The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
A. Abutting means having property or district lines in common; e.g., two (2) lots are abutting if they have property lines in common.
B. Access means a way of approaching or entering property.
C. Accessory building or structure means a subordinate building or portion of the main building, the use of which is incidental to that of the dominant use of the building or premises.
D. Accessory use means a use customarily incidental, appropriate, and subordinate to the main use of land or buildings located upon the same premises.
E. Addition means any construction which increases the size of a building; an addition is a form of alteration.
F. Adult day care center means a facility which provides care for eight (8) or more adults, eighteen (18) years of age or older, for six (6) or more hours in a twenty- four (24) hour period. The term "adult day care center" does not include facilities whose purpose is primarily educational, recreational or medical treatment.
G. Adult day care home means a single-family dwelling, which is the permanent residence of the operator, that provides care and protection for seven (7) or less adults, eighteen (18) years of age or older, for part of a twenty-four (24) hour period.
H. Advertising sign or structure means any cloth, card, paper, metal, painted, glass, wooden, plastic, plaster, stone, or other sign, device, or structure of any character whatsoever, including statuary, placed for outdoor advertising purposes on the ground or on any tree, wall, bush, rock, post, fence, building, or structure. The term "placed," as used in this definition, includes erecting, constructing, posting, painting, printing, tacking, nailing, gluing, sticking, carving, or otherwise fastening, affixing, or making visible in any manner whatsoever. The area of an advertising structure other than a sign shall be determined as the area of the largest cross-section of such structure.
Neither directional, warning, nor other signs posted by public officials in the course of their public duties shall be construed as advertising signs for the purpose of this definition.
I. 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 to that of the normal agricultural activities. The operation of commercial feed pens, sales yards, and auction yards for cattle or hogs shall be deemed an industrial use and not an agricultural use.
J. Air rights means the rights to a space above a property, for development, usually for a dissimilar use.
K. Airport zoning means a particular set of controls intended to protect the integrity of an airport, its airspace, and its environs.
L. Airspace means the space above the land which might be subject to division and sale either with or separate from the surface.
M. Alcohol and drug center, reformatory, residential treatment center, and social rehabilitation facility means community-based residential facilities providing diagnostic or therapeutic services, counseling, or treatment and long term room and board in a highly structured environment for its residents for alcoholism, drug abuse, or behavioral disorders.
N. Alley means a minor right-of-way, dedicated to public use, from which a secondary means of access to the back or side of properties abutting a street is obtained, not intended for general traffic circulation, and which may be used for public utility purposes.
O. Alteration means a physical change in a building or an addition to it.
P. Assisted living facility means a facility where persons are housed and furnished with meals and limited nursing care for a fee.
Q. Automobile wrecking or salvage yard means an area outside of a building where motor vehicles are disassembled, dismantled, junked, or wrecked or where motor vehicles not in operable condition, or used parts of motor vehicles, are stored.
R. Basement means a story partly or wholly underground. For purposes of height measurement, a basement shall be counted as a story when more than one-half (½) of its height is above the average level of the adjoining ground, or when subdivided and used for commercial or dwelling purposes by other than a janitor employed on the premises.
S. Block means a parcel of land, intended to be used for development purposes, which is entirely surrounded by public streets, highways, railroad rights-of-way, public walks, parks, rural lands, drainage channels, or boundary lines of municipalities, and not traversed by a through street.
T. Board of Adjustment means a local quasi-judicial body, created by ordinance, whose responsibility is to hear appeals concerning the strict interpretation of the adopted zoning regulations and to consider requests for variances under the terms of the adopted zoning regulations.
U. Boardinghouse means a building other than a hotel where, for compensation and by prearrangement for definite periods, meals or lodging and meals are provided for three (3) or more but not exceeding six (6) persons.
V. Buffer zone means a strip of land established to protect one (1) type of land use from another with which it is incompatible. A buffer zone is comprised of a buffer use which may, in addition to the normal range of open space and landscaping uses, take the form of "transitional" uses, structures, and yards.
W. Building means any structure built for the support, shelter, or enclosure of persons, animals, chattel, or movable property of any kind, including any other structure; when separated by dividing walls without openings, each portion of such structure so separated shall be deemed a separate building.
X. Building area means the space remaining on a zoned lot after the minimum open space requirements (coverage, yards and setbacks) have been met.
Y. Building code means a collection of regulations adopted by the City Council setting forth standards for the construction of buildings and other structures for the purpose of protecting the health, safety, and general welfare of the public.
Z. Building coverage means the percentage of the lot area covered by the building. The building area shall include all overhanging roofs.
