§ 440-29. Lot and yard regulations and exceptions., Article VIII. Performance Standards, Chapter 440. Zoning, Part II. General Legislation, Code of Ordinances, Munhall

Maintenance of minimum standards.

(1)

Any lot shall meet the minimum bulk, area and dimension requirements established for the use to which it is to be put and the zoning district in which it is situated.

(2)

The maintenance of required minimum standards for yards, open space and lot areas shall be a continuing obligation of the property owner(s).

(3)

No required minimum yard, open space or lot area may, for any reason, be used to satisfy the yard, open space, or lot area requirements for any other use or structure.

(4)

Any lot or portion thereof once designated as all or any portion of a required yard or as all or any portion of the required lot area in compliance with the lot area, yard or dimension requirements of this chapter shall not be sold at any time thereafter as a separate lot.

(5)

Any lot or portion thereof recorded or reserved as a right-of way or thoroughfare shall not thereafter be used in satisfying any lot area, yard or dimension requirement of this chapter.

(6)

No required off-street parking area or other space may be reduced in area or dimension if such reduction has the effect of reducing the number or size of the area below the minimum standards required by this chapter.

(7)

Any existing lot, yard, parking area, or other space which is already less than the required minimum established under this chapter shall not be further reduced.

(8)

Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to limit the powers of the Board in granting variances under the provisions of this chapter.

Division of zoning lots. No lot may hereafter be subdivided into two or more zoning lots and no portion of any zoning lot shall be sold unless all zoning lots resulting from each subdivision or sale shall meet all of the bulk and area regulations of the district in which the property is situated, as well as the requirements of Chapter 389, Subdivision and Land Development.

Location of required open space. All required yards and other open space shall be located on the same zoning lot as the structure or structures that constitute the principal use upon which the requirement is based.

Permitted obstructions in required yards. The following shall be considered permitted obstructions when located in the specified required yards.

(1)

In required yards (all districts): recreation equipment, flagpoles, window awnings, permitted open off-street parking space, outdoor lampposts, one-story bay windows, cantilever floors, overhanging eaves and gutters projecting 18 inches or less into the yard.

(2)

In required front yards (all districts):

(a)

Trees which are located at least five feet from any public right-of-way line, and provided that any tree located within 20 feet of any public right-of-way line shall have its lower branches trimmed and maintained at a height of at least eight feet above ground level.

(b)

Shrubs or hedges located more than 10 feet from any side yard line and more than 20 feet from any public street right-of-way line to any height, provided they are properly trimmed and maintained.

(c)

Shrubs located within 20 feet of any public street right-of-way shall be trimmed and maintained at a height not to exceed 2 1/2 feet above the grade of the abutting sidewalk or street center line.

(d)

Open porches which are not more than one story or 14 feet, whichever is the lower height, and which extend not more than eight feet into the required front yard, provided that no such porch shall be located closer to the side lot line than the distance established for the principal structure as the required side yard setback.

(e)

Enclosed vestibules or porches not exceeding 25 square feet in area and not projecting more than five feet into the required front yard.

(f)

Signs, as permitted and restricted elsewhere in this chapter.

(3)

In any residential district only:

(a)

In any front yard or side yard, hedges and shrubs located within 10 feet of any lot line may not exceed four feet in height.

(b)

In any front yard, hedges and shrubs located more than 10 feet from any lot line and more than 20 feet from any public right-of-way line shall have no height limitation.

(c)

In any front yard, walls and fences may not exceed four feet in height at any location and shall be at least 80% open to light and air, except for retaining walls which have a side height within six inches of the finished grade. All posts, braces and supports for walls and fences must be placed on the interior side of the wall or fence so that the finished side is facing the exterior.

(d)

In any side yard, hedges, shrubs and walls and fence may not exceed four feet in height at any location.

(e)

In any rear yard, hedges and shrubs located within 10 feet of any side or rear property line and walls and fences at any location may not exceed six feet in height.

(f)

In any rear yard, hedges and shrubs located 10 feet or more from any side or rear property line shall have no height limitation, provided that they are trimmed and maintained.

(4)

In any commercial district only:

(a)

In any front yard, shrubs and hedges, walls and fences may not exceed four feet in height at any location; except that, in the B-2 District only, security fencing not exceeding 10 feet in height may be permitted, subject to review and approval by the Commission prior to construction.

(b)

In any side or rear yard, shrubs and hedges located more than 10 feet from any side or rear lot line have no height limitation, provided that they are trimmed and maintained.

