A. Rules:
(1) In the construction of these regulations, the provisions and rules of this section shall be preserved and applied, except when the context clearly requires otherwise:
a. Words used in the present tense shall include the future.
b. Words in the singular number include the plural number, and words in the plural number include the singular number.
c. The phrase “used for” shall include the phrases “arranged for”, “designed for”, “intended for”, “maintained for”, and “occupied for”.
d. The word “shall” is mandatory.
e. The word “may” is permissive.
f. The word “person” includes individuals, firms, corporations, associations, governmental bodies and agencies, and all other legal entities.
g. The word “Board” means the Board of Zoning Appeals.
h. Unless otherwise specified, all distances shall be measured horizontally.
i. The word “City” means City of De Soto, Kansas.
j. The abbreviation N/A means not applicable.
k. The term “family” includes the term “household”.
(2) Any word or phrase which is defined in these regulations shall have the meaning as so defined whenever the word or phrase is used in these regulations, unless such definition is expressly limited in its meaning or scope.
B. Interpretation:
(1) Minimum Requirements: In their interpretation and application, the provision of these regulations shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, morals and welfare.
(2) Overlapping or Contradictory Regulations: Where the conditions imposed by any provision of these regulations upon the use of land or structures are either more restrictive or less restrictive than comparable conditions imposed by other provision of any other law, ordinance, resolution, rule or regulations of any kind, the regulations which are more restrictive shall govern.
(3) Private Agreement: These regulations are not intended to abrogate, annul or otherwise interfere with any easement, covenant or any other private agreement of legal relationship; provided, however, that where the provisions of these regulations are more restrictive (or impose higher standards or requirements) than such easements, covenants or other private agreements or legal relationships, the provisions of these regulations shall govern.
(4) Unlawful Uses: No structure or use which was not lawfully existing at the time of the adoption of these regulations shall become or be made lawful solely by reason of the adoption of these regulations; and to the extent that, and in any respect that, said unlawful structure or use is in conflict with the requirements of these regulations, said structure or use remains unlawful hereunder.
For the purpose of this Zoning Regulation, certain terms or words used herein shall be interpreted or defined as follows, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Accessory Dwelling: A dwelling or dwelling unit that may be used year round by the owner, manager, guard or caretaker of a facility, but only if such dwelling is required in order to provide needed services such as security, care or maintenance. (Ord. 2241)
Assisted Living: A building or group of buildings containing two or more separate dwelling units or living units for occupancy by older persons or persons with disabilities desiring assistance with day-to-day living matters and where special support services such as common dining facilities, recreational and social activities, and limited medical or nursing assistance may be provided. Use shall also include residential staff.
Accessory Structure: A subordinate structure that serves a function customarily incidental to that of the main structure. Customary accessory structure includes garages, carports, and small storage sheds.
Accessory Use: A subordinate use that serves an incidental function to that of the main use of the premises. Customary accessory uses include tennis courts, swimming pools, air conditioners, barbecue ovens, and fireplaces.
Adult Entertainment: Any live exhibition, performance, display or dance of any type, including but not limited to, talking, singing, reading, listening, posing, serving food or beverages, soliciting for the sale of food, beverages or entertainment, pantomiming, modeling, removal of clothing, or any service offered for amusement on a premises where such exhibition, performance, display or dance is intended to seek to arouse or excite the sexual desires of the entertainer, other entertainers or patrons.
Adult Entertainment Business: Any business including but not limited to:
1. Adult media outlet;
2. Adult motion picture theaters;
3. Juice bars; and
4. Establishments providing live dancers, models, entertainers or other performers, having as a material portion of its business the offering of entertainment, stock in trade or materials, scenes or other presentations predominantly distinguished or characterized by emphasis or depiction or description of an erotic nature including, but not limited, depiction or descriptions of “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas” (as defined by the adopted adult entertainment ordinance) to which the public, patrons or members are invited or admitted and wherein an entertainer, manager, or server, provides adult entertainment to a member of the public, patron or a member.
AGL: Above ground level. Ground level shall be determined by the average elevation of the natural ground level within a radius of 50 feet from the center location of measurement. (Ord.2055)
Agricultural Accessory Building/Structure: Building or structure used primarily for an agricultural use or accessory agricultural use. (Ord. 2241)
Agriculture/Agricultural Use: The use of land and buildings or structures for Agricultural Activity as defined by K.S.A.2-3203. Agriculture or Agricultural Use shall not include the operation of a feedlot, the disposal of or feeding of garbage or offal to animals, a slaughterhouse or logging operations. (Ord. 2241)
Alley: A dedicated public right-of-way, other than a street, which provides only a secondary means of access to abutting property, the right-of-way of which is twenty (20) feet or less in width.
