The rules and definitions contained in this article shall be observed and applied in the interpretation of all other articles herein, except when the context clearly indicates otherwise.
A. 
Words used in the present tense shall include the future; words used in the singular number shall include the plural number, and the plural the singular.
B. 
The word "shall" is mandatory and not discretionary.
C. 
The word "may" is permissive.
D. 
The word "lot" shall include the words "plot," "piece," and "parcel"; the word "building" includes all other structures or improvements of every kind, regardless of similarity to buildings; and the phrase "used for" shall include the phrases "arranged for," "designed for," "intended for," "maintained for," and "occupied for."
E. 
The word "person" includes a firm, association, organization, partnership, trust, company, or corporation as well as an individual.
F. 
The conjunction "and" indicates that all connected items, conditions, provisions, or events may apply singly or in any combination. "Either … or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions or events shall apply singly but not in combination.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ACCESSORY USE OR STRUCTURE
A use or structure on the same lot with, and of a nature customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal use or structure.
[Amended 6-14-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4; 7-24-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-10]
ADULT-USE CANNABIS BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT
An adult-use cannabis cultivation center, craft grower, processing organization, infuser organization, dispensing organization, or transporting organization.
[Added 11-25-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-9]
ADULT-USE CANNABIS CRAFT GROWER
A facility operated by an organization or business that is licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to cultivate, dry, cure, and package cannabis and perform other necessary activities to make cannabis available for sale at a dispensing organization or use at a processing organization pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (410 ILCS 705/1-1 et seq.), as it may be amended from time to time, and regulations promulgated thereunder.
[Added 11-25-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-9]
ADULT-USE CANNABIS CULTIVATION CENTER
A facility operated by an organization or business that is licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to cultivate, process, transport, and perform necessary activities to provide cannabis and cannabis-infused products to licensed cannabis business establishments pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (410 ILCS 705/1-1 et seq.), as it may be amended from time to time, and regulations promulgated thereunder.
[Added 11-25-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-9]
ADULT-USE CANNABIS DISPENSING ORGANIZATION
A facility operated by an organization or business that is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to acquire cannabis from licensed cannabis business establishments for the purpose of selling or dispensing cannabis, cannabis-infused products, cannabis seeds, paraphernalia, or related supplies to purchasers or to qualified registered medical cannabis patients and caregivers pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (410 ILCS 705/1-1 et seq.), as it may be amended from time to time, and regulations promulgated thereunder.
[Added 11-25-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-9]
ADULT-USE CANNABIS INFUSER ORGANIZATION or INFUSER
A facility operated by an organization or business that is licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to directly incorporate cannabis or cannabis concentrate into a product formulation to produce a cannabis-infused product pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (410 ILCS 705/1-1 et seq.), as it may be amended from time to time, and regulations promulgated thereunder.
[Added 11-25-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-9]
ADULT-USE CANNABIS PROCESSING ORGANIZATION or PROCESSOR
A facility operated by an organization or business that is licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to either extract constituent chemicals or compounds to produce cannabis concentrate or incorporate cannabis or cannabis concentrate into a product formulation to produce a cannabis product pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (410 ILCS 705/1-1 et seq.), as it may be amended from time to time, and regulations promulgated thereunder.
[Added 11-25-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-9]
ADULT-USE CANNABIS TRANSPORTING ORGANIZATION or TRANSPORTER
An organization or business that is licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to transport cannabis on behalf of a cannabis business establishment or a community college licensed under the Community College Cannabis Vocational Training Pilot Program pursuant to the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (410 ILCS 705/1-1 et seq.), as it may be amended from time to time, and regulations promulgated thereunder.
[Added 11-25-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-9]
AGRICULTURAL BUILDING OR STRUCTURE
Shall imply any building or structure existing or erected on land used principally for agricultural purposes, with the exception of dwelling units.
AGRICULTURE
The use of land for agricultural purposes, including farming, dairying, pasturage, apiculture, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, and animal and poultry husbandry, and the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating, or storing the produce; provided, however, that the operation of any such accessory uses shall be secondary to that of the normal agricultural activities. Agriculture shall not include the commercial feeding of garbage or offal to swine or other animals.
