(A) Interpretation.
(1) For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms and words are to be defined as found in this section. Words and terms not specifically defined carry their customarily understood meanings. Words used in the present tense include the future tense. The singular form shall include plural and plural shall include singular. The word “shall” is intended to be mandatory. “Occupied” or “used” shall be considered as though followed by the words “or intended, arranged or designed to be used or occupied”.
(2) Terms related to specific subchapters or sections may be defined within the specific portions of the chapter where those general requirements are found.
(B) Definitions. For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply, unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ACCESSORY BUILDING or ACCESSORY STRUCTURE. A building or structure occupied by an accessory use.
ACCESSORY USE. A use subordinate, secondary, incidental to and customary in connection with the principal building or use and located on the same lot as the principal building or use.
ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUSINESS OFFICES. Offices which carry on no retail trade with the public and maintain no stock of goods for sale to customers.
AGRICULTURE. Means the same as stated in R.C. § 519.01, as may be amended, to include: farming; ranching; aquaculture; apiculture; horticulture; viticulture; animal husbandry including, but not limited to, the care and raising of livestock, equine and fur-bearing animals; poultry husbandry and the production of poultry and poultry products; dairy production; the production of field crops, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, flowers, sod or mushrooms; timber; pasturage; any combination of the foregoing; the processing, drying, storage and marketing of agricultural products when those activities are conducted in conjunction with, but are secondary to such husbandry or production.
ALLEY. A public right-of-way ten to 20 feet wide which provides only secondary means of access to abutting property.
AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC or ADT. The average number of motor vehicles per day that pass over a given point in street or thoroughfare.
BASEMENT. A story whose floor level is two feet or more below grade level, but having less than half its clear height above grade level.
BLOCK. The property abutting one side of a street, and lying between two consecutive intersecting streets.
BUILDING. A structure permanently affixed to the land with one or more floors and a roof supported by columns or walls, used or intended to be used for shelter or enclosure of persons, animals and/or property.
BUILDING HEIGHT. The vertical distance from the average grade surrounding the building to the highest point of the roof.
BUILDING LINE. The front yard setback line established by this chapter, generally parallel with and measured perpendicularly from the front lot line, defining the limits of a front yard in which no building or structure may be located.
BUSINESS SERVICE. Any profit-making activity which renders services primarily to other commercial, institutional or industrial enterprises, or which services and repairs appliances and machines used in other businesses.
CEMETERY. Land used or intended to be used for the burial of human dead.
CERTIFICATE OF ZONING COMPLIANCE. A certificate issued by the Zoning Inspector, pursuant to § 153.042, confirming that the zoning requirements of this chapter have been met and the building can be occupied.
CITY. The City of Wellston, Ohio
CITY ENGINEER. The professional engineer who is employed by the city and authorized by City Council to assist the Planning and Zoning Board in administration of this chapter.
CLINIC, HUMAN. An establishment where patients who are not lodged overnight are admitted for examination and/or treatment by a physician or group of physicians.
CONGREGATE OR GROUP HOME. A residential care facility in which not less than nine but not more than 16 persons are provided with room, board, specialized care, rehabilitative services and supervision in a family environment.
CONSTRUCTION PLAN. A plan which gives information required to construct improvements including plan views, sections, profiles, details, quantities, reference specifications and standard drawings.
CUL-DE-SAC. See STREET as defined in this section.
DEVELOPMENT PLAN. A site plan for a property and the physical development that is proposed on such site, as specified in § 153.176(G).
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE. The Service Director of the city or his or her designated agent.
DRIVE-THROUGH FACILITY. Traffic lanes, drive-up windows and/or other physical accruements located on a business site which enable that business to provide goods or services to customers without such customers leaving his or her automobile.
DRIVEWAY. A private road giving access from a public way to a detached single-family dwelling on abutting ground or to a group of multi-family or commercial buildings.
DWELLING or RESIDENCE. Any building or portion thereof which is designed or used for residential purposes, but not including a cabin, hotel, motel, rooming house or other such accommodation used for transient occupancy.
MULTIPLE-FAMILY DWELLING or MULTIPLE-FAMILY RESIDENCE. A building designed or used as a residence for three or more families living independently and doing their own cooking therein.
SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLING or SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCE. A building designed for or occupied exclusively by one family.
TWO-FAMILY DWELLING or TWO-FAMILY RESIDENCE. A building designed for or occupied exclusively by two families living independently.