Alteration: Alteration, as applied to a structure, is a change or rearrangement in the structural parts of an existing structure. Enlargement, whether by extending a side, increasing in height, or the moving from one location or position to another, shall be considered as an alteration.
Antenna: Any device that transmits and/or receives radio waves for voice, data or video communications purposes including, but not limited to, television, AM/FM radio, microwave, cellular telephone and similar forms of communications. The term shall exclude satellite earth station antennae less than 2 meters in diameter (mounted within 12 feet of the ground or building-mounted) and any receive-only home television antennae. (Ord.2055)
Arcade: Any establishment displaying for public patronage or keeping for operation four or more amusement devices including, but not limited, to pool tables, air hockey tables, “pong” games, mechanical rides for children, electronic games and shooting gallery games.
Archery Range: Facilities that may or may not include structures, for the purpose of discharging or otherwise using archery equipment. (Ord. 2241)
Auction: A sale in which property or items of merchandise are sold to the highest bidder through an open, competitive bidding process. The auction may be private or open to the public. Auctions may be conducted on the premises of the owner of such property for sale or off-site within a space commonly used for such activity such as an auction barn, fairground, or large meeting space. Auctions may take place inside or outside a building or structure. Auctions held within the city limits required a Temporary Use Permit. (Ord 2267)
Basement: That portion of a structure having more than one-half of its height below grade.
Bed and Breakfast: A family home, occupied as a permanent dwelling by the proprietor, in which lodging and meals are provided for time-limited durations to not more than four groups of patrons in a 24-hour period.
Berm: A man-made landscape feature generally consisting of a linear mound of soil with stabilized sides capable of holding plants and vegetation and used for the purposes of landscaping, buffering or minor drainage control. Berms do not include temporary soil stockpiles, retaining walls, levies or dikes.
Board of Zoning Appeals: That Board which has been created by the Governing Body having jurisdiction and which has the statutory authority to hear and determine appeals and variances to the zoning regulations.
Boarding or Rooming House: A residential structure providing living units for long term use (generally greater than 28 consecutive days). Such facilities may or may not provide other shared living amenities or meals (board). This use may include residential hotels, rooming houses, boarding houses and similar uses.
Building Height: See Figure 1.
Figure 1 - Vertical Dimensions of Structure Heights
Building Inspector: The person or persons authorized and empowered by the City Council to administer and enforce the permitting and inspecting process within the City.
Cabinet: A structure for the protection and security of communications equipment associated with one or more antennae where direct access to equipment is provided from the exterior and that has horizontal dimensions that do not exceed 4 feet by 6 feet, and vertical height that does not exceed 6 feet. (Ord.2055)
Cemetery: Land and structures used or intended to be used for the burial or interment of the dead, whether human or animal, including mausoleums and mortuaries. (Ord. 2241)
Certified Site Plan: A drawing or drawings of the proposed site, prepared, signed and sealed by a licensed profession engineer, land surveyor, or architect. (Ord. 2195)
City Council: The Governing Body of the City of De Soto, Kansas.
Commercial Use: anything that is non-residential in nature—office, retail, business, light industrial, institutional, recreational, civic, educational, etc. (Ord. 2195)
Common Open Space: An area of land or water or combination thereof planned for passive or active recreation, which does not include areas utilized for streets, alleys, driveways, private streets or roads, off-street parking or loading areas. However, the area of recreational activities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, shuffleboard courts, etc., may be included as common open space.
Communication Tower Multi-Use Interest Area: An area as designated by the map of the same title indicating general locations in which more than one wireless service provider may potentially seek to locate an antenna facility and in which the construction of co-locatable towers will be required. The map may be periodically revised in response to new information received regarding tower sites sought by wireless providers. A Multi-Use Interest Area shall be designated as appropriate for towers within one mile of each other, unless the applicant demonstrates to the contrary. The Multi-Use Interest Area Map shall include the area within the City limits and within one and one-half miles of its corporate boundaries. (Ord.2055)
Compost Manufacturing: The process of mixing together natural, organic materials to produce compost. Such process includes the controlled biological decomposition of organic material that has been sanitized through the generation of heat & stabilized to the point that it is beneficial to plant growth. (Ord. 2241)
Condominium: A single dwelling unit under individual ownership within a multiple dwelling unit structure. A multiple-family structure with two condominiums shall be considered a two-family dwelling and a structure with more than two condominiums shall be considered a multiple-family dwelling.
