For the purposes of this Zoning Code, certain terms and words are hereby defined. Certain sections contain definitions which are additional to those listed here. Where terms are not specifically defined, their ordinarily accepted meaning or meanings implied by their context shall apply.
1. “Abutting” means having lot lines or district boundaries in common, including property separated by a public street or alley. This term is used interchangeably with “adjacent.”
2. “Accessory structure” means a structure which is incidental to and customarily associated with a specific principal use or building on the same site.
3. “Accessory use” means a use which is incidental to and customarily associated with a specific principal use on the same site.
4. “Addition” means any construction which increases the size of a building or structure in terms of site coverage, height, length, width, or gross floor area.
5. “Agent of owner” means any person showing written verification that he/she is acting for – and with the knowledge and consent of – a property owner.
6. “Alley” means a public right-of-way which is used as a secondary means of access to abutting property.
7. “Alteration” means any construction or physical change in the internal arrangement of spaces, the supporting members, the positioning on a site, or the appearance of a building or structure.
8. “Apartment” means a housing unit within a building designed for and suitable for occupancy by only one family. Apartments are generally located within multi-family residential buildings.
9. “Attached” means having one or more walls in common with a principal building or connected to a principal building by an integral architectural element, such as a covered passageway, façade wall extension, or archway.
10. “Base Zoning District” means a district established by this Zoning Code which prescribes basic regulations governing land use and site development standards. For any actions taken after the effective date of this Code, no more than one Base Zoning District shall apply to any individually platted lot or parcel unless the lot or parcel is part of a Planned Unit Development.
11. “Basement” means a level of a building below street level that has at least one-half of its height below the surface of adjacent ground. A basement used for independent dwelling or business purposes shall be considered a story for the purposes of height measurement. Chapter 169 sets forth floodplain and floodway regulations governing building standards in flood-prone areas.
12. “Bedroom” means any space intended for sleeping purposes in the conditioned space of a dwelling unit which is 80 square feet and greater in size and which is located along an exterior wall, but not including the following: hall; bathroom; kitchen; laundry room.
13. “Beginning of construction” means the initial incorporation of labor and materials within the foundation of a building or structure.
14. “Block” means an area of land within a subdivision that is entirely bounded by streets, or by streets and the exterior boundaries of the subdivision, or by a combination of the above with a watercourse or lake, and which has been designated as such on a plat for the purposes of legal description of a property.
15. “Blockface” means the property abutting one side of a street and lying between the two nearest intersection streets, or between the one nearest intersecting street and a major physical barrier, including (but not limited to) railroads, streams, lakes, or the corporate limits of the City.
16. “Board of Adjustment” means a body established by the City expressly for the purpose of granting relief from situations of hardship and to hear appeals as provided by this Zoning Code.
17. “Buffer yard” means a landscaped area intended to separate and partially obstruct the view of two adjacent land uses or properties from one another.
18. “Building” means a structure entirely separated from any other structure by space or by walls and having a roof and built to provide shelter, support, or enclosure for persons or property.
19. “Building coverage” means the area of a site covered by buildings or roofed areas, excluding allowed projecting eaves, balconies, and similar features.
20. “Building envelope” means the three-dimensional space within which a structure is permitted to be built on a lot after all zoning and other applicable municipal requirements have been met.
21. “Building line” means the outer boundary of a building established by the location of its exterior walls.
22. “Building Official” means the designee of the City Council, responsible for the enforcement of Chapter 155 of this Code of Ordinances.
23. “Business” means activities that include the exchange or manufacture of goods or services on a site.
24. “Business center” means a building containing more than one commercial business, or any group of nonresidential buildings within a common development, characterized by shared parking and access.
25. “Certificate of Occupancy” means an official certificate issued by the Building Official, upon finding of conformance with the City’s Building Code (Chapter 155), and upon receipt of a Certificate of Zoning Compliance.
26. “Certificate of Zoning Compliance” means an official certificate issued by the Building Official, which indicates that the proposed use of building or land complies with the provisions of this Zoning Code.
27. “Change of use” means the replacement of an existing use by a new use.
28. “Cluster” means a development design technique that concentrates buildings in specific areas on a site to allow remaining land to be used for recreation, common open space, or the preservation of historically or environmentally sensitive features.
29. “Collector street” means a street connecting neighborhoods within the same communities, designed to carry traffic from local to arterial streets.
30. “Common area” means an area held, designed, and designated for common or cooperative use within a development.
31. “Common development” means a development proposed and planned as one unified project not separated by a public street or alley.
