Chapter 17.02
DEFINITIONS
Sections:
17.02.010 Definitions
All terms used in these regulations shall have their commonly accepted meaning based upon the context of their use within this Code. The following terms shall have the meaning given below, unless more specifically described, limited or qualified within the standards of this Code.
A
Accessible, in reference to a lot, means one or both of the following: (1) having a driveway (or an area for a driveway) that provides vehicular access to an existing street; and/or (2) having a public or private access easement that provides vehicular access, or shared vehicular access, to an existing street while meeting all applicable access location and design standards.
Accessory building means a subordinate building having a use customarily incident to and located on the same lot occupied by the main building. A building having an accessory use is considered an integral part of the main building when it has any part of a wall in common with the main building, or is under an extension of the main roof and designed as an integral part of the main building.
Accessory use means a use of building or land which is customarily incident to and located on the same lot or premises as the main use of the premises.
ADA Ready refers to a building that is more easily retrofitted for future ADA compliance including features such as:
1. Zero level entry;
2. Bathrooms large enough to achieve ADA compliance; and
3. Hallways and doorways that are framed for ADA compliant widths.
Alley means a minor way which is used primarily for vehicular service access to the back or side of properties otherwise abutting on a street.
Arcade means a covered passageway open on one or both sides, especially one with arches along the open side(s). A porch may function as an arcade.
Architectural element means unique details and component parts that together form the architectural style of buildings and structures.
B
Berm means an earthen mound used for decorative, screening, or buffering purposes.
Block means a piece or parcel of land entirely surrounded by public highways/streets, other than alleys, or bounded by the presence or a combination of other features such as parks/open spaces, cemeteries, railroad or other utility rights-of-way, exterior boundaries of a subdivision or other existing development, shorelines, and/or corporate boundaries. In cases where the platting is incomplete or disconnected, or the development pattern proposed as the result of curvilinear streets, cul-de-sacs or other features creates a scenario which does not meet the definition of a block, the Director shall determine the outline of the block.
Buffer means open spaces, landscaped areas, fences, walls, berms, or any combination thereof used to physically and visually separate one use or property from another in order to mitigate the impacts of noise, light, or other nuisance.
Building means a structure having a roof supported by columns or walls and intended for shelter or enclosure of individuals, animals, or materials of any kind.
Building line means the line at which the outward-most portion of the building is established.
Building, Principal means a building in which is conducted the main use of the lot on which it is situated.
Bulb outs or Bump outs means a projection of the curb and pedestrian area of the streetscape at an intersection, or occasionally at midblock crossings, designed to add landscape or pedestrian amenities, calm traffic turning movements, and shorten pedestrian crossing distances.
C
Caliper means the diameter of a tree, measured at six inches above ground level unless otherwise specified.
Cargo containers or Storage containers means an industrial, standardized reusable vessel that was:
1. Originally, specifically or formerly designed for or used in the packing, shipping, movement or transportation of freight, articles, goods or commodities; and/or
2. Designed for or capable of being mounted or moved on a rail car; and/or
3. Designed for or capable of being mounted on a chassis or bogie for movement by truck trailer, train or loaded on a ship.
Centerline means the center of a street right-of-way as shown on the recorded plat or survey.
D
Dwelling means any building or portion thereof designed and used primarily for human habitation.
Dwelling unit means one or more rooms designed and intended for occupancy as separate living quarters, with cooking, sleeping, and sanitary facilities for the exclusive use of maintaining a household.
E
Easement means an area of land reserved, conveyed, or dedicated for a specialized or limited purpose without the transfer of fee title, generally established in a real estate document or on a recorded plat. Examples of such purposes may include, but are not limited to, utilities, access, and stormwater drainage.
F
Facade means all visible exterior elements of a building that face a common direction, extending across the entire width and height of the building.
Floor area means the gross area of the building measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating two buildings and shall include the following area:
1. The area of each story of the structure;
2. The area of any below-grade story or half-story that is used or finished for a principal or accessory use of the building (i.e., not storage or mechanical space).
Front building line means the forward-most point on a lot at which the principal building has been established, extended across the front to each side.
Frontage means the area that establishes the relationship between the building or site and the public realm or street upon which the lot fronts.
G
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) means the maximum operating weight of a vehicle specified by the manufacturer including the chassis, body, engine, engine fluids, fuel, accessories, drivers, passengers and cargo, but excluding that of any trailers.
Ground cover means a continuous vegetative cover no more than one foot tall that is comprised of living plants that spread across the ground to connect with other similar plants.
H
Hedge means a solid and unbroken visual screen of self-supporting living plant material, typically comprised of closely planted shrubs forming a linear boundary.
Household means one or more persons who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption, living together and occupying a single housekeeping unit; or a group of not more than five people living together by joint agreement and occupying a single housekeeping unit.
I
J
K
L
Landscape area means an area that is designed and maintained for landscape plantings. Landscape areas may include nonplant landscape features and be surfaced with mulch or rock; however, areas without living plants shall not be considered landscape areas. For the purposes of the Land Development Code xeriscaping features and direct pedestrian walks from front entries to public sidewalks are considered to be part of the landscape area.
