Words used in the present tense include the future; the singular number includes the plural number and the plural number includes the singular. The word BUILDING includes the word STRUCTURE; the word SHALL is mandatory and not directory. For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning. Some definitions are in direct reference to the floodplain management regulations of this ordinance and are given the added FLOODPLAIN notation.
ACCESSORY BUILDING. A building or portion of a building that is incidental and subordinate to the principal building and that is utilized for a use or purpose that is clearly and customarily incidental to the principal use of the property.
ADULT ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS.
(1) Any one of or any combination of the following, which are customarily not open to minors by virtue of age.
(a) ADULT BOOKSTORE OR VIDEO STORE. An establishment having as a significant portion of its stock in trade books, films, magazines and other periodicals which are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting or describing “sex act(s)” or “specified anatomical areas.”
(b) ADULT MOTEL. A place of lodging wherein material is presented which is distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on depicting or describing “sex act(s)” or “specified anatomical areas.”
(c) ADULT MOTION PICTURE ARCADE. 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 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 “sex act(s)” or “specified anatomical areas.”
(d) ADULT MOTION PICTURE THEATER. An establishment used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting or describing “sex act(s)” or “specified anatomical areas” for observation by patrons thereof.
(e) SEXUAL ENCOUNTER CENTER. A place provided by any business, agency or person where, for any form of consideration or gratuity, persons who are not all members of the same household, may congregate, assemble or associate for the purpose of engaging in “sex act(s)” or exposing “specified anatomical areas.”
(2) SEX ACT and SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREA. As used in these definitions shall be defined as follows.
(a) SEX ACT. Any sexual contact, actual or simulated, either natural or deviate, between two or more persons, or between a person and an animal, by genitalia contact with the genitalia or anus of another, 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 genitalia or anus.
(b) SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREA. The human genitalia, pubic region, buttocks and female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola.
ALLEY. A minor way other than a street that is intended to provide a secondary means of vehicular access to more than one abutting property and that is open to common use.
APPURTENANT STRUCTURE. A structure which is on the same parcel of the property as the principal structure to be insured and the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure.
BASE FLOOD ELEVATION. The elevation floodwaters would reach at a particular site during the occurrence of a base flood event.
BASEMENT. The portion of any structure located partly below the average adjoining lot grade.
BASEMENT (FLOODPLAIN). Any enclosed area of a building which has its floor or lowest level below ground level (subgrade) on all sides. Also see LOWEST FLOOR.
BED AND BREAKFAST. An owner-occupied single-family detached dwelling containing guest rooms, operated by the owner and characterized by the owners’ provision of personalized service to the guests in a home-like environment at a higher level of quality than that customary for a hotel or boarding house.
BOARDING HOUSE. A building containing at least one dwelling unit together with rooms that are rented or designed or intended to be occupied by persons who are not members of the family occupying the dwelling unit, but which do not constitute separate dwelling units either individually or collectively.
BUILDING. Any structure used, designed or intended for the protection, shelter, enclosure or support of persons or property.
BUILDING, HEIGHT OF. The vertical distance measured between the average elevation of the front lot line, or the average elevation of the finished grade of the area located within 15 feet of the building, whichever is higher, to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof; deck line of a mansard roof; or to the mid-line between the eave and ridge lines of a gable, gambrel, hip or pitched roof.
CONDITIONAL USE. A use of land, water or building which is allowable only after the issuance of a special permit by the Board of Adjustment under conditions specified in this code.
CONFINEMENT, LIVESTOCK. One or more buildings or areas that are used or designed to be used to hold a significant number of livestock, including but not limited to cattle, swine or poultry, within a high-density, confined area for feeding to prepare said animals for meat production, whether immediately or at a later point after leaving the facility, and including, but not limited to farrowing and calving operations and egg production, which usually but not necessarily necessitates the use pits or lagoons to collect and hold animal wastes for treatment or removal.
CORNER LOT. A lot abutting two or more streets at their intersection.