ALLEY
A public right-of-way which is less than 30 feet wide and affords a secondary means of access to abutting property. Frontage on an alley shall not be construed as satisfying the requirements related to frontage on a public street.
[Amended 6-14-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]
APARTMENT
One or more rooms in an apartment building or combination apartment and commercial building arranged, intended or designed or occupied as a dwelling unit of a single family, an individual, or a group of individuals.
AUTOMOBILE SERVICE STATION
Any building or premises used for the dispensing, sale or offering for sale at retail to the public of automobile fuels stored only in underground tanks and located wholly within the lot lines, lubricating oil or grease for the operation of automobiles, and the sale and installation of tires, batteries, other minor accessories, and minor auto repair, but not including a bulk plant, conduct of major auto repairs, automobile wrecking, automobile sales, or automobile laundries; provided, however, that the washing of individual automobiles where no chain conveyor is employed may be included.
BASEMENT
The portion of a building which has 1/2 or more of its height above grade.
[Amended 6-14-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]
BUILDING
A structure having a roof, supported by columns or walls, for the shelter, support, or enclosure of persons, animals, or chattels; and when separated by division walls from the ground up and without openings, each portion of such building shall be deemed as a separate building.
BUILDING AREA
The area bounded by the exterior dimensions of the outer walls at the ground line.
[Added 6-14-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]
BUILDING, NONCONFORMING
See "nonconforming building."
BUILDING, PRINCIPAL
A nonaccessory building in which a principal use on the zoning lot on which it is located is conducted.
BULK
The term used to indicate the size and setbacks of buildings or structures and the location of same with respect to one another, and including the following:
[Added 6-14-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]
A. 
Size and height of buildings.
B. 
Location of exterior walls at all levels in relation to lot lines, streets or other buildings.
C. 
Gross floor area of buildings in relation to lot area (floor area ratio).
D. 
All open space allocated to buildings.
E. 
Amount of lot area provided per dwelling unit.
CITY COUNCIL
The City Council of the City of Lexington, Illinois.
[Added 6-14-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]
CODE COMPLIANCE OFFICER
An official or officials approved by the City Council to administer and enforce this chapter.
[Added 6-14-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]
CONDITIONAL USE
Any use of land or buildings, or both, described and permitted herein, subject to the provisions of Article VII, Conditional Uses.
CRTA
The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (410 ILCS 705/1-1 et seq.), as it may be amended from time to time, and regulations promulgated thereunder.
[Added 11-25-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-9]
CORNER LOT
See "lot, corner."
CURB LEVEL
The level of the established curb in front of the building measured at the center of such front. Where a building faces on more than one street, the curb level shall be the average of the levels of the curbs at the center front of each street. Where no curb elevation has been established, the level of the center line of the street shall be considered the curb level.
DISTRICT ZONING
Any portion of the City for which the zoning regulations govern the use of buildings and premises, the height of buildings, and the size of yards. The intensity of uses are uniform within each district.
[Added 6-14-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]
DRIVEWAY
A compacted surface constructed and maintained for the purpose of providing access to an off-street parking space, or spaces from an approach. All driveways constructed after September 13, 2004, shall have a concrete or asphalt surface.
[Amended 9-13-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-4]
DWELLING
A building or portion thereof, but not including a house trailer or mobile home, designed or used exclusively for residential occupancy, including one-family dwelling units, two-family dwelling units, and multiple-family dwelling units, but not including hotels, boardinghouses, or lodging houses.
DWELLING, CONVERTED
Any building which was originally designed and constructed as one-, two-, or three-family dwelling, but which has been changed or altered by the construction of additional dwelling units to provide for more families than the original building.
DWELLING, MULTIPLE-FAMILY
A dwelling originally designed and constructed to accommodate three or more apartments, designed with more than one dwelling unit connecting to a common corridor or entranceway, in contrast to single- or two-family dwellings converted for multiple-family use.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY
A dwelling containing accommodations for and occupied by one family only.
DWELLING, TWO-FAMILY
A building designed exclusively for occupancy by two families living independently of each other.
