Definitions

Density: The number of dwelling units on a lot divided by the lot area.

Height of structure: The vertical distance measured from the average ground level on all sides of the structure to the level of the highest point of the roof or top of a structure having a flat roof, or the mean level between the eaves and the highest point of the roof of a structure having a pitched roof. Fence or wall height shall be measured as the vertical distance from the average level of the ground adjacent to the fence or the wall to the top of the highest projection.

Lot area: The total square footage or acreage of land within the boundaries of a lot.

Lot or zoning lot: For purposes of this chapter, a lot or zoning lot is a clearly defined parcel of land identified on a plat of record, fronting on a public street or an approved private street within a planned unit development, and having sufficient area and dimensions to meet minimum zoning district requirements for area, frontage, use, and coverage, and to provide such yards and other open space as required by the respective zoning district regulations.

Lot frontage: The horizontal linear dimension between the side lot lines measured from the points where the side lot lines intersect a street right-of-way. All sides of a lot that abut such streets shall be considered frontage.

Accessory dwelling: An additional dwelling on a lot where the principal use is a one (1) dwelling building on a lot.

Educational facilities, Business school or nonindustrial trade school: A specialized instructional establishment that provides on-site training of business, commercial, vocational, or trade skills such as accounting, data processing, computer repair, secretarial skills, barbering or hair dressing, or other trades of a nonindustrial nature, and not otherwise defined as a 'college/university educational facility,' 'elementary/middle/secondary educational facility,' or a 'home occupation.'

Educational facilities, College/university: An institution providing full-time or part-time education beyond the high school level and authorized by the Commonwealth of Virginia to award associate, bachelor, master, or doctoral degrees.

Nursery or greenhouse, commercial: A retail establishment whose exclusive activity is the sale of plants, shrubs, and trees and the sale of any article, substance, or commodity related to such planting, maintenance, or harvesting such as packaged fertilizers, soils, chemicals, or other nursery goods or products in small quantities to the consumer.

Stable, commercial: The boarding, breeding, or raising of horses or ponies not owned by the owner or occupant of the property or the riding of horses or ponies by other than the owner or occupant of the property and their nonpaying guests.

Cottage court: A group of two (2) or more buildings that contain three (3) or more dwellings that are limited to one thousand (1,000) square feet of gross floor area, with buildings and entrances oriented onto a central court for common access.

Day care home, Child: A child day program offered in the residence of the provider, serving one (1) through four (4) children at any one (1) time, exclusive of any children related to the provider by blood, marriage, or adoption.

Laboratory, dental, medical, or optical: An establishment primarily engaged in bacteriological, biological, x-ray, pathological, or similar analytical or diagnostic services to medical doctors or dentists, and the production, fitting, or sale of optical or prosthetic appliances.

Development plan: The drafted proposal for a development, including site plans, maps, and other documentation delineating all easements and other conditions relating to use, location, and bulk of buildings, density of development, parking arrangements, public access, common open space, landscaping, public facilities, and other such information necessary to determine compliance with this chapter.

Distribution center: An establishment where goods are received, sorted, and dispatched for delivery to the ultimate customer at remote locations.

Drive-through facility: A nonresidential use which provides a service or product directly to a customer who drives a motor vehicle onto the premises and to a window or mechanical device through or by which the customer completes a service transaction or purchases a product without exiting the motor vehicle.

Drive-through kiosk: A freestanding structure for the purpose of vending food, drink, or retail goods from a drive-through window to customers seated in their motor vehicles for consumption off the premises and that provides no indoor or outdoor seating or indoor service.

Driveway: A private way which establishes a connection between an off-street parking space or an off-street loading space and a street.

Driveway entrance: The connection between a public or private right-of-way and a lot adjacent to the right-of-way that is intended to provide access for vehicles from the right-of-way to the adjacent lot.

Dry cleaning plant or commercial laundry: An establishment primarily engaged in laundering, cleaning, or dyeing of fabrics, textiles, wearing apparel, or articles of any sort by immersion and agitation, or by immersions only, in volatile solvents, and the processes incidental thereto.

Dwelling: A room or group of connected rooms designed for occupancy by a household as an independent housekeeping unit for thirty (30) days or longer.

Dwelling unit: A room or group of connected rooms occupied or capable of being occupied as an independent and separate housekeeping establishment by only one (1) family, and which contains independent kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping facilities.