AA. Building height means the vertical distance from the average line of the highest and lowest points of that portion of the lot covered by the building to the highest point of coping of a flat roof, the deckline of a mansard roof, or to the average height of the highest gable of a pitch or hip roof.
AB. Building line means a line frequently drawn on a subdivision plat to indicate the setback distance from the lot line. Note: This line does not necessarily coincide with the actual construction line of a building or structure, only a minimum requirement.
AC. Building Official means the official responsible for the use and enforcement of the adopted building code of the City, as well as the review and inspection official for building permit applications. The Building Official may also serve as the plumbing and electrical inspectors for the City.
AD. Building permit means the permit required before construction can be initiated. Building permit provisions are contained in this Code.
AE. Building, principal or main, means a building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is situated. In any residential district, any dwelling shall be deemed to be a main building on the lot on which it is situated.
AF. Building sewer means that part of the sewer which conveys the sewage from the building to a public sanitary sewer, private sanitary sewer, individual sewage disposal system, or other point of disposal.
AG. Building site means a single parcel of land in one (1) ownership, occupied or intended to be occupied by a building or structure.
AH. Carport means a permanently roofed structure, open on at least two (2) sides, designed for, or occupied by, private passenger vehicles.
AI. Channel means a natural or artificial watercourse of perceptible extent with definite bed and banks to confine and conduct continuously or periodically flowing water.
AJ. Child means an individual under the age of eighteen (18) years.
AK. Child day care center means a facility which provides care for eight (8) or more children for six (6) or more hours in a twenty-four (24) hour day. The term "child day care center" does not include nursery schools, kindergartens, or other facilities for which the purpose is primarily educational, recreational, or medical treatment.
AL. Cluster development means a development pattern in which the uses are built close together rather than spread evenly throughout a parcel as in conventional lot-by-lot development. The term "cluster development" is used to preserve open space, create workable land use mixtures, and save money by building fewer streets and shorter utility lines.
AM. Compatibility means the characteristics of different uses or activities that permit them to be located near each other in harmony and without conflict.
AN. Comprehensive plan and master plan mean the officially adopted comprehensive plan or plans for the City which provide long range development policies, plans, and programs for the City and its developing areas, and which include, among other things, land use and housing elements, traffic circulation elements, and community utilities and facilities elements.
AO. Condominium means a form of individual ownership within a multifamily building with joint responsibility for maintenance and repairs. In a condominium, each apartment is owned outright by its occupant and each occupant owns a share of the land and other common property of the building.
AP. Congregate care residence means any building or portion thereof that contains facilities for living, sleeping and sanitation, which may include facilities for eating and cooking by other than a family. The term "congregate care residence" shall include but not be limited to a shelter, convent, monastery, dormitory, fraternity or sorority house. The term "congregate care residence" does not include jails, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels or lodging houses.
AQ. Convalescent home means a health facility where persons are housed and furnished with meals and continuing nursing care for a fee.
AR. Conversion means the changing of the original purpose of a building to a different use; for example, this may include a change from residential to commercial as well as a change from low-density residential to higher-density residential.
AS. Cooperative housing means a multiunit development operated by and for its occupants. Individual occupants do not own their specific housing units outright, but instead own shares in the enterprise.
AT. Correctional centers means a facility for the detention, confinement, treatment and/or rehabilitation of persons arrested or convicted for the violation of civil or criminal law. Such facilities include but are not necessarily limited to an adult detention center, juvenile delinquency center, prerelease center, correctional community treatment center, jail or prison.
AU. Dedication means the transfer of property from private to public ownership under adopted subdivision regulations as a condition of subdivision plat approval.
AV. Density means the number of families, persons, or housing units per acre of land.
AW. Density transfer means permitting unused allowable densities in one (1) area to be used in another area.
AX. Detention center. See Correctional, detention, juvenile delinquency, and prerelease centers.
AY. Detoxification. See Residential treatment center.
AZ. Down zoning means a change in the zoning classification of land to a classification permitting development that is less intensive or dense, such as from multifamily to single-family or from commercial to residential.
BA. Drainageway means any depression below the surrounding land serving to give direction to a regular or periodic current of water.
BB. Drive-in restaurant means any establishment where food or beverages are sold to the consumer, where motor vehicle parking space is provided, and where such food or beverages are intended to be consumed in the motor vehicle parked upon the premises or where there is an option of consuming food in the motor vehicle or within the restaurant building.
BC. Dwelling means any building, or portion thereof, which is used or designed for residential purposes.
BD. Dwelling, attached, means a dwelling having any portion of each of one (1) or more walls in common with adjoining dwellings.
BE. Dwelling, detached, means a dwelling having open space on all sides.
