Footnotes to Article XII

a. In Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4 on a lot occupied by any building which is permitted in said zones other than solely for residential purposes, the width of each side yard shall be not less than fifty feet (50'). In the case where the rear yard abuts on any street or lane, the minimum depth of the rear yard shall conform to the front yard requirements.

b. In the event that there is an Established Residential Building Pattern along a road, then the required front yard setback shall either be determined in accordance with the standards in Section 4.36, or the minimum requirements in Article XIII, whichever is greater. Notwithstanding this requirement, the front yard requirement on a lot of record at the time of adoption of Ordinance No. 14.01, which has a depth of less than one hundred and twenty (120) feet, may be reduced to one quarter (1/4) of such lot depth, but this shall not permit a depth of less than twenty feet (20) in any case. In Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4 on a lot occupied by any building which is permitted in said zones other than solely for residential purposes, the required front yard shall be fifty (50) feet.

For lake lots, as defined in Section 2.36, the setback for any building from an adjacent street opposite a lake or waterway shall be determined as follows: In the event that there is an Established Residential Building Pattern along a road, then the required front setback shall either be determined in accordance with the standards in Section 4.36 or the minimum requirements in Article XIII, whichever is greater. (See also Footnote C for required lake setbacks on lake lots.)

c. Lots on Lakes or Waterways: No structure including a principal or accessory building erected on said lot or parcel shall be nearer than seventy-five feet (75') (as measured on the horizontal from the water line as established by the legal level of the lake) to the said lake, river, stream or other navigable waterway, except as is permitted in Section 4.09, or the Established Residential Building Pattern. In the event that there is an Established Residential Building Pattern along the waterway, then the required front setback shall be determined in accordance with the standards in Section 4.36.

d. Tri-levels shall be computed using the total square footage of the two (2) uppermost levels; this total to be equal to minimum requirements of one (1) floor residences.

e. The width of a side yard abutting upon a side street or lane shall not be less than the minimum front yard depth required on an adjoining lot fronting upon such side street or lane, but this shall not reduce the buildable width of any twenty-five feet (25') at the ground level.

f. The area of buildings at the ground level in this district shall not exceed forty percent (40) of the lot area and the sixty percent (60) of the lot area remaining shall be divided between front yard, side yards and rear yards; provided, however, that no rear yard shall have a depth of less than twenty feet (20'). On the side of a lot which abuts property located in any residential zone, a side yard of not less than twenty feet (20') in width shall be provided.

In all cases where a building has a wall not of fireproof construction or a fireproof wall pierced with windows or other openings, the building shall be accessible on at least two (2) sides by public street, lane or alley or by a passageway, open above ground, not less than ten feet (10') wide, measured to the lot line, extending to a public street, lane or alley.

g. No commercial office building shall be erected on any lot if said building contains less than six hundred (600) square feet of floor space at the ground floor level, provided, that this shall not apply to automobile service stations containing more than four hundred (400) square feet of floor space.

h. The minimum required road frontage shall be not less than eighty percent (80) of the minimum lot width for the zone in which the property is located.

i.(1) Structures in Zone 3 that were built on or before November 17, 1987, in compliance with the ten foot (10') side yard setback that was required at the time of construction, shall be considered in conformance with current side setback requirements.

  (2) Structures in Zone 3 that were built after November 17, 1987 but before April 9, 1998, and structures in Zones 1, 2 and 4 that were built before April 9, 1998, and that were built in compliance with the side yard setback that was required at the time of construction (i.e. Zone 1:6ft, Zone 2:10ft, Zone 3:15ft, Zone 4:20ft), shall also be considered in conformance with current side setback requirements.

  (3) Enlargement or extension of a structure referred to in the previous paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be permitted on a side that does not comply with the side yard setback requirements specified in the Schedule of Regulations, provided that such enlargement or extension does not reduce the structure's current setback along that side. Any such enlargement or extension shall be considered in conformance with side setback requirements.

j. The maximum building height shall be determined separately for each side of the building, and shall be measured from the building grade (as defined in Section 2.75) to the highest point on the roof. Buildings and structures shall comply with the following maximum height standards:

1. Pitched roof buildings(where the slope of the roof is 1 foot vertical to 4 feet horizontal, or steeper):
Zone 1: 30 feet
Zone 2, 3 and 4: 35 feet

2. Flat roof buildings (where the slope of the roof is less than 1 foot vertical to 4 feet horizontal):
Zone 1 and 2: 25 feet
Zone 3 and 4: 28 feet

3. Buildings with a lower level walk-out: The maximum height specified above may be increased by eight feet (8) for residential buildings having a lower level walk-out (as defined in Section 2.61), provided that the walk-out was created because of the natural contour of the land. This provision shall apply only to the side(s) of the building on which the walk-out is located and the side(s) of the building which slope down to the lower level walk-out. (See illustration, Section 2.02), provided that the walkout was created because the natural contour of the land provides a grade change of at least six (6) feet within the footprint of the proposed residential building.

k. For the purpose of determining Minimum Floor Area, a walkout lower level shall not be counted.

l. The area of the lot covered by the principal building plus all attached accessory buildings and structures shall be considered the computations to determine compliance with the lot coverage requirements for “Residences Only”. Attached buildings or structures may include, but are not limited to, swimming pools, garages, patios, tennis courts, decks, greenhouses, and similar structures. Projections beyond the face of the building (e.g. eaves or roof overhangs, chimneys, bay windows, lower or upper floor decks, upper floors that cantilever beyond the footprint of the lower level) shall be included as lot coverage.

