§ 8.8. Additional regulations—Yards; lot sizes; open spaces.
A.
Areas and widths of existing lots. On existing lots of record where the owner owns no adjoining property, a one-family dwelling may be erected in any district except P-O-C, C-1, C-1-S, C-2, C-C, C-2-S, M-1 and M-2 Districts, when the lot area or lot width or both are less than required in the district in which located, except where greater area or width would be required for sanitary sewage disposal and water supply.
B.
Yard, lot area measurement from future street line. On a lot adjoining a future street line as may be established by this ordinance and shown on the district map, or as may be established otherwise and shown on an adopted street map, measurements for determining required lot area and required depth or width of an adjoining yard shall be made from such future street line instead of from the existing right-of-way line.
C.
Yards, courts and lot coverage for dwelling groups. No building of the group shall be closer to the side of another building than twelve feet or to the rear or front of another building than thirty feet.
Side, rear and front yards for the entire lot occupied by a dwelling group shall be not less than required in the district in which located.
Width of a court providing access to dwelling of a group shall be not less than thirty feet when dwelling is on one side only, and not less than forty feet when on two sides, with five feet wider required for each ten feet that the highest building exceeds twenty-five feet in height.
Lot coverage by all buildings shall be thirty per cent or less.
Playground area shall be provided as follows:
Dwellings for five through twelve families—two thousand square feet.
Dwellings for thirteen or more families—four thousand square feet.
D.
Minimum spaces and facilities for C-1-S and C-2-S Districts. In C-1-S and C-2-S Districts the following minimum spaces and facilities are required around permitted buildings and uses for the purpose of avoiding traffic congestion, traffic hazard and other dangers and of protecting and conserving the residential character of adjoining neighborhoods, present and future.
1.
Buildings and uses, except automobile parking and loading spaces, driveways, essential services, walks and planting spaces, shall be not closer to any street or alley line, or to the boundary line of any other district than forty feet.
2.
Off-street automobile parking and loading spaces around buildings shall be separated from the edge of the roadway in any street by a curbed strip containing a walk not less than ten feet in width and a planting strip with trees and shrubs not less than ten feet in width, both to be maintained adequately for these purposes. Driveways across such strip shall be where approved by zoning administrator.
3.
The off-street parking area shall be four times or more the aggregate floor area and all other area planned for ultimate business purposes, and such area requirement shall not include driveways, truck loading spaces, courts, promenades, planting spaces, and other open spaces.
4.
A screen planting strip not less than twelve feet in width shall be provided along all boundaries that do not adjoin streets.
5.
All planting strips shall be planted and maintained. For vision clearness for traffic the height of planting within fifty feet of any driveway shall be not more than thirty inches above the elevation of top of curb alongside it. Elsewhere it is the intent to produce tree and shrub growth of good height and density as early as possible for a screen of such planting between the development within such district and residential districts around it.
6.
The zoning administrator shall require the installation of such signs, marking and traffic control and regulatory devices as are necessary to promote vehicular and pedestrian safety in any C-1-S and C-2-S District development and its access drives.
C-1-S and C-2-S developments with the required spaces and facilities according to the provisions in this subsection and other provisions herein, may be shown in site plans, as authorized in subsection E of this section. In such plans permitted buildings and uses may be approved closer to street and alley lines and to the boundary lines of certain districts than forty feet, except P-O-C, R-1 or R-2 Districts.
E.
Site plans. Site plans of one or more existing or proposed dwellings, or other buildings, proposed lots, or building arrangements on lots, with lot sizes and shapes, yard sizes or other open spaces varying from the requirements herein, and site plans of proposed C-1-S and C-2-S District developments showing the proposed location and arrangement of buildings, parking spaces and other required spaces and facilities, may be approved by the board of adjustment under certain conditions as specified below and subject to such additional conditions of approval as may be set in acting on each case.
1.
A site plan of proposed lots or buildings and lots, with lots smaller than required in the district, and arranged in groups or clusters, may be approved when additional permanently maintained open space is shown and the average lot area including such open space, but not including streets or wetlands, is not less than the district lot area requirement.
2.
A site plan of a building on a lot of record or a portion of such lot, with lot width narrower and certain proposed yards smaller and with lot coverage larger than required in the district in which located, may be approved if the lot area is not less than required in the district.
3.
Site plans of proposed C-1-S and C-2-S District developments, with all the spaces and facilities required in subsection D, but with variations of minimum widths and distances and parking space ratio, may be approved.
In each such case, proposed individual lot areas and widths and all proposed spaces, facilities and buildings shall be shown upon the approved site plan as required spaces and facilities, widths and distances, in lieu of larger or smaller requirements herein.
The board shall not approve a site plan unless satisfied that it is suitable as to sanitary water supply, sewage disposal, street grades and similar matters, and satisfactory from the standpoint of community planning and zoning and may require the plan to be studied and checked by qualified persons, with a report of their findings. The applicant for approval of a site plan may be required to pay the costs of such services.
(F)
Structures in yards and courts. Every part of a required yard or court shall be open and unobstructed by any building or structure, from its lowest point upward, except as follows:
(1)
Accessory buildings are permitted in a rear yard and shall be not closer than three (3) feet to any lot line, when not more than fifteen (15) feet in height, with one (1) additional foot of distance required for each three (3) feet of additional height to a height limit of twenty-four (24) feet. Accessory buildings are permitted in side yards and front yards in P-O-C Districts, observing the required yard distances away from the side and front lot lines.
(2)
Sills, cornices, buttresses, eaves, open work fire balconies and fire escapes, chimneys flues, and similar building appurtenances, may extend not more than four (4) feet into a required yard.
(3)
Uncovered porches and steps to building entrances may extend not more than twelve (12) feet into any required front yard or rear yard and not more than six (6) feet into any required side yard or court provided outer edge thereof is not closer than three (3) feet to lot line.
(4)
Walks, steps on ground slopes, retaining walls, hedges and natural growth, fences, paved terraces and paved areas, structures used ornamentally or for essential services when permitted in yards and courts, provided they are placed completely within the property lines. No fence or hedge in any yard of a corner lot within twenty (20) feet of the corner at the street intersection shall be more than three (3) feet above the level of the center of the roadway nearest it.
(G)
Proximity of garage doors to lot lines. All garages constructed in such a manner so as to have the garage opening, for passage of an automobile, facing an alley shall have a setback of twenty (20) feet from said alley line. However, said setback shall not be required of those garages constructed parallel to the alley, or at such an angle so as to permit the easy access of a standard type automobile from the lane of traffic of such alley closest to said garage.
(Ord. No. 542; Ord. No. 596; Ord. No. 973, 7-5-88)