BF. Dwelling, multifamily, means a dwelling designed for occupancy by three (3) or more families living independently of each other, exclusive of auto or trailer courts or camps, hotels, or motels.
BG. Dwelling, single-family, means a building designed to be occupied by one (1) family.
BH. Dwelling, two-family, means a budding designed to be occupied by not more than two (2) families; also known as a "duplex."
BI. Easement means a grant by the property owner to the public, a corporation, or persons of the use of a strip of land for specific purposes.
BJ. Extended care facility. See Convalescent home.
BK. Family means one (1) or more persons related by blood or marriage, or a group of not to exceed five (5) persons, excluding servants, not all related by blood or marriage, occupying premises and living as a single nonprofit housekeeping unit as distinguished from a group occupying a boardinghouse or lodging house, hotel, club, or similar dwelling for group use.
BL. Family day care home means a single-family dwelling which is the permanent residence of the operator that provides care and protection for seven (7) or less children for part of a twenty-four (24) hour day. The term "family day care home" does not include informal arrangements which parents make independently with neighbors, friends, or others nor does it include caretakers in the child's own home.
BM. Floating zone means a zoning district whose requirements are fully described in the text of this chapter, but which is unmapped. The zoning district may be mapped in response to an applicant's petition for a rezoning or initial use of such zones. Floating zones most commonly refer to varying types of planned unit development.
BN. Flood and flooding mean general and temporary conditions of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of lakes, streams, rivers, or any other inland waters.
BO. Flood hazard area means the maximum area of the floodplain that, on the average, is likely to be flooded once every one hundred (100) years; i.e., that has a one percent (1%) chance of being flooded in any given year.
BP. Flood hazard boundary map (FHBM) means an official map or plat of the City issued or approved by the Federal Insurance Administration or the Federal Emergency Management Agency on which the boundaries of the floodplain area having special hazards have been drawn.
BQ. Flood insurance rate map (FIRM) means the official map or plat of the City issued or approved by the Federal Insurance Administration or the Federal Emergency Management Agency on which special flood hazard zones, for insurance purposes, have been drawn.
BR. Floodplain means the land adjacent to a body of water which has been or may be covered by flooding, including, but not limited to, the one hundred (100) year flood.
BS. Floodplain management regulations means the full range of codes, ordinances and other regulations, projects, and programs relating to the use of land and construction within the limits of the floodplain. The term "floodplain management regulations" encompasses the City's adopted zoning regulations, subdivision regulations, and sanitary and building codes.
BT. Floodproofing means any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to properties and structures subject to flooding which reduce or eliminate flood damage to lands, water and sanitary facilities or the contents of buildings in a flood hazard area.
BU. Floodway means the channel of a stream, watercourse, or body of water and those portions of floodplains which are reasonably required to carry and discharge the floodwater or flood flow of any river or stream.
BV. Floodway encroachment lines means the lines marking the limits of floodways on official federal, State and local floodplain maps.
BW. Floodway fringe zoning district means an overlay zoning district to provide special regulations for reduction of flood losses in those areas of the floodplain, outside of the floodway, which are subject to periodic flooding and therefore require special consideration before development is permitted to occur.
Requirements of this overlay district are in addition to the requirements contained in the basic, underlying zoning districts.
BX. Frontage means the side of a lot abutting on a street or way and ordinarily regarded as the front of the lot, but not the ordinary side of a corner lot.
BY. Garage apartment means a dwelling unit for not more than one (1) family erected above a garage.
BZ. Garage, private, means a detached accessory building or portion of a main building used for the parking or temporary storage of the automobiles of the occupants of the premises, provided that not to exceed two (2) spaces may be rented to persons not residing on the premises, and further provided that not more than one (1) commercial vehicle per family dwelling on the premises and not exceeding one and one-half (1 1/2) tons rated capacity may be parked or stored therein.
CA. Garage, public, means a building other than a private garage used for the care, servicing, repair, or equipment of automobiles or where such vehicles are parked or stored for remuneration, hire or sale.
CB. Gasoline, service, or motor vehicle service station means any area of land, including structures thereon, used for the retail sales of gasoline or oil fuels, other automobile accessories, and incidental services, but not including major repair, body work, painting, or automatic washing; such stations may be located and operated in conjunction with quick-stop grocery stores and when so located and operated shall be considered as a gasoline station and not a grocery store.
CC. Group care facility means a facility which is required to be licensed by the State and which provides training, care, supervision, treatment and/or rehabilitation to the aged, disabled, those convicted of crimes, or those suffering from the effects of drugs or alcohol. This type of facility does not include day care centers, family day care homes, foster homes, schools, hospitals, jails or prisons.
