For the purpose of this Zoning Code, certain terms are hereby defined. Words used in the present tense shall include the future; the singular number shall include the plural and the plural the singular; the word shall is mandatory and not directory; the word used shall include the words arranged, designed, constructed, altered, converted or intended to be used; and person means, in addition to any individual, a firm, corporation, association or any legal entity which may own or use land or buildings. Any word or term not specifically defined herein shall be construed according to its definition in the Unabridged Oxford Dictionary of the English Language. In addition:
(1) Accessory building or accessory use means a subordinate building or use customarily incidental to and located upon the same lot occupied by the main building and use. A tool shed, garage, carport and similar permanent and semi- permanent structure shall be considered as an accessory use. No building or structure used for human occupancy shall be considered an accessory use.
(2) Addition means an enlargement in the height, area or volume of a building or its attachments such as porches, decks, et cetera.
(3) Adult bookstore means an establishment that derives twenty-five percent or more of its gross income from the sale and rental of, or utilizes twenty-five percent or more of its retail selling area for the display of, books, magazines, other periodicals, films, tapes or cassettes, which materials have as their major or dominant theme matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas as defined hereafter.
(4) “Adult entertainment” means a cabaret, nightclub, bar, restaurant, juice bar, club, organization, or other establishment which regularly features person (s) who appear in a state of nudity, or live performances which are characterized by the exposure of specified anatomical areas or specified sexual activities. Specified anatomical areas means less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttock, female breast with less than full opaque covering of any part of the nipple, or human genitals in a discernible turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered. Specified sexual activities means: human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal; acts of simulation of acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse, sodomy, bondage, sadomasochism or bestiality; or fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic regions, buttock or female breast.
(5) Adult motion picture theater means an enclosed motion picture theater or motion picture drive-in theater which derives twenty-five percent or more of its gross income from the showing of, or utilizes twenty-five percent or more of its total viewing time for the presentation of, materials for observation by its patrons which have as their major or dominant theme matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas as defined hereafter.
(6) Agriculture means the use of land for agricultural purposes, including farming, dairying, pasturage, apiculture, horticulture, husbandry and the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating or storing produce, provided that the operation of such accessory use shall be secondary to that of the normal agricultural activities, and provided, further, that the above uses shall not include the commercial feeding of garbage or offal to swine or other animals.
(7) Alley, way or lane means any public space or thoroughfare which has been dedicated as a secondary means of servicing abutting property. It is not intended for major traffic use.
(8) Alteration means, as applied to a building or structure, a change or rearrangement in the structural part, provided that neither the height, volume or area of the building or structure is changed, or in the exit facilities, or enlargement, whether by extending on a side or by increasing in height, or the moving from one location or position to another.
(9) Apartment. See Dwelling and Dwelling, multifamily.
(10) “Automotive repair garage” means an establishment engaged in the general repair or service of engines, transmissions, automotive glass, exhaust systems, painting, and other similar activities related to the maintenance and upkeep of automobiles.
(11) Basement means a story which is more than two feet below the average grade outside of the building.
(12) “Bed and breakfast” means an owner-occupied dwelling including overnight accommodations for transient paying guests; meals may be offered to overnight guests only.
(13) Billboard means a sign which promotes or advertises a product, service or message which is not related to the principal object or use of the property upon which it is located, or a sign which is offered for rental for such purposes.
(14) Boarding house, rooming house, lodging house or tourist home means a building or structure, other than a motel or hotel, where, for compensation, meals or lodging, or lodging and meals, are provided for at least three but not more than ten persons.
(15) Building means any structure having a roof supported by columns or by walls and intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals or chattels.
(16) Building height means the distance from the average finished grade to the highest point of the building.
(17) Building line means the line defining the minimum front, side and rear yard requirements outside of which no building or structure may be located, except as otherwise provided herein.
(18) Building, principal means the building housing the principal activity performed on any lot.
(19) Carport means a covered automobile parking space not completely enclosed by walls or doors.
(20) Centralized sewer system means a system in which individual lots are connected to a common wastewater collection system, whether publicly or privately owned or operated.