Eating and drinking establishment: An eating establishment also having as a function the sale of beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises. Such establishment may provide, as an accessory function, live performances with only nonelectronic musical instruments or recorded background music and a dance floor not to exceed ten (10) percent of the seating area of the establishment.

Eating establishment: An establishment engaged in the preparation and selling of food to the customer in a ready-to-consume state, and where the customer consumes these foods on or off the premises. An eating establishment does not sell alcoholic beverages. Such establishment may provide, as an accessory function, live performances with only nonelectronic musical instruments or recorded background music and a dance floor not to exceed ten (10) percent of the seating area of the establishment.

Elderly: Persons of fifty-five (55) years of age and older.

Electric vehicle charging station: An element in an infrastructure that supplies electric energy for the recharging of plug-in electric vehicles—including electric cars, neighborhood electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

Educational facilities, Elementary/middle/secondary: A public, private, or parochial school offering instruction at the elementary (kindergarten through grade 5), middle (grades 6 through 8), or secondary (grades 9 through 12) school level in the branches of learning and study required to be taught in the public schools of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Entertainment establishment: An establishment where entertainment is provided (including magicians, comedians, dancers, stage performances or music performances by more than one (1) instrument or amplified music including amplified recorded sound and electronic musical instruments), or having a dance floor which occupies more than ten (10) percent of the seating area of the establishment.

Escort service: Any business, agency, or person who, for a fee, commission, or profit, furnishes or offers to furnish names of persons, or who introduces, furnishes or arranges for persons, who may accompany other persons to or about social affairs, entertainments, or other activities.

Family day home: A child day program offered in the residence of the provider or the home of any of the children in care for five (5) through twelve (12) children under the age of thirteen (13), exclusive of the provider's own children and any children who reside in the home, when at least one (1) child receives care for compensation.

The term 'family' includes: 1. One (1) or more persons occupying a single dwelling unit and living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit, or 2. Up to eight persons with mental illness, intellectual disability, or developmental disability who reside with one or more resident or nonresident staff persons in a residential facility for which the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services is the licensing authority pursuant to the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended. 3. Up to and including eight aged, infirm, or disabled persons who reside with one (1) or more resident counselors or other staff persons in a residential facility for which the Department of Social Services is the licensing authority pursuant to the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended. The word 'family' does not refer to more than four (4) persons unrelated by blood, marriage, or adoption except as specifically provided in (2) of this definition.

Fence: A barrier, railing, or other upright structure, constructed of wood, wire, or other durable and permanent materials.

Financial services: The provision of financial and banking services to consumers or clients, including banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, lending establishments, and mortgage offices, and which may include their support services such as call centers, training centers, and offices.

Flea market: A market established at a permanent, fixed location, in an open area where goods are offered for sale to the general public by independent vendors from open, semi-open, or temporary stalls, tables, or other spaces and where there are ordinarily no long-term leases between sellers and operators.

Floor area ratio: The gross floor area in square feet of all buildings on a lot divided by the area of such lot in square feet.

Fueling station: Any lot, or portion thereof, with fuel pumps and underground storage tanks for the wholesale sales of motor vehicle fuels or oils, generally by contract, or for the fueling of motor vehicles directly associated with a commercial establishment.

Funeral home: An establishment engaged in undertaking services such as preparing the dead for burial and arranging and managing funerals.

Gaming establishment: The operation or conducting of any games of chance for the return of money, cash, or prizes, or anything that could be redeemed for money, cash, or prizes.

Garage or carport: A building or roofed structure, accessory to a permitted principal residential structure, and providing for the storage of one (1) or more motor vehicles and in which no business, occupation, or service for profit is conducted.

Gasoline station: Any lot, or portion thereof, with fuel pumps and underground storage tanks for retail sale to the public of motor vehicle fuels or oils, which establishment may include the sale of propane or kerosene as accessory uses.

Office, general: An establishment primarily engaged in providing administrative, clerical, and other services not involving the manufacture, assembly, storage, display, or direct retail sale of goods, and not including medical services.

General service establishment: An establishment primarily engaged in repair or maintenance services to individuals and households, rather than businesses, of household or commercial goods, including appliances, electronics, computers, and similar goods, but excluding 'personal service,' 'business service,' or 'motor vehicle repair or service' establishments or any use which is otherwise specifically listed in the Use Tables in Article 3 of this chapter.