CD. Halfway house means a facility whose primary purpose is the rehabilitation of persons. Such services include but are not necessarily limited to drug and alcohol rehabilitation, assistance to emotionally and mentally disturbed persons, and halfway houses for prison parolees and juveniles.
CE. Historic district means an area designated by ordinance of the City Council which contains one (1) or more landmarks or landmark sites as well as those abutting parcels which the City Council has determined will fall under the provisions of this chapter to ensure that their appearance and development will be harmonious with such landmarks or landmark sites.
CF. Historic structure means a structure which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, which is certified by the secretary of the interior to conform to national register criteria, which has been nominated for national register status or which meets the criteria for nomination to national register status as certified by the City Council.
CG. Home business or occupation means any occupation carried on only by the inhabitants which is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling purposes and does not change the character thereof, and which is conducted entirely within the main or accessory buildings, provided that no physical personal service is performed and no trading in merchandise is carried on and in connection with which there is no sign or display other than one (1) non- illuminated name plate not more than three (3) square feet in area attached to the building, and that no mechanical equipment is used or activity is conducted which creates any noise, dust, odor, or electrical disturbance beyond the confines of the lot on which the occupation is conducted.
CH. Homeowner means a person owning and living in, or who will live in, if the building is under construction, a single-family dwelling.
CI. Homeowners' association means an incorporated, nonprofit organization operating under recorded land agreements, through which:
1. Each lot or homeowner in a described land area is a member;
2. Each lot is subject to a charge for a proportionate share of the expenses for the organization's activities; and
3. The charge, if unpaid, becomes a lien against the property.
CJ. Hotel and motel mean any hotel, motel, tourist court, apartment house, rooming house, or other place where sleeping accommodations are furnished or offered for pay for transient guests if four (4) or more rooms are available therein for transient guests.
CK. Housing code means a standard used to determine whether an old or new structure is fit for human occupancy. Its purpose is to ensure maintenance and improvement of existing housing to meet accepted standards. Also known as a "maintenance code."
CL. Impact analysis means the process of evaluating a proposal's expected physical or fiscal impact on its surroundings or on a community.
CM. Institutional building or use means a building occupied by a nonprofit organization or a nonprofit establishment for the use of the public.
CN. Intensity means the degree to which land is used. Often used synonymously with "density."
CO. Jail means a facility under the jurisdiction of a local governmental entity for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes.
CP. Jurisdiction means the jurisdiction of the City Planning Commission for purposes of zoning and subdivision review which shall include all lands within the corporate limits of the City.
CQ. Juvenile delinquency center. See Correctional, detention, juvenile delinquency, and pre-release centers.
CR. Kennel means any lot or premises on which three (3) or more dogs, more than four (4) months of age, are kept.
CS. Land development code means the land development code of the City encompassing the City's adopted:
1. Permit regulations;
2. Zoning regulations;
3. Subdivision regulations;
4. Floodplain management regulations; and
5. Policies.
CT. Landmark means any building or structure which has a special historic, architectural, or cultural interest, significance, or value as part of the heritage, development, or cultural characteristics of the City, State, or nation and which has been designated as a landmark pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
CU. Landmark site means any parcel of land of historic, geological, or archeological significance due to its substantial value in tracing the history of man or upon which an historic event has occurred and which has been designated as a landmark site under the provisions of this chapter or any parcel of land, or part thereof, upon which is situated a landmark.
CV. Laundromat means a laundry providing washing, drying, and possibly ironing machines for hire to be used on the premises by customers.
CW. Loading space, off-street, means space logically and conveniently located for bulk pickups and deliveries, scaled to delivery vehicles expected to be used, and accessible to such vehicles when required off-street parking spaces are filled.
Required off-street loading space is not to be included as off-street parking space in the computation of required off-street parking pace.
CX. Lot means a parcel of land, intended as a unit for the transfer of ownership or for development of at least sufficient size to meet minimum zoning regulations requirements for use, coverage, and area and to provide such yards and other open spaces as are required. Such lot shall have frontage on a public street and may consist of:
1. A single lot of record;
2. A portion of a lot of record;
3. A combination of complete lots of record and portions of lots to lots of record or of complete lots of record; or
4. A parcel of land describe by metes and bounds, provided that in no case of division or combination shall any lot or parcel be created which does not meet the requirements of these zoning regulations or the City's adopted subdivision regulations.
CY. Lot, area, means the total horizontal area included within lot lines.
CZ. Lot, corner, means a lot located at the intersection of and abutting on two (2) or more streets.
DA. Lot depth means the average distance from the street line of the lot to its rear line measured in the general direction of the side lines of the lot.
DB. Lot, double frontage, means a lot which runs through a block from street to street and has nonintersecting frontage on two (2) or more streets.