(21) Centralized water system means a system in which individual lots are connected to a common water distribution system, whether publicly or privately owned or operated.
(22) Clinic means any building or other structure devoted to the diagnosis, treatment and care of human outpatients.
(23) “Club” means an association of people the primary purpose of which is the advancement of its members and of the community in educational, cultural, recreational or civic pursuits and activities. Clubs commonly include lodges and fraternal organizations.
(24) “Cluster development” means a development design technique that concentrates buildings in specific areas on a site to allow the remaining land to be used for recreation, common open space, and preservation of environmentally sensitive areas.
(25) “Co-location” means the use of a wireless telecommunication facility by more than one wireless telecommunications provider.
(26) “Commerce” means an activity involved in the buying, selling, and/or trading of goods and/or services for profit or nonprofit purposes.
(27) ”Community” means the City of Ravenna.
(28) Cul-de-sac means a local street having one end open to vehicular traffic and the other end terminated by a circular vehicular turnaround.
(29) “Day care facility” means any building, or portion where adult day care services or child day care services for the care, supervision and protection of individuals are provided on a daily basis, including any on-site outdoor play area. such facilities are designed for use during the day hours and shall not include facilities for overnight accommodations.
(30) “Dish” means that part of a television satellite signal-receiving antenna characteristically shaped like a saucer or dish.
(31) Drive-in establishment means any building or structure in the nature of a commercial or retail use which provides or offers services or products to customers by direct delivery of the service or product to a customer occupying a natural or mechanical conveyance.
(32) Duplex means a building designed for or occupied by, and used exclusively for two families living independently of each other.
(33) Dwelling means any building, or portion thereof, which is designed or used primarily for residence purposes, including one-family, two-family and multifamily, but not including hotels, motels, boarding homes, lodging houses, shelters, family care facilities, hospice care or tourist dwellings. However, for purposes of this Zoning Code, a mobile home shall not be included within the meaning of the term dwelling and shall be prohibited from being used for such purpose.
(34) Dwelling, multifamily means a dwelling designed for or occupied by three or more families living independently of each other.
(35) Dwelling, single-family means a dwelling designed for or used exclusively for residence purposes by one family, except that, for the purposes of this Zoning Code, a mobile home shall not be included within the meaning of the term single-family dwelling.
(36) “Dwelling, single-family attached” means a single-family dwelling unit of either one or two-story construction having common or adjoining walls with other such units, located in a structure which has at least three such units and designed so that every dwelling unit has a private entrance to the outdoors at ground level.
(Ord. 2001-081. Passd 8-6-01.)
(36a) “Dwelling, Cluster Single-Family” means a building designed and used exclusively for occupancy by one family, separated from other dwelling units, which is grouped with other dwellings on a site and which is not located on its own subdivided lot. (Ord. 2016-135. Passed 1-17-17.)
(37) Dwelling, two-family means a building designed and used exclusively by two families living independently of each other.
(38) Dwelling unit means one or more rooms providing complete living facilities for one family, including equipment for cooking or provisions for the same, and including a room or rooms for living, sleeping and eating, except that for purposes of this Zoning Code, a mobile home shall not be used as a dwelling unit.
(39) “Electronic game rooms” means an establishment that provides electronic machines that are designed for the purpose of amusement, recreation, sport, pastime, or contest.
(40) Essential service means the erection, construction, alteration or maintenance, by public utilities or Municipal departments or commissions, of underground or overhead gas, electrical, steam or water transmission or distribution systems or collection, communications, supply or disposal systems, including poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduit, cables, fire alarm boxes, police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants and other similar equipment and accessories in connection therewith, but not including buildings reasonably necessary for the furnishing of adequate service by such public utilities or Municipal departments or commissions, or for the public health, safety or general welfare.
(41) Family means:
A. One or more persons related by blood, adoption or marriage, living together as a single housekeeping unit, exclusive of household servants;
B. A number of persons, but not exceeding two living together as a single housekeeping unit though not related by blood, adoption or marriage.