DWELLING UNIT
One or more rooms in a dwelling designed for occupancy by one family for living purposes and having its own permanently installed cooking and sanitary facilities.[1]
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
A public, parochial, charitable, or nonprofit junior college, college, or university, other than trade or business schools, including instructional and recreational uses, with or without living quarters, dining rooms, restaurants, heating plants, and other incidental facilities for students, teachers, and employees.
FAMILY
One or more persons living together in a single dwelling unit as a traditional family or the functional equivalent of a traditional family. It shall be a rebuttable presumption that four or more persons living together in a single dwelling unit, who are not related by blood, adoption, or marriage, do not constitute the functional equivalent of a traditional family. In determining the functional equivalent of a traditional family, the following criteria shall be present:[2]
A. 
The group shares the entire dwelling unit.
B. 
The group lives and cooks together as a single housekeeping unit.
C. 
The group shares expenses for food, rent, utilities or other household expenses.
D. 
The group is permanent and stable, and not transient or temporary in nature.
E. 
Any other factor reasonably related to whether the group is the functional equivalent of a family.
FLOOR AREA, GROSS
For the purpose of determining requirements for off-street parking and off-street loading, "floor area" shall mean the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of the building.[3]
FRONTAGE
All the property fronting on one side of a street between the two nearest intersecting streets, measured along the line of the street, or, if dead-ended, then all of the property abutting on one side between an intersecting street and the dead-end of the street.
GARAGE, PRIVATE
An accessory building or portion thereof designed or used for the storage of motor-driven vehicles owned and used by the occupants of the building to which it is accessory.[4]
GARAGE, PUBLIC
A building or portion thereof, other than a private or storage garage, designed or used for equipping, servicing, repairing, hiring, selling, or storing motor-driven vehicles, with or without compensation.[5]
GRADE, STREET
See "curb level."
HEIGHT OF BUILDING
The vertical distance measured from finished grade to the highest point of the roof.[6]
HOME OCCUPATION
An occupation carried on in a dwelling by the resident thereof, not involving the conduct of a retail business or manufacturing business, the employment of any additional persons in the performance of such services excepting members of the immediate family residing on the premises and one receptionist or office assistant; nor using any mechanical equipment, other than is usual for purely domestic or hobby purposes; nor exterior storage of equipment or materials used in connection with the home occupation.
HOTEL
A building in which lodging or board and lodging are provided and offered to the public for compensation and in which ingress and egress to and from all rooms is made through an inside lobby or office supervised by a person in charge at all hours. As such, it is open to the public in contradistinction to a boardinghouse, a lodging house, or an apartment house.
JUNKER
An automobile, truck, or other motor vehicle that has been damaged to such an extent that it cannot be operated under its own power and will require major repairs before being made usable, or such a vehicle that does not comply with state or City vehicle laws or ordinances.
JUNKYARD
Any parcel of land where waste, scrap metal, paper, rags, or similar materials are bought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled, packed, disassembled, or handled, including auto and building wrecking yards, but excluding similar uses taking place entirely within a completely enclosed building.
KENNEL
Any lot or premises on which are kept four or more dogs more than six months of age.[7]
LOADING AND UNLOADING SPACE, OFF-STREET
An open hard-surfaced area of land, other than a street or public ways, the principal use of which is for the standing, loading, and unloading of motor trucks, tractors, and trailers. Such space is not less than 10 feet in width, 35 feet in length, and 14 feet in height, exclusive of access aisles and maneuvering space.
LOT
A measured parcel of land having fixed boundaries and designated on a plot or survey.[8]
LOT, CORNER
A lot located at the intersection of two streets or a lot bounded on two sides by a curving street, any two chords of which form an angle of 135° or less measured on the lot side. A corner lot shall have two front yards.[9]
LOT COVERAGE
The area of a zoning lot occupied by the principal building or buildings and accessory buildings.
LOT LINE, FRONT
The front property line of a zoning lot.
LOT LINE, INTERIOR
A side lot line common with another lot.
LOT LINE, REAR
That boundary of a lot which is most distant from and is, or is approximately, parallel to the front lot line. If the rear lot line is less than 10 feet in length, or if the lot forms a point at the rear, the rear lot line shall be deemed to be a line 10 feet in length within the lot, parallel to and at the maximum distance from the front lot line.[10]
LOT LINE, SIDE
Lot lines other than front or rear lot lines.