Crematory: A building or part of a building with a furnace called a retort which is used to cremate (reduce to ashes) remains. This use may be part of a funeral home or mortuary use or it can be an independent business available to the public. (Ord. 2241)
Day Care Center: A structure or place where care, supervision, custody or control is provided for more than six (6) unrelated children or adults for any part of a 24-hour day up to twelve (12) hours.
Day Care Home: A dwelling or structure in which care, supervision, custody or control is provided for six (6) or fewer unrelated children or adults for any part of a 24-hour day up to twelve (12) hours.
Day Care Nursery: A structure or place where care, supervision, custody or control is provided for six (6) or fewer infants for any part of a 24-hour day up to twelve (12) hours.
Development, Land: Any activity on a lot or tract or other area of land, other than general maintenance and upkeep or agricultural activities, that changes the existing physical conditions of the land to make it more profitable, productive or useful.
Director: The Director of Planning of the City or his/her designee. (Ord.2055)
Disability: A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of a person's major life activities, a record of having such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. (Per K.S.A. 12-736) Disability does not include current, illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance.
Disguised Support Structure: Any free-standing, man-made structure designed for the support of antennae, the presence of which is camouflaged or concealed as an appropriately-placed architectural or natural feature. Depending on the location and type of disguise used, such concealment may require placement underground of the utilities leading to the structure. Such structures may include but are not limited to clock towers, campaniles, observation towers, light standards, flag poles and artificial trees. (Ord.2055)
District: A section or sections of the zoning area for which these regulations governing the use of land, the height of structures, the size of yards and the intensity of use are uniform.
Dog: Any canine species over six (6) months of age.
Drinking Establishment: An establishment in which the primary function is the public sale and serving of alcoholic and/or cereal malt beverages for consumption on the premises, including establishments in which alcoholic and cereal malt beverages are served only to members and their guests.
Dwelling: A building or a portion of a mixed use building or structure, including residential designed manufactured homes that are designed, constructed and used for residential purposes.
Dwelling, Multi-Family: A multifamily dwelling is a residential building or dwelling that: a) contains three or more dwelling units intended for use by three or more independent families or households; or b) is used for five (5) or more living units; or c) may be a combination of three or more dwelling or living units.
Dwelling, Single-Family: A residential building or dwelling containing one dwelling unit intended for use by one independent family or household.
Dwelling, Two-Family: A residential building or dwelling containing two dwelling units intended for use by two independent families or households.
Dwelling Unit: One or more rooms constituting all or part of a Dwelling, that are arranged, designed, used, or intended for exclusive use as a separate single housekeeping unit for one family or household, and which includes sleeping, sanitation, cooking, and various other living facilities within each unit.
Earth-Sheltered Dwelling: A dwelling designed as a complete structure below or partially below ground level, whose perimeter walls comply with the yard requirements of the district in which it is located.
Easement: A permanent or temporary grant of right by a landowner to the public, a corporation or other persons, of the use of a portion of a lot or tract of land for specified purposes where title to said portion of the lot or tract of land remains with the landowner.
FAA: The Federal Aviation Administration. (Ord.2055)
Family or Household: One or more persons related by blood, marriage, adoption, or at the direction of the court, living together as a single housekeeping unit; or a group of not more than five (5) unrelated persons living together as a single housekeeping unit; plus in either case, usual domestic servants.
Farm Stand or Produce Stand: An open structure, where agricultural produce or other products of the farm where the stand is located, are sold to the general public by people who reside on the farm. (Ord. 2241)
FCC: The Federal Communications Commission. (Ord.2055)
Feedlot: A limited or confined land area, building or combination of such used for the short term (60-90 days) fattening of livestock for market purposes, and the ratio of livestock per acre is high enough that a vegetative cover cannot be maintained during the growing season. (Ord. 2241)
Fence: A freestanding structure designed to provide privacy, protection, confinement, a decorative division or barrier, or to redirect a person’s line of travel. A freestanding wall may be considered a fence when used as a yard or landscaping element.
Floor Area: For Computing Off-Street Parking Requirements: Shall mean the gross floor area of the structure measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating two structures and shall include the following areas:
1. The basement floor area.
2. The area of each floor of the structure.
3. The attic space having headroom of seven (7) feet or more.
Foster Home: (see Group Living: Foster Home)
Frontage: The length of the property abutting on one side of a street measured along the dividing line between the property and the street.
Garage Sale: See Occasional Sale. (Ord. 2267)
Gasoline Service Station: A service station shall consist of a structure or group of structures and surfaced area where automotive vehicles may be refueled and serviced. Self-service pumps without structures shall also be included. Such service shall not include tire recapping, body repairs, or major overhaul.