DENSITY. Number of living units per acre allowable under the schedule of district regulations.
DEVELOPMENT. Any human-made change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to buildings or other structures, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations.
DWELLING, MULTI-FAMILY. A building containing two or more dwelling units, at least one of which is located all or in part above another dwelling unit, does not have living space on the ground floor, or does not have a separate ground floor entrance.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED. A building containing two or more dwelling units attached side by side by common walls and in which each dwelling unit has living space on the ground floor and a separate, ground floor entrance, and in which no dwelling unit has any living space located above any other dwelling unit or space accessory thereto. The term TOWNHOUSE shall be considered to be synonymous with SINGLE-FAMILY ATTACHED DWELLING.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHED. A detached building designed and constructed as a single dwelling unit occupied exclusively by one family.
DWELLING UNIT. One or more habitable rooms connected together and containing independent living, cooking, eating, sleeping and bathroom facilities, constituting a separate, independent housekeeping establishment and that is intended or designed to be occupied by one family, whether for owner occupancy or for rent or lease to the same family for a time period of more than 31 consecutive days and physically separated from any other dwelling unit by a wall or yard.
DWELLING UNIT, ACCESSORY. A subordinate single-family dwelling unit (herein ADU) that is added to or created within a single-family detached dwelling unit and that are together located on the same zoning lot.
DWELLING UNIT, FACTORY-BUILT. A dwelling unit designed for long-term residential occupancy which is mass-produced in a factory and designed and constructed for transportation to a site for installation and use when connected to required utilities, either as an independent, individual building or as modules or sections for combination with other elements to form a building on the site. Different types of FACTORY-BUILT DWELLINGS are further defined as follows.
(1) MODULAR DWELLING. A new factory-built dwelling unit comprised of panelized units, components, sections, modules or other assemblies of closed construction which are transported to the site for minor and incidental assembly and installation, and which is inspected and certified by the State of Iowa or state-approved third-party agency as complying with all requirements of the Iowa State Building Code for modular factory-built structures.
(2) MANUFACTURED DWELLING. A new factory-built dwelling unit which is inspected and certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or HUD-approved third-party agency as complying with all Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards in effect on June 15, 1976 or the date of manufacture, whichever is the later date. Such dwelling units are generally, but are not required to be, constructed on a chassis, which may or may not be removed, for transportation to a site for minor assembly.
(3) MOBILE HOME. A factory-built dwelling unit which has been installed or occupied on a previous site or which does not comply with Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards or the Iowa State Building Code for modular housing, as applicable.
EXISTING CONSTRUCTION (FLOODPLAIN). Any structure for which the START OF CONSTRUCTION commenced before the effective date of the first floodplain management regulations adopted by the community.
EXISTING FACTORY-BUILT HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION (FLOODPLAIN). A factory-built home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the factory-built homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of the first floodplain management regulations adopted by the community.
EXPANSION OF EXISTING FACTORY-BUILT HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION (FLOODPLAIN). The preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the factory-built homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads).
FAMILY. One or more persons occupying a single dwelling unit, provided that unless all members are related by blood or marriage, no such family shall contain more than three persons. This shall not be construed to prohibit two single individuals from cohabiting along with their minor children, or to prohibit individual child foster care family homes as defined by and licensed under the Code of Iowa.
FARM. A tract of land that has a minimum net area of nine acres exclusive of pubic street rights-of-way, regardless of whether the right-of-way is established by fee simple title or easement, and that is primarily used for agricultural purposes with the exception of a single-family detached residence an accessory buildings for the residence or agricultural uses.
FLOOD. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas resulting from the overflow of streams or rivers or from the unusual and rapid runoff of surface waters from any source.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY. An examination, evaluation and determination of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations.
FLOODPLAIN. The land along the channel of a river or stream, or surrounding a lake or other body of water, that is subject to periodic overflow therefrom.
FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT DISTRICT. As related to FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, DEVELOPMENT does not include MINOR PROJECTS or ROUTINE MAINTENANCE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS as defined in this section. It also does not include gardening, plowing, and similar practices that do not involve filling or grading.
FLOODPROOFING. Any combination of structural or non-structural additions, changes or adjustments of structures, including utility and sanitary facilities which will reduce or eliminate flood damage to such structures.
FLOODWAY. The channel of a river or stream and those portions of the floodplain that must be left unaltered and unobstructed to such extent and manner as to allow flood waters or flows to be carried and discharged without resulting in substantially higher flood levels and flow velocities during or resulting from a 100-year flood event.
FLOODWAY FRINGE. Those portions of the special flood hazard area outside the floodway.
FLOOD ELEVATION. The elevation that flood water is projected or calculated to reach upon the occurrence of a flood event, usually but not necessary defined according to the statistical frequency or likelihood of a storm or flood event.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM or DFIRM). An official map prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as part of, but that may be published or released separately from, a Flood Insurance Study which delineates both the flood hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.
FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY. A study initiated, funded and published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to determine the existence and severity of flood hazards, and establish actuarial flood insurance rates for the purposes of establishing and maintaining a floodplain management program, and protecting persons and property from the hazards and dangers created by and associated with flooding.
FLOOR AREA. Area in square feet of all floors in a building, including: elevators; stairways; and basements that are used as habitable space, as measured from exterior wall surfaces and multiplied by the number of floors.
FLOOR AREA RATIO (FAR). The total amount of floor area on all floors of all buildings located on a lot, divided by the total net land area of the lot.
FRONTAGE. The width of a lot as measured in a straight line along the street right-of-way line or, in the case of one or more curved segments, along a chord between the end-points of each curved segment.
GARAGE. An accessory building, or an accessory portion of a principal building, that is used or designed to be used to shelter or store vehicles.
GUEST ROOM. A fully furnished room or suite that does not have cooking equipment and is offered for rent for transient occupancy on an overnight basis.
HIGHEST ADJACENT GRADE. The highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed wall of a structure.
HISTORIC STRUCTURE (FLOODPLAIN). Any structure that is:
(1) Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places, maintained by the Department of Interior, or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing of the National Register;
(2) Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
(3) Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of the Interior; or
(4) Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified by either:
(a) An approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior; or
(b) Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.
HOME OCCUPATION. An accessory use of a dwelling unit for that is intended to provide financial gain, including but not limited to the production, provision or sale of goods or services.
HOTEL. A building in which sleeping accommodations are furnished to transient guests for rent, whether with or without meals, and are not rented by the same person for a period of more than 31 consecutive days. The term MOTEL shall be considered to be synonymous with HOTEL.
KENNEL. Any premises on which four or more dogs, cats or any combination thereof are kept, that are six months or older; or on which any number of dogs or cats are kept for the purpose of sale, breeding, boarding or treatment.
LIVESTOCK, URBAN. Domestic animals that are kept or raised primarily as pets or for pleasure but also for food or other uses, especially but not limited to pigeons, poultry and other fowl, rabbits, and farm animals of small, diminutive or miniature size compared to customary livestock of its type, whether by nature or selective breeding, such as potbelly or teacup pigs, pygmy goats, and miniature or mid-size cattle.
LOADING AREA OR BERTH. An on-site space or berth that is used or designed to be used to load or unload products or supplies from a truck or other freight-carrying vehicle.
LOT. A parcel of land that, exclusive of any outlot parcels, is of sufficient size and dimensions to comply with all requirements of this code and all other requirements and specifications for its intended use, whether or not its boundaries have been established by a subdivision plat or plat of survey, and that has been fully improved in accordance with the Subdivision Code (herein ZONING LOT).
LOT, DEPTH OF. The shortest horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.
LOT, WIDTH OF. The shortest horizontal distance as measured between the side lot lines at the minimum front setback in the following manner: in the case of a rectangular lot, parallel to the front property line; in the case of a lot with a curved front property line and side lot lines that are radial to the curve, tangent to the chord of such curve; and in the case of any other lot configuration, as deemed by the Zoning Administrator to most closely parallel the street frontage.