EASEMENT. A right or privilege of use of land, as distinct from fee simple ownership.
ESSENTIAL SERVICES. The erection, construction, alteration or maintenance, by public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies, of underground or overhead gas, electrical, steam or water transmission or distribution systems; collection, communication, supply or disposal systems, including poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conducts, cables, traffic signals, hydrants and other similar equipment and accessories in connection therewith, reasonably necessary for the furnishing of adequate service by such public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies or for the public health, safety or general welfare, but not including buildings.
FAILURE OF DELIVERY. A particular notice was not received, due to circumstances beyond the control of the city, and does not include the lack of mailing of the subject notices in the matter specified in this chapter.
FLOOD or FLOODING. A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of inland or tidal waters and/or the unusual and rapid accumulation of runoff of surface waters from any source.
FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM). An official map on which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has delineated the areas of special flood hazards within the city.
FLOODPLAIN. An area, as determined by the applicable Flood Insurance Rate Maps as subject to flood or flooding.
FLOOR AREA. When used in reference to a building, means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the building floors, measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls. FLOOR AREA shall not include basements, elevator and stair bulkheads, unfinished attic spaces, terraces, breezeways, open porches, uncovered steps or garages.
FRONTAGE or LOT FRONTAGE. The portion of the lot that directly abuts the street, and has direct access thereto. LOT FRONTAGE shall be measured along the minimum building setback line for the district within which such lot is located.
GARAGE, PRIVATE. A building or portion of a building designed or used for the storage of motor-driven vehicles owned and/or used by the occupants of the principal use of the property.
HOME OCCUPATION. Any occupation or profession conducted primarily by immediate resident family members, which is clearly incidental and secondary to the dwelling’s residential use. A HOME OCCUPATION must meet the standards and requirements specified in § 153.391.
HOSPITAL. A building or structure containing beds for at least four patients, allowing for overnight or continuous care, diagnosis and treatment of human ailments.
HOTEL or MOTEL. A building in which lodging is provided or offered to the public for compensation and which is open to transient guests, in contradiction to a boarding house or lodging house operated on a membership basis.
IMPROVEMENT. Any addition to the natural state of land which increases its value or utility, including buildings, street pavements, sidewalks, crosswalks, water mains, sanitary sewers, storm sewers, landscaping, street lighting, street trees, public utilities, paved parking areas and other appropriate items.
(1) PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. All improvements financed entirely or in part by public funds or which have been dedicated to public use by plat, easement or deed of transfer.
(2) SITE IMPROVEMENTS. The improvements made to the land outside the exterior limits of a structure or structures.
INDUSTRIALIZED UNIT. A building unit or assembly of closed construction that is fabricated in an off-site facility, that is substantially self-sufficient as a unit or as a part of a greater structure, that requires transportation to the site of intended use. INDUSTRIALIZED UNIT includes units installed on the site as independent units, as part of a group of units, or incorporated with standard construction methods to form a completed structural entity. INDUSTRIALIZED UNIT does not include a manufactured or mobile home as defined herein.
INSTITUTION. An organization providing social, cultural, educational or health services to member agencies, organizations and individuals, or to the general public.
LOADING SPACE. A space within the main building or on the same lot therewith, providing for the standing, loading or unloading of trucks.
LOT. A division of land separated from other divisions for purposes of sale, lease or separate use, described on recorded subdivision plat, recorded map or by metes and bound, and includes the terms “plat” and “parcel”.
(1) CORNER LOT. Any lot at the junction of and abutting on two or more intersecting streets, where the angle of intersection is not more than 135 degrees.
(2) LOT COVERAGE. The ratio of enclosed ground floor area of all buildings on a lot to the horizontally projected area of the lot, expressed as a percentage.
(3) LOT OF RECORD. Any lot which individually or as a part of a subdivision has been recorded in the office of the County Recorder, as of the effective date of this chapter.
(4) LOT WIDTH. The width of a lot at the building setback line measured at right angles to its depth.
(5) MINIMUM AREA OF LOT. The area of a lot computed exclusive of any portion of the right-of-way or any public thoroughfare.
(6) REAR LOT LINE. That lot line which is opposite and furthest removed from the front lot line. In the case of a lot where the side lot lines meet at the rear of the lot (i.e., a triangular lot), the rear lot line shall be considered to be the point of intersection of the side lot lines. In the case of a corner lot, the REAR LOT LINE is opposite and furthest removed from the lot line considered to be the front lot line for purposes of computing the front yard depth.