Governing Body: The City Council of De Soto, Kansas.
Greenhouse: A building or structure in which light, temperature and humidity can be controlled for the cultivation of fruit, herbs, flowers, vegetables or other plants. A commercial greenhouse will include on-site sale of products in a manner that exceeds the limitations of a ‘farm stand’. (Ord. 2241)
Group Home: (see Group Living: Group Home)
Group Living Uses. Residential occupancy of a dwelling or residential facility by groups of people not typically defined as a Family or Household where some or all living functions may be provided on a shared or communal basis. Facilities may also be occupied by residential staff and/or caregivers that are included in the maximum occupancy for the dwelling or living unit. Specific Group Living Uses are classified as follows:
1. Group Home: Any dwelling or residence occupied by not more than ten (10) persons that may or may not be related, up to eight of whom have a Disability and up to two resident staff persons, but not including persons subject to or in treatment for substance abuse or addiction. A Group Home shall be operated under the provisions of K.S.A. 12-736 and shall be considered a Family and permitted in all districts that allow residential uses.
2. Foster Home: A residential Dwelling or Dwelling Unit that is licensed and operated according to state statutes to provide full-time care to children by foster parents or legal guardians. Foster homes shall be considered a Family and permitted in all residential zoning districts.
3. General Group Living: Occupancy of a dwelling or residential building by five (5) or more persons. Examples of Group Living uses may include a Group Home that exceeds 8 or more disabled residents, student housing, convent or monastery, assisted living facility, boarding or rooming house, orphanage or other children’s residential facility, commune, or similar uses, but not including hotel or motel, bed & breakfast or other short-term lodging type uses.
4. Extended Care Facility: A dwelling or residential building where extended or intermediate care by licensed medical staff is either provided on a full-time basis or is available on-call as needed to individuals who, by reason of advanced age, chronic illness, injury, disability or infirmity are unable to independently care for themselves. Examples are skilled nursing or rehabilitation centers for those recovering from illnesses, surgery or injury; nursing or convalescent home, hospice enter and similar uses, but not including facilities for the care and treatment fo substance abuse or addiction.
5. Safe House: A dwelling, dwelling unit or residential building in which temporary, secure shelter is provided for homeless persons or victims of domestic violence or persecution to include runaways, battered and/or abused person and similar uses.
6. Mental Institution: Independent residential facilities that provide for the care and treatment of persons suffering from acute or chronic mental illness.
7. Recovery Facility: A state certified residential facility that provides residential care and programs for the treatment and rehabilitation of persons recovering from substance abuse or addiction.
8. Restricted Living: A state certified residential facility in which temporary housing is provided for persons who are assigned to a community corrections program or a diversion program, on probation, on parole, or are participating in a penal institute’s pre-release program. Such uses may include halfway house, facilities for juvenile delinquents and similar uses.
9. Correctional or Detention Facility: A place, to include buildings, structures and grounds, that is constructed and maintained for the purpose of detaining or physically confining persons in the lawful custody of the government. Examples of such use are prison, jail, juvenile or adult detention facility, reformatory, penitentiary, etc.
Height: The vertical distance measured from the average grade of the base of the structure at ground level to its highest point and including the main structure and all attachments thereto. (Ord.2055)
Home Occupation: A business, profession, service or trade conducted for gain or support entirely within a residential structure.
Hotel or Motel: A building or group of buildings providing furnished rooms for the purposes of temporary or short-term lodging (less than 28 days duration) for the traveling public, which may or may not also provide meals, entertainment or various other personal services to transient guests for compensation.
Household: See Family
Incidental Use: Any use authorized herein that exists in addition to the principal use of the property. (Ord.2055)
Kennel-Boarding: Any place, area, or structure where dogs are boarded, housed, cared for, fed, or trained by other than the owner.
Kennel-Breeding: Any place, area, or structure where more than three (3) dogs are kept for purposes of breeding, raising, or as pets.
Livestock: Domestic animals normally raised on a farm including equine (horses); bovine (cattle); goats, ovine (sheep); swine; llamas and alpacas; ostriches, emus and other large birds; ducks, geese, pheasant, chickens and similar birds or poultry; small birds; including miniature, dwarf or pygmy variations of all the foregoing animals. (Ord. 2241)
Living Unit: An area within a dwelling fo ruse by tenants as a residence, but where some or all living amenities such as sleeping quarters, sanitary facilities, cooking, dining and/or entertaining may be shared with other tenants.