LOT LINE. The boundary or property line of a lot, excluding any street or alley.
LOWEST FLOOR. The least elevation of a basement or any other enclosed area of a building.
LOWEST FLOOR (FLOODPLAIN). The floor of the lowest enclosed area in a building including basement except when the following criteria are met:
(1) The enclosed are is designed to flood to equalize hydrostatic pressure during flood events with walls or openings that satisfy the provisions of § 160.22(C)(2)(b) of this chapter;
(2) The enclosed area is unfinished and used solely for low damage potential uses such as building access, parking or storage;
(3) Machinery and service facilities contained in the enclosed area are located at least one foot above the base flood elevation; and
(4) The enclosed area is not a BASEMENT (FLOODPLAIN) as defined in this section.
MINOR PROJECTS (FLOODPLAIN). Small development activities (except for filling, grading and excavating) valued at less than $500.
MINOR STRUCTURE. Any small, movable accessory erection or construction such as birdhouses; tool houses; pet houses; play equipment; arbors; and walls and fences under four feet in height.
NEW CONSTRUCTION (FLOODPLAIN), NEW BUILDINGS, FACTORY-BUILT HOME PARKS. Those structures or development for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of the first floodplain management regulations adopted by the community.
NEW FACTORY-BUILT HOME PARK OR SUBDIVISION (FLOODPLAIN). A factory-built home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the factory-built homes are to be affixed (including at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date of the effective date of the first floodplain management regulations adopted by the community.
NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE OR USE, LEGALLY. A structure or use of premises that was lawfully constructed or use at one time, but does not conform to this code.
ONE HUNDRED (100) YEAR FLOOD. A flood, the magnitude of which has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year or which, on the average, will be equaled or exceeded at least once every 100 years.
OPEN SPACE. Lot area that is not occupied by a building or roofed structure.
OUTLOT. A parcel of land that is not sufficient size, dimensions and physical character to comply with all requirements of the zoning code and all other codes requirements and specifications, or that has not been fully improved in accordance with the Subdivision Code.
PARKING SPACE. An area that is used to park, store or display a single vehicle.
PERSON. Any individual, corporation, association, firm, partnership or other legal entity, whether singular or plural.
PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT (P.U.D.). Any development in which the proposed land use, transportation elements, population densities, building arrangement and types are set out in a unified, contiguous plan.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE (FLOODPLAIN). A vehicle which is:
(1) Built on a single chassis;
(2) Four hundred square feet or less when measured at the largest horizontal projection;
(3) Designed to be self-propelled or permanently towable by a light duty truck; and
(4) Designed primarily not for use as a permanent dwelling but as a temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use.
RESTAURANT, FAST-FOOD. An establishment whose principal business is cooking and preparation of food to sell for consumption within a motor vehicle parked on the premises or within the restaurant building, or any combination thereof, and whose principal method of operation includes the following characteristics as contrasted to a standard restaurant: designed to attract and depend upon a large volume of customers; limited, relatively low-cost menu items; quick-order service at a window or counter, from where the customer generally carries the food to another counter or table for consumption; and most food is served in or on paper, plastic or other disposable containers; and any other restaurant not defined as a standard restaurant.
RESTAURANT, STANDARD. An establishment whose principal business is cooking and preparation of food to sell for consumption within the restaurant building and whose principal method of operation is characterized by customers being seated by a restaurant employee and provided with an individual menu, and who are served by a restaurant employee at the same table or counter at which food and beverages are consumed; also including cafeteria line service offering a wide selection of main courses and other menu items, but not including any restaurant offering drive-thru service or service directly to the customer in a motor vehicle. Delicatessens, establishments whose principal business is the sale of pizza or of ice cream, yogurt or milk products are specifically included in the definition.