(42) “Family foster home” means a private residence in which children are received apart from their parents, guardian, or legal custodian by an individual for hire, gain, or reward for nonsecure care, supervision, or training twenty-four hours a day. Family foster care does not include babysitting care provided for a child in the home of a person other than the home of the parents, guardian, or legal custodian of the child. Family foster homes are permitted in all zoning districts in which residential uses are permitted.
(43) ”Family care home” means a residential care facility, licensed by the State of Ohio, that provides room and board, and personal care and supervision for at least two but not more than eight, aged, mentally challenged or developmentally disabled persons who are able to be integrated into a family type setting.
(44) Floor area means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a building, measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the center line of common walls separating two buildings. Floor area, for the purpose of these regulations, shall exclude basement, garage, elevator and stair bulkheads, attic space, terraces, breezeways, open porches and uncovered steps, but may include utility areas when they are part of the main floor.
(45) Frontage means the length of a property line shared in common by a lot and the public right of way which provides the principal access to the lot.
(47) “Games of chance” means games, contests, sport, or other similar activities in which one gambles by risking money or other valuables with the chance or speculation of improving one’s financial situation.
(48) Garage, private means a building or part thereof accessory to a main building and providing for the storage of automobiles, in which no occupation or business for profit is carried on, other than that permitted under the conditional zoning certificate as a home occupation, and which does not reduce the storage of that number of vehicles for which such garage was designed.
(49) Garage, public or storage garage means a building or part thereof, other than a private garage for the storage of motor vehicles, in which service station activities may be carried on.
(50) Gasoline service station means a place where gasoline, kerosene or any other motor fuel or lubrication oil or grease for operating motor vehicles is offered for sale to the public and deliveries are made directly into motor vehicles.
(51) Home occupation means any business conducted entirely within a dwelling and carried on by the inhabitants thereof, which is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling for dwelling purposes and does not change the character thereof. A home occupation shall be carried on solely within the main dwelling or an accessory dwelling approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(52) “Hospice care” means a facility operated by a hospice care program licensed under Ohio R.C. 3712.04 that is used exclusively for care of hospice patients.
(53) Hotel or motel means a building in which lodging is provided and offered to the public for compensation and which is open to transient guests, as distinguished from a boarding, lodging or rooming house or tourist hotel.
(54) Industrial park means a tract of land subdivided and developed according to a comprehensive plan for the use of a community of industries.
(55) “Industry” means an activity involved in the assembling, manufacturing, warehousing, processing, compounding, or utilizing other techniques for the purpose of producing a product or providing a service for profit or nonprofit purposes. Industries frequently include ancillary services such as loading docks and outside storage that are an integral part of the activity.
(56) “Land use infraction” means a violation of any zoning code provisions that regulate parking on private property, a motor vehicle service or repair business in residential districts, or signage and other graphic displays, and any other regulations dealing with the display of house numbers on buildings.
(57) “Lattice tower” means a support structure for a wireless communication tower constructed of vertical metal struts and cross braces forming a triangular or square structure which often tapers from the foundation to the top.
(58) Loading space means an off-street space or berth on the same lot with a building, or contiguous to a group of buildings, for the temporary parking of a commercial vehicle while loading or unloading merchandise or materials, and which abuts upon a street, alley or other appropriate means of access.
(59) Lot means a parcel of land occupied or capable of being occupied by one or more buildings and the accessory buildings or uses customarily incidental to it, including such open spaces as are required by this Zoning Code.
(60) Lot area means the computed area contained within the lot lines. The area of the lot lying within the established street right of way shall not be included as part of the lot area for the purpose of this Zoning Code.
(61) Lot, corner means a lot at the junction of and abutting upon two intersecting streets.
(62) Lot coverage means the portion of the lot area that is covered by any buildings or structures.
(63) Lot, double frontage means a lot having a frontage on two streets as distinguished from a corner lot.
(64) Lot line, front means the line separating a lot from the street on which the lot fronts.
(65) Lot line, rear means the lot line opposite and most distant from the front lot line.
(66) Lot line, side means any lot line other than a front or rear lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from a street is called a side street lot line; a side lot line separating a lot from another lot or lots is called an interior lot line.
