
(52) "Industry, restricted" means any manufacturing or industrial production which by the nature of the materials, equipment and process utilized are to a considerable measure clean, quiet and free of any objectionable or hazardous element. Restricted industrial uses shall comply with the performance requirements specified in Section 1335.01, and shall include the manufacturing and industrial processing of the following listed items and other similar products or processes which are determined by the Board to be of the same restricted character: drugs; sporting goods; processing and assembly of glass products, small household appliances, electronic products and parts for production of finished equipment; research and test laboratories, printing and engraving plants; bakeries or dairies.
(53) "Institution" means buildings or land occupied by a nonprofit corporation or a nonprofit establishment for public use.
(54) "Junk storage and sales" (salvage operation) means any lot, land or structure, or part thereof, used primarily for the collection, storage and sale of waste paper, rags, scrap metal or discarded material; or for the collecting, dismantling, storage or salvaging of machinery or vehicles not in operating condition, and for the sale of parts thereof.
(55) "Kennel" means any lot or premises on which four or more dogs, more than four months of age, are kept.
(56) "Loading and unloading berth" means the off-street area required for the receipt or distribution by vehicles of material or merchandise, which in this Zoning Ordinance is held to be a horizontal space of at least twelve feet by forty feet with a fourteen foot height clearance. When only two-axle trucks are to be accommodated, the length of the space may be reduced to thirty feet.
(57) "Lot" means a parcel, tract or area of land abutting upon a street or road for at least sixty percent (60%) of the lot width prescribed for the district in which the lot is located. It may be a single parcel separately described in a deed or plat which is recorded in the office of the Clerk of the County Court, or it may include parts of, or a combination of such parcels when adjacent to one another and used as one. In determining lot area and boundary lines no part thereof within the limits of a street shall be included.
(58) "Lot area" means the total horizontal area within the lot lines of a lot.
(59) "Lot, corner" means a lot at the junction of and abutting two or more intersecting streets.
(60) "Lot coverage" means the ratio of enclosed ground floor area of all buildings to the horizontal area of the lot, expressed as a percentage.
(61) "Lot, depth" means the horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines, measured along the median between the two side lot lines.
(62) "Lot, interior" means a lot other than a corner lot or a through lot.
(63) "Lot of record" means any lot which individually or as a part of a subdivision has been recorded in the office of the Clerk of the County Court.
(64) "Lot, through" means any interior lot having frontage on two or more streets.
(65) "Lot, minimum area of" means the area of a lot computed exclusive of any portion of the right of way of any public thoroughfare.
(66) "Lot width" means the width of a lot at the building setback line measured at right angles to its depth. The width of lots fronting on a cul-de-sac shall be the chord distance between side lot lines for the curve coinciding with the required depth of the front yard.
(67) "Mineral extraction, storage and processing" means any mining, quarrying or processing of limestone, sand, gravel or other mineral resources.
(68) "Mobile home" or "house trailer" means any vehicle or similar portable structure so designed or constructed as to permit occupancy for dwelling or sleeping purposes. If the characteristic of portability does not exist, the structure is considered as any dwelling.
(69) "Mobile home parks" means any area manifestly designed to accommodate mobile homes in a safe, sanitary and desirable manner as described in Section 1331.01
.
(70) "More restrictive" means in reference to a nonconforming use, the changing of a use to more nearly conform to the permitted use, thus increasing the requirements such as side yards, etc., or generally increasing compatibility of a nonconforming use to the requirements of the district in which it is located.
(71) "Motor court" or "motel" means a building or group of buildings used for the temporary residence of motorists or travelers.
(72) "Nonconforming use" means the use of land or a building, or portion thereof, which does not conform with the use regulations of the district in which it is situated.
(73) "Nursery," "nursery school," "nursing home" (institutional home) means a home or institutional facility for the care of babies, children, pensioners or elderly people, except a facility for correction of mental cases.
(74) "Off-street parking space" means any parking space located wholly off any street, alley or sidewalk, either in an enclosed building or on any open lot and where each parking space has an area of not less than 180 square feet, exclusive of access drives or aisles.
(75) "Person" means a corporation, firm, partnership, association, organization or any other group acting as a unit, as well as a natural person.
(76) "Personal services" means any enterprise conducted for gain which primarily offers services to the general public such as shoe repair, watch repairing, barber shop, beauty parlors and similar activities.
(77) "Plant cultivation" means the cultivation of crops, fruit trees, nursery stock, truck garden products and similar plant materials outside of structures, such as greenhouses, but not including such plant cultivation as is conducted on residential properties for the primary benefit of the resident family.
(78) "Professional activities" means the use of offices and related spaces for such professional services as are provided by doctors, dentists, lawyers, architects and engineers.
(79) "Public service facility" means the erection, construction, alteration, operation or maintenance of buildings, power plants or substations, water treatment plants or pumping stations, sewage disposal or pumping plants, solid waste disposal sites and facilities, and other similar public service structures by a public utility, by a railroad, whether publicly or privately owned, or by a municipal or other governmental agency, including the furnishng of electrical, gas, rail transport, communication, public water and sewerage services.
(80) "Public uses" means public parks, schools, and administrative, cultural and service buildings, not including public land or buildings devoted solely to the storage and maintenance of equipment and material.
(81) "Recreational facilities"
A. "Noncommercial recreational facilities" means private and semipublic recreational facilities which are not operated for commercial gain, including private country clubs, riding clubs, golf courses, game preserves, ski slopes, hunting and trapping, and other private noncommercial recreation areas and facilities or recreation centers including private community swimming pools. Non- commercial recreational facilities may be leased to outside groups and organizations provided the fee for such purposes is limited to incidental maintenance and custodial expenses.