DC. Lot frontage means that dimension of a lot or portion of a lot abutting on a street, except the side dimension of a corner lot.
DD. Lot, interior, means a lot other than a corner lot.
DE. Lot line adjustment means a relocation of the lot lines of two (2) or more lots included in a plat which is filed of record for the purpose of making necessary adjustments to building sites.
DF. Lot lines means the lines bounding a "lot," as defined in this section.
DG. Lot, mobile home, means a parcel or tract of land for the placement of a single mobile home and for the exclusive use of the occupants.
DH. Lot of record means a separate and distinct parcel of land designated on a legally recorded subdivision plat or a legally recorded deed filed in the records of the County courthouse.
DI. Lot, reverse frontage, means a double frontage lot which is designed to be developed with the rear yard abutting a major street and with the primary means of access provided on a minor street.
DJ. Lot split means any division of land by metes and bounds description into two (2) or more parcels for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership and which constitutes a "subdivision," as defined in this section.
DK. Lot, townhouse, means a lot shown on a townhouse plat and intended as the site of a single, attached dwelling unit.
DL. Medical facilities means the following:
1. Convalescent, rest, or nursing home or extended day care facility. A health facility where persons are housed and furnished with meals and continuing nursing care for a fee.
2. Dental or medical offices or clinics. A facility for the examination and treatment of ill and afflicted human outpatients; provided, however, that patients are not kept overnight except under emergency conditions.
3. Hospital. A facility providing, health services for in-patient medical or surgical care for the sick or injured including related facilities such as laboratories, outpatient departments, training facilities, central service facilities and staff offices which are an integral part of the facility. A hospital can include more than one (1) building which may be located on real estate separate and apart from the main facility.
4. Mental hospital. A facility authorized by law to provide care and treatment for mentally ill persons including related facilities such as laboratories, out-patient departments, training facilities, central service facilities and staff offices which are an integral part of the facility.
5. Public health center. A facility primarily utilized by a health unit for the provision of public health services including related facilities such as laboratories, clinics, and administrative offices operated in connection therewith and including the State Department of Health.
6. Sanatorium. An institution providing health facilities for inpatient medical treatment or treatment and recuperation using natural therapeutic agents.
DM. Metes and bounds means a system of describing and identifying land by measure (metes) and direction (bounds) from an identifiable point of reference.
DN. Mixed use zoning means zoning which permits a combination of normally separated uses within a single development, most frequently a "planned development" or a multilevel structure.
DO. Mobile home means any single-family dwelling designed for transportation on streets and highways on its own wheels or on flatbed or other trailers, both highway and rail, and arriving at the site where it is to be occupied as a dwelling complete and ready for occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations, location on jacks or permanent foundations, connection to utilities, and similar operations.
DP. Mobile home park means any land or property which is used or intended to be used or rented for occupancy by two (2) or more mobile homes, trailers, or movable sleeping quarters of any kind.
DQ. Mobile home space means a plot of ground within a mobile home park designed for the accommodation of one (1) mobile home.
DR. Mobile home stand means the part of an individual lot or space which has been reserved for the placement of or which will be covered by the mobile home.
DS. Mobile home subdivision means unified development of mobile home lots which has been subdivided for the purpose of individual ownership and which is governed by the provisions of this chapter, the City's adopted subdivision regulations, and this Code.
DT. Modular home means a factory-fabricated, transportable building unit, not built on a permanent chassis, designed to be used by itself or to be incorporated with similar units on a permanent foundation. The term "modular home" is intended to apply to major assemblies and does not include prefabricated sub-elements incorporated into a structure at the site.
DU. Neighborhood commercial use means a commercial establishment whose primary purpose is to provide services of a compatible nature with surrounding residential uses to the neighborhood within which it is located. Such uses include, but are not necessarily limited to, neighborhood grocery stores, but not quick-stop groceries, barber shops and beauty salons, an alcoholic beverage package store, a bar, a gas station or a tavern shall not be considered a neighborhood commercial use.
DV. Neighborhood planning means the preparation and implementation of plans, policies, and programs at a less than Citywide level and official and formal participation in the planning and implementation process by organized groups at a less than City wide level.
DW. Nonconforming building, lot structure or use of land, means:
1. Nonconforming building, lot or structure. Any building, lot, or structure lawfully occupied or used on September 11, 1978, which does not conform in part or wholly to any or all of the use, area, height, coverage, off-street parking, or any other regulations of the district in which it is located; and
2. Nonconforming use of lands. Any lawful use of land, existing on September 11, 1978, which does not conform to the regulations of the district in which it is located.