(67) Lot of record means a lot which is part of a subdivision, the plot of which has been recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of Portage County, or a lot described by metes and bounds, the deed to which has been recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds of Portage County.
(68) Lot, width of means the width measured along the minimum setback line.
(69) Minimum living floor area means areas such as the living room, bedroom, bathroom, dining room, rooms for cooking, den, library and family rooms, but shall not include areas such as porches, breezeways, terraces, recreation rooms, utility rooms, garages and basements.
(70) Mobile unit means a structure of vehicular, portable design, built on a chassis and designed to be moved from one site to another, and to be used with or without a permanent foundation.
(71) “Monopole” means a support structure for a wireless communication tower constructed of a single, self-supporting hollow metal tube securely anchored to a foundation.
(Ord. 2001-081. Passed 8-6-01.)
(71.1) “New subdivision” means a subdivision that is still under the same regulations in which it was originally approved.
(Ord. 2008-075. Passed 8-4-08.)
(72) Nonconforming use means a building, structure or use of land existing at the time of the enactment of this Zoning Code, and which does not conform to the use regulation of the district in which it is located.
(73) “Nursing home” means a home used for the reception and care of individuals who by reason of illness or physical or mental impairment require skilled nursing home care and of individuals who require personal care services but not skilled nursing home care. A nursing home is licensed by the State of Ohio to provide personal care services and skilled nursing care.
(74) Open space means an area of land which is in its natural state or is developed only for the raising of agricultural crops or for public outdoor recreation.
(75) “Parabolic or dish-type satellite signal-receiving antenna” hereinafter referred to as “earth station” or “ground station” means one, or a combination of two or more of the following:
A. A signal-receiving device (antenna, dish antenna or parabolic or dish-type antenna), the purpose of which is to receive communication or other signals from satellites in earth orbit and other extraterrestrial sources.
B. A low-noise amplifier (LNA) which is situated at the focal point of the receiving component and the purpose of which is to magnify, store, transfer and/or transmit electronic or light signals.
C. A coaxial cable, the purpose of which is to carry or transmit such signals to a receiver.
(76) Parking means the temporary holding of a vehicle for a period longer than required to load or unload persons or goods.
(77) Planned unit development means a planned, integrated residential development where minimum lot size and dwelling type may be modified somewhat in the planning stage only to achieve particular design objectives and the economical provision of open space and utilities, while maintaining an overall density consistent with the purpose of the district in which the planned unit residential development is located, and complying with other pertinent requirements of this Zoning Code.
(78) Planning and Zoning Commission means the appointed Planning and Zoning Commission of the City.
(79) Public utility means any person, firm, corporation, governmental agency or board fully authorized to furnish and furnishing under Municipal regulation, to the public, electricity, gas, steam, telephone, telegraph, transportation, sewer or water or any other similar public utilities.
(80) “Receiver” means a television set or radio receiver.
(81) “Residence” means a dwelling in which an individual or individuals reside.
(82) Right of way means a parcel of land dedicated to the public for use as a street and the supplying of public utilities.
(83) “Satellite dish” means a device shaped like a saucer or dish that is part of a satellite signal-receiving antenna.
(84) Setback lines, minimum building means the lines parallel to the street right of way and side and rear property lines and at a distance therefrom equal to the required depth of the front, side and rear yards, and extending across the full width and/or depth of the lot. Where the established street right-of-way line, if any, cannot be ascertained, it shall be deemed to be thirty feet from the central line of the existing roadway. When a major thoroughfare or collector thoroughfare is designated on the Land Use and Thoroughfare Plan, the front setback line shall be measured from the proposed right of way.
(85) Sign means any device or surface, on which letters, illustrations, designs, figures or any other symbols are printed, painted, stamped, raised or in any other manner outlined and attached and used for public display, and shall include billboards, ground signs, wall signs, post signs, roof signs, illuminated signs, projecting signs, marquees, street clocks, awnings and canopies and all other like structures.