Glare: Light coming directly from a light source to the eye, hampering vision or causing visual discomfort, resulting from insufficiently shielded or inappropriately aimed light sources in the field of view.

Government offices: Governmental offices providing administrative, clerical, or public contact services that deal directly with the citizen.

Floor area, gross: The sum of the horizontal areas (floors) of the several stories of a building or buildings, measured from the exterior surfaces of the exterior walls, or in the case of a common wall separating two (2) buildings, from the centerline of such common wall. Gross floor area shall include the total floor area of all buildings situated on a lot. Gross floor area shall include exterior balconies, mezzanines, porches, and attached carports. Gross floor area shall not include interior parking and loading spaces or air spaces above atriums.

Group living: Permanent occupancy of a building by nine (9) or more people who may be unrelated and who may receive supportive services or medical care.

Guarantee: A performance bond, letter of credit, or other form of surety acceptable to the City Attorney and the City Director of Finance, which is held or provided as security for the execution, completion, or existence of a requirement of this chapter or a condition imposed with the granting of a special exception.

Hazardous materials facility: An establishment in which the principal activity is the testing, storage, treatment, or disposal of hazardous materials or waste.

Health and fitness center: An establishment designed and equipped for the conduct of recreational sports, physical exercise, leisure time activities, or other usual recreational activities, and open to members and guests or open to the public for a fee.

Heat island: An urban area in which a greater amount of heat is retained, as by impervious surface, than in nearby areas.

Home occupation: An occupation conducted as an accessory use within a dwelling unit or within an accessory structure located on the same lot as the dwelling unit, and conducted by the resident thereof, provided that the use is limited in extent and incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling unit for residential purposes and does not change the character of the dwelling unit or the lot on which the dwelling unit is located.

Homestay: An establishment that offers for compensation a portion of any dwelling unit for overnight stays to guests, and not meeting the definition of a bed and breakfast.

Hospital: An institution, licensed by the State department of health, providing primary health services and medical or surgical care to persons, primarily in-patients, suffering from illness, disease, injury, deformity, or other abnormal physical or mental conditions, and including as an integral part of the institution, related facilities such as laboratories, outpatient facilities, or training facilities.

Hotel or motel: A building or group of buildings in which lodging units are provided and offered to the public for compensation, which is open to transient guests on an overnight or weekly basis, and which is not a 'boarding house' or 'group care facility' as defined in this chapter.

Household: A person or group of persons living within a dwelling and sharing kitchen facilities, sanitation facilities, and common areas. A household may have one (1) of the following types of occupancy: (a) A family of related persons of unlimited number. (b) A family defined as up to eight (8) persons with mental illness, intellectual disability, or developmental disability who reside with one (1) or more resident or nonresident staff persons in a residential facility for which the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services is the licensing authority pursuant to the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended. (c) A family defined as up to eight (8) aged, infirm, or disabled persons who reside with one (1) or more resident counselors or other staff persons in a residential facility for which the Department of Social Services is the licensing authority pursuant to the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended. (d) A group of up to eight (8) persons who may not be related and may receive supportive services or medical care.

Impervious surface: Any man-made surface or material that does not readily absorb water or that substantially reduces or prevents the infiltration of stormwater. For purposes of this chapter, impervious surfaces shall include, without limitation, roofs, private streets, decks, sidewalks, outdoor storage areas, and parking and other areas paved with asphalt, concrete, compacted sand, compacted gravel, or clay.

Impervious surface ratio: That portion of a lot or zoning district which, when viewed from directly above, would be covered by any impervious surface. Compacted gravel parking areas shall be considered impervious for the purpose of calculating impervious surface ratio, unless specially designed to remain pervious as documented by an engineer. Impervious surface ratio (percentage) shall be calculated by dividing the area of impervious surface (in square feet) by the total area of the lot (in square feet).

Improved street or improved alley: A street or alley that has a paved surface that conforms to Section 31.1-400 of this Code.

Recreation, indoor: The provision of recreation facilities which are predominantly participatory uses, and which are located and conducted entirely within a building.

Educational facilities, Industrial trade school: A specialized instructional establishment for teaching industrial trade skills in which machinery is employed as a means of instruction.

Inoperative vehicle: Any motor vehicle on which valid license plates or a valid inspection decal is not displayed, or any motor vehicle which has been wrecked, partially or totally dismantled, or disassembled, such that the vehicle cannot be lawfully operated on a public street.