(7) SIDE LOT LINE. The lot line running from the front lot line to the rear lot line. This line is also the line dividing two interior lots.
MANUFACTURED HOME. A building unit or assembly of closed construction that is fabricated in an off-site facility that conforms with the federal construction and safety standards established by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to the Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, being 42 U.S.C. §§ 5401 et seq., and has a label or tag permanently affixed to it, certifying compliance with all applicable federal construction and safety standards.
MANUFACTURED HOME COMMUNITY or MANUFACTURED HOME PARK. A development constructed primarily for manufactured homes, with continuing local management and special facilities for common use by residents. Typically, the land or lots upon which the manufactured homes are located will not be owned by the resident of the individual manufactured home.
MANUFACTURING. Any production or industrial process, including food processing, which combines one or more raw materials or components into a product or which changes the nature of the materials entering the process, and which by the nature of the materials, equipment and/or process utilized is not objectionable by reason of odor, noise, vibration, gas fumes, dust, smoke, refuse or water- carried wastes.
MOBILE HOME. A building unit or assembly of closed construction that is fabricated in an off-site facility, is more than 35 feet in length, or, when erected on the site, is 320 or more square feet, that is built on a permanent chassis and is transportable in one or more sections, and does not qualify as a manufactured home or industrialized unit, as defined herein.
MODULAR HOME. A non-site-built home that is certified as meeting the requirements of the State’s Building Code for modular housing. For the purposes of this chapter, once certified by the state, MODULAR HOMES shall be subject to the same standards as site-built homes.
NONCONFORMING USE. The use of land or a building, or a portion thereof, which does not conform with the use regulations of the district in which it is situated, which use was lawful prior to the enactment of this planning and zoning code.
NURSERY or DAY CARE CENTER. A facility which temporarily assumes responsibility for more than six children other than those related to the resident of the premises. Such responsibility shall consist of administering to the needs of those children during any part of a 24-hour day for a period of two consecutive days.
NURSING HOME. Includes convalescent and extended care facilities; an establishment which specializes in providing necessary care, shelter and nursing services and services to those unable to be responsible for themselves.
OPEN SPACE. That part of a zoned property, including courts or yards, which is open and unobstructed from its lowest level to the sky, accessible to all tenants upon the zoning property.
PARKING AREA or PARKING LOT. Any area other than street, drive or alley, used or intended to be used for the storage of motor vehicles, with or without a fee.
PERMANENT FOUNDATION. A permanent masonry, concrete or locally approved footing or foundation, to which a manufactured home may be affixed.
PERMANENTLY SITED MANUFACTURED HOME. A manufactured home that meets all of the following criteria:
(a) The structure is affixed to a permanent foundation and is connected to appropriate facilities;
(b) The structure, excluding any addition, has a width of at least 22 feet at one point, and a length of at least 22 feet at one point, and a living area of at least 900 square feet, excluding garages, porches, or attachments;
(c) The structure has a minimum 4:12 roof pitch, conventional residential siding, and a six-inch minimum eave overhang, including appropriate guttering;
(d) The structure was manufactured after January 1, 1995; and
(e) The structure is not located in a manufactured home community or manufactured home park as defined herein.
PERSON. Any individual, corporation, company, business, partnership, association or legal entity.
PERSONAL SERVICE. Any enterprise, conducted for gain, which primarily offers services to the general public, such as shoe repair, watch repair, retail dry cleaning, barber and beauty shops and related activities.
PLAN. A drawing showing the proportion and relation of parts of improvements to each other and their surroundings.
PLAT. A plan of a tract or parcel of land made by a surveyor registered in the State of Ohio showing public dedications, property lines, lot lines and such other information as is required herein.
PROFESSIONAL OFFICE. The business office of a person or persons engaged in providing to the general public services of a professional nature, such as legal, medical, accounting and architectural services.
RECREATIONAL FACILITIES. Public or privately-operated uses such as country clubs, golf courses, swimming pools or other areas maintained for the purpose of providing active and passive recreation.
RESIDENCE. See DWELLING as defined in this section.
RESTAURANT. A business establishment where food and beverages are prepared and presented for human consumption on the premises.
RETAIL STORES. Stores primarily engaged in selling merchandise for personal or household consumption and in rendering services incidental to the sale of goods.
RIGHT-OF-WAY. A strip of land taken or dedicated for use as a public way. In addition to the roadway, it normally incorporates the curbs, lawn strips, sidewalks, lighting and drainage facilities, and may include special features required by the topography or treatment, such as grade separation, landscaped areas, viaducts and bridges.