Lot: An area of land designated as such on an approved subdivision plat, and intended as a unit of real property for the purpose, whether immediate or future, of transfer of ownership or possession, or for development.
Lot or Tract, Corner: On corner lots, the side with the least distance in measurement will constitute the primary front to determine the rear yard. If in dispute, the front, rear and side will be specified by the Community Development Director. (Ord. 2576)
Lot or Tract, Depth of: The mean horizontal distance between the front and the rear lot or tract lines.
Lot or Tract, Double Frontage: A lot or tract having a frontage on two nonintersecting streets, as distinguished from a corner lot or tract.
Lot or Tract Coverage: That portion of the net site area which is covered by the ground floor of any structure, parking lots, and private streets and drives. Pools, tennis courts, sidewalks and plazas are not counted toward lot or tract coverage.
Lot or Tract, Buildable: A lot or tract that may be developed due to one of the following conditions:
1. A Lot of Record which is part of an approved subdivision and where the improvements for such subdivision have been completed and duly accepted by the City;
2. A Tract of Record proposed for development according to the purpose or use designated on an approved subdivision plat, development plan or site plan.
3. A Tract of Record described by metes and bounds legal description and established on a deed filed for public record prior to November 16, 1978, when the City first established subdivision regulations or prior to annexation of such land into the City of De Soto;
4. A tract that was created by an approved tract or lot split.
Lot or Tract of Record: An area of land whose legal description is described and filed on a plat or deed in the Office of Records and Tax Administration for Johnson County. Such lot or tract may or may not be buildable. (See Lot or Tract, Buildable)
Manufactured Home: A structure which is subject to the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards established pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 5403, and constructed on or after June 15, 1976.
Manufactured Home Residential-Design: A manufactured home that satisfies the following additional criteria:
1. The manufactured home shall have minimum dimensions of 22 feet in width and 40 feet in length;
2. The pitch of the roof of the manufactured home shall have a minimum vertical rise of four feet for each 12 feet of horizontal run and the roof finished with a type of shingle that is commonly used in standard residential construction in the City;
3. All roof structures shall provide an eave projection of no less than 12 inches, exclusive of any guttering;
4. The exterior siding shall consist of vinyl or metal horizontal lap siding (whose reflectivity does not exceed that of low luster white paint), wood, or hardboard, comparable in composition, appearance and durability to the exterior siding commonly used in standard residential construction in the City;
5. The manufactured home shall be set up in accordance with the recommended installation procedures of the manufacturer and the standards set by the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards and published in “Manufactured Home Installations, 1987” (NCS BCS A225.1), and a continuous, permanent masonry foundation or masonry curtain wall, or poured concrete wall, unpierced except for required ventilation and access, is installed under the perimeter of the Residential-Design Manufactured Home;
6. Stairs, porches, entrance platforms, ramps and other means of entrance and exit to and from the home shall be installed or constructed in accordance with the standards set by the building code and attached firmly to the primary structure and anchored securely to the ground; and
7. A Residential Design-Manufactured Home, when installed, shall have substantially the appearance of an on-site, conventionally built, single-family dwelling.
Marina: Facilities for water-oriented recreational activities such as yachting/rowing clubs; boat rental, storage and launching; fishing; excursions and sight-seeing and limited accessory uses directly supporting such activities. (Ord. 2241)
Medical Clinic: Any structure designed for use by one or more persons lawfully engaged in the diagnosis, care and treatment of physical or mental diseases or ailments of human beings; including, but not limited to, doctors of medicine, dentists, chiropractors, osteopaths, optometrists, podiatrists, and in which no patients are lodged overnight, but which may include a pharmacy.
Mines and Quarries: Excavations, including sand or gravel pits, for the purpose of removing, screening, crushing, washing, or storage of ore, soil, stone, gravel or similar materials for the purpose of sale, transfer, or relocation of the excavated material for use at property locations away from, and unrelated to, the property where the materials were excavated. Landfill accessory uses to such activities shall not be included as part of the definition of a mine or quarry. (Ord.2004; Ord. 2377)
Mixed Use: A mix of commercial and/or residential uses. (Ord. 2195)
Mobile Home: A transportable structure larger than 320 s.f. in floor area, designed to be used as a year-round residential dwelling, and built prior to the enactment of the Federal Mobile Home Construction and Safety Act of 1974, which became effective for all mobile home construction on June 15, 1976.