DX. Official zoning districts map means the official map on which the current zoning status of all land within the corporate limits of the City is depicted and which, along with the zoning text, comprises the zoning regulations of the City.
DY. One hundred (100) year flood means a flood which has a one percent (1%) chance of occurring each year, based upon the criteria established by the State Water Resources Board.
DZ. Overlay zoning district means a set of zoning district requirements that is described in the text of this chapter and is imposed in addition to those of the underlying zoning district. The overlay zone mayor may not be immediately mapped, but must be mapped eventually in order to be utilized. Development within the overlay zone must conform to the requirements of both zoning districts or the most restrictive.
EA. Parcel means a lot or contiguous group of lots in single ownership or under single control and usually considered as a unit for purposes of development.
EB. Parking space means a permanently surfaced area, enclosed or unenclosed, sufficient in size to store one (1) automobile, together with a permanently surfaced driveway connecting the parking space with a street or alley and permitting ingress or egress of an automobile. For purposes of regulation, the size of a parking space for one (1) vehicle shall consist of a rectangular area having dimensions of not less than nine (9) feet by twenty (20) feet, plus adequate area for ingress and egress.
EC. Percolation test means an indicator of the suitability of an area for subsoil effluent disposal obtained by testing for the rate at which the undisturbed soil will absorb water per unit of surface area.
ED. Permitted use means a use by right which is specifically authorized in a particular zoning district.
EE. Planned unit development (PUD): The planned unit development (PUD) is a special zoning district category that provides an alternative approach to conventional land use controls. The PUD may be used for tracts or parcels of land that are under common ownership and are to be developed as one (1) unit according to a Design Statement and a Master Development Plan Map. The PUD has no limitations on minimum or maximum size; however, the PUD typically includes multiple tracts that can be regulated under different base zoning districts and includes significant modifications to conventional zoning and land use regulations. The PUD requires complex analysis and is subject to special review procedures and, once approved by the City Council, becomes a special zoning classification for the property it represents.
EF. Planning Commission means the Municipal Planning Commission or the Regional Planning Commission of the City.
EG. Plat means a map, generally of a subdivision, showing the location, boundaries, and ownership of designated properties.
EH. Policy means a statement or document of a public body that forms the basis for enacting legislation or making decisions.
EI. Pre-release center. See Correctional, detention, juvenile delinquency, and prerelease centers.
EJ. Preservation means the process of sustaining the form and extent of a structure essentially as it now exists. The term "preservation" aims at halting further deterioration and providing structural stability, but does not contemplate significant rebuilding.
EK. Principal use means the main use of land or structures as distinguished from a secondary or accessory use.
EL. Prison means a facility for the confinement of persons convicted of serious crimes.
EM. Privacy fence means a fence a minimum of six (6) feet but not more than eight (8) feet in height made of wood, masonry, metal, stockade poles, or other suitable material or consisting of evergreen vegetation a minimum of six (6) feet in height which must be maintained in a sight proof condition and retained in a presentable appearance.
EN. Private or restrictive covenants means any specification limiting the transfer, rental, or lease of any dwelling because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, familial status.
EO. Recreational vehicle means any motor home or other vehicle or portable structure that is:
1. Built on a chassis.
2. Self-propelled or towed.
3. Designed and equipped to serve as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel purposes.
4. Used solely as a family or personal conveyance.
EP. Recreational vehicle park means any tract of land upon which two (2) or more recreational vehicles, occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes, are located, regardless of whether or not a charge is made for such accommodations.
EQ. Rehabilitation means the process of returning a structure to a state of utility through repair or alteration which makes possible an efficient contemporary use. In rehabilitation, those portions of the property which are important in illustrating historic, architectural, and cultural values are preserved or restored.
ER. Restoration means the process of accurately recovering the form and details of a structure as it appeared at a particular period of time by removing later work and by replacing missing original work.
ES. Rezoning means an amendment to or a change in the zoning regulations.
Rezonings can take three (3) forms:
1. A comprehensive revision or modification of the zoning regulations text and map;
2. A text change in zoning district requirements; and
3. A change in the zoning district designation of a particular parcel or parcels, as shown on the official zoning districts map.
ET. Right-of-way means a strip of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a street, crosswalk, railroad, roadway, electric transmission line, oil or gas pipeline, water main, sanitary or storm sewer main, shade trees, or another special use.
EU. Roadway means the portion of any street designated for vehicular traffic; where curbs are in place, that portion of the street between the curbs.
EV. Rooming house means a building where lodging only is provided for compensation to three (3) or more, but not exceeding six (6), persons; buildings holding more than six (6) persons shall be defined as a "hotel," under the terms of this chapter.