The area of the lot covered by the principal building plus all attached and detached accessory buildings and structures shall be considered in the computations to determine compliance with the lot coverage requirements for "All buildings". To be considered "detached" buildings and structures (including decks) shall comply with the requirements in section 4.15, subsection e, with respect to setback from the principal building.

m. Landscaped open space shall include landscaped areas and shall exclude any hard-surfaced area or impervious ground cover such as unenclosed ground level projections or driveways. Fountains, sculptures, and similar features that are permitted as part of an approved landscaped design shall be included as landscaped open space.

n.

*For the purpose of this requirement, building site width shall be the smaller of the following two measurements:

    1. Building site width measured at the front building line (as defined in Section 2.02), or

    2. Building site width measured along a straight line that touches the rear-most part of the principal building and is the shortest distance between the side lot lines (i.e., the rear building line)

**The following building sites shall be exempt from the 30% requirement, but shall comply with the numerical setback specified for each district (Zone 1:8ft, Zone 2:10ft, Zone 3:15ft, and Zone 4:20ft):

    1. Corner building sites,
    2. Building site that did not comply with the width requirements specified in Article XIII at the time of enactment of this provision. However, such building sites shall not be exempt from the 30 percent requirement if the sites are proposed to be enlarged to achieve compliance with the lot width requirements in Article XIII.

         1. The purpose of the lot area standards are to achieve adequate open space around and between dwelling units,
achieve building development that is proportional to the size of a lot, provide adequate land on each lot to allow development without the need for variances, preserve the character of the neighborhood, and maintain privacy on each
building site. This can be accomplished on lots meeting the minimum area standards that are nearly rectangular in shape, but is more difficult to accomplish on lots with more than four sides and where a portion of the required lot area is located in appendages or extensions off of the main buildable portion of the lot (see illustration M).

Consequently, proposals to create new lots or building sites on a lot which; a) has more than four sides, b) has an appendage, c) and has less than the minimum lot area required if the area in the appendage is not included in the lot area calculation, shall not be permitted.

Established Residential Building Pattern

Section 4.36 Established Residential Building Pattern: The following standards apply wherever an Established Residential Building Pattern is specified as the basis for determining required setbacks. The intent of these regulations is to insure uniformity in terms of setbacks to protect existing views for all residents, to provide setbacks that generally follow the natural contour of the waterfront or curve of the road, and to avoid the appearance of crowded housing along a waterway or street front.

A. Determination that an Established Residential Building Pattern Exists. The Building Official shall have the authority to determine if an Established Residential Building Pattern exists in a particular location. The Building Official may consult with the Planning Consultant or other experts as authorized by the Mayor. In making such a determination, the Building Official shall examine the general alignment and orientation of houses, existing setbacks of houses, contour of the waterfront and/or road, and similar considerations that may reflect the presence of an existing uniform setback pattern.      

 

B. Waterfront Setback. The required waterfront setback shall be based on the Established Residential Building Pattern (ERBP), if the Building Official determines that such a pattern exists. The ERBP for a particular parcel shall be determined by drawing a straight line between the adjacent homes on each side of the subject parcel, provided that the adjacent houses are within five hundred (500) feet of the subject parcel. This straight line is the required waterfront setback on the subject parcel.

The following criteria shall be used to determine where the straight ERBP line should be drawn:

1. On the exterior face of each adjacent home identify the point that is closest to the water's edge. Connect these two points to establish the ERBP line. The water's edge shall be based on the legal water level of the lake or other body of water.

2. Boat houses, swimming pools, tennis courts, decks, patios, porches and similar accessory structures or attachments shall be disregarded when determining the ERBP.

3. If the adjacent house in Zones 2, 3 and 4 is closer than 75 feet to the water's edge or if an adjacent house in Zone 1 is closer than 55 feet, or if there is no adjacent house within five hundred (500) feet, then the following criteria shall be used to determine the point from which the straight ERBP line should be drawn:

a. Draw a line more-or-less parallel to the side lot lines bisecting said adjacent parcel.

b. Locate the point on the bisecting line that is 75 feet from the water's edge in Zones 2, 3 or 4, of 55 feet from the water's edge in Zone 1. This is the point from which the straight ERBP line should be drawn.

4. If the Building Official determines that ERBP does not exist, then the required waterfront setback on the subject parcel shall be 75 feet in Zones 2, 3 and 4 and 55 feet in Zone 1.

C. Front Setback. The required front setback shall be based on the Established Residential Building Pattern along the road, or the minimum front setback specified in Article XIII, whichever is greater. The Established Residential Building Pattern along the road shall be equal to ninety percent (90%) of the average front yard setbacks of the immediate adjacent dwellings within two hundred (200) feet on each side of the subject parcel on the same side of the street, subject to the following requirements:

1. In no case shall the front yard setback exceed the Established Residential Building Pattern computed above by more than ten percent (10%). This requirement shall apply to non-waterfront parcels only. For the purposes of this subsection only, the front yard setback shall be the distance between the front lot line and the nearest exterior building wall, provided that the building wall shall enclose interior building space (for example, a wing wall or a wall that delineates an open courtyard shall not be used to determine setback for the purpose of this subsection). See Section 4.09 for yard encroachments.

2. In the event that one of the adjacent parcels is vacant, then the minimum front yard setback specified in Article XIII shall be used in calculating the Established Residential Building Pattern along the road.

3. The front setback of an adjacent structure shall be measured at the shortest distance between the structure's exterior surface or projection therefrom and the front lot line.

Yard Encroachments

SECTION 4.09 YARD ENCROACHMENTS:

Click here for a pdf file of the Section 4.09

 

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