Certain words in this chapter are defined for the
purpose thereof as follows:
ACCESSORY BUILDING
Includes every building devoted solely to an accessory use.
It does not include any portion of the main or principal building
which is devoted to an accessory use. If such a building or use is
not located on the same lot as that of the building or use to which
it is accessory, it is not an "accessory building" or use and must
comply with the regulations applicable to a principal building or
use.
ACCESSORY USE
Includes every use customarily incident to the principal
building or use, and includes all of the uses specified as accessory
elsewhere in this chapter. If such a use is not located on the same
lot as that of the building or use to which it is accessory, it is
not an "accessory use" and must comply with the regulations applicable
to a principal building or use.
ADULT BOOKSTORE
An establishment having as a substantial or significant portion
of its stock-in-trade books, magazines, other periodicals, film, slides
and videotapes and which establishment is customarily not open to
the public generally but excludes any minor by reason of age.
[Added 6-9-1993 by L.L. No. 3-1993]
ADULT DRIVE-IN THEATER
A drive-in theater that customarily presents motion pictures
and that is not open to the public generally but excludes any minor
by reason of age.
[Added 6-9-1993 by L.L. No. 3-1993]
ADULT ENTERTAINMENT CABARET
A public or private establishment which presents topless
dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators or exotic dancers
or other similar entertainments and which establishment is customarily
not open to the public generally but excludes any minor by reason
of age.
[Added 6-9-1993 by L.L. No. 3-1993]
ADULT MOTEL
A motel which is not open to the public generally but excludes
minors by reason of age or which makes available to its patrons in
their rooms films, slideshows or videotapes which, if presented in
a public movie theater, would not be open to the public generally
but would exclude any minor by reason of age.
[Added 6-9-1993 by L.L. No. 3-1993]
ADULT THEATER
A theater that customarily presents motion pictures, films,
videotapes or slideshows and that is not open to the public generally
but excludes any minor by reason of age.
[Added 6-9-1993 by L.L. No. 3-1993]
ALTERATION
As applied to any building or structure, means any change
or rearrangement in the structural parts or exterior wall or framework
of existing facilities. It includes any enlargement, whether by extending
any side, front or rear building line or by increasing any height
or by moving from one location or position to another. It also includes
the enclosure of a space previously open, such as the enclosure of
an open porch or patio or the construction of a roof over it.
ATTIC
Space between the top of uppermost floor construction and
underside of roof.
[Added 9-13-1995 by L.L. No. 8-1995]
BASE PLANE
The mean elevation of the crown of the street along the front
yard of a property on which a building is situated.
[Added 11-10-2016 by L.L.
No. 2-2016]
BUILDING
Any structure, including those prefabricated, having a roof supported by columns or walls, constructed of materials, including, but not limited to, wood, metal or plastic, and intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or any use, including accessory uses. For purposes of setback regulations, with the exception of §§
212-35C and
212-35D, uncovered porches and decks will be defined as buildings.
[Amended 1-8-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997; 3-10-1999 by L.L. No. 3-1999; 6-9-2022 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
BUILDING AREA
The maximum horizontal cross-sectional area of all buildings
on a lot, excluding uncovered porches and decks; trellises; bay windows
and other similar architectural features which are not more than six
feet in height and do not project more than 18 inches; and eaves,
gutters and chimneys projecting not more than 30 inches.
[Amended 1-8-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997; 3-9-2023 by L.L. No. 2-2023]
CLUB
A nonprofit organization or corporation or one owned and
operated by a membership corporation or an unincorporated association
for social, musical, dramatic, literary, artistic, gardening, yachting,
boating, hunting, shooting, fishing, bathing, golf, tennis, squash,
racquets or other lawful sporting purposes, excepting and not including
an athletic organization, a political organization, a day camp, a
youth house, a club for boys or girls, an organization for the improvement
of the social, mental, moral or physical condition of children or
of young men and women or an organization the chief activity of which
is a service customarily carried on as a business.
CORNER LOT
A parcel of land at the junction of two or more intersecting
streets.
CURB
Established elevation of the curb directly in front of or
surrounding subject premises. Where no curb exists, the lowest established
elevation of the edge of the street is used.
[Added 6-8-1994 by L.L. No. 1-1994]
DWELLING
A place of abode of one or more families. It does not include
a housecoach or a trailer used or designed to be used in connection
with a motor vehicle.
EXTERIOR WALL HEIGHT
The vertical height of an exterior wall of a building or
structure measured from the base plane to the underside of the eaves.
[Added 11-10-2016 by L.L.
No. 2-2016]
FAMILY
A group of persons, including servants or employees, forming
a single housekeeping unit. It does not include a boarder or lodger,
each of whom shall be regarded as a separate "family" and who are
permitted only in districts that allow more than one family. Where
there is more than one kitchen, there is presumptively more than one
family.