Internet sales establishment: A retail sales establishment that solely operates through online, mail order, or similar customer interaction. There is no storefront for the purchase of goods or other means of direct pickup of products by customers at the facility.

Junkyard: Property which is maintained, operated, or used for the collecting, storing, buying, or selling of scrap material or similar waste or other salvage or discarded materials, including used building materials, machinery, scrap metals, or other scrap materials and similar items, but not including motor vehicles or trailers, or parts thereof.

Such activity shall not be considered a kennel where accessory to a principal residential use, provided that not more than four (4) dogs or four (4) cats, or six (6) cats if such six (6) cats have been spayed or neutered, exceeding six (6) months of age are kept.

Large apartment building: A building containing nine (9) or more dwellings.

Retail sales establishment—Large appliances, furniture, household fixtures, swimming pools: A retail sales establishment primarily characterized by large showrooms and floor samples, and where the retail sale is generally followed by delivery to the home, and which may include installation of the purchased item.

Office, general or professional, Large scale: A general or professional office for which the gross floor area of any building provides at least ten thousand (10,000) square feet of gross floor area dedicated exclusively to the general or professional office use.

Laundromat: A facility where patrons, for a fee, wash, dry, or dry clean clothing or other fabrics in machines operated by the patron.

Library: A public facility for the use of literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials.

Limousine service: The business of offering the public motor vehicles for carrying or transportation of passengers between the airport and points within the City for a fixed charge or fee, or offering a motor vehicle with driver for a fixed charge for transportation of passengers at an hourly rate.

Live-work unit: A structure or portion of a structure combining a residential living space with an integrated workspace principally used by the resident.

Loading area: An area provided for bulk pickups, deliveries, and refuse collection, including any related aisle, loading spaces, ingress and egress lanes, and driveways but not including any part of a public right-of-way or public street.

Loading space: Space provided for bulk pickups, deliveries, and refuse collection, scaled to delivery vehicles expected to be used, and accessible to such vehicles when required parking spaces are filled.

Lumberyard: An area used for the storage, distribution, and sale of finished or rough-cut lumber and lumber products, but not including the manufacture or fabrication of lumber, lumber products, or firewood.

Dwelling, Manufactured home: A factory-built dwelling, transportable in one or more sections, subject to federal regulations and constructed after June 15, 1976, which is constructed on a chassis for towing to the point of use, and is not less than 19 feet in width when assembled, and is set up on a permanent foundation on an individual lot for continuous year-round occupancy as a single-unit dwelling when connected to the required utilities.

Manufacturing—Beverage or food processing: A facility where beverages or foods, excluding poultry and animal slaughtering and dressing, are processed and packaged for local, regional, or national distribution.

Manufacturing—General: An establishment engaged in the processing, fabrication, assembly, or mixing of materials to create a new product, and the incidental storage, sales, and distribution of such products, but excluding any use or establishment which is otherwise listed specifically in the Use Tables in Article 3 of this chapter.

Manufacturing—Wood products: A facility where logs or partially processed cants are sawn, split, shaved, stripped, chipped, or otherwise processed to produce wood products.

The maximum building footprint for this use is fifteen thousand (15,000) square feet, thus distinguishing it from the 'manufacturing-beverage or food processing' industrial use by its smaller scale.

Mechanical equipment: Heating, ventilating, air conditioning, or power generation equipment.

Medical clinic: An establishment in which doctors, dentists, or other practitioners licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia provide health care services to clients, including medical or health-related physical or massage therapy, counseling, diagnoses, or treatment, exclusively on an outpatient basis.

Meeting hall: A building designed for public assembly for special events or regularly scheduled programs, and available to the general public for a fee.

Mini-warehouse: An enclosed storage facility containing cubicles designed to provide independent, individual, fully enclosed storage space, for lease to individuals for long-term storage of their household goods or personal property, where each cubicle is enclosed by walls and ceiling, and where each cubicle has a separate entrance for the loading and unloading of stored goods.

Mixed-use building: A single building containing more than one (1) type of land use permitted within a zoning district, including residential, commercial, and office.

Mobile food vending: the preparation or sale of food or beverage from a motor vehicle, trailer or cart capable of being readily moved.

Dwelling, Mobile home: A structure, transportable in one or more sections, not subject to federal regulations and constructed prior to June 15, 1976, which is constructed on a chassis for towing to the point of use and designed to be used, with or without permanent foundation, for continuous year-round occupancy as a single-unit dwelling when connected to the required utilities.