ROUTINE MAINTENANCE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS (FLOODPLAIN). Repairs necessary to keep a structure in a safe and habitable condition that do not trigger a building permit, provided they are not associated with a general improvement of the structure or repair of a damaged structure. Such repairs include:
(1) Normal maintenance of structures such as re-roofing, replacing roofing tiles and replacing siding;
(2) Exterior and interior painting, papering, tiling, carpeting, cabinets, counter tops and similar finish work;
(3) Basement sealing;
(4) Repairing or replacing damaged or broken window panes; and
(5) Repairing plumbing systems, electrical systems, heating or air conditioning systems and repairing wells or septic systems.
SCREEN, OPAQUE. A fence, wall, plantings, earthen berm or combination thereof whose vertical surface when viewed at a right angle has openings of less than 40% in area which permit transmission of light, air and vision.
SETBACK. The horizontal distance between a property line and the nearest point of a structure, measured perpendicular to the property line.
SHADOW FLICKER. Changing light intensity resulting from or caused by the passage of light, whether natural or artificial, through the moving blades of a wind energy conversion system.
SIGN. Any identification, description, illustration or device illuminated or non-illuminated which is visible from any public place or is located on private property and exposed to the public and which directs attention to a product, service, place, activity, person, institution, business or solicitation, including any permanently installed or situated merchandise; or any emblem, painting, banner, pennant, placard or temporary sign designed to advertise, identify or convey information, with the exception of window displays and national flags, and including monuments and other structures used to support or display a SIGN.
SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD AREA (SFHA). The land within a community subject to the BASE FLOOD. This land is identified on the community's Flood Insurance Rate Map as Zone A, A1-30, AE, AH, AO, AR, and/or A99.
START OF CONSTRUCTION (FLOODPLAIN). Includes substantial improvement, and means the date the development permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, placement, or other improvement, was within 180 days of the permit date. The actual start means either the first placement or permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as pouring of a slab or footings, the installation of pile, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of a factory-built home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing, grading and filling; nor does it include the installation of streets and/or walkways; nor does it include excavation for a basement, footings, piers, or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure. For a substantial improvement, the actual start of construction means the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.
STORY. The portion of a building included between the surface of a floor and the surface of the floor next above it, or if there be no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it.
STREET. A right-of-way that is the principal means of vehicular access to abutting properties or that is a corridor for vehicular travel and circulation, whether improved or unimproved and whether designated as a highway, street, avenue, road, drive, place, court, way, lane, circle or other vehicular way.
STREET, ARTERIAL. A street that is designed to connect major centers of activity within and beyond the city’s boundaries by performing as part of an interconnected system of major streets and highways, and accordingly to carry the highest volumes of traffic and the longest trips.
STREET, COLLECTOR. A street that is designed to provide direct vehicular access to abutting properties and to collect traffic from local streets and to convey such traffic to the arterial street system.
STREET LINE. The right-of-way line of a street, whether the street is owned by fee title or is an easement.
STREET, LOCAL. A street that is designed to primarily provide direct vehicular access to abutting properties.
STRUCTURE. Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires permanent location on the ground.
STRUCTURE (FLOODPLAIN). Anything constructed or erected on the ground or attached to the ground including, but not limited to, buildings, factories, sheds, cabins, factory-built homes, storage tanks, grain storage facilities, and/or other similar uses.
STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS. Any change in the supporting members of a building or any substantial change in the roof or in the exterior walls.
SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred. Volunteer labor and donated materials shall be included in the estimated cost of repairs.
SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT.
(1) (a) Any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure either:
1. Before the START OF CONSTRUCTION of the improvement or repair; or
2. If the structure has been SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED, and is being restored, before the damage occurred.
(b) The term does not, however, include any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local building official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions. The term also does not include any alteration of an HISTORIC STRUCTURE, provided the alteration will not preclude the structure's designation as an HISTORIC STRUCTURE.
(2) Any addition which increases the original floor area of a structure by 25% or more. All additions constructed after the effective date of the first floodplain management regulations adopt by the city shall be added to any proposed addition in determining whether to the total increase in original floor space would exceed 25%.