(c)

In any side or rear yard, security fencing may be permitted to a height not exceeding 10 feet, subject to review and approval by the Commission prior to construction.

(5)

In any industrial or mixed-use district only:

(a)

In any front or side yard, shrubs and hedges may not exceed six feet in height at any location.

(b)

In any front, side or rear yard, security fencing may be permitted to a height not exceeding 10 feet, subject to review and approval by the Commission prior to construction.

(6)

Outdoor storage. In addition to regulations established elsewhere in this chapter, permitted principal uses may utilize property for ancillary outdoor storage in compliance with the following performance standards:

(a)

All proposed outdoor storage must be completely screened from view from surrounding property. Screening must be in the form of an opaque fence or solid wall (commercial, industrial and mixed-use districts only), which has been approved by the Commission.

(b)

Outdoor storage shall not be permitted in any required front yard or in any required open space area in any yard in any district.

(c)

Fencing must meet all bulk and area regulations of this chapter.

(d)

The Commission may impose such other requirements as it may deem necessary to protect adjacent properties and/or to control aesthetics.

(e)

These standards shall not apply to incidental sales (yard or garage sales) in residential districts. Such incidental sales are subject to the approval of the Zoning Officer, providing they do not interfere with pedestrian or vehicular traffic or otherwise present a detriment to adjacent property.

Prohibited obstructions. In all use districts, the accumulation or storage of waste, garbage, rubbish, refuse, used or secondhand materials, scrap materials, scrap metals, inoperable or dismantled vehicles, paper, rags, tires and construction materials are prohibited; except that construction materials may be permitted on a temporary basis only where such materials are being immediately used in the construction of an approved use or structure on the same zoning lot.

Height exceptions. Chimneys, flues, stacks, fire escapes, elevator penthouses, ventilators, skylights, standpipes, conveyors, silos, elevated water tanks, church spires, belfry towers, flagpoles, cupolas, electronic emission or reception towers and/or antennas for radio, telephone, cellular telephone or television transmissions and/or other unique design or maintenance features which are not intended for human habitation may exceed the height limitations of the district in which they are situated, provided that the less restrictive of Subsection F(1) or (2) below is met:

(1)

The height limitations of the district in which the structure is situated shall not be exceeded by more than 15 feet.

(2)

The total height of the structure shall not exceed a dimension equal to or less than the horizontal distance between the base of the structure nearest the feature and the nearest lot line or street right-of-way line.

Projections into required yards. All structures, whether open or enclosed, including porches, canopies, balconies, platforms, garages, carports, covered patios and similar architectural design features, above the normal grade shall not project into any minimum required front, side or rear yard; except that the following encroachments shall be permitted:

(1)

Bay windows, window sills, eaves, buttresses, chimneys, cornices, piers, pilasters and other similar architectural features, provided that any such feature shall not project more than two feet into any required yard.

(2)

Balconies, open aboveground patio decks or other platforms, open fire escapes and/or access steps to a structure.

(3)

An open or enclosed porch only may be extended from the principal structure into a required side or rear yard only in any residential district, provided that any such feature shall be:

(a)

Not more than 10 feet in height.

(b)

Not closer than three feet to any side lot line and not closer than 10 feet to any rear lot line.

Fence and wall restrictions, front yards. In any required front yard:

(1)

No fence or wall shall be permitted which materially impedes vision across any such yard above the height of 2 1/2 feet.

(2)

No hedge or other vegetation or planting(s) shall be permitted which materially impedes vision across such yard between the height of 2 1/2 feet and 10 feet.

Yard requirements, nonresidential uses abutting residential districts.

(1)

In any district other than a residential district, nonresidential buildings and uses shall not be located or conducted closer than 40 feet to any side or rear lot line of a lot situated within a residential district.

(2)

This minimum buffer yard distance requirement may be reduced to 20 feet, provided that the buffer yard is completely landscaped or screened in accordance with an approved landscaping plan.

(3)

Screening materials may include a masonry wall or solid fence between four feet and six feet in height, which shall be maintained throughout the entire term of the nonresidential use and shall be kept free of all signs and graffiti.

(4)

Landscaping may be provided in lieu of any such wall or fence, provided that any such landscaping shall consist of dense evergreen plantings which are not less than four feet in height at the time of planting and which are trimmed and maintained throughout the term of the nonresidential use.

(5)

No wall, fence or landscaping shall in any way impede visibility for vehicular traffic, as may be regulated elsewhere under this chapter.