Motor freight terminal or truck terminal: A facility for the receipt, transfer, short-term storage, and dispatching of goods transported by truck.

Motor vehicle or trailer painting and body repair: Any facility, or portion thereof, used for the repair, replacement, or straightening of a motor vehicle body or frame or painting of motor vehicles.

Motor vehicle: Any vehicle which is self-propelled or designed for self-propulsion.

Motor vehicle rental establishment: Establishments engaged exclusively in the rental of motor vehicles, including incidental parking and servicing of vehicles for rent or lease, and may include the sale of rental inventory.

Motor vehicle repair or service establishment: An establishment primarily engaged in the repair or maintenance of motor vehicles or trailers, including the sale, installation, and servicing of equipment and parts.

Motor vehicle sales and service establishment, New: An establishment whose activities include the display, sale, or lease of new and used motor vehicles or trailers, and new and used commercial motor vehicles not exceeding twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds empty gross weight, and the performance of any repair or maintenance work of such motor vehicles and commercial motor vehicles, including painting and body repair, and financial services conducted as an accessory use to the sales establishment.

Motor vehicle sales and service establishment, Used: An establishment which engages in only the display of three (3) or more used motor vehicles or trailers for sale or lease, and may engage in the repair or maintenance of such motor vehicles or trailers, but does not engage in the sale, lease, repair, or maintenance of commercial motor vehicles.

Multiple façade apartment building: A building that contains three (3) to eight (8) dwellings and has two (2) or more primary facades.

Museum: An establishment for preserving and exhibiting artistic, historical, scientific, natural, or man-made objects of interest.

Floor area, net: The gross floor area of a building excluding hallways, stairwells, utility rooms, and other areas not meant for habitation or public service. For the purpose of this chapter, net floor area shall equal seventy-five (75) percent of the gross floor area.

Parking, off-site: Off-street parking which is located on a separate lot from the lot containing the use which the parking is intended to serve.

One and two dwelling building: A building that contains one (1) or two (2) dwellings.

Outdoor display area: The placement of goods or merchandise for sale or for advertisement, outside of the building or structure in which the merchandise is normally sold.

Recreation, outdoor: The provision of recreation facilities which are predominantly participatory uses, and which are conducted in open or partially enclosed or screened facilities.

Outdoor storage: The keeping or storing, other than in a wholly enclosed building, of any goods, items, materials, or merchandise. 'Outdoor storage' shall be permitted only as an accessory use where allowed by this chapter.

Outpatient mental health and substance abuse clinic: An establishment which provides outpatient services primarily related to the treatment of mental health disorders, alcohol, or other drug or substance abuse disorders, which services include the dispensing and administering of controlled substances and pharmaceutical products by professional medical practitioners as licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Overlay district: A zoning district established by this chapter to prescribe special regulations to be applied to a lot in combination with, and supplemental to, the underlying or base district.

Paintball facility: An establishment engaged in the provision of a field or facility designated for the use of pneumatic paintball guns for recreational use.

Park: An area that is predominantly open space, used primarily for active or passive recreation, and not used for a profit-making purpose.

Parking lot facility: Use of a site for a parking lot unrelated to a specific use.

Parking structure facility: Use of a site for a parking structure unrelated to a specific use.

Permanent occupancy: Occupancy for any period of thirty (30) days or longer.

Permeable pavement system: A system consisting of a surface pavement layer that allows water to pass through it into an underlying reservoir layer specifically designed to temporarily store runoff and either release it slowly or allow it to infiltrate into the subsoil.

Personal service establishment: An establishment primarily engaged in the provision of frequent or recurrent needed individual services generally related to personal needs, such as the care of a person or a person's apparel, or the training and development of a person, including barber shops, beauty shops, nail salons, tanning salons, pet grooming services, dry cleaning or laundry pick up stations, dressmakers and tailors, shoe repair shops, art or music lessons, tattoo parlors or body piercing establishments and the like, but not including medical services, or any use which is otherwise specifically listed in the Use Tables in Article 3 of this chapter.

Personal service home occupation: A home occupation that generally provides services to an individual client related to the care of a person, a person's apparel, or the training and development of a person, including, but not limited to, beauty or barber shops, nail salons, dressmakers or tailors, music or art lessons, photography or portrait painting, and tutoring, but not including medical services, tattoo parlors, or body piercing establishments.