B. "Commercial recreational facilities" means recreational facilities open to the public, established and operated for a profit, such as commercial golf courses, golf driving ranges, swimming pools, ice skating rinks, riding stables, race tracks, carnivals, boat docks and launching ramps, fishing piers and similar commercial enterprises.
(82) "Rooming house" means a building or portion thereof other than a hotel, where lodging for five or more persons is provided for compensation.
(83) "Sand and gravel extraction" means the excavation, storage, separation, cleaning and marketing of sand and gravel.
(84) "Semipublic uses" means churches, Sunday schools, parochial schools, colleges, hospitals and other institutions of an educational, religious, charitable or philanthropic nature.
(85) "Seasonal residence" means summer cottages, winter lodges and similar housing occupied less than six months during a year.
(86) "Setback line" means a line established by zoning, platting or other legal means on a lot a specified distance from and parallel to the lot line to restrict the encroachment of buildings into yards.
(87) "Sewage disposal system, group" means an approved sewage disposal system which provides for the combined collection and disposal of sewage from a group of residential, commercial or industrial buildings.
(88) "Sewage disposal system, on-site" (individual) means a septic tank installation on an individual lot which utilizes an anaerobic bacteriological process for the elimination of solid wastes and provides for the proper and safe disposal of the effluent, subject to the approval of health and sanitation officials having jurisdiction.
(89) "Sign, advertising" means a sign which directs attention to a business, commodity, service or entertainment conducted, sold or offered elsewhere than on the premises and only incidentally on the premises, if at all.
(90) "Sign, business" means a sign which directs attention to a business or profession conducted on the premises. A "For Sale" sign or "For Rent" sign relating to the property on which it is displayed shall be deemed a "business sign."
(91) "Social activities" means any building and land used for private or semiprivate club activities, including lodges, fraternities and similar activities.
(92) "Specialized animal raising and care" means the use of land and buildings for the raising and care of fur-bearing animals such as rabbits and domestic pets; and the stabling and care of horses, animal kennels, pigeon raising and raising of any other domestic animals or birds of a similar nature.
(93) "Story" means that portion of a building other than a cellar included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it or if there is no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it. A basement shall be counted as a story if it is used for living quarters or if two-thirds of its volume is above the average level of the adjacent ground.
(94) "Street" means a public way established or dedicated by duly recorded plat, deed, grant, governmental authority or by operation of law.
(95) "Street line" or "right-of-way line" means a dividing line between a lot, tract or parcel of land and contiguous street.
(96) "Structure" means anything constructed or erected other than a building, the use of which requires permanent location on the ground, or attached to something having a permanent location on the ground, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, advertising signs, billboards and backstops for tennis courts.
(97) "Structural alterations" means any change which would tend to prolong the life of a supporting member of a structure such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.
(98) "Tourist camp" means land used or intended to be used by campers or for trailers, tents or movable dwellings; two or more trailers, whether parked or supported by foundations, shall constitute a tourist camp.
(99) "Tourist home" means a building other than a hotel where lodging is provided and offered to the public for compensation for not more than ten individuals and open to transient guests.
(100) "Trade school" or "business school" means a secretarial or business school or college when not publicly owned or not owned or conducted by or under the sponsorship of a religious, charitable or nonprofit organization; or a school conducted as a commercial enterprise for teaching instrumental music, dancing, barbering or hair dressing, drafting or for teaching industrial or technical arts.
(101) "Trailer, utility" means any trailer drawn by a passenger automobile and used for the occasional transport of personal effects.
(102) "Use" means the purpose for which land or a building is arranged, designed or intended, or for which either land or a building is or may be occupied or maintained.
(103) "Use, open" means the use of a lot without a building or including a building incidental to the use with a ground floor area equal to five percent (5%) or less of the area of the lot.
(104) "Variance" means a relaxation of requirements where such variation will not be contrary to the public interest and where, owing to conditions peculiar to the property and not the result of actions of the applicant, a literal enforcement of this Zoning Ordinance would result in unnecessary and undue hardship.
(105) "Waste disposal" means disposition of garbage, combustible and noncombustible waste material.
(106) "Yard" means an open space at grade between a building and the adjoining lot lines unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided herein. In measuring a yard for the purpose of determining the width of a side yard, the depth of a front yard or the depth of a rear yard, the minimum horizontal distance between the lot line and the main building shall be used.
(107) "Yard, front" means a yard extending across the front of a lot between the side lot lines and being the minimum horizontal distance between the street right of way and the main building or any projection thereof, other than the projection of the usual uncovered steps, uncovered balconies or uncovered porch. On corner lots, the front yard shall be considered as parallel to the street upon which the lot has its least dimension.
(108) "Yard, rear" means a yard extending across the rear of a lot and being the required minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the rear of the main building or any projection thereof, other than the projections of uncovered steps or unenclosed porches.
(109) "Yard, side" means a yard between the main building and the side line of the lot and extending from the required front yard to the required rear yard, and being the minimum horizontal distance between a side lot line and the side of the main building or any projections therefrom.
(110) "Zoning District Map" means the Zoning District Map of the City, together with all amendments subsequently adopted.
(111) "Zoning Officer" means the Zoning Officer or his authorized representative appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by Council.
(112) "Zoning Ordinance" or "this Ordinance" means the Zoning Ordinance passed by Council on June 30, 1972, as amended which is codified as Chapters One to Three of this Part Thirteen - Planning and Zoning Code.