A.
Generally. District dimensional regulations are specified in § 218-41, Dimensional Table. This Section delineates the minimum standards for lot area, setbacks, building coverage, and building height which apply in each district. § 218-37, Specific Land Use Standards and Conditions, provides additional detailed performance standards which must be met by uses. The purpose of these standards are to protect neighbors from adverse impacts of adjoining land uses and to protect the general health, safety, and welfare by limiting where uses may be established. The standards also insure that traffic congestion is minimized, control the intensity of use, and prescribe other such performance criteria necessary to implement the Comprehensive Plan and to meet the purposes of this Ordinance.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Dimensional Table is included as an attachment to this chapter.
A.
Front Lot Lines.
(1)
Corner Lots/Lots Fronting on More Than One Street.
(a)
Improved Lots.
[1]
On improved lots the street line onto which the main entrance
to the structure, or the front door, if a residential dwelling faces
shall be deemed to be the front lot line. The property line and/or
street line intersecting the front lot line shall be deemed to be
side lot lines.
[2]
Owners of improved lots may elect, once and only once, to select
the other street line as the front lot line. The property line and/or
street line intersecting the selected front lot line shall thereafter
be deemed to be side lot lines. This election shall be made at the
time a structural building permit is issued and shall be expressly
noted on the application for such permit and on accompanying plans
submitted therewith. Such election, or the issuance of such permit
in the absence of election, shall finally determine the front lot
line of the lot and shall be binding upon the successors, heirs and
assigns of the owner to which such permit is issued.
(b)
Unimproved Lots.
[1]
The owners of unimproved lots of record may elect, once and
only once, the street line of their choice as the front lot line.
The property line and/or street line intersecting the selected front
lot line shall thereafter be deemed to be side lot lines. This election
shall be made at the time a structural building permit is issued and
shall be expressly noted on the application for such permit and on
accompanying plans submitted therewith. Such election, or the issuance
of such permit in the absence of election, shall finally determine
the front lot line of the lot and shall be binding upon the successors,
heirs and assigns of the owner to which such permit is issued.
(2)
Conformance with Setbacks. Nothing in this Section shall preclude
compliance with the required building setbacks for lot lines as set
forth in this Ordinance, upon the final determination of the front
lot line in accordance with the provisions of this Section.
B.
Building Height. In all districts the height of any building or structure
shall not exceed the following:
|
Lot Size (SF)
|
Maximum Height (Ft.)
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Less than 40,000
|
30
| |
|
40,000 and greater
|
35
|
(1)
Buildings between 30' and 35' will require a minimum 6 pitch for
all roof lines above 30' and there will not be allowed any habitable
structures, or parts thereof, exterior to the roof structure above
30' (i.e. roof decks, widows walk, etc).
(2)
The following structures or parts of structures that are usually
required to be placed above the roof level and are not intended for
human occupancy may be erected no more than fifteen percent above
the specified height limitations of this ordinance: church spire,
church belfry, church tower, grain elevator, chimney, elevator penthouse,
silo, necessary mechanical appurtenances, ornamental towers, spires,
or water supply structures.
(3)
Exceptions:
(a)
The Mixed-Use Zoning Overlay District — The maximum height
shall be limited to 35' on all C1 and C2 zoned properties.
(b)
The maximum height for buildings and structures erected in Special Flood Hazard areas (see definition) shall be in accordance with the Dimensional Table of this ordinance (§ 218-41) minus the difference between the base flood elevation, however established, and the average existing grade. Additionally, any building or structure erected in a Special Flood Hazard area on a parcel of less than 40,000 SF shall be permitted to increase the maximum building height by the difference between the design flood elevation and the average existing grade, up to a maximum building height of 35'.
[Amended 2-11-2019 by Ord. No. 381]
(c)
Existing buildings and structures, which exceed the allowable
height requirements for the lot size, if all the other dimensional
requirements of this ordinance are met, may be added to with a maximum
allowable height as exist on the present building or structure. The
maximum height will not exceed 35'.
(d)
A building or structure destroyed by accident or by an act of
God may be restored within two years to its original height provided
that the location and the total floor area are not increased or altered.
C.
Yard Regulations. Yards required by this Ordinance and the space
above them shall be unobstructed by buildings or structures except
as provided in this Section or otherwise provided in this Ordinance:
(1)
Ordinary projections of window sills, cornices, and other structural
features may not extend more than twelve inches into the space above
required yards.
(2)
Signs as permitted in ARTICLE XI Signs may be located in front yards.
(3)
Open or semi-enclosed structures such as porches, canopies, balconies, platforms, garages, carports, covered patios, decks, and similar architectural projections when attached to a principal building shall be considered parts of the building to which attached and shall not project into the required minimum front, side, or rear yard. When such structures are not attached by the principal building they shall be considered accessory buildings and shall be governed by the provisions of ARTICLE VI § 218-37B. Accessory Uses.
A.
Preexisting Substandard Lots.
(1)
A lot with lesser amounts than required in ARTICLE VII Dimensional
requirements, may be considered as nonconforming. Such lot must have
been shown on a legally recorded plat or deed before the effective
date of this Ordinance, and did not adjoin other land of the same
owner, and met all the requirements of the zoning ordinance in effect
at the time of its creation.
(2)
A substandard lot of record shall not be required to seek any zoning relief based solely on the failure to meet minimum lot size requirements of the district in which such lot is located. The setback, frontage, and/or lot width requirements for a structure under this section shall be reduced and the maximum building coverage requirements shall be increased by the same proportion as the lot area of the substandard lot is to the minimum lot area requirement of the zoning district in which the lot is located. The necessary computations shall be made by the zoning enforcement official. All proposals exceeding such reduced requirement shall proceed with a modification request under § 218-6B(10) or a dimensional variance request under § 218-24, whichever is applicable.
[Amended 2-12-2024 by Ord. No. 409]
(3)
A pre-existing substandard lot may be increased in area even if the
altered lot remains nonconforming to the then-existing dimensional
requirements of this Ordinance without Zoning Board of Review approval.
B.
Contiguous Substandard Lots.
[Amended 2-12-2024 by Ord. No. 409]
(1)
On the basis of the lack of public infrastructure in all districts,
when two or more pre-existing substandard contiguous lots are under
single ownership, such lots shall be considered to be a single lot
and no portion thereof shall be used in violation of any of the requirements
of ARTICLE VII Dimensional requirements. No lots contiguous to each
other and under single ownership shall be subdivided in a manner below
the requirements fixed by this ordinance.
(2)
The merger of lots shall not be required when the substandard lot
of record has an area equal to or greater than the area of fifty percent
(50%) of the lots within two hundred feet (200') of the subject lot,
as confirmed by the zoning enforcement officer.