EW. Septic tank means a watertight receptacle which receives the discharge of sewage from a building sewer and is designed and constructed so as to permit deposition of the settleable solids from the liquid, digestion of the detention, and discharge of the liquid portion into a disposal area.
EX. Setback means the distance between the lot line and the building line.
EY. Setback, front yard, means the minimum horizontal distance between the street easement line (front lot line) and the main building or structure, including a garage or any projection thereof other than steps, required to create a yard extending across the front of a lot between the side lot lines.
Note- The platted "building line" need not coincide with the town's minimum setback line in all cases. See building line. See also Yard, front.
EZ. Setback, rear yard, means the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line (alley easement line, if one exists) and the rear of the main building or any projections other than eaves, steps, unenclosed balconies or unenclosed porches, required to create a yard extending across the rear of the lot and measured between side lot lines. 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 shall in all cases be at the opposite end of the lot from the front yard. See Yard, rear.
FA. Setback, side yard, means the minimum horizontal distance between a side lot line and the side of the main building, or any projections thereof other than steps and two (2) foot eaves, required to create a side yard extending from the front lot line to the rear lot line. See Yard, side.
FB. Site means a tract of land intended, or suitable for, development; the area upon which a building or town has been built.
FC. Sight proof fence means a barrier consisting of, but not limited to, wood, metal, plastic, or vegetation.
FD. Solar collector means any device or combination of devices or elements which rely upon sunshine as an energy source and which are capable of collecting not less than twenty-five thousand (25,000) BTUs on a clear winter solstice day. The term "solar collector" also includes any substance or device which collects solar energy for use in:
1. The heating or cooling of a structure or building;
2. The heating or pumping of water;
3. Industrial, commercial or, agricultural processes; or
4. The generation of electricity.
A solar collector may be used for purposes in addition to the collection of solar energy. These uses include, but are not limited to, serving as a structural member or part of a roof of a building or structure and serving as a window or wall.
FE. Solar right means a right to an unobstructed line-of-sight path from a solar collector to the sun, which permits radiation from the sun to impinge directly on the solar collector.
FF. Special district means a zoning district established to accommodate a special set of uses or for special purposes; for example, certain types of planned districts, overlay districts, or historic districts.
FG. Spot zoning means zoning a relatively small area differently from the zoning of the surrounding area; the term "spot zoning" can be appropriate or inappropriate, based upon whether or not the nature of the change is appropriate or arbitrary and inappropriate.
FH. Start of construction means the first placement of permanent construction on a site, such as the pouring of footings or any work beyond the stage of excavation. For a structure without a basement or poured footings, the start of construction includes the first permanent framing or assembly of the structure or any part thereof on its pilings or foundation or the affixing of any prefabricated structure or mobile home on its permanent site. Permanent construction does not include land preparation; land clearing; grading or filling; excavation for basement, footings, piers or foundations; erection of temporary forms; the installation of piling under proposed subsurface footing; installation of sewer, gas, or water pipes or electric or other service lines from the street; or existence on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling unit or not a part of the main structure.
FI. Story means that portion of a building, other than a basement, 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.
FJ. Story, half, means a space under a sloping roof which has the line of intersection of roof decking and wall face not more than three (3) feet above the top floor level and in which space not more than two-thirds (2/3) of the floor area is finished off for use. A half-story containing independent apartment or living quarters shall be counted as a full story.
FK. Street means any public or private right-of-way which affords the primary means of access to abutting property.
FL. Street classification means that for the purpose of providing for the development of all traffic ways and rights-of-way in the City, and for their future improvement, reconstruction, realignment, and necessary widening, each existing traffic way and right-of-way has been designated and arranged or organized according to category within the comprehensive plan for the City.
FM. Street, commercial or industrial, means a street which abuts property zoned for commercial or industrial use and which is designed to provide access to those parcels so designated.
FN. Street, half, means any street platted twenty-five (25) feet or more in width, where, at the time of the approval of the plat, it is the intent of the City Council that the street dedication shall constitute only a part of the total street easement width.
FO. Street, intersecting, means any street which joins another street at an angle, whether or not it crosses the other.
FP. Street, major, means an arterial street which is so designated on the City's major streets plan and is designed to carry intercity traffic and to relate the various neighborhoods or residential areas within the City.
FQ. Street, minor, means any street other than one designated as a major street in the City's major streets plan, but not including alleys.
FR. Street, perimeter, means any existing street to which the parcel of land to be subdivided abuts on only one (1) side.
FS. Structural alterations means any change in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams, or girders, or any substantial change in the roof or in the exterior walls.
