As used in this chapter, the words “used or occupied” include the words “intended, designed, or arranged to be used or occupied.” The word “lot” includes the words “plot or parcel.” For the purpose of the Zoning Code, the following terms and words are defined:
1. “Abutting” means having property or district lines in common.
2. “Access” means having a way of approaching or entering a property from a public street.
3. “Accessory use or building” means a use or structure subordinate to the principal use of a building or land on the same lot or parcel of ground and serving a purpose customarily incidental to the use of the principal building or use of land.
4. “Adult” refers to a person who has attained the age of eighteen (18) years.
5. “Adult entertainment business” means a business that as a part of or in the process of delivering goods and services displays to its patrons specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas in printed form or through any form of photographic medium or by use of male or female models. In reference to the above, the following definitions apply:
A. “Specified sexual activities” means any sexual contact, actual or simulated, either natural or deviate, between two or more persons, or between a person and an animal, by penetration of the penis into the vagina or anus, or by contact between the mouth or tongue and genitalia or anus, or by contact between a finger of one person and the genitalia of another person or by use of artificial sexual organs or substitute therefor in contact with the genitalia or anus.
B. “Specified anatomical areas” include the following: human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, and female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola.
C. “Substantial” means more than 25 percent of the book, magazine, film or video tape inventory are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
D. “Adult art or adult modeling studio” means an establishment or business that provides the services of modeling for the purpose of viewing and/or reproducing the human body wholly or partially in the nude by means of photography, painting, sketching, drawing or otherwise; provided entrance to such establishment and such services are available only to adults.
E. “Adult artist - body painting studio” means an establishment or business which provides the services of applying paint or other substance whether transparent or nontransparent to or on the human body when such body is wholly or partially nude; provided entrance to such establishment and such services are available only to adults.
F. “Adult bath house” means an establishment or business that provides the services of baths of all kinds, including all forms and methods of hydrotherapy; provided entrance to such establishment and such services are available only to adults; and not including such services provided by a medical practitioner or professional physical therapist licensed by the State of Iowa.
G. “Adult book store” means an establishment or business having a substantial part of its stock in trade, books, magazines, photographs, pictures and other periodicals which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas” as defined herein and limited in sale of such sexual materials to adults.
H. “Adult cabaret” means a cabaret that features go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators, or similar entertainers.
I. “Adult motel” means a motel wherein material is presented which is distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on depicting or describing “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas.”
J. “Adult motion picture arcade” means any place to which the public is permitted or invited wherein coin or slug-operated or electronically, electrically or mechanically controlled still or motion picture machines, projectors, or other image-producing devices are maintained to show images to five (5) or fewer persons per machine at any one time, and where the images so displayed are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting or describing “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas.”
K. “Adult motion picture theater” means an enclosed building used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting or describing “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas” for observation by patrons therein.
L. “Adult mini motion picture theater” means an enclosed building with a capacity for less than 50 persons used for presenting motion pictures, slides or photographic reproductions distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matters depicting, describing or relating to “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas” as defined herein for observation by patrons therein.
M. “Juice bar” means any establishment where alcoholic beverages are prohibited and where for any form of consideration or gratuity, models, dancers, strippers, and similar entertainers perform in nude or semi-nude for observation by patrons therein.
N. “Massage” means any method of treating the external parts of the human body by rubbing, stroking, kneading, tapping or vibrating with the hand, other parts of the body, or any instrument, for any consideration or gratuity.