32. “Common open space” means land within or related to a development that is not individually owned or dedicated for public use, designed and generally intended for the common use of the residents of the development.
33. “Compatibility” means the degree to which two or more different land use types are able to exist together in close proximity, with no one use having significant negative effects on any other use.
34. “Comprehensive Plan” means the duly adopted Comprehensive Development Plan of the City.
35. “Conditional Use Permit (CUP)” is intended to accommodate those types of uses that don’t fit neatly into any particular zoning district, and which have the potential to impact surrounding properties. As part of the approval process, the Board of Adjustment can impose conditions on the proposed use to help minimize the potential impacts on surrounding property.
36. “Conditioned space” means an area, room, or space normally occupied and being heated and/or cooled by any equipment for human habitation.
37. “Condominium” means a real estate ownership arrangement that combines fee simple title to a specific unit and joint ownership in common elements shared with other unit owners. Types of units may include dwelling units, parking spaces, office spaces, or commercial spaces.
38. “Conservation development” means a development design technique that concentrates buildings in specific areas on a site to allow remaining land to be used for recreation, common open space, or the preservation of historically or environmentally sensitive features.
39. “Conservation subdivision” means, wholly or in majority, a residential subdivision that permits a reduction in lot area, setback, or other site development regulations, provided: (i) there is no increase in the overall density permitted for a conventional subdivision in a given zoning district; and (ii) the remaining land area is used for common space.
40. “Court” means an approved private right-of-way which provides access to residential properties and meets at least three of the following conditions:
A. Serves 12 or fewer housing units or platted lots.
B. Does not function as a local street because of its alignment, design, or location.
C. Is completely internal to a development.
D. Does not exceed 600 feet in length.
41. “Courtyard” means an open, unoccupied space, bounded on two or more sides by the walls of the building.
42. “Deck” means an unroofed platform, unenclosed except by a railing, which is attached to the ground and/or another structure.
43. “Density” means the amount of development per specific unit of a site.
44. “Drive-in services” means uses which involve the sale of products or provision of services to occupants in vehicles.
45. “Detached” means fully separated from any other building or jointed to another building in such a manner as not to constitute an enclosed or covered connection.
46. “Driveway” means a permanent surface area providing vehicular access between a street and an off-street parking or loading area. A driveway surface area shall be asphaltic, Portland cement binder pavement, paver block, concrete block, or similar surface so as to provide a durable and dustless surface. Gravel or rock is not deemed to be a dustless surface.
47. “Dwelling unit” means one or more rooms, designed, occupied, or intended for occupancy as a separate living quarter, with cooking, sleeping, and sanitary facilities provided within the dwelling unit for the exclusive use of a single family maintaining a household.
48. “Easement” means a privilege or right of use granted on, above, under, or across a particular tract of land for a specific purpose by one owner to another owner, public or private agency, or utility.
49. “Enclosed” means a roofed or covered space fully surrounded by walls.
50. “Family” means one or more persons occupying a single dwelling unit, related by blood, marriage, domestic partnership, adoption, or other custodial arrangement.
51. “Federal” means pertaining to the Government of the United States of America.
52. “Floor area ratio” means the quotient of gross floor area divided by gross site area.
53. “Frontage” means the length of a property line of any one premises abutting and parallel to a public street, private way, or court.
54. “Grade” means the horizontal elevation of the finished surface of ground, paving, or sidewalk adjacent to any building line.
A. For buildings having walls facing one street only, the grade shall be the elevation of the sidewalk (or the boundary line between the property and the street right-of-way in the absence of sidewalks) perpendicular to the center of the wall facing the street.
B. For buildings having walls facing more than one street, the grade shall be the average elevation of the grades of all walls facing each street.
C. For buildings having no walls facing a street, the grade shall be the average level of the finished surface of the ground adjacent to the exterior walls of the building.
55. “Gross floor area” means the total enclosed area of all floors of a building, measured to the inside surfaces of the exterior walls. This definition excludes the areas of basements, elevator shafts, airspaces above atriums, and enclosed off-street parking and loading areas serving a principal use.
56. “Height” means the vertical distance from the established grade to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, the deck line of a mansard roof, gable, hip, shed, or gambrel roofs. For other cases, height shall be measured as the vertical distance from the established grade to the highest point of a structure as herein defined. Where a building or structure is located on a slope, height shall be measured from the average grade level adjacent to the building or structure.