Pet crematorium: An establishment in which the principal activity is the cremation of domestic animals, and where all such activity occurs wholly enclosed in a building.

Petition: The completed form(s), with all documents, exhibits, and fees required of a petitioner for an appeal to the City Council or Circuit Court as provided for in this chapter.

Petitioner: The party filing a petition of appeal to the City Council or Circuit Court as provided for in this chapter.

Place of worship: Any structure principally used as an assembly place for religious worship, including churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, and similar buildings, and including accessory uses customarily associated with such primary purpose such as parish houses, religious education buildings, convents, columbaria, cemeteries located on the same lot, bookstores inside the church building, and child care on the premises during worship services.

Playground: Land which is improved with recreation equipment and facilities, such as swings, gym bars, and similar equipment, for the purpose of active recreation.

Portable storage container: A portable, weather-resistant receptacle designed and used for the storage or shipment of items, including, but not limited to, household goods, furniture, wares, building

Post office: Postal services directly available to the consumer operated by the United States Postal Service for the purpose of a specific zip code area.

Primary entrance: An entrance designed as the principal entrance to a building, or one (1) of multiple principal entrances to a building, when more than one (1) such entrance is present.

Primary street frontage: The lot frontage toward which the development on a lot is generally oriented.

Principal structure: A structure in which the primary use of the lot on which the structure is located is conducted.

Principal use: The main use of land or structures as distinguished from a secondary or accessory use.

Stable, private: The keeping, breeding, or raising of horses or ponies exclusively for the personal use and enjoyment of the owner or occupant of the property or the riding of horses or ponies by the owner or occupant of the property and their guests, which stable is accessory to a single-family detached dwelling.

Office, professional: An establishment primarily engaged in the conduct of professional business by professional persons as defined herein but not including medical services.

Quarry: A lot or land, or portion thereof, used for the purpose of extracting stone, sand, gravel, clay, or top soil for sale, except where such excavation is for purposes of grading for a building lot or roadway.

Recreational vehicle: A vehicle which can be towed, hauled, or driven, designed and used as temporary living accommodations for recreational, camping, or travel uses only.

Recycling center: A facility for the collection and processing of recoverable resources, such as paper, glass, metal, and plastic products, to return them to a condition in which they can be reused for production.

Recycling collection point: An accessory use, structure, or movable container, that serves as a drop-off point for the temporary holding of recyclable materials, such as paper, cardboard, glass, metal, or plastic, or donated goods, such as clothing, furnishings, or other personal or household items, prior to delivery to a broker or user of such materials.

Regional housing services: An operation providing temporary occupancy, and which may provide mental health counseling, employment services, permanent housing assistance, and other supportive services. The temporary housing capacity of a regional housing services operation is not limited.

Resident manager apartment: A single dwelling unit which is accessory and subordinate to the principal permitted use and which is designated for use only by the resident manager or security personnel of such principal permitted use.

Retail sales establishment: An establishment engaged in the sale or rental of goods, merchandise, or products directly to the consumer and including the incidental service of such merchandise.

Retaining wall: A wall or terraced combination of walls designed to retain or restrain lateral forces of soil, such soil being similar in height to the height of the wall, and where such retaining wall is of a height no greater than that necessary to serve such stated purpose and is not used to support, provide a foundation for, or provide a wall for a building or other structure.

River rock: Stone intended for decorative ground cover, characterized by a rounded grain shape and having a grain diameter of no less than 3/16 of an inch.

Satellite dish antenna: An antenna in the shape of a shallow dish, and appurtenant equipment, used for the direct reception of broadcast signals from orbiting satellites.

Educational facilities, School for the arts: A school where classes in the various fine arts, including painting, sculpting, photography, music, dance, or dramatics are taught, and where such establishment is not otherwise defined as an 'elementary/middle/secondary educational facility,' 'college/university educational facility,' 'artist studio,' or 'home occupation.'

Screening: A method of visually obscuring one abutting or nearby structure or use from another by fencing, walls, or densely planted vegetation. Screening is intended to substantially, but not necessarily totally, obscure visual impacts between adjoining uses, structures, or facilities.

Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation: The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, as codified in 36 CFR 67 (U.S. Department of Interior regulations), and Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resource Stewardship and Partnerships, Heritage Preservation Services, 1995), as amended.

Self-storage building: A building that contains enclosed storage units leased for long-term storage of personal property, where access to each unit is provided from the interior of the building.