O. “Massage establishment” means any establishment having a fixed place of business where massages are administered for any form of consideration or gratuity, including but not limited to, massage parlors, health clubs, sauna baths, and steam baths. This definition shall not be constructed to include an establishment employing: (i) persons licensed by the State of Iowa under the provisions of Chapters 148, 148A, 148B, 150, 150A, 151, 152, 157 or 158 of the Code of Iowa, when performing massage services as a part of the profession or trade for which licensed; (ii) persons performing massage therapy or massage services under the direction of a person licensed as described in (i) above; (iii) persons performing massage therapy or massage services upon a person pursuant to the written instruction or order of a licensed physician; (iv) nurses, aides, technicians and attendants at any hospital or health care facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 135B, 135C or 145A of the Code of Iowa, in the course of their employment and under the supervision of the administrator thereof or of a person licensed as described in (i) above; (v) an athletic coach or trainer in any accredited public or private secondary school, junior college, college or university, or employed by a professional or semi-professional athletic team or organization, in the course of his or her employment as such coach or trainer. This definition shall not be construed to include a volunteer fire department, a volunteer rescue squad or a nonprofit organization operating a community center, swimming pool, tennis court, or other educational, cultural, or recreational and athletic facilities, and facilities for the welfare of the residents of the area.
P. “Model studio” means any establishment where for any form of consideration or gratuity, models who display specified anatomical areas are provided to be observed, or subject to lawful tactile conduct, sketched, drawn, painted, sculptured, photographed, or similarly depicted by persons paying such consideration or gratuity, or where for any form of consideration or gratuity, nude or semi-nude dancing, readings, counseling sessions, body painting and other activities that present materials distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas are provided for observation by or communication to persons paying such consideration or gratuity.
Q. “Model” means any person who for consideration or gratuity appears either nude or semi-nude to be either viewed, photographed, sketched, drawn, sculptured; to dance; to provide reading or counseling sessions; for body painting; to deliver a service or in connection with the sale of merchandise; or to present materials distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
R. “Nude encounter parlor” means an establishment having a fixed place of business where any person, therein engages in, conducts, or carries on, or permits to be engaged in, conducted or carried on, any business of viewing any person or persons or the actual encounter of any person or persons depicting, describing or relating to “specified sexual activities” as defined herein.
S. “Nude photographic parlor” means an establishment having a fixed place of business, where any person, association, firm or corporation therein engages in, conducts, or carries on, or permits to be engaged in, conducted or carried on any business of photographing any person or persons depicting, describing or relating to “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas,” as defined herein.
6. “Agriculture” means the production, keeping or maintenance, for sale, lease, or personal use, of plants and animals useful to humans, including but not limited to: forages and sod crops; grains and seed crops; dairy animals and dairy products; poultry and poultry products; livestock, including beef cattle, sheep, swine, horses, mules, or goats, or any mutations or hybrids thereof including the breeding and grazing of any or all such animals; bees and apiary products; fur animals; trees and forest products; fruits of all kinds; vegetables; or lands devoted to a soil conservation or forestry management program.
7. “Alley” means a public way, other than a street, 20 feet or less in width, affording secondary means of access to abutting property.
8. “Alteration, structural” means any change in the supporting members of a building such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.
9. “Apartment house” means a building arranged, intended or designed to be occupied by three (3) or more families living independently of each other.
10. “Apartment unit” means a room or suite of rooms used as the dwelling of a family, including bath and culinary accommodations, located in a building in which there are three (3) or more such rooms or suites.
11. “Basement” means a story having part but not more than one-half (1/2) its height below grade. A basement is counted as a story for the purpose of height regulations.† 7
12. “Bed and Breakfast” means a private residence that provides lodging and meals for guests, in which the host and/or hostess resides and in which no more than two guest families are lodged at the same time and which, while it may advertise and accept reservations, does not hold itself out to the public to be a restaurant, hotel or motel, does not require reservations and serves food only to overnight guests.
13. “Billboard,” as used in this Zoning Code, includes all structures, regardless of the material used in the construction of the same, which are erected, maintained or used for public display of posters, painted signs, wall signs, whether the structure is placed on the wall or painted on the wall itself, pictures or other pictorial reading matter which advertise a business or attraction which is not carried on or manufactured in or upon the premises upon which said signs or billboards are located.
14. “Board” means the Board of Adjustment of Story City, Iowa.
15. “Boarding house” means a building other than a hotel where, for compensation and by arrangement, meals or lodging and meals are provided for three (3) or more persons.