57. “Home based business” or “home occupation” means an accessory occupational use conducted entirely within a dwelling unit by its inhabitants, which is clearly incidental to the residential use of the dwelling unit or residential structure and does not change the residential character of its site or have any external evidence of such use.
58. “Housing unit” or “dwelling unit” means a building or portion of a building arranged for and intended for occupancy as an independent living facility for one family, including permanent provisions for cooking.
59. “Impervious coverage” means the total horizontal area of all buildings, roofed or covered spaces, paved surface areas, walkways and driveways, and any other site improvements that decrease the ability of the surface of the site to absorb water, expressed as a percent of site area. The surface water area of pools is excluded from this definition.
60. “Landscaped area” means the area within the boundaries of a given lot, site or common development consisting primarily of plant material, including but not limited to grass, trees, shrubs, vines, ground cover, and other organic plant materials; or grass paver masonry units installed such that the appearance of the area is primarily landscaped.
61. “Perimeter landscaped area” means any required landscaped area that adjoins the exterior boundary of a lot, site, or common development.
62. “Interior landscaped area” means any landscaped area within a site exclusive of required perimeter landscaping.
63. “Loading area” means an off-street area used for the loading or unloading of goods from a vehicle in connection with the use of the site on which such area is located.
64. “Lot” means a parcel of property with a separate and distinct number or other identifying designation which has been created, assigned, and recorded in the Office of the Polk County Recorder. Each individual lot is subject to the provisions of a particular Base Zoning District, and shall have a minimum frontage of 20 feet, except as provided in an approved Planned Unit Development and/or Conservation Subdivision.
A. “Corner lot” means a lot located at the junction of at least two streets, private ways or courts or at least two segments of a curved street, private way or court, at which the angle of intersection is no greater than 135 degrees.
B. “Double frontage lot” (also known as a “through lot”) means a lot, other than a corner lot, having frontage on two streets, private ways, or courts. Primary access shall be restricted on a double frontage lot to the minor of the two streets or to the front line as determined at time of platting or as defined by this Zoning Code.
C. “Interior lot” means a lot other than a corner lot.
D. “Common development lot” means a lot which is considered a single lot for the purposes of this Zoning Code, when two or more contiguous lots are developed as part of a Planned Unit Development.
65. “Lot area” means the total horizontal area within the lot lines of a lot.
66. “Lot depth” means the mean horizontal distance measured between the front and rear lot lines.
67. “Lot line” means a property boundary line of record that divides one lot from another lot or a lot from the public or private street right-of-way or easement. Once established, lot lines may not be redefined due to a change of address which would result in a new definition of the prior defined lot lines.
A. “Front lot line” means the lot line separating a lot and a public or private street right-of-way or easement:
(1) For an interior lot, the lot line separating the lot from the right-of-way or easement;
(2) For a corner lot, the shorter lot line abutting a public or private street or easement; in instances of equal line dimension, the front lot line shall be determined by the Building Official, or as may be noted on the final plat;
(3) For a double frontage lot, the lot lines separating the lot from the right-of-way or easement of the more minor street. In cases where each street has the same classification, the front lot line shall be determined by the Building Official at the time of application for the original building permit for the lot, or as may be noted on the final plat.
B. “Rear lot line” means the lot line which is opposite and most distant from the front line.
C. “Side lot line” means any lot line that is neither a front or rear lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from a street, private way, or court is a street side lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from another lot or lots is an interior side lot line.
68. “Lot width” means the horizontal distance measured between the side lot lines of a lot, at right angles to its depth along a straight line parallel to the font lot line at the minimum required setback line.
69. “Manufactured home dwelling” means a factory-built, single-family dwelling structure which is to be used as a place for human habitation, which is manufactured or constructed under the authority of 42 U.S. 3. Sec. 5403, Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, and which is not constructed or equipped with a permanent hitch or other device allowing it to be moved other than to a permanent site, and which does not have permanently attached to its body or frame any wheels or axles. A mobile home constructed to the National Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards promulgated by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development is not a manufactured home unless it has been converted to real property and is taxed as a site-built dwelling as is provided in the Code of Iowa, Section 435.26. For the purpose of any of these regulations, manufactured homes shall be considered the same as a single-family detached dwelling.
70. “Mixed use building” means a building or structure that incorporates two or more use types within a single building or structure, provided that each use type is permitted within the individual Base Zoning District in which the building or structure is to be located.
71. “Mixed use development” means a single development which incorporates complementary land use types into a single development.