LOT OF RECORD
A lot that is a part of a subdivision, the plat of which has been recorded in the office of the County Recorder of Deeds, pursuant to statute.
LOT, THROUGH or DOUBLE-FRONTAGE LOT
A lot having a pair of lot lines along two public streets which are more or less parallel, and which is not a corner lot. On a through lot, both street lines shall be deemed front lot lines.[11]
LOT WIDTH
The horizontal distance between the side lot lines measured at right angles to the lot depth at the established front building setback line.
MANUFACTURED HOME
A dwelling unit capable of being transported in components to its permanent construction site, placed on a permanent foundation on a lot of its own, and having axles and other temporary parts of a frame or other structure utilized in the transportation of the component to the construction site. Said components, as well as the dwelling unit when the components are joined together to form the same, must have the approval of the Department of Housing and Urban Development as complying with the federal manufactured home construction and safety standards. Said structure and the components forming it must also meet applicable building codes.[12]
MARQUEE or CANOPY
A roof-like structure of a permanent nature that projects from the wall of a building and overhangs the public way.
MOBILE HOME
A movable or portable structure containing toilet and bath or toilet and shower facilities, and designed to permit year-round occupancy as a dwelling place. It shall be constructed so that it may be towed on its own chassis and connected to utilities without placement on a permanent foundation. It shall be capable of having plumbing and electrical connections for attachment to outside systems, and designed to be transported, after fabrication, on its own wheels or on flatbed trailers, and to be ready for occupancy at the building site except for minor and incidental unpacking, assembly, and connection operations. It may consist of one or more units that can be folded, collapsed or telescoped when towed and expanded later for additional cubic capacity. Two or more units may be separately towable, but designed to be joined into one integral unit. The units shall be capable of being again easily separated into components for repeated towing.[13]
MOBILE HOME LOT
Land for the placement of a single mobile home and the exclusive use of its occupants.[14]
MOBILE HOME PARK
Land which has been developed for the placement of mobile homes.[15]
NONCONFORMING BUILDING
A building or structure or portion thereof lawfully existing at the time of adoption of this chapter, or any subsequent amendment thereto, which was designed, built, or structurally altered for a use that does not conform to the use regulations of the district in which it is located.[16]
NONCONFORMING USE
A use that lawfully occupies a building or land at the time of adoption of this chapter, or any subsequent amendment thereto, and which does not conform with the use regulations of the district in which it is located.[17]
NOXIOUS MATTER
Material which is capable of causing injury or malaise to living organisms by chemical reaction, or is capable of causing detrimental effects upon the health or the psychological, social, or economic well-being of human beings.[18]
OFF-STREET LOADING SPACE
An on-the-property space for temporary parking of a commercial motor vehicle while loading and/or unloading merchandise or materials which has direct access to a street or alley.[19]
PARKING SPACE, AUTOMOBILE
Space within a public or private parking area of not less than 180 square feet (nine feet by 20 feet) exclusive of access drives for the storage of one passenger automobile or commercial vehicle under 1 1/2 tons' capacity.
PUBLIC WAY
Any sidewalk, street, alley, highway or other public thoroughfare.
SCHOOL
A public or private institution that offers instruction in any of the branches of learning and study comparable to that taught in the public schools under the Illinois school codes, including prekindergarten, kindergarten, elementary school, and junior and senior high schools, but excluding trade, business, or commercial schools.
SCREENING
A structure or densely planted vegetation serving as a screen designed to conceal from view the area behind it.[20]
SETBACK
The minimum horizontal distance permitted between the front, side, or rear line of a building, disregarding steps and unroofed porches, and the nearest property line, street or alley right-of-way line.[21]
SIGN
A name, identification, description, display, or illustration that is affixed to or painted or represented directly or indirectly upon a building, structure, or piece of land and which directs attention to an object, product, place, activity, person, institution, organization, or business.
SIGN, ADVERTISING
A sign that directs attention to a business, commodity, service, or entertainment conducted, sold, or offered elsewhere than upon the premises where such sign is located or to which it is affixed.