16. “Building coverage” means the area of a lot covered by buildings or roofed areas, including covered porches, accessory buildings, and areas for outdoor storage, but excluding allowed projecting eaves, uncovered balconies, and similar features.
17. “Building, height of” means the vertical distance from the grade to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof or to the deck line of a mansard roof or to the mean height level between eaves and ridge for gable, hip and gambrel roofs.‡ 8
18. “Building” (structure) means anything constructed, erected or built, the use of which requires location on the ground and designed for the support, enclosure, shelter or protection of persons, animals, chattels or property of any kind, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, installations such as signs, billboards, radio towers, and other facilities not designed for storage of property or occupancy by persons.
19. “Bulk stations” means distributing stations, commonly known as bulk or tank stations, used for the storage and distribution of flammable liquids or liquefied petroleum products, where the aggregate capacity of all storage tanks is more than twelve thousand (12,000) gallons.
20. “Cellar” means a story having more than one-half of its height below grade. A cellar is not included in computing the number of stories for the purpose of height measurement.†
21. “Clinic, medical or dental” means a building or buildings in which physicians, dentists, or physicians and dentists, optometrists, and allied professional assistants are associated for the purpose of carrying on their professions.
22. “Commercial feedlot” means the feeding or raising of livestock, poultry or other animals in confined feedlots, dry lots, pens, cages or buildings as a commercial enterprise.
23. “Commission” means the Planning and Zoning Commission of Story City, Iowa.
24. “Convenience store” means an establishment primarily engaged in the retail sale of food and household and entertainment products for home consumption including sale of vehicle fuel.
25. “Dish-type or parabolic antenna” means a concave, circular or dish-shaped device designed for receiving communications or television signals from a satellite.
26. “District” means a section or sections of the City within which the district regulations governing the use of buildings and premises or the height, area and yards of buildings and premises are uniform.
27. “Dwelling” means any building, or portion thereof which is designed for and used exclusively for residential purposes.†
28. “Dwelling, condominium” means a multiple dwelling as defined herein whereby the title to each dwelling unit is held in separate ownership, and the real estate on which the units are located is held in common ownership solely by the owners of the units, with each owner having an undivided interest in the common real estate. † 9
29. “Dwelling, multiple” means a building designed for or occupied exclusively by more than two families. †
30. “Dwelling, row” means a multiple dwelling with any one of three or more attached dwellings in a continuous row, each such dwelling designed and erected as a unit on a separate lot and separated from one another by an approved wall or walls. A row dwelling may also be referred to as a “townhouse.” †
31. “Dwelling, single-family” means a building designed for or occupied by one family. †
32. “Dwelling, single-family semi-detached” means a dwelling designed for or occupied by one family only and which is erected on a separate lot and is joined to another such residence on one side only by a wall located on the lot line and which has yards on the remaining sides. †
33. “Dwelling, two-family” means a building designed for or occupied exclusively by two families. †
34. “Dwelling unit” means one room, or rooms connected together, constituting a separate, independent housekeeping establishment for owner occupancy, or rental or lease on a weekly, monthly, or longer basis, and physically separated from any other rooms or dwelling units which may be in the same structure, and containing independent cooking and sleeping facilities.
35. “Family” means one or more persons occupying a premises and living as a single housekeeping unit, whether or not related to each other by birth or marriage, as distinguished from a group occupying a boarding house, lodging house or hotel as herein defined.
36. “Farm” means an area that is used for the growing of the usual farm products such as vegetables, fruits, and grains, and their storage on the area, as well as for the raising thereon of the usual farm poultry and farm animals. The term farming includes the operating of such area for one or more of the above uses with the necessary accessory uses for treating and storing the produce, provided, however, that the operation of any such accessory uses shall be secondary to that of the normal farming activities and such accessory uses do not include the feeding of garbage or offal to swine or other animals, or commercial feeding of animals or poultry in confined lots or buildings. (See definition for “agriculture.”)