72. “Mobile home” means a building type designed to be transportable in one or more sections, constructed on a permanent chassis or undercarriage, and designed to be used as a dwelling unit or other use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, but not bearing a seal attesting to the approval and issuance of the Iowa Department of Health or conformance to the Manufactured Home Procedural and Enforcement Regulations, as adopted by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development; or not otherwise satisfying the definition of “manufactured home dwelling.”
73. “Mobile home park” means a unified development under single ownership, developed, subdivided, planned, and improved for the placement of mobile home units for non-transient use. Mobile home parks include common areas and facilities for management, recreation, laundry, utility services, storage, storm shelter, and other services; but do not include mobile home sales lots on which unoccupied mobile homes are parked for the purposes of display, inspection, sale, or storage.
74. “Nonconforming development” means a building, structure, or improvement which does not comply with the regulations for its zoning district set forth by this Zoning Code but which complied with applicable regulations at the time of construction. No action can be taken which would increase the nonconforming characteristics of the development.
75. “Nonconforming lot” means a lot which was lawful prior to the adoption, revision, or amendment of this Zoning Code but that fails by reason of such adoption, revision, or amendment to conform to the present requirements of this Zoning Code. No action can be taken which would increase the nonconforming characteristics of the lot.
76. “Nonconforming sign” means a sign that was legally erected prior to the adoption, revision, or amendment of this Zoning Code but that fails by reason of such adoption, revision, or amendment to conform to the present requirements of this Zoning Code. No action can be taken which would increase the nonconforming characteristics of the sign.
77. “Nonconforming structure” means a structure which was lawful prior to the adoption, revision, or amendment of this Zoning Code but that fails by reason of such adoption, revision, or amendment to conform to the present requirements of this Zoning Code. No action can be taken which would increase the nonconforming characteristics of the structure.
78. “Nonconforming use” means a land use which was lawful prior to the adoption, revision, or amendment of this Zoning Code but that fails by reason of such adoption, revision, or amendment to conform to the present requirements of this Zoning Code. No action can be taken which would increase the nonconforming characteristics of the land use.
79. “Nuisance” means an unreasonable and continuous invasion of the use and enjoyment of a property right which a reasonable person would find annoying, unpleasant, obnoxious, or offensive.
80. “Open space” means area included on any site or lot that is open and unobstructed to the sky, except for allowed projections of cornices, overhangs, porches, balconies, or plant materials.
81. “Outdoor storage” means the storage of materials, parts, or products that are related to the primary use of a site for a period exceeding three days.
82. “Overlay District” means a district established by this Zoning Code to prescribe special regulations to be applied to a site only in combination with a Base Zoning District.
83. “Owner” means an individual, firm, association, syndicate, partnership, or corporation having sufficient proprietary interest to seek development of land.
84. “Parking facility” means an area on a lot and/or within a building, including one or more parking spaces, along with provision for access circulation, maneuvering, and landscaping, meeting the requirements of this Zoning Code. Parking facilities include parking lots, private garages, and parking structures. Vehicle storage is distinct from parking, and is regulated by provisions in Sections 167.07(2)(F), 167.09(10) and Table 168-2. Vehicle storage is also governed by provisions of Chapter 174 – Off-Street Parking Regulations.
85. “Parking space” means an area on a lot and/or within a building, intended for the use of temporary parking of a personal vehicle. This term is used interchangeably with “parking stall.” Each parking space must have a means of access to a public street. Tandem parking stalls in single-family detached, single-family attached, and townhouse residential uses shall be considered to have a means of access to a public street.
86. “Paved” means permanently surfaced with poured concrete, concrete pavers or masonry units, brick, or asphalt.
87. “Permitted use” means a land use type allowed as a matter of right in a zoning district, subject only to special requirements of this Zoning Code.
88. “Planning Commission” means the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City, as authorized pursuant to Chapter 414 of the Code of Iowa.
89. “Planned Unit Development” means a development of land which is under unified control and is planned and developed as a whole in a single development operation or programmed series of development stages. The development may include streets, circulation ways, utilities, buildings, open spaces, and other site features and improvements.
90. “Porch, unenclosed” means a roofed or unroofed open structure projecting from an exterior wall of a building and having no enclosed features more than 30 inches above its floor other than wire screening and a roof with supporting structure.
91. “Premises” means a lot, parcel, tract, or plot of land, contiguous and under common ownership or control, together with the buildings and structure thereon.
92. “Private garage” means a building for the storage of motor vehicles where no repair service facilities are maintained and where no motor vehicles are kept for rental or sale.
93. “Property line” – see “lot line.”