Modification: Any addition, deletion, or change, including the addition or replacement of antennae, or any change to a structure requiring a building permit or other governmental approval. (Ord.2055)
Modular Home: A manufactured residential structure built to a nationally-recognized and accepted construction standard published by the Building Officials Conference of America (BOCA) or the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) and the unit is inspected and certified at the factory that it meets said standard. A modular home shall have exterior structure materials and appearance similar to the customary single-family structures in the neighborhood and shall be permanently situated on a concrete foundation.
Nonconforming Structure: A structure which does not comply with the lot or tract size requirements or bulk regulations applicable to new structures in the zoning district in which it is located.
Nonconforming Use: An existing use of structure or land which does not conform with the regulations of the district in which it is situated as established by this regulation or any amendments hereto.
Nursery: Structure/land used for the propagation, growth & development of plants, vegetables, flowers or other plant products for food, ornamental or landscaping purposes. A commercial nursery will include on-site sale of plants and/or products in a manner that exceeds the limitation of a ‘farm stand’. (Ord. 2241)
Nursing or Convalescent Home: A licensed facility that provides full-time care for the physically infirm or the aged. Such care may involve the usual convalescent or chronic care including bedside nursing care, administration of medicines or special diets, application of bandages or dressings, physical therapy and similar procedures, but not involving major medical services more commonly provided in hospitals or clinics. (See Group Living)
Occasional Sale: Refers to a garage sale, yard sale, moving sale, rummage sale, tag sale, and other similar type sales of tangible, used personal property, goods wares, merchandise or other property from a personal residence or a non-profit organization. (Ord 2267)
Open Space: An area of land or water or combination thereof that is set aside and specifically designated for limited development or for a specified common use.
1. Private Open Space: Open space designed and developed primarily for the use and benefit of the residents of, or property owners within, a subdivision or a specified area. Such property shall be identified on a subdivision plat and dedicated to a property owner’s association or other approved entity, along with specific covenants and deed restrictions addressing ownership, use, management, and maintenance of the space.
2. Public Open Space. Open space specifically designated, developed and/or intended for use or enjoyment by the general public. Such space shall be designated by easement, deed or on a plat for a specific public use or benefit, and dedicated to the public or other appropriate entity for such ownership, maintenance and use.
Parcel: One or more contiguous lots or tracts, or portions thereof, under the same ownership and assigned to a specific taxing unit for the purposes of land valuation and assessment.
Pedestrian Scale: The placement, proportioning, and detailing of structures and other site design elements to be readily accessible and inviting for use by pedestrians. Elements of pedestrian scale include: (Ord. 2195)
1. Commercial structures placed close to the street or in an alignment that will aid the new structure to blend in with the existing structure placement pattern;
2. Ample, well defined sidewalks along both sides of streets that connect to both commercial and residential networks;
3. Use of street amenities in commercial locations such as benches, street trees, low-height lighting, coordinated signage and banners.
4. Public spaces—ranging in size from a small park for street concerts or gatherings to individual ‘pockets’ set into the fabric of the street where people may move out of the traffic stream for a conversation;
5. Street level articulation of commercial structures—i.e. recessed doorways, large show windows, canopies, projecting wall signs, etc.;
6. Street level articulation of residential structures—i.e. porches, low fences or walls, awnings, gardens, etc.;
7. Architectural articulation of commercial structures between street level and upper stories;
8. Screening and/or buffering of areas such as parking, utility equipment, dumpsters, etc.;
9. Minimize gaps between buildings;
10. Provision of on-street parking in both commercial and residential areas. Parking lots and parking areas located in the rear of the building and accessed via alleys or public spaces.
Photovoltaic Cells: Extremely thin solar energy collection cells, usually made of silicon, that collect solar energy and convert it to direct current (DC) electricity. (Ord. 2244)
Planning Commission: The De Soto City Planning Commission.
Planning and Zoning Department: The person or persons authorized and empowered by the City Council to administer the requirements of these zoning regulations.
Plot Plan: An accurately drawn diagram or plan showing the existing and proposed use and development of a described area of land. Such area may include one or more contiguous tracts, lots or portions thereof. The land area contained within a plot plan is referred to as the ‘plot’.
Poultry and Fowl: Any domesticated birds which are bred or kept for the primary purpose of producing eggs or meat or of being exhibited--including chickens, turkeys, waterfowl and game birds. (Ord. 2241)
Property Owners Association: An association or organization, whether or not incorporated, which operates under the pursuant to recorded covenants or deed restrictions, through which each owner of a portion of a subdivision such as a lot, tract, condominium lot or unit or any other interest, is automatically a member as a condition of ownership, and each such member is subject to a charge or assessment for a pro-rated share of the expenses of the association which may become a lien against the lot, tract, condominium lot, or unit or other interest of the member.