37. “Fences and walls” means decorative and/or enclosing devices used along boundary lines or lots. Fences, walls, and hedges may be constructed up to the lot line in accordance with the height rules set out in this Zoning Code.
38. “Frontage” means all the property on one side of a street between two intersecting streets (crossing or terminating) measured along the line of the street, 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.
39. “Garage, private” means an accessory building designed or used for the storage of motor vehicles owned and used by the occupants of the building to which it is accessory. For single-family dwellings, a private garage may be used for the storage of not more than three motor vehicles, one of which may be a commercial vehicle of not more than two-ton capacity. For two- and multi-family dwellings, the accessory garage shall contain no more than two parking spaces per dwelling unit.
40. “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.
41. “Grade” means the average level of the finished surface of the ground adjacent to the exterior walls of the building except when any wall approximately parallels and is not more than five feet from a street line, then the elevation of the street at the center of the wall adjoining the street shall be grade.
42. “Home occupation” means a business, occupation or profession carried on within a residential dwelling by a resident or employees within the restrictions set forth below. The following factors must be complied with and in addition, the character of the existing neighborhood must be maintained.
A. The home occupation shall be conducted entirely within the principal dwelling unit or in a permitted building accessory thereto, but shall not occupy more than 600 square feet and in no event shall such use be apparent from any public way.
B. There shall be minimal outdoor storage of equipment or materials used in the home occupation and it shall be screened from view.
C. Not more than one commercial vehicle used in connection with any home occupation shall be parked on the property.
D. No mechanical, electrical, or other equipment which produces noise, electrical or magnetic interference, vibration, heat, glare or other nuisance outside the residential or accessory structure shall be used.
E. No home occupation shall be permitted which is noxious, offensive, or hazardous by reason of vehicular traffic, generation or emission of noise, vibration, smoke, dust or other particulate matter, odorous matter, heat, humidity, glare, refuse, radiation or other objectionable emissions.
F. No sign, other than one unlighted sign not over one square foot in area attached flat against the dwelling and displaying only the occupant’s name and occupation, shall advertise the presence or conduct of the home occupation.
G. No alteration of the principal residential building shall be made which changes the character and appearance thereof as a dwelling.
H. The owner of the business must live in the premises.
I. In an R-1 District no employees shall be allowed. In all other districts up to two employees outside the immediate family may be hired though at no time shall more than three employees be working on the premises.
K. Before any home occupation permit is issued, the applicant shall pay a permit fee. All permits shall expire three (3) years from date of issue. Permit fee shall be $15.00 plus the cost of publication.
L. Renewal of permits shall be granted 15 days following publication, if no objections are received.
M. Appeals may be made to the Council, whose decision shall be final.
N. Home-based child care shall be exempt from paragraphs A and B of this subsection.
43. “Hotel/motel” means a building in which lodging is provided and offered to the public for compensation and which is open to transient guests, in contradistinction to a boarding house or lodging house with garage attached or parking facilities conveniently located to each such unit. A swimming pool, restaurant, meeting rooms, management offices, and other such accessory facilities may be included.
44. “Institution” means a building occupied by a non-profit corporation or a non-profit establishment for public use.
45. “Junk yard” means any area where waste, discarded or salvaged materials are bought, sold, exchanged, baled or packed, disassembled, stored, abandoned, or handled, including the dismantling or wrecking of automobiles or other vehicles or machinery, house wrecking yards, used lumber yards and places or yards for storage of salvage house wrecking and structural steel materials and equipment, but not including areas where such uses are conducted entirely within a completely enclosed building.
46. “Kennel” means an establishment where dogs are boarded for compensation or where four (4) dogs or domestic animals more than six (6) months old are bred or raised for commercial purposes or sale.
47. “Loading space” means a space within the main building or on the same lot providing for the standing, loading, or unloading of trucks, having minimum dimensions of 12 by 35 feet and vertical clearance of at least 14 feet.