FLEA MARKET
A sale or exchange of tangible personal property of every
kind and description or of services or repairs to such personal property
conducted at a location where there are multiple vendors who have
paid a fee or charge or who have been allowed to occupy indoor or
outdoor space without charge, for the privilege and purpose of displaying
or selling items of tangible personal property or furnishing services
or repairs thereto, all for a price or consideration, where such conduct
is available to the general public.
[Added 2-13-1992 by L.L. No. 1-1992]
FRONT YARD
A yard extending across the full width of the lot and lying
between the front lot line and the nearest point of the building.
In the case of a lot where the front lot line is nearer than 10 feet
to the front curbline, the front yard shall be measured from a line
located 10 feet in from the front curbline.
[Amended 1-8-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997; 1-13-2004 by L.L. No. 4-2004]
HEIGHT OF BUILDING or BUILDING HEIGHT
The vertical distance from the base plane to the highest
point of the roof. A pitched roof is a roof with a slope of three
to 12 or greater.
[Amended 6-8-1994 by L.L. No. 1-1994; 1-8-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997; 12-12-2001 by L.L. No. 4-2001; 11-10-2016 by L.L. No. 2-2016]
HEIGHT/SETBACK RATIO
A calculation designed to regulate the height of a building
in relation to its setback from a lot line. It is in the form of an
inclined plane beginning at the lot line from which the setback is
being measured and rising toward the building at the ratio specified
in this chapter. The mean grade along the foundation of that wall
of the building nearest the lot line shall be the base elevation for
measurement purposes. No part of any building, other than minor architectural
features such as chimneys, skylights and dormer windows not covering
more than 10% of the roof area shall be permitted to extend above
said inclined plane. The graphic sketches located at the end of this
chapter illustrate the application of the height/setback ratio to
hypothetical lots in the 20,000 to 29,999 and 9,000 to 11,999 square
foot lot size ranges.
[Added 1-8-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997]
LOT
A parcel of land occupied or designed to be occupied by one
main building or use and the accessory building or uses customarily
incident to it, including such open spaces as are arranged or designed
to be used in connection with such building or use. It includes the
word "plot." A "lot" may or may not be the land shown as a separate
parcel on a duly filed map, Tax Map or developer's diagram. All adjoining
parcels of property now or hereafter held in common ownership, regardless
of the nature of the constituent parcels or the date, source or manner
of acquisition, shall be deemed merged into a single lot and shall
be subject to the provisions of this chapter to the same effect as
if they had constituted a single lot at the date this chapter was
adopted.
MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENT
Any establishment having a fixed place of business where
massages are administered for pay, including but not limited to massage
parlors, sauna baths and steam baths. This definition shall not be
construed to include a hospital, nursing home or medical clinic or
the office of a physician, surgeon, chiropractor, osteopath or duly
licensed physical therapist or barbershops or beauty salons in which
massages are administered only to the scalp, face, neck or shoulders.
The definition also shall exclude health clubs which have facilities
for physical exercise, such as tennis courts, racquetball courts or
exercise rooms and which do not receive their primary source of revenue
through the administration of massages.
[Added 6-9-1993 by L.L. No. 3-1993]
MEAN GRADE LEVEL
The mean final grade or mean existing grade as of the date
of the adoption of this definition, whichever is lower, measured around
the entire foundation of the building.
[Added 1-8-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997]
MULTIPLE DWELLING
A dwelling which is occupied as the abode, residence or home
of three or more families living independently of each other.
PEEP SHOWS
A theater which presents material in the form of live shows,
films or videotapes viewed from an individual enclosure, for which
a fee is charged and which is not open to the public generally but
excludes any minor by reason of age.
[Added 6-9-1993 by L.L. No. 3-1993]
PRIVATE GARAGE
A building used for the storage of one or more automobiles
owned and used by the owner or tenant of the lot on which it is erected,
for a purpose accessory to the use of the lot.
PUBLIC GARAGE
A building, other than a private garage, one or more stories
in height, used for the storage, servicing or repair of automobiles.
REAR YARD
A yard extending across the full width of the lot and lying
between the rear lot line and the nearest point of the principal building.
[Amended 1-8-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997]
RECREATIONAL STRUCTURES
Tennis courts, paddle tennis courts, handball courts, basketball
courts and facilities of similar character, including all adjacent
man-made surfaces and the required fencing accessory to the use of
such facility.
[Added 1-8-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997]
REQUIRED YARD
The portion of the yard lying within the minimum limits provided
by this chapter for the district in which the lot is situated.