Public Utility: Any business which furnishes the general public (a) tele¬phone service, (b) telegraph service, (c) electricity, (d) natural gas, (e) water and sewer, or (f) cable television.
Recreation, Passive: Those uses that would require minimal land disturbance of a site. Such uses may be picnic areas, benches and observation points; walking, hiking and biking trails or paved paths; wildlife or bird observation; fishing, canoeing, or rowing. But no motorized activities on either land or water and no organized sports activities that would require physical improvement of the site.
Recreational Camp or Retreat: Land and structures providing dining, lodging, recreational, meeting and conference facilities for individuals or groups as temporary guests. (Ord. 2241)
Recreational Vehicle: See Travel Trailer.
Residence: A dwelling or portion of a dwelling such as a dwelling unit or living unit that is in use as, or intended for use as a home or living quarters for one or more individuals.
Restaurant: An establishment whose primary purpose is the sale, dispensing or service of food, refreshments or beverages, other than in automobiles, including those establishments where customers may serve themselves.
Restaurant--Drive-Through: An establishment whose primary purpose is the sale, dispensing or service of food, refreshments or beverages, including service and/or consumption of food in automobiles.
Right-of-Way: A strip of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a street, alley, crosswalk, railroad, road, electric transmission line, oil or gas pipeline, water main, sanitary or storm sewer, or for another special use.
Salvage Yard: A place where junk, waste, discarded or salvaged materials are bought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled, packed, disassembled, handled or prepared for recycling, which shall include auto wrecking yards, but shall not include retail secondhand furniture stores or the purchase and storage of used or salvaged materials as a part of a manufacturing operation.
Sanitary Landfill: A lot or tract of land used primarily for the disposal and burial of garbage, sewage, trash, refuse, junk, discarded machinery or motor vehicles or parts thereof, or other waste.
Setback: The required minimum horizontal distance between the structure line and the related front, side, or rear property line.
Shelter: A building for the protection and security of communications equipment associated with one or more antennae and where access to equipment is gained from the interior of the building. Human occupancy for office or other uses or the storage of other materials and equipment not in direct support of the connected antennas is prohibited. (Ord. 2055)
Shipping Container: A standardized reusable steel intermodal container commonly used for the storage and movement of materials and products in a global containerized freight transport system. Other names include container, storage container, freight container, ISO container, cargo container, hi-cube container, conex box and sea can. “Intermodal” indicates that the container can be moved from one mode of transport to another. Shipping Containers DO NOT include rail box cars, truck trailers or vehicular transport truck box enclosures which were manufactured as an integral part of a vehicle, or which have or had permanently affixed wheels. (Ord. 2410)
Sign: Any device which shall display or include any letter, word, model, banner, flag, pennant, insignia, device, or representation used as, or which is in the nature of, an advertisement or announcement which directs attention to an object, product, place, activity, person, institution, organization, or business, but shall not include any display of official notice or official flag.
Sight Triangle: An area at a street intersection in which nothing shall be erected, placed, planted, or allowed to grow in such a manner as to materially impede vision between a height of 2-1/2 feet and 8 feet above the grades of the outside edge of the street surface of the intersecting streets, measured from the point of intersection of the centerline of the streets, 90 feet in each direction along the centerline of the streets. The City Engineer shall establish sight distance triangles based upon standards in the policy manual published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).
Solar Energy Conversion System: Equipment and wiring needed to collect, store and convert solar energy into a useable form. Active solar systems rely upon mechanical means to collect light and/or heat from the sun and convert it into usable energy. Passive systems use natural, non-mechanical techniques to obtain energy from the sun including daylighting, south-facing windows, natural shading and ventilation, and building materials that absorb heat from the sun and slowly release it. (Ord. 2244)
Special Use Permit: A special use permit is a permit issued by the Planning and Zoning Department with the authorization of the City Council. A special use permit provides permission under special conditions to make certain special uses of land in certain zoning districts as stipulated in each of the district zoning regulations.
Street: A right-of-way, dedicated to the public use, which provides vehicular and pedestrian access to adjacent properties.
Street Line: A dividing line between a lot or tract of land and the contiguous street.
Street Network:
1. Local Street - provides access to properties.
2. Collectors - conducts traffic from local streets to arterials, with access to properties.
3. Arterials - carries traffic out of and through the area, subject to certain control of entrances, exits and curb cuts.
Structure: Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires permanent location on the ground or attachment to something having a permanent location on the ground, but not including fences or public items such as utility poles, street light fixtures, and street signs.