SIGN, FLASHING
Any illuminated sign on which the artificial light is not maintained stationary and/or is constant in intensity and color at all times when such sign is in use. For the purpose of this chapter, any revolving, illuminated sign shall be considered a flashing sign.
STORAGE, OUTDOOR
The outdoor accumulation of vehicles, equipment, or products, or materials for permanent or temporary holding.
STORY
The portion of a building included between the upper surface of a floor and the upper surface of the floor or roof next above. A basement shall not be counted as a story.
STREET
All property dedicated or intended for public highway, freeway or roadway purposes or subject to public easements therefor.
STREET LINE
The division line between private property and a dedicated street or way, usually uninterrupted from corner to corner in any given block.
STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS
Any change in the supporting members of a building such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams, or girders, except such alterations as may be required for the safety of the building.
STRUCTURE
Anything constructed or built, the use of which requires permanent location on the ground or attached to something having a permanent location on the ground, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, advertising signs, billboards, backstops for tennis courts, and pergolas.
TERRACE, OPEN and PATIO
A level plane or platform which, for the purpose of this chapter, is located adjacent to one or more faces of the principal structure and which is constructed not more than four feet in height above the average level of the adjoining ground.
THOROUGHFARE
A street which by the nature of its location, continuity and width accommodates large volumes of traffic. Streets designated as thoroughfares are:
Cedar Street, from North Street to South Street
Chatham Street, from Pine Street to Orange Street
Main Street, from the east corporate limits to its extension to Interstate 55
"Old" Route 66
Orange Street, from Chatham Street to the north corporate limits
Pine Street, from Chatham Street to the south corporate limits
South Street, from West Street to the east corporate limits
Walnut Street, from Grove Street to Vermillion Street
West Street, from Walnut Street to the south corporate limits
TRAILER
A vehicle without motive power used or adaptable for living, sleeping, business, or storage purposes, having no foundation other than wheels, blocks, skids, jacks, horses, or skirting, and which has been or reasonably may be equipped with wheels or other devices for transporting the structure from place to place. The term "trailer" shall include "camp car" and "house car." A permanent foundation shall not change its character unless the entire structure is built in accordance with the City building code.[22]
TRAVEL TRAILER
A vehicular, portable structure built on a chassis and designed to be used for temporary occupancy for travel, recreational or vacation uses with the manufacturer's permanent identification "travel trailer" thereon, and when factory-equipped for the road, being of any length, provided its gross weight does not exceed 4,500 pounds, or being of any weight, provided its overall length does not exceed 28 feet.
USE
The purposes for which land or a building thereon is designed, arranged, or intended, or for which it is occupied, maintained, let or leased.
USE, CONDITIONAL
See "conditional use."
USE, PRINCIPAL
The main use of land or buildings as distinguished from a subordinate or accessory use. A principal use may be either permitted or conditional.
VALUATION
The assessed valuation at the time of passage of this chapter or, where no assessed valuation exists, its appraised valuation.
VARIATION
A relaxation of the terms of the terms of this title as outlined in § 300-56 of this chapter.[23]
YARD
An open space on the same zoning lot with a principal building or group of buildings which is unoccupied and unobstructed from its lowest level upward, except as otherwise permitted in this chapter, and which extends along a lot line and at right angles thereto to a depth or width specified in the yard regulations for the district in which the zoning lot is located.
YARD, FRONT
A yard extending across the full width of the zoning lot in accordance with the setback requirements of this chapter. See "setback."
YARD, REAR
A yard extending across the rear of the lot between the side yards. Double-frontage and reverse corner lots will have no rear yard. The rear yard on a corner lot shall be determined by the Code Compliance Officer.[24]
YARD, SIDE
A yard extending from the rear line of the front yard to the lot line most nearly parallel to that rear line. The side yard on a corner lot shall be determined by the Code Compliance Officer.[25]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[2]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[3]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[4]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[5]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[6]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[7]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[8]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[9]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[10]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[11]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[12]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[13]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[14]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[15]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[16]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[17]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[18]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[19]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[20]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[21]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[22]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 23, Building Codes. The definition of "trailer house or mobile home," which immediately followed this definition, was deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[23]
Editor's Note: Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[24]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
[25]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).