48. “Lot” means a parcel of land occupied or intended for occupancy by one main building together with its accessory buildings officially approved and having its principal frontage upon a dedicated street. The boundaries of the lot shall be determined by its lot lines. Such a lot shall have frontage on a dedicated or private street, any may consist of:
A. A single lot of record;
B. A portion of a lot of record;
C. A combination of complete lots of record, or complete lots of record and portions of lots of record, or of portions of lots of record;
D. A parcel of land described by metes and bounds; provided that in no case of division or combination shall any residential lot or parcel be created which does not meet the requirements of this Zoning Code.
49. “Lot, depth of” means the mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.
50. “Lot of record” means a lot that is a part of a subdivision, or a plat of survey the plat of which has been recorded in the office of the County Recorder.
51. “Lot types” include references to “corner” lots, “interior” lots, “reversed frontage” lots, and “double frontage” lots.† 10
A. “Corner lot” means a lot located at the intersection of two or more streets.
B. “Interior lot” means a lot other than a corner lot with only one frontage on a street other than an alley.
C. “Double frontage lot” means a lot other than a corner lot with frontage on more than one street other than an alley. Through lots with frontage on two streets may be referred to as “double frontage” lots.
D. “Reversed frontage lot” means a corner lot, the side street line of which is substantially a continuation of the front lot line of the first lot to its rear.
52. “Lot width” means the width of a lot measured at the building line and at right angles to its depth.
53. “Manufactured home” means a factory-built structure built under authority of 42 U.S.C. §5403, and which is required by Federal law to display a seal from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and was constructed on or after June 15, 1976. If a manufactured home is placed in a mobile home park, the home must be titled and is subject to the mobile home square foot tax. If a manufactured home is placed outside a mobile home park, the home must be titled and is to be assessed and taxed as real estate.
54. “Mini warehouse” means a building or group of buildings not more than one story and 20 feet in height and not having any other dimension greater than 150 feet per building, containing varying sizes of individualized, compartmentalized, and controlled stalls or lockers for the dead storage of customers’ goods or wares, excluding junk, explosive, or flammable materials, and other noxious or dangerous materials, including if any, caretaker or supervisor’s quarters as an accessory use. No business activities other than rental of storage units shall be conducted on the premises.
55. “Mobile home” means any vehicle without motive power used or so manufactured or constructed as to permit its being used as a conveyance upon the public streets and highways and so designed, constructed, or reconstructed as will permit the vehicle to be used as a place for human habitation by one or more persons; but also includes any such vehicle with motive power not registered as a motor vehicle in Iowa. A “mobile home” is not built to a mandatory building code, contains no State or Federal seals, and was built before June 15, 1976. Nothing in this Zoning Code shall be construed as permitting a mobile home in other than an approved mobile home park.
56. “Mobile home park” means a site, lot, field, or tract of land upon which three or more mobile homes, manufactured homes, or modular homes, or a combination of any of these homes are placed on developed spaces and operated as a for-profit enterprise with water, sewer or septic, and electrical services available. The term “mobile home park” shall not be construed to include mobile homes, buildings, tents or other structures temporarily maintained by any individual, educational institution, or company on its own premises and used exclusively to house its own labor or students. A “mobile home park” must be classified as to whether it is a residential mobile home park or a recreational mobile home park or both. The Mobile Home Park Residential Landlord Tenant Act (Chapter 562B of the Code of Iowa) only applies to residential mobile home parks.
57. “Mobile home subdivision” means a subdivision created for the purpose of, and restricted to, the sale or lease of individual lots for occupancy by independent mobile homes, manufactured homes or modular homes, or mobile homes converted to real estate and having public streets, utilities, and other public facilities installation approved by the City in accordance with the subdivision regulations of the City.
58. “Modular home” means a factory-built structure which is manufactured to be used as a place of human habitation, is constructed to comply with the Iowa state building code for modular factory-built structures, and must display the seal issued by the State Building Code Commissioner. If a modular home is placed in a mobile home park, the home is subject to the annual tax as required by Section 435.22 of the Code of Iowa. If a modular home is placed outside a mobile home park, the home shall be considered real property and is to be assessed and taxed as real estate.
