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Table 9.3.5: Allowable Encroachment into Required Setbacks, sets out the kinds of features that are permitted to encroach within a required setback, provided they do not obstruct visibility for motorists at any street intersection (see Figure 9.3.5: Setback Encroachments).
Feature | Maximum Allowable Encroachment Distance into a Required Setback |
Feature | Maximum Allowable Encroachment Distance into a Required Setback |
Awnings | May encroach into any setback up to eight feet, but shall maintain a minimum height of at least nine feet above a sidewalk or other pedestrian access |
Balcony or Bay Window | May extend up to four feet into any required setback within a residential zoning district, but shall be no closer than three feet from any lot line |
Bicycle Parking Facilities | Allowed within a setback, but no closer than five feet to the edge of the pavement of a street |
Canopy, Attached | May encroach into any setback up to three feet, but shall maintain a minimum height of at least nine feet above a sidewalk or other pedestrian access. In the CBD district, a canopy shall maintain a minimum distance of at least two feet from the back of the curb |
Canopy, Freestanding | May be located in a setback provided no portion is closer than 15 feet to a street right-of-way |
Chimneys, Fireplaces, Outdoor Kitchens, or Steps | May extend up to four feet into any setback, but shall be no closer than three feet from any lot line |
Cornice, Beltcourse, or Sill | May extend up to one-and-one-half feet into any required setback |
Decks, Covered | Subject to the setbacks applied to principal structures |
Decks, Uncovered | Subject to the setbacks applied to principal structures |
Decks, Uncovered -Within Six Inches of Grade | May extend up to four feet into a required side yard or ten feet into a required front or rear yard |
Driveways | May be located in any required setback |
Elevators and Similar Mechanical Devices | May encroach into side setbacks no more than 18 inches and rear setbacks no more than 36 inches |
Fences or Walls, Excluding Retaining Walls | May be located in any required setback, subject to the limitations in Section 5.5, Fences and Walls, but shall not be located within a required sight distance triangle |
TABLE 9.3.5: ALLOWABLE ENCROACHMENT INTO REQUIRED SETBACKS | |
Feature | Maximum Allowable Encroachment Distance into a Required Setback |
Flagpoles, Mailboxes, Lamp and Address Posts | May be located in any required setback |
Garage | May be located within rear yard, provided the structure is more than 10 feet from the principal dwelling |
Gazebo or Garden Structure | May not be located within a street setback |
Handicap Ramps | May be located in any required setback provided it does not unduly obstruct pedestrian or vehicular access |
Outdoor Equipment (e.g., HVAC condenser, water heater, etc.) Serving Single-Family Detached Residential Use | May extend up to four feet into any required setback |
Outdoor Equipment Serving a Use Other than Single-Family Detached Residential | May encroach into a required setback except when the required setback is five feet or less |
Outdoor Seating Areas Serving a Nonresidential Use | May encroach into a setback up to eight feet |
Outdoor Storage | May not encroach into a required setback |
Patio, Covered | Subject to the setbacks applied to principal structures |
Patio, Uncovered | May extend up to four feet into a required side yard or ten feet into a required front or rear yard |
Pet Shelters | Subject to the setbacks applied to principal structures |
Playground Equipment Accessory to a Residential Use | When located ten or more feet from the principal structure, may be located within five feet of a side or rear lot line, but shall not be located within a required street setback |
TABLE 9.3.5: ALLOWABLE ENCROACHMENT INTO REQUIRED SETBACKS | |
Feature | Maximum Allowable Encroachment Distance into a Required Setback |
Retaining Walls | May encroach into a required setback |
Roof Eaves, Rakes, and Overhangs | May extend up to four feet into any required setback |
Signs | May extend into any required setback in accordance with Section 5.11, Signage |
Swimming Pool (including all ancillary appurtenances) | May extend into a required side or rear setback, but shall be no closer than five feet to a lot line or ten feet from the principal structure |
Underground Structures (including septic systems but excluding swimming pools) | May be located in any required setback |
Vegetation and Landscaping Features | May be located in any required setback |
Vehicular Off-Street Parking Area | May be located in any required setback provided that no parking area is located within five feet of the street right-of-way |
Well House (functional or aesthetic) | May be located in any required setback, but shall be no closer than eight feet from a right-of-way |
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(Ord. 2020-36, passed 12-2-2019)
Residential density is the maximum allowable number of residential dwelling units permitted on a particular site, tract, lot, or other unit of land area, typically expressed as a maximum number of residential units per acre.
A. Calculation.
1. Maximum residential density is calculated by dividing the square footage of a lot by the number of square feet in an acre (43,560), then multiplying the maximum number dwelling units allowed in the zoning district, and rounding the product downwards to remove any fractions.