SCHOOL
An institution of learning chartered by the State Board of
Regents. It does not include a day camp, a summer camp or a recreational
or athletic institution, organization, conservatory, group or center.
It does not include an institution, organization, group or center,
whether operated or managed by one or more persons, of which the principal
object or one of the principal objects is physical education, teaching
of dancing, singing, dramatics, music, playing of musical instruments,
calisthenics, typewriting, stenography, dressmaking, designing or
millinery or the giving of instruction in beauty parlor operation,
business courses or instruction of a similar nature.
SIDE YARD
A yard between a side lot line and the nearest point of the
principal building on that lot and extending from the front yard to
the rear yard. In the case of a corner lot where the side lot line
is nearer than eight feet to the side curbline, the side yard shall
be measured from a line located eight feet in from the side curbline.
[Amended 1-8-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997; 1-13-2004 by L.L. No. 4-2004]
SIGN
Any message attached to any structure or part thereof or
painted or represented thereon, which shall display or include any
letter, word, model, banner, flag, pennant, insignia, device or representation
used as or which is in the nature of an announcement, direction or
advertisement or intended to attract the attention of the public when
the same is placed or located within its view. The word "sign" includes
the words "billboard," "freestanding sign," and "interior sign," as
well as any message, neon or illuminated tube or string, group or
arrangement of lights, or other device, material hung, outlining,
painted upon or attached to part of a building or lot, including lettering
and other information on canopies and awnings, and graphic displays
and murals on walls and window surfaces.
[Added 1-9-2002 by L.L. No. 1-2002]
STORY
That part of a building between any floor and the floor or
roof above. In computing the number of stories, any story, the ceiling
of which is more than seven feet above the mean ground level along
the foundation of the building, shall be deemed the first story.
STREET
An existing state, county or Village road or a road shown
upon a subdivision plat duly filed and recorded in the office of the
Nassau County Clerk.
[Amended 6-12-1996 by L.L. No. 2-1996]
STREET FRONTAGE
The extent of a lot along a street or, in the case of a lot
fronting on the outside of a curvilinear section of street or on a
turnaround, the length of a line parallel to the street line drawn
at the minimum front yard setback depth and extended in each direction
to the side lot lines. For each additional principal building or use
on the same lot, an additional street frontage of the same length
shall be required. In the case of a lot, other than a corner lot,
adjoining more than one street, the lot owner may elect which street
shall be used for computing "street frontage."
[Amended 6-12-1996 by L.L. No. 2-1996]
STREET LINE
The dividing line between the lot and the side line of a
street. Where the lot adjoins a public street, it is ordinarily the
property line. It is not the curbline, unless the curb runs along
the property line.
STRUCTURE
Any combination of materials forming any construction, including,
without limitation, buildings, swimming pools and other recreational
structures as defined herein, walls, fences, signs, antennas, gazebos,
trellises, gate posts, platforms and towers. The word "structure"
shall be construed as though followed by the words "or part thereof."
[Added 1-8-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997; 3-9-2023 by L.L. No. 2-2023]
SURFACE COVERAGE
The horizontal area of a lot covered by all buildings, structures
and other man-made surfaces, including but not limited to driveways,
parking areas, swimming pools, patios, terraces and other similar
features not less than four feet in width. If a detached garage is
located in the rear yard of a dwelling, an area equal to 10 feet times
the perpendicular distance from the frontmost wall of such garage
to the front building line shall be excluded from surface coverage.
[Added 1-8-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997; amended 5-14-1997 by L.L. No. 3-1997; 3-10-1999 by L.L. No. 3-1999; 6-9-2022 by L.L. No. 4-2022]
TRELLIS
A framework of post and beam construction whose beam width
shall be no wider than four inches and shall be placed not closer
than five inches apart. Trellis beams may be mechanically operated.
Trellises must conform with yard regulations and may not exceed 12
feet above the mean grade along the foundation of the wall on which
a building is situated.
[Added 3-9-2023 by L.L. No. 2-2023]
TWO-FAMILY DWELLING
A building designed or occupied exclusively as the home or
residence of two families living independently of each other.
USE
Includes both the purposes for which a building or lot is
or may be devoted and the building or lot itself.
WINDOW SIGN
A sign which is either temporarily or permanently attached
or affixed to the interior or exterior surface of a display window
and is used for advertisement, announcement, or notice, directional
matter, company name or trade name which is relative to the business
products or services provided.
[Added 1-9-2002 by L.L. No. 1-2002]
YARD
An open, unoccupied space on the same lot as the principal
building or use, which is and must be open and unobstructed from the
ground to the sky, except by trees, shrubbery, telephone or electric
light wires and poles, hedges, retaining walls and fences six feet
or less in height.
[Amended 6-8-1994 by L.L. No. 1-1994]