FT. Structure means a building which is used for residential, business, agricultural, religious, or other purposes, which is occupied by a private, nonprofit organization, or which is owned by State or local government or an agency thereof. The term "structure" includes a building while in the course of construction, alteration, or repair, but does not include building materials or supplies intended for use in such construction, alteration, or repair unless such materials or supplies are within an enclosed building on the premises.
FU. Subdivision means the division or re-division of land, vacant or improved, or airspace into two (2) or more lots tracts, parcels, sites, areas, units, or plots, anyone of which, when divided, has an area of less than ten (10) acres, for the purpose of transfer of ownership or for development or the dedication, vacation, or realignment of any public or private right-of-way easement.
FV. Subdivision regulations or chapter means the officially adopted subdivision regulations for the City designed to provide standards for the subdivision of land within the jurisdictional area of the Planning Commission of the City.
FW. Substantial improvement means any repair, reconstruction, or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the actual cash value of the structure either before the improvement is started or, if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. Substantial improvement is started when the first alteration of any structural part of the building commences.
FX. Superblock means an unusually large block, commonly found where building clustering is permitted.
FY. Townhouse means one (1) of a series of two (2) or more attached dwelling units separated from one another by continuous, vertical walls without openings from basement floor to the roof deck and tight against the same or through the roof and which are intended to have ownership transferred in conjunction with a platted lot.
FZ. Transitional uses and structures means uses or structures permitted under the zoning regulations which, by their nature or level and scale of activity, act as a transition or buffer between two (2) or more incompatible uses.
GA. Urban service area means an area, identified through official public policy, within which urban development will be encouraged during a specified time period.
GB. Use means the purpose or activity for which a piece of land or its buildings is designed, arranged, or intended or for which it is occupied or maintained.
GC. Use permitted on review means a use deemed appropriate in a zoning district, but only upon review of the proposed use by the Planning Commission to determine whether or not specified conditions, as detailed in the zoning regulations, are met.
GD. Used or occupied, as applied to any land or building, includes the words "intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied."
GE. Variance means a device which grants a property owner relief from certain provisions of the zoning regulations when, because of the particular physical surroundings, shape, or topographic condition of the property, compliance would result in a particular hardship upon the owner, as distinguished from an inconvenience or a desire to make more money.
GF. Vertical zoning means zoning which allows different uses to be located at different elevations in the same building or structure.
GG. Vested right means a right which has become absolute and fixed and cannot be denied by subsequent changes in conditions or regulations; for example, there is no vested right to have a zoning district classification remain the same forever, but once construction has legally been allowed and initiated on a structure, there is a right to maintain that particular use regardless of the zoning district classification given the property.
GH. Water surface elevation means the heights, in relation to mean sea level (MSL), expected to be reached by floods of various magnitudes and frequencies at pertinent points in the floodplains of riverine areas.
GI. 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. In measuring a yard for the purpose of determining the width of the side yard, the depth of a front yard or the depth of a rear yard, the least horizontal distance between the lot line and the main building shall be used.
GJ. Yard, front, means a yard extending across the front of a lot between the side yard lines and being the minimum horizontal distance between the street line and the main building or any projection thereof other than steps. When the dedicated street right-of-way is less than fifty (50) feet, the depth of the required front yard shall be measured at a starting point twenty-five (25) feet from the centerline of the street right-of-way.
GK. Yard, rear, means a yard extending across the rear of a lot measured between lot lines and being the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the rear of the main building or any projections thereof other than eaves, 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 shall in all cases be at the opposite end of the lot from the front yard.
GL. Yard, side, means a yard between the building and the side line of the lot and extending from the front lot line to the rear lot line and being the minimum horizontal distance between a side lot line and the side of the main building or any projections other than steps and two (2) foot eaves.
GM. Zero lot line means a development approach in which a building is sited on one (1) or more lot lines with no yard, conceivably three (3) of the four (4) sides of the building could be on the lot lines, in order to allow more flexibility in site design and to increase the amount of usable open space on the lot.
GN. Zoning district means a section of the City designated in the text of this chapter and usually delineated on the official zoning district map in which requirements for the use of land and building and development standards are prescribed.
GO. Zoning regulations or this chapter means the officially adopted zoning regulations of the City.
(Code 1991, § 12-206; Ord. No. 00-06, § 1(12-206), 6-5-2000; Ord. No. 00-25, § 12-206, 11-6-2000; Ord. No. 01-02, § 12-206, 3-5-2001; Ord. No. 02-12, § 1(12-206), 8-5-2002; Ord. No. 17-21, § 1, 11-8-2017)
Cross reference- Definitions generally, § 1-2.
State Law reference- Similar provisions, 11 O.S. § 43-110, 25 O.S. § 1451, 63 O.S. § 1-1201, 82 O.S. § 1603.