Example:
Lot size: 52,000 square feet / 43,560 = 1.19 acres.
Zoning district maximum density is 1.08 units per acre: 1.19 x 1.08 = 1.28. Maximum number of residential units = 1 (fractions are rounded downwards).
2. Land area associated with floodplains and riparian buffers may be included in the calculation of the square footage of a tract or site for the purposes of determining the maximum residential density.
3. Land area located within a right-of-way shall not be included in the calculation of allowable density.
B. Density Equivalence.
1. Accessory dwelling units associated with a single-family residential principal use shall not be counted towards the maximum allowable residential density.
2. When calculating the density for a private dormitory associated with an educational use, two bedrooms in a private dormitory shall be equivalent to one regular dwelling unit.
3. Maximum density amounts do not apply to student housing or lodging on college or university campuses when the housing is owned or operated by the college or university. In these instances, residential land uses are considered as an accessory to the college or university principal use.
(Ord. 2020-36, passed 12-2-2019)
Gross floor area (GFA) shall be defined as the sum in square feet of all floors of the building measured from the exterior face of the exterior walls. The gross floor area shall include or exclude areas as indicated below:
A. Areas Included in Gross Floor Area.
1. All enclosed habitable space.
2. Elevators, hallways, and stairwells on stories containing habitable space.
B. Areas Excluded from Gross Floor Area.
1. Unenclosed porches or decks.
2. Off-street parking areas, including the elevators, hallways, mechanical equipment, and stairwells on stories containing off-street parking.
3. Utility services areas devoted to the electric service, the potable water service, the wastewater system, the telephone service, the cable service, or to a backup generator.
4. Mechanical areas and uninhabited enclosed spaces on tops of roofs not intended for general storage.
(Ord. 2020-36, passed 12-2-2019)
A. Measurement. Building height shall be measured from the finished or established grade elevation following any land disturbing activities.
B. Maximum Height. Building height is the vertical distance from a point established as the mean elevation of the finished grade along the front facade of a building to any of the following points (see Figure 9.3.8: Building Height):
1. The highest point of a flat roof (excluding coping or parapet walls shorter than five feet above the roof deck);
2. The deck line of a mansard roof;
3. The mid-point of the roof between the ridge and the eaves for a gable, hip, or gambrel roof; or
4. To the highest point of a dome, shed, or cricket-style roof.
C. Story. A building story is the portion of a building where all rooms share the same floor and ceiling level.
1. A crawlspace or basement with an average ceiling height of less than seven feet is not considered as a story.
2. An attic with an average ceiling height of less than six feet is not considered a story.
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(Ord. 2020-36, passed 12-2-2019)
A. Lot coverage is the percentage of a lot or development site that is covered by impervious, or built-upon area.
B. Built-upon area includes buildings, structures, pavement, and site features that are impervious or partially impervious to rain or stormwater runoff.
C. The following features are not considered impervious, and as a result are not included within the built-upon area:
1. A slatted deck or walkway;
2. The water area of a swimming pool;
3. A surface covered by number 57 stone, as designated by the American Society for Testing and Materials, laid at least four inches thick over a geotextile fabric;
4. A trail as defined in Section 143B-139.4 of the North Carolina General Statutes that is either unpaved or paved as long as the pavement is porous with a hydraulic conductivity greater than 0.001 centimeters per second (1.41 inches per hour); or
5. Landscaping material, including, but not limited to, gravel, mulch, sand, and vegetation, placed on areas that receive pedestrian or bicycle traffic or on portions of driveways and parking areas that will not be compacted by the weight of a vehicle, such as the area between sections of pavement that support the weight of a vehicle.
(Ord. 2020-36, passed 12-2-2019)
A. Slope. The degree of deviation of the ground surface from a flat, horizontal elevation, usually expressed in percent or degrees of deviation from horizontal.
B. Base Flood Elevation (BFE). A determination of the water surface elevations of the base flood as published in the flood insurance study. When the BFE has not been provided for land within the FHO, it may be obtained from engineering studies available from a federal, State, or other source using FEMA approved engineering methodologies. This elevation establishes the Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation.
C. Finished Grade. The established grade following grading, excavation, or other land-disturbing activity.
D. Natural Grade. The level of the ground elevation prior to the commencement of development or land disturbing activity (see Figure 9.3.10: Grade Determination).
E. Regulatory Flood Protection Elevation. The minimum height allowable for lowest structural member comprising habitable space within a building. This is a height equivalent to two linear feet in elevation above the base flood elevation.
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(Ord. 2020-36, passed 12-2-2019)
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