(86) ”Signs for residential purposes” means a sign for the purpose of renting or selling the dwelling unit, identifying the address of the dwelling unit, supporting or opposing a political issue or candidate, temporary signs such as garage sale or vegetable and fruit sales, or other uses associated with the occupancy of a family dwelling unit. No signs for commercial or industrial purposes or to advertise products and services is permitted except signs related to an approved conditional use approved by the Commission.
(87) Specified anatomical areas means less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttocks and female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola, and human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.
(88) Specified sexual activities means human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal, acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse or sodomy, and fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttocks or female breasts.
(89) Story means the vertical distance from the top surface of one floor to the top surface of the next floor above. The height of the topmost story is the distance from the top surface of the floor to the top surface of the ceiling joists.
(90) Street line means the dividing line between the street and the lot.
(91) Street, private means a thoroughfare which affords principal means of access to abutting property, but which has not been deeded to the public.
(92) Street, public means a public thoroughfare which has been dedicated or deeded to the public for public use and properly improved and accepted by Council and which affords the principal means of access to abutting property.
(93) Structure means anything constructed or erected which requires location on the ground, including billboards, but not including driveways, parking lots, signs, fences or walls used as fences.
(94) Structural alterations means any change in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders, or any substantial changes in the roof and exterior walls.
(95) “Supermarket” means a building under 50,000 square feet that is principally devoted to the sale of food but may also include other activities such as pharmacy, video rental, alcohol sales, banking, dry cleaning et cetera that are undertaken within the building.
(96) Swimming pool means a body of water, whether located indoors or outdoors, used or intended to be used for public, semipublic or private swimming by adults or children, or both adults and children, whether or not any charge or fee is imposed upon adults or children, operated and maintained by any person as herein defined, whether he or she is an owner, lessee, operator, licensee or concessionaire, exclusive of a family pool as defined herein, and shall include all structures and appurtenances thereto.
(97) Swimming pool, family means a swimming pool used or intended to be used solely by the owner or lessee thereof and his or her family, and/or by friends invited to use it without payment of a fee. Such pools are permitted accessory uses in all residential zones. (See Section 1278.13)
(98) “Technology park” means a mix of compatible uses including, but not limited to: light manufacturing uses having minimal impact on the surrounding land uses and environment, research and development facilities, office uses, corporate training facilities and related uses in a campus style atmosphere of open spaces, landscaping, buffering, streetscaping, and common signage.
(99) “Telecommunication” means the technology which enables information to be exchanged through the transmission of voice, video, or data signals by means of electrical or electromagnetic systems.
(100) “Temporary shelter” means a building operated under the daily supervision of a public service agency or charitable institution, in which lodging is provided for not more than ten persons for a period of time not to exceed sixty calendar days. Further, occupancy shall not exceed the requirements of the Housing Code.
(101) Thoroughfare, collector means a street designed primarily to provide access between major arterial thoroughfares and local streets, customarily spaced approximately one-quarter mile apart from each other.
(102) Thoroughfare, local or local street means a street designed primarily to provide access to adjacent property and to discourage through traffic.
(103) Thoroughfare, major arterial means a street designed primarily to facilitate the movement of through traffic, with such streets generally spaced approximately one mile apart from each other.
(104) “Transitional use” means a permitted use or structure that by nature or level and scale of activity acts as a transition or buffer between two or more incompatible permitted uses.
(105) Usable floor area means that area used for service to the public and excludes areas used principally for nonpublic purposes, such as storage, incidental repair, processing, show windows, restrooms and dressing rooms.
(106) Usable open space means the required portion of a lot, excluding the required front yard area, which is unoccupied by principal or accessory buildings and is available to all occupants of the building for use for recreational and other leisure activities normally carried on outdoors, excluding parking.
(107) Use means the purpose for which a building or premises is or may occupied. In the classification of uses, a use may be a use as commonly understood or the name of any occupation, business, activity or operation carried on or intended to be carried on in a building or on premises, or the name of a building, place or thing which name indicates the use or intended use.
(108) Used car lot means any lot on which two or more motor vehicles, which have been previously titled in a name other than the manufacturer or dealer, in operating condition are offered for sale or displayed to the public.