VARIANCE (FLOODPLAIN). A grant of relief by a community from the terms of the floodplain management regulations.
VEHICLE. Any device designed to transport a person or property by land, air or water, such as automobiles, trucks, trailers, motorcycles, tractors, buggies, wagons, boats, airplanes or any combination thereof.
VEHICLE, COMMERCIAL. Any vehicle defined as such by the Code of Iowa, except farm tractors, implements of husbandry or recreational vehicles; any stock car or other vehicle designed for racing and not licensed for legal use on a public street; or any equipment customarily used for construction, earth-moving or landscaping, such as backhoes, graders, cranes and earth-moving equipment.
VEHICLE, INOPERABLE. Any vehicle that is not licensed for the current year as required by law or which cannot legally travel on a public street due to broken, damaged or missing windshield or other glass customary to the vehicle, or that lacks a fender, door, bumper, hood, wheel, steering wheel or legal exhaust system; lacks an engine or other means of power suitable to the design, one or more wheels, or other structural parts which renders the vehicle incapable of both forward and reverse movement in the manner for which it was designed; has become a habitat for rats, mice, snakes or any other vermin or insects; constitutes a threat to the public health and safety because of its defective or obsolete condition; or is otherwise unfit for the use for which it was originally manufactured.
VEHICLE, RECREATIONAL. Self-propelled vehicles or wheeled vehicles capable of being towed, which can be licensed for travel on any public street or highway, or a unit which can be mounted on a pickup or other vehicle designed primarily for use as temporary living quarters for recreation, camping, travel or seasonal use, and having less than 320 square feet of floor area; boats and trailers for the transportation thereof; ultra-light aircraft; and snowmobiles. For the purposes of this code, two snowmobiles; small watercraft commonly known as jet skis; other recreational vehicles of similar size; or any combination thereof, together with a trailer of sufficient size to transport same, shall be considered to be a single vehicle.
VIOLATION (FLOODPLAIN). The failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community's floodplain management regulations.
WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM (WECS). An apparatus that is designed and configured to convert the power of wind into electrical or mechanical energy, usually including but not necessarily limited to a generator, rotor, blades, support structures and accessory equipment such as a utility interconnect and battery banks, and commonly known as a wind turbine, windmill or wind charger.
WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM, SMALL (SWECS). A wind energy conversion system having a rated capacity of less than to 15 kilowatts if accessory to a residential use and of less than 100 kilowatts if accessory to a commercial or industrial use.
WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM, BUILDING-MOUNTED SMALL. A small wind energy conversion system that is attached to or mounted on a building, whether directly or on a tower that is in turn attached to or mounted on a building.
WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM, FREE-STANDING SMALL. A small wind energy conversion system that is mounted on a free-standing tower.
WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM, HORIZONTAL-AXIS SMALL. A small wind energy conversion system whose main rotor has a horizontal axis.
WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM, VERTICAL-AXIS SMALL. A small wind energy conversion system whose main rotor has a vertical axis.
YARD. An open space other than a court that is unoccupied and unobstructed by any structure or portion of a structure upward from 30 inches above the general ground level of the lot, whose depth or width shall be the shortest distance between the lot line and the nearest wall or similar vertical element of the relevant structure.
YARD, FRONT. A yard extending the full width of the lot, being the shortest horizontal distance between the street right-of-way line and nearest part of the principal building and the narrowest frontage on a corner lot, provided that in the case of a double-frontage lot, FRONT YARDS shall be provided on both frontages unless the prevailing front yard pattern on adjoining lots indicates otherwise according to this code.
YARD, REAR. A yard extending the full width of the lot on the side of the lot that is opposite from the front yard, and being the shortest horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the nearest part of the principal building.
YARD, SIDE. A yard located between the front and rear yards, and being the shortest horizontal distance between a side lot line and the principal building.
(Ord. 2016-09, passed 8-16-2016; Am. Ord. 2018-18, passed 1-2-2019)