Structural Alterations: Any change in the supporting members of a structure, such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams, or girders, or any complete rebuilding of the roof or the exterior walls. For the purpose of this regulation, the following shall not be considered a structural alteration:
1. Attachment of a new front facade where structural supports are not changed.
2. Addition of fire escapes where structural supports are not changed.
3. New windows where lintels and support walls are not materially changed.
4. Repair or replacement of non-structural members.
Structure Height: The vertical dimension measured from the average elevation of the finished lot grade at the front of the structure to the highest point of ceiling of the top story in the case of a flat roof; to the deck line of a mansard roof; and to the average height between the plate and ridge of a gable, hip, or gambrel roof.
Student Housing: Dormitory, fraternity, sorority and similar uses. See Group Living.
Support Structure: A Tower or Disguised Support Structure. (Ord.2055)
Tower: A structure designed for the support of one or more antennae and including guyed towers, self-supporting (lattice) towers or monopoles but not disguised support structures or buildings. The term shall also not include any support structure including attachments of 65 feet or less in height owned and operated solely for use by an amateur radio operator licensed by the Federal Communication Commission. (Ord. 2055)
Townhouse: A dwelling unit located in a group of three or more attached townhouse dwelling units with no other dwelling unit located above or below another and with each dwelling unit having at least one interior common wall and a private exterior entrance.
Townhouse Structure: A grouping of three or more townhouses.
Townhouse Site: A townhouse, the total land area beneath the townhouse and the facilities associated with the townhouse.
Tract. A specifically described area of real property created by one of the methods detailed below:
1. A metes and bounds description filed for record on a deed. Such legal description may be the result of a survey or other process such as probation of a will or action by a judge;
2. An area designated as such on an approved subdivision plat, where such land is not intended for general development, but rather for some other specified purpose such as right-of-way or open space; or
3. A specifically described area of land resulting from division of a tract or lot by an approved lot split action.
The term tract may also be used to describe a general area of land containing one or more contiguous tracts or lots when assembled for the purpose of transfer of ownership, development or subdivision. When intended for development, tracts are subject to the same regulations as a lot. (See also Lot or Tract, Buildable)
Travel Trailer or Recreational Vehicle: A vehicular-type unit primarily designed as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping or travel use, which either has its own motive power or is mounted on or drawn by another vehicle. Examples are travel trailers, camping trailers, truck campers, and motor homes. Manufactured homes and modular homes shall not be considered trailers or recreational vehicles.
Wall Articulation: Where the flat plane of a wall is offset by a recess or extrusion such as an alcove or bay window or a simple change in the plane by a 90 degree angle. Change in the plane should be a minimum of two feet. (Ord. 2195)
Wall, Retaining: A vertical structure of stone, masonry, wood or concrete that is designed to resist or hold back lateral earth, soil, rock or hydraulic pressure and prevent movement or erosion.
Wind Energy Conversion Facilities: These are generally classified as either utility scale or private. Private systems or facilities are sized to primarily serve the needs of a home, farm, or small business on the same site where they are located. These normally consist of a single turbine that may or may not be connected to the utility grid. Utility scaled facilities are any system sized larger than what is generally needed to serve an individual site. (Ord. 2244)
Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS). For the purposes of these regulations, wind energy systems include any device commonly or technically, referred to as a wind charger, windmill, wind turbine, or wind generator and includes all components of that system such as support and stabilization structures, connections, wiring, conversion equipment, etc. which act together to collect and convert wind energy to a form of usable energy. A small wind system is generally less than 100 kW rated power and may also be termed a residential or private wind energy system. A micro wind system is generally rated at 10kW or less. (Ord. 2244)
Wind System Total Height: The height above average grade of all the components of the system including the tower, turbines and the blades extended to the point of their maximum height. (Ord. 2244)
Yard: A space on the same lot or tract with a main structure, open, unoccupied and unobstructed by structures from the ground upward.
Yard, Front: A yard extending across the full width of the lot or tract, the depth of which is the least distance between the street right-of-way and the structure setback line.
Yard, Rear: A yard extending across the full width of the lot or tract, the depth of which is the least distance between the rear property line and the rear setback line.
Yard, Side: A yard extending from the front yard, or front property line where no front yard is required, to the rear yard.
Zone or District: A section of the Zoning Area for which uniform regulations governing the use, height, area, size, and intensity of use of structures, land, and open space are herein established.
Zoning Area: The area to be zoned as set out on the Official Zoning Map filed of record.
Zoning Regulations: The term “zoning regulations” or “this or these regulations” shall mean the requirements stipulated in the regulations herewith attached, and shall mean the lawfully adopted zoning ordinances of the City of De Soto.