59. “Nonconforming use” means use of a building or of land that does not conform to the regulations as to use for the district in which it is situated.
60. “Nursing home” means a home for the aged, chronically ill, or incurable persons in which three (3) or more persons not of the immediate family are received, kept, and provided with food or shelter and care, for compensation; but not including hospitals, clinics, or similar institutions devoted primarily to the diagnosis, treatment, or care of the sick or injured.
61. “Parking space” means a permanently surfaced area, enclosed in the main building or in an accessory building, or unenclosed, having an area of not less than 9 feet by 19 feet, 171 square feet exclusive of driveways, permanently reserved for the temporary storage of one automobile and connected with a street or alley by a surfaced driveway which affords satisfactory ingress for automobiles.
62. “Place” means an open unoccupied space or a public or private thoroughfare other than a street or alley permanently reserved as the principal means of access to abutting property.
63. “Principal building” means any structure designed and used, or intended to be used, for one of the principal permitted uses listed in each of the zoned districts as set out in this Zoning Code.
64. “Principal use” means the main use of land and structure as distinguished from an accessory use.
65. “Projections” means parts of buildings such as architectural features that extend beyond the building’s exterior wall.
66. “Service station” (gas station) means a building or premises used for dispensing or offering for sale at retail any automobile fuels, oils, or having pumps and storage tanks therefor, or where battery, tire, or any similar services are rendered, and where vehicles are not parked for purposes of inspection or sale.
67. “Setback” means the required distance between every structure and lot line on the lot in which it is located.† 11
68. “Sign” means any device designed to inform or attract the attention of persons not on the premises on which the sign is located, provided, however, that the following are not included in the application of the regulations herein:‡ 12
A. Signs not exceeding one square foot in area and bearing only property numbers, post box numbers, names of occupants of premises or other identification of premises not having commercial connotations.
B. Flags and insignia of any government except when displayed in connection with commercial promotion.
C. Legal notices, identification, informational, or directional signs erected or required by governmental bodies.
D. Integral decorative or architectural features of buildings, except letters, trademarks, moving parts or moving lights.
E. Signs directing and guiding traffic and parking on private property but bearing no advertising matter.
69. “Sign, free-standing” means a sign which is supported by one or more uprights or braces in or upon the ground and not attached to any building or wall.
A. A “monument sign” is a free-standing sign affixed to a structure, built on grade, which forms an integral part of the sign or its background and is in conformance with the zoning requirements of the district in which it is located.
B. A “pole sign” is a free-standing sign other than a portable sign or monument sign.
C. A “portable sign” is a free-standing sign not permanently anchored or secured.
70. “Signs, number and surface area” – For the purpose of determining number of signs, a sign shall be considered to be a single display surface or display device containing elements organized, related, and composed to form a unit. The surface area of a sign shall be computed as including the entire area within a regular geometric form or combinations of regular geometric forms, comprising all of the display area of the sign and including all the elements of the matter displayed. Frames and structural members not bearing advertising matter shall not be included in computation of surface area.
71. “Sign, off-site” means a sign other than on-site sign. (See also “billboard.”)
72. “Sign, on-site” means a sign relating in its subject matter to the premises on which it is located, or to products, accommodations, services, or activities on the premises. On-site signs do not include signs erected by the outdoor advertising industry in the conduct of the outdoor advertising business.
73. “Site coverage” means building coverage (as defined herein) plus all paving and sidewalks on the lot.
74. “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.† 13
75. “Story, half” means a partial story under a gable, hip or gambrel roof, the wall plats of which on at least two opposite exterior walls are not more than four (4) feet above the floor of such story, except that any partial story used for residence purposes, other than for a janitor or caretaker or his or her family, or by a family occupying the floor immediately below it shall be deemed a full story.†
76. “Street” means a public or private thoroughfare which affords the principal means of access to abutting property.
77. “Street line” (right-of-way line) means a dividing line between a lot, tract, or parcel of land and a contiguous street.
