(A) For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACCESSORY BUILDING or STRUCTURE. A detached building or structure in a secondary or subordinate capacity from the main or principal building or structure on the same premises.
APPROPRIATE AUTHORITY. That person within the governmental structure of the town who is charged with the administration of the appropriate code.
APPROVED. Approved by the local or state authority having the administrative authority.
ASHES. The residue from the burning of combustible materials.
ATTIC. Any story situated wholly or partly within the roof, and so designed, arranged, or built as to be used for business, storage, or habitation.
BASEMENT. The lowest story of a building, below the main floor and wholly or partially lower than the surface of the ground.
BUILDING. A fixed construction with walls, foundation, and roof, such as a house, factory, garage, and the like.
BULK CONTAINER. Any metal garbage, rubbish, and/or refuse container having a capacity of two cubic yards or greater and which is equipped with fittings for hydraulic and/or mechanical emptying, unloading, and/or removal.
CELLAR. A room or group of rooms totally below the ground level and usually under a building.
CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM. A single system supplying heat to one or more dwelling unit(s) or more than one rooming unit.
CHIMNEY. A vertical masonry shaft of reinforced concrete, or other approved noncombustible, heat-resisting material enclosing one or more flues, for the purpose of removing products of combustion from solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel.
DILAPIDATED. No longer adequate for the purpose or use for which it was originally intended.
DWELLING. Any enclosed space wholly or partly used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating; provided that temporary housing as hereinafter defined shall not be classified as a DWELLING. Industrialized housing and modular construction which conform to nationally accepted industry standards and used or intended for use for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating purposes shall be classified as DWELLINGS.
DWELLING UNIT. A room or group of rooms located within a dwelling forming a single habitable unit with facilities used or intended to be used by a single family for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating purposes.
EGRESS. An arrangement of exit facilities to assure a safe means of exit from buildings.
EXTERMINATION. The control and elimination of insects, rodents, or other pests by eliminating their harborage places; by removing or making inaccessible materials that may serve as their food; by poisoning, spraying, fumigating, trapping, or by any other recognized and legal pest elimination methods approved by the local or state authority having the administrative authority.
FAIR MARKET VALUE. A price at which both buyers and sellers are willing to do business.
FAMILY. One or more individuals living together and sharing common living, sleeping, cooking, and eating facilities. (See also HOUSEHOLD.)
FLUSH-WATER CLOSET. A toilet bowl which is flushed with water which has been supplied under pressure and equipped with a water sealed trap above the floor level.
GARBAGE. The animal and vegetable waste resulting from the handling, preparation, cooking, serving, and nonconsumption of food.
GRADE. The finished ground level adjacent to a required window.
GUEST. An individual who shares a dwelling unit in a nonpermanent status for not more than 30 days.
HABITABLE ROOM. A room or enclosed floor space used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking, or eating purposes, excluding bathrooms, water closet compartments, laundries, furnace rooms, pantries, kitchenettes, and utility rooms of less than 50 square feet of floor space, foyers, or communicating corridors, stairways, closets, storage spaces, and workshops, hobby, and recreation areas.
HEALTH OFFICER. The legally designated health authority of the town or an authorized representative.
HEATED WATER. Water heated to a temperature of not less than 120°F. at the outlet.
HEATING DEVICE. All furnaces, unit heaters, domestic incinerators, cooking and heating stoves and ranges, and other similar devices.
HOUSEHOLD. One or more individuals living together in a single dwelling unit and sharing common living, sleeping, cooking, and eating facilities.
KITCHEN. Any room used for the storage of foods, preparation of foods, and containing the following equipment: sink and/or other device for dish washing; stove or other device for cooking; refrigerator or other device for cool storage of food; cabinets and/or shelves for storage of equipment and utensils; and counter or table for food preparation.
KITCHENETTE. A small kitchen or an alcove containing cooking facilities.
LEAD-BASED PAINT. Any paint containing more lead than the level established by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as being the “safe” level of lead in residential paint and paint products.
MULTIPLE DWELLING. A dwelling containing more than two dwelling units.
OCCUPANT. Any individual, over one year of age, living, sleeping, cooking, or eating in, or having possession of, a dwelling unit or a rooming unit; except that in dwelling units a guest shall not be considered an occupant.
OPERATOR. Any person who has charge, care, control, or management of a building, or part thereof, in which dwelling units or rooming units are let.
ORDINARY SUMMER CONDITIONS. A temperature 10°F. below the highest recorded temperature in the locality for the prior ten-year period.