94. “Recreational vehicle” means a vehicle towed or self-propelled on its own chassis or attached to the chassis of another vehicle and designed or used for temporary dwelling, recreational, or sporting purposes. Recreational vehicles include (but are not limited to) travel trailers; campers; motor coach homes; converted buses and trucks, snowmobiles, boats, and boat trailers.
95. “Regulation” means a specific requirement set forth by this Zoning Code which must be followed.
96. “Remote parking” means a supply of off-street parking at a location not on the site of a given development.
97. “Right-of-way” means an area dedicated for public use or contained in an easement or other conveyance or grant to the City, including (but not limited to) streets, alleys, boulevards, sidewalks, public greenways, and other public property between the lateral property lines in which a roadway lies.
98. “Screening” means the method by which a view of one site from another adjacent site is shielded, concealed, or hidden. Screening techniques include fences, walls, hedges, berms, or other features as may be permitted by the landscape provisions of this Code.
99. “Setback” means the distance, as required by the minimum setback, which establishes the horizontal component of the building envelope.
100. “Sign” means a symbolic, visual device fixed upon a building, vehicle, structure, or parcel of land, which is intended to convey information about a product, business, activity, place, person, institution, candidate, or political idea. Sign regulations are set forth in Chapter 175 of this Zoning Code.
101. “Site” means the parcel of land to be developed or built upon. A site may encompass a single lot or a group of lots developed as a common development under the special and overlay districts provisions of this Zoning Code.
102. “Site plan” means a plan, prepared to scale, showing accurately and with complete dimensioning the boundaries of a site and the location of all buildings, structures, uses, and principal site development features proposed for a specific parcel of land and which includes any other information that may reasonably be requested by the City in order that an informed decision can be made on the associated request.
103. “Story” means the portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the next floor above it or, if there is no floor above it, the space between such floor and the next ceiling above it. A half story is a story under a sloped roof, the wall heights of which on at least two opposite exterior walls are less than four feet.
104. “Street” means a right-of-way dedicated to public use, which affords a primary means of access to the abutting property. This definition is intended to be inclusive of the term as defined in Iowa statutes.
A. In regard to a site, the principal street shall be the street to which the majority of lots on a blockface are oriented;
B. The intersecting street shall be a street other than a principal street.
105. “Street, local” means a street which is used primarily for access to the abutting properties.
106. “Street, major” means a street carrying traffic between neighborhoods, connecting neighborhoods with major activity centers, or accommodating major through traffic. Major streets are designated as collectors, arterials, or expressways by the Comprehensive Plan.
107. “Structure” means any object constructed or built, the use of which requires location on the ground or attachment to something located on the ground.
108. “Townhouse” means a dwelling unit having a common wall with or abutting one or more adjacent dwelling units in a townhouse structure, with its own front and rear access to the outside, and neither above nor below any other dwelling unit.
109. “Townhouse structure” means a building formed by at least two and not more than twelve contiguous townhouses with common or abutting walls.
110. “Use” means the conduct of an activity or the performance of a function or operation on a site or in a building or facility.
111. “Utilities” means installations, either above or below ground, necessary for the production, generation, transmission, delivery, collection, treatment, or storage of water, solid or fluid wastes, storm water, energy media, gas, electronic or electromagnetic signals, or other services which are precedent to development and use of land.
112. “Yard, required” means that portion of a lot which lies between a lot line and the corresponding building setback line or the required landscape area. This area shall be unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward except as may be specifically provided for or required by this Zoning Code.
A. “Front yard” means the space extending the full width of a lot, lying between the front lot line and the front setback line. For a corner lot, the front yard shall normally be defined as that yard along a street which meets one of the following two criteria:
(1) The yard along the blockface to which a greater number of structures are oriented; or
(2) The yard along a street that has the smaller horizontal dimension.
B. “Rear yard” means the space extending the full width of a lot, lying between the rear lot line and the rear setback line.
C. “Side yard” means the space extending the depth of a lot from the front to rear lot lines, lying between the side yard setback line and the interior lot line.
D. “Street side yard” means, on a corner lot, the space extending from the front yard to the rear yard, between the street side yard setback line and the street side lot line.
113. “Zoned lot” means a parcel of land in single ownership that is large enough to meet the minimum zoning requirements of its zoning district and can provide such yards and other open spaces that are required by the site development regulations.
114. “Zoning district” means a designated specified land classification, within which all sites are subject to a unified group of use and site development regulations set forth in this Zoning Code.
(Ch. 166 – Ord. 17-12 – Dec. 17 Supp.)