78. “Structural alterations” means any replacement or changes in the type of construction or in the supporting members of a building, such as load bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams or girders, beyond ordinary repairs and maintenance.
79. “Structure” means anything constructed or erected with a fixed location on the ground, or attached to something having a fixed location on the ground. Among other things, structures include buildings, walls, fences, billboards, and poster panels.
80. “Structure” (building) means anything constructed, erected or built, which requires location on the ground and designed for the support, enclosure, shelter or protection of persons, animals, chattels, or property of any kind, including but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, installations such as signs, billboards, radio towers and other facilities not designed for storage of property or occupancy of persons.
81. “Townhouse” means a one-family dwelling in a row of at least two such units in which each unit has its own front and rear access to the outside, no unit is located over another unit and each unit is separated from any other unit by one or more common fire resistant walls.
82. “Trailer camp or tourist campground” means an area providing spaces for two or more travel trailers, camping trailers or tent sites for temporary occupancy, with necessary incidental services, sanitation, and recreation facilities to serve the traveling public.
83. “Travel trailer or camping trailer” means a vehicle without motive power used or so manufactured or constructed as to permit its being used as a conveyance upon the public streets and highways and so designed to permit the vehicle to be used as a place of human habitation by one or more persons. Said vehicle may be up to eight feet in width and any length provided its gross weight does not exceed 4,500 pounds, which shall be the manufacturer’s shipping or the actual weight provided its overall length does not exceed 28 feet. Such vehicle shall be customarily or ordinarily used for vacation or recreation purposes. This definition also includes house cars and camp cars having motive power and designed for temporary occupancy.
84. “Use” means the purpose or activity for which a place of land or its buildings is designed, arranged, or intended, or for which it is occupied or maintained.
85. “Yard” means an open space on the same lot with a building, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from 30 inches above the ground level of the graded lot upward, excepting as otherwise provided herein. In measuring a yard for the purpose of determining the depth of a front yard or the depth of a rear yard, or width of a side yard, the least distance between the lot line and the main building shall be used. Fences and walls are permitted in any yard, subject to height limitations as indicated herein.
86. “Yard, front” means a yard extending across the front of a lot and being the minimum horizontal distance between the street or place line and the main building or any projections thereof other than the projections 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, except where owner shall elect to front his building on the street parallel to the lot line having the greater dimension.
87. “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 projections thereof other than the projections of uncovered steps, unenclosed balconies or unenclosed porches. On all lots the rear yard shall be in the rear of the front yard.
88. “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 projection thereto, except on the street side of a corner lot, the side yard shall extend from the required front yard to the rear lot line.
89. “Zoning district” means a section of the City designated in the text of this Zoning Code and delineated on the official Zoning Map in which requirements for the use of land, the building and development standards are prescribed. Within each district, all requirements are uniform.
LOT AND YARD DEFINITIONS
CELLAR, BASEMENT, HALF STORY, STORY
BUILDING HEIGHTS
SIGN TYPES
SIGN AREAS
MINIMUM SETBACK
AVERAGE SETBACK
PARKING STALL REQUIREMENTS:
Degree of Angle | Stall to Curb (A) | Aisle Width (B) | Curb Length (C) |
0 | 9.0' | 12.0' | 20.0' |
45 | 19.83' | 13.0' | 12.75' |
60 | 21.0' | 18.0' | 10.5' |
90 | 19.0' | 24.0' | 9.0' |
TYPICAL PARKING LOT LAYOUT
Notes
| 7 | † See illustration for cellar and basement at the end of this chapter. |
| 8 | ‡ See illustration of building heights at the end of this chapter. |
| 9 | † See Illustration of Lot and Yard Definitions at the end of this chapter. |
| 10 | † See Illustration of Lot and Yard Definitions at the end of this chapter. |
| 11 | † See illustrations of minimum setback and average setback at the end of this chapter. |
| 12 | ‡ See illustrations of sign types and sign areas at the end of this chapter. |
| 13 | † See illustrations for story and half story at the end of this chapter. |