Self-storage facility: A facility designed to provide enclosed storage units for long-term storage of personal property, where each unit has exterior access, and which may include outdoor storage.

Short-term rental: An accommodation for transient guests where, in exchange for compensation, a dwelling is provided for lodging for less than thirty (30) days.

Sight distance triangle: A sight distance triangle shall mean a triangular area illustrated by dashed lines in the diagram below:

Single façade apartment building: A building that contains three (3) to eight (8) dwellings and has a single primary façade.

Solar energy system: An energy system that consists of one or more solar collection devices, solar energy related 'balance of system' equipment, and other associated infrastructure with the primary intention of generating electricity, storing electricity, or otherwise converting solar energy to a different form of energy. Solar energy systems shall be the primary source of on-site energy, but may generate energy in excess of the energy requirements of a property. Solar panels shall not be considered mechanical equipment for purposes of screening and buffering.

Solar panels shall not be considered mechanical equipment for purposes of screening and buffering.

Solid waste collection or transfer station: Any storage or collection facility where solid waste, rubbish, garbage, or any like materials are regularly shifted, transferred, transloaded, or moved from one carrier, conveyance, or form of transport to any other carrier, conveyance, or form of transport.

Sports stadium, arena, or coliseum: A large open or enclosed space specifically designed as a place of public assembly for viewing sporting events or other special entertainment events, including concerts, and where such field or court is partly or completely surrounded by tiers of seats for spectators.

Stockade fence: A fence constructed of vertical wood or vinyl strips, with no intervening spaces, providing a complete visual barrier.

Storefront: That portion of the ground floor of a nonresidential building consisting of an entryway and windows, and that is leased to or occupied by an individual tenant, business, or other entity.

Street: Any public way (or private way as may be applicable in a PUD or an established private way upon which a lot or lots have frontage) for vehicular and pedestrian traffic which provides the primary means of access to lots.

Structure: Anything which is constructed or erected with a fixed location on the ground, or attached to something having a fixed location on the ground, including buildings, walls, fences, signs, manufactured homes, swimming pools (in-ground and aboveground), patios, parking areas and loading areas.

Studio/multimedia production facility: A facility for the staging and recording of video or audio productions such as commercials, film, programs, or music videos.

Supply pantry: An establishment engaged in the provision or sale of food, clothing, or other essential items at no charge or for less than fair market value where no on-premises consumption of the items being distributed occurs.

Laboratory, testing and research: An establishment primarily engaged in performing scientific research or testing activities in technological fields.

Townhouse building: A building containing two (2) or more dwellings connected by vertical walls, with each dwelling having an independent entrance.

Open space, usable: Open space within or directly related to a multifamily residential development or a Planned Unit Development which is designed and intended for the common use and enjoyment of the residents of the development, or employees of such Planned Unit Development. Such open space is land not covered by parking, driveways, buildings, or storm water management facilities, except that it may contain structures of a recreational nature (such as picnic shelters, gazebos, swimming pools, tennis courts, and the like). Usable open space shall consist of open areas of such a size that the smallest dimension is not less than fifteen (15) feet and is of such configuration to allow for the conduct of outdoor activities. Yards required by this chapter, which meet the foregoing dimensions, may be included in the allocation and calculation of usable open space. Other open or landscaped areas with a dimension of less than fifteen (15) feet in any direction shall not be credited to the usable open space requirement for the development.

Parking space, off-street: A space on premises rather than on the street for the parking of one (1) motor vehicle conforming to the parking area standards of this chapter.

Parking area: An area provided for the temporary storage of motor vehicles, including any related aisles, parking spaces, ingress and egress lanes, and private garages but not including any part of a public right-of-way or public street.

Parking lot: A surface parking area for motor vehicles where there is no gross building area below the parking area and no gross building area or roof above it, and which provides one (1) or more parking spaces together with driveways, aisles, turning and maneuvering areas, incorporated landscaped areas, and similar features meeting the requirements established by this chapter.

Parking structure: A structure, or portion thereof, composed of one (1) or more levels or floors used exclusively for the parking or storage of operable motor vehicles.

Setback: The distance from a property line to the closest projection of a structure or from the closest projection of one structure to the closest projection of another structure.

Sign: Any object, device, structure, or fixture, or portion thereof, which is used to announce, advertise, identify, display, or direct or attract attention to an object, person, institution, organization, business, product, goods, service, special promotion, activity, event, or location.