Lot means an area of land designated by plat, subdivision, or otherwise permitted by law, to be separately owned.
Lot, Corner means a lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection or upon two parts of the same street forming an interior angle of less than 135 degrees.
Lot, Interior means a lot whose side lines do not abut upon any street.
Lot line, Front means the boundary between a lot and the street on which it fronts. In cases where it is not clear on which street a lot fronts, it shall generally be the street of address or street of clear orientation of the building and site. In cases of further uncertainty the Director shall determine the front lot line.
Lot line, Rear means the boundary line which is opposite and most distant from the front street line; except that in the case of uncertainty the Director shall determine the rear lot line.
Lot line, Side means any lot boundary line not a front or rear line thereof. A side line may be a party lot line, a line bordering on an alley or place, or a side street line.
M
Mobile home means a movable or portable structure over 40 feet in length and over eight feet wide, constructed to be towed on its own chassis, and designed with or without a permanent foundation for year-round living, whether or not a permanent foundation is subsequently provided. It may consist of one or more units that can be telescoped when towed and expanded later for additional capacity, or of two or more units, separately towable but designed to be joined into one integral unit. The term “mobile home” shall not include any trailer home, camp van, or any vehicle lawfully operated on fixed rails. A modular home which can meet local building codes shall not be considered a mobile home.
Modular home means a manufactured housing unit that is designed to be located on a permanent foundation and is factory-certified that it conforms to local building, housing, electrical and plumbing codes.
N
O
P
Parapet means the extension of the main walls of a building above the roof level.
Parking block means a grouping of parking spaces with edges that are defined by landscape areas. Parking blocks may include a variety of different configurations of parking spaces (per Table 9-6, GMC 17.09.040(B)).
Party wall means a common wall that is a dividing partition between two adjoining buildings or units in a structure that is intended to accommodate separate ownership of each unit and serve as a property boundary.
Public realm means the spaces between buildings that are designed to shape the character and appearance of the area and influence the experience of the public or people using and accessing sites and buildings. This area is primarily made up of public lands and rights-of-way, common areas serving as extensions of the public lands, and private lands that serve as transitions from these areas.
Q
R
Rain garden means a planted depression designed to improve the aesthetics of a site with screening or seasonal color, but which has a primary purpose of allowing rainwater and runoff to infiltrate into the ground.
S
Sharrow means an outside lane of a roadway that is designed and marked to allow bicycles and cars to share the lane area for travel.
Shrub means any self-supporting, woody plant of a species which normally grows to an overall mature height of 15 feet or less in this region.
Sign means any device which shall display or include any letter, word, model, 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.
Small Format Home(s) generally refers to housing types which are smaller than 1,500 square feet. Such homes may be traditional stick-built, manufactured, mobile, modular, or tiny houses, but do not include recreational vehicles or travel trailers.
Storage or Stored means the keeping of items, equipment, vehicles, trailers or materials for a period of time longer than would be involved in the normal day-to-day use or consumption of the same, or the keeping of items, equipment, vehicles, trailers or materials on a regular basis when said items, equipment, vehicles, trailers or materials are not in use.
Street means a public or private vehicular corridor which connects to other such vehicular corridors and/or affords principal means of access to property abutting thereon.
Street Tree means a tree placed in the public right-of-way along the street which may be in front or behind a sidewalk, or within a designated landscape tract or easement adjacent to a public roadway. Typical location is identified as Frontage (A) in Figure 8-1 of GMC 17.08.030.
Structure means anything constructed or erected, which requires location on the ground, or attached to something having a location on the ground, except customary utility poles, retaining walls and boundary fences.
Swale means a low tract of land designed with vegetation and permeable surfaces to manage water runoff, filter pollutants and infiltrate rainwater.
T
Target speed means the speed intended for cars on a specific section of a street based on context, streetscape, and surrounding development patterns.
Tree, Large means a deciduous tree that sheds its leaves annually and typically grows to an overall mature height of 50 feet or more in this region.
Tree, Medium means a deciduous tree that sheds its leaves annually and typically grows to an overall mature height between 30 and 50 feet in this region.
Tree, Small means a deciduous tree that sheds its leaves annually and typically grows to an overall mature height of 30 feet or less in this region.
Tree, Street. See Street Tree above.
Tree lawn means the area between the curb and sidewalk or trail (where they exist) that accommodates planting of street trees.
Tree well means the area beyond the curb but within the sidewalk and amenity area of the streetscape that accommodates planting of street trees.
Turf means grass of a species suitable for a permanent lawn in this region.
U
V
W
X
Y
Yard means an open space at grade between a building and the adjoining lot lines, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided. In measuring a yard for the purpose of determining the width of a side yard, the depth of a front yard or the depth of a rear yard, the least horizontal distance between the lot line and the building shall be used.
Yard, Front means a yard across the full width of the lot extending from the front line of the main building to the front lot line.
Yard, Rear means a yard between the rear lot line and the rear line of the main building and the side lot lines.
Yard, Side means a yard between the main building and the adjacent side lot line, and extending entirely from a front yard to the rear yard.
Z
(Ord. 2695 § 6; Ord. 2518 § 2 (LDC Art. 2))