(109) “Wireless telecommunications antenna” means the physical device through which electromagnetic, wireless telecommunications signals authorized by the Federal Communication Commission are transmitted or received.
(110) “Wireless telecommunications equipment shelter” means the structure in which the electronic receiving and relay equipment for a wireless telecommunications facility is housed.
(111) “Wireless telecommunications facility” means a facility consisting of the equipment and structures involved in receiving telecommunications or radio signals from a mobile radio communications source and transmitting those signals to a central switching computer which connects the mobile unit with the land-based telephone lines.
(112) “Wireless telecommunications tower” means a structure intended to support equipment used to transmit and/or receive telecommunications signals including monopoles, guyed and lattice construction steel structures.
(113) Yard means an open space on the same lot with a building, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground upward except as otherwise provided herein.
(114) Yard, front means a yard extending across the full width of a lot and being the perpendicular distance between the road right-of-way line and the nearest portion of any building or structure existing or proposed for construction on such lot. Where the right-of-way line of a public or private road is not established, the right of way shall be assumed to be sixty feet, specifically, thirty feet on either side of the centerline of the traveled way. Where a major or collector thoroughfare is designed on the Land Use and Thoroughfare Plan, the front yard depth shall be measured from the proposed road right-of-way line.
(115) Yard, rear means a yard extending across the full width of a lot between the side lot lines and being the perpendicular distance between the rear lot line and the nearest portions of any building or structure existing or proposed to be constructed on such lot. On corner lots, the rear yard depth shall be considered as parallel to the road upon which the lot has its greatest dimension. On both corner lots and interior lots, the rear yard shall be in all cases at the opposite ends of the lot from the front yard.
(116) “Yard, side” means a yard between the nearest portion of any building or structure existing or proposed to be constructed on such lot and the side lines of the lot, and extending from the front yard to the rear yard.
(117) “Zero lot line” means the location of a building on a lot in such a manner that one or more of the building’s sides rests directly on a lot line.
(118) Zoning Code means Title Six of Part Twelve - the Planning and Zoning Code of these Codified Ordinances.
(119) “Zoning Map means the most recent version of the City of Ravenna Zoning Map” as maintained by the City Engineer.
(Ord. 2001-081. Passed 8-6-01.)
(120) “Food service operation” means a place, location, site or separate area where food intended to be served in individual portions is prepared or served for a charge or required donation. As used in this subsection, “served” means a response made to order for one or more individual portions of food in a form that is edible without washing, cooking, or additional preparation and “prepared” means any action that affects a food other than receiving or maintaining it at the temperature at which it was received.
(121) “Night club” means a place operated for profit, where food is served for consumption on the premises and one or more forms of amusement are provided or permitted for a consideration that may be in the form of a cover charge or may be included in the price of food or beverages, or both, purchased by patrons.
(122) “Restaurant” means a place located in a permanent building provided with space and accommodations wherein, in consideration of the payment of money, hot meals are habitually prepared, sold and served at noon and evening, as the principal place of business of the place. “Restaurant” does not include pharmacies, confectionery stores, lunch stands, night clubs and filling stations.
(123) “Retail food establishment” means a premises or part of a premises where food is stored, processed, prepared, manufactured or otherwise held or handled for retail sale. Except when expressly provided otherwise, “retail food establishment” includes a mobile retail food establishment, seasonal retail food establishment and temporary retail food establishment.
(124) “Bar, tavern or saloon” means an area primarily devoted to the sale and serving of alcoholic beverages and in which the service of food is only incidental to the consumption of such beverages.
(125) “Convenience store” means a retail store with a floor area of less than 2,500 square feet that sells a limited line of groceries and household items, motor oil, lubricants and minor accessories but does not include automotive service stations, gasoline, kerosene or vehicle repair shops. Goods sold at these facilities are primarily prepackaged perishable items, not beverages and fountain-style beverages for self-service by the consumer.
(Ord. 2014-048. Passed 6-2-14.)
(Ord. 2014-048. Passed 6-2-14.)