SIDEWALK. A paved portion of a street lying outside the curb lines or edge of pavement of a roadway, intended for pedestrian use.
SIMILAR USE. A use not specifically listed in any of the permitted building or use classifications of any district, but which may be found analogous and added to the classification, according to the procedures and requirements of § 153.176(E).
STREET. The full width of the right-of-way between two property lines, both paved and unpaved, intended to provide principal means of access to an abutting property. STREETS shall be classified as follows.
(1) ARTERIAL STREET. A street connecting the city with outside activity centers and serving as the primary routes through and within the city. ARTERIAL STREETS carry the largest volume of traffic, over 5,000 vehicles per day ADT, usually on a continuous route. Service to the adjacent land is subordinate to the provision of travel service on arterial streets.
(2) COLLECTOR STREET, MAJOR. A thoroughfare which carries vehicular traffic from local streets to arterial streets, and is designed to accommodate 1,000 to 5,000 vehicles per day ADT.
(3) COLLECTOR STREET, MINOR. A thoroughfare which primarily carries vehicular traffic from local streets to major collector and arterial streets, and is designed to accommodate 500 to 1,000 vehicles per day ADT.
(4) CUL-DE-SAC. A short local street having but one end open for motor traffic and the other end terminated by a vehicular turn-around or back-around.
(5) LOCAL STREET. A street on which the majority of the traffic originates or terminates in the abutting properties. These streets are designed to accommodate up to 500 vehicles per day ADT at low speeds.
(6) PRIVATE STREET. A strip of privately-owned land providing access to abutting properties.
(7) PUBLIC STREET. A strip of land providing public access to abutting property, as dedicated to the city or the county upon a plat which has been duly approved, filed and recorded in the County Recorder’s office.
(8) SERVICE ROAD or ACCESS ROAD. A minor street parallel to a thoroughfare to afford abutting property owners access to the thoroughfare at limited points.
STRUCTURAL ALTERATION. Any change which would replace or tend to prolong the life of a supporting member of a structure, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.
STRUCTURE. Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires location on the ground or attachment to something having a fixed location on the ground, including, among other things, walls, buildings and patios. STRUCTURE does not include fences, but shall include mobile or manufactured structures.
SUBDIVISION. Includes the following:
(a) The division of any parcel of land shown as a unit or as contiguous units on the last preceding tax roll, into two or more parcels, sites or lots, any one of which is less than five acres, for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership, provided, however, that the division or partition of land into parcels of more than five acres not involving any new streets or easements of access, and the sale or exchange of parcels between adjoining lot owners, where such sale or exchange does not create additional building sites and where the lots resulting are not reduced below minimum sizes required by law shall be exempted; or
(b) The improvement of one or more parcels of land for residential, commercial or industrial structures or groups of structures involving the division or allocation of land for the opening, widening or extension of any street or streets, except private streets serving industrial structures; the division or allocation of land as open spaces for common use by owners, occupants or leaseholders or as easements for the extension and maintenance of public sewer, water, storm drainage or other public facilities.
SURVEY. The legal description of a property, with text and map, that precisely locates the property by referencing permanent monuments, markers and/or pins.
THOROUGHFARE PLAN. The document now or hereafter adopted, which may be considered a component of the city’s comprehensive land use plan, which sets forth the location, alignment and/or classification of existing and proposed streets.
USE. The purpose for which a building or land is arranged, designed or intended, or for which such or building may be occupied or maintained.
VARIANCE. A modification from the strict terms of the relevant regulations where such modification will not be contrary to the public interest and where, owing to conditions peculiar to the property and not the result of action by the applicant, a literal enforcement of the regulations would result in unnecessary and undue hardship.
YARD. A required open space other than a court unoccupied and unobstructed by any structure or portion of a structure from three feet above the general level of the graded lot upward.
(1) FRONT YARD. That portion of a lot extending across the front of the lot between the side lot lines and being the minimum horizontal distance between the street right-of-way and the front of the building or structure.
(2) REAR YARD. That portion of a lot extending across the rear of the lot between the side lot lines and being the required minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the rear of the building or structure.
(3) SIDE YARD. That portion of a lot that is located between the side lot line and the nearest building or structure.
(2003 Code, § 153.005) (Ord. 3459, §§ 2.01 and 2.02, passed 3-7-2002)