ORDINARY WINTER CONDITIONS. A temperature 15°F. above the lowest recorded temperature in the locality for the prior ten-year period.
OWNER. Any person who alone, or jointly, or severally with others:
(a) Shall have legal title to any premises, dwelling unit, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof; or
(b) Shall have charge, care, or control of any premises, dwelling or dwelling unit, as owner, or agent of the owner, or an executor, administrator, trustee, or guardian of the estate of the owner. Any person thus representing the actual owner shall be bound to comply with the provisions of this chapter and of rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, to the same extent as if that person were the owner.
PERMISSIBLE OCCUPANCY. The maximum number of individuals permitted to reside in a dwelling unit, rooming unit, or dormitory.
PERSON. Includes any individual, firm, corporation, association, partnership, cooperative, or governmental agency.
PLUMBING. Includes all of the following supplied facilities and equipment: gas pipes; gas burning equipment; water pipes; garbage disposal units; waste pipes; water closets; sinks; installed dishwashers; lavatories; bathtubs; shower baths; installed clothes washing machines; catch basins; drains; vents; and any other similar supplied fixtures, and the installation thereof, together with all connections to water, sewer, or gas lines.
PREMISES. A platted lot or part thereof or an unplatted lot or parcel of land or plot of land, either occupied or unoccupied by any dwelling or nondwelling structure, including any building, accessory structure, or other structure thereon.
PRIVACY. The existence of conditions which will permit an individual or individuals to carry out an activity commenced without interruption or interference, either by sight or sound of unwanted individuals.
PROPERLY CONNECTED. Connected in accordance with all applicable code provisions and ordinances of the town as from time to time enforced; provided, however, that the application of this definition shall not require the alteration or replacement of any connection in good working order and not constituting a hazard to life or health.
RAT HARBORAGE. Any conditions or place where rats can live, nest, or seek shelter.
RAT-PROOFING. A form of construction which will prevent the ingress or egress of rats to or from a given space or building, or from gaining access to food, water, or harborage. It consists of the closing and keeping closed of every opening in foundations, basements, cellars, exterior and interior walls, ground or first floors, roofs, sidewalk gratings, sidewalk openings, and other places that may be reached and entered by rats by climbing, burrowing, or other methods, by the use of materials impervious to rat gnawing and other methods approved by the town.
REFUSE. All putrescible and nonputrescible solids (except body wastes) including garbage, rubbish, ashes, and dead animals.
REFUSE CONTAINER. A water tight container that is constructed of metal or other durable material impervious to rodents, and that is capable of being serviced without creating unsanitary conditions, or other containers as have been approved by the appropriate authority. Openings into the container, such as covers and doors, shall be tight fitting.
ROOMING HOUSE. Any dwelling other than a hotel or motel or that part of any dwelling containing one or more rooming units, and/or one or more dormitory rooms in which persons, either individually or as families, are housed with or without meals being provided.
ROOMING UNIT. Any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking purposes.
RUBBISH. Nonputrescible solid wastes (excluding ashes) consisting of either:
(a) Combustible wastes, such as paper, cardboard, plastic containers, yard clippings, and wood; or
(b) Noncombustible wastes, such as tin cans, glass, and crockery.
SAFETY. The condition of being reasonably free from danger and hazards which may cause accidents or disease.
SPACE HEATER. A self-contained, heating appliance of either the convection type or the radiant type and intended primarily to heat only a limited space or area, such as one room or two adjoining rooms.
SUPPLIED. Paid for, furnished by, provided by, or under the control of the owner, operator, or agent.
TEMPORARY HOUSING. Any tent, trailer, mobile home, or any other structure used for human shelter which is designed to be transportable and which is not attached to the ground, to another structure, or to any utility system on the same premises for more than 30 consecutive days.
TOXIC SUBSTANCE. Any chemical product applied on the surface of, or incorporated into, any structural or decorative material which constitutes a potential hazard to human health at acute or chronic exposure levels.
VARIANCE. A difference between that which is required or specified and that which is permitted.
(B) Whenever the words “dwelling”, “dwelling unit”, “premises”, or “structure” are used in the chapter, they shall be construed as though they were followed by the words “or any part thereof”. Words used in the singular include the plural, and the plural the singular, the masculine gender includes the feminine, and the feminine the masculine.
(C) Words not specifically defined in this chapter shall have the common definition set forth in a standard dictionary.
(1995 Code, § 151.004)