Definitions.
ACCESSORY BUILDING
A building subordinate to the main building on a lot and
used for purposes customarily incidental to those of the main building.
BUILDING AREA
The maximum horizontal projected area of a building and its
accessories.
BUILDING HEIGHT
In the case of flat roofs, is the vertical distance measured
from the earth level in the level of the highest point of the roof
beams adjacent to the street walls, and in case of pitched roofs,
is the vertical distance from the earth level to the highest point
of the gable. Where no roof beams exist or there are structures wholly
or partly above the roof, the height shall be measured from the curb
level to the highest point of the building.
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE
Any vehicle which is not registered as a passenger vehicle.
To the extent that this definition conflicts with any other definition
of the Code of the Village of Farmingdale, this definition shall govern.
[Added 2-21-2006 by L.L. No. 1-2006;
amended 9-13-2021 by L.L. No. 6-2021]
CURB LEVEL
The mean level of the curb at the street frontage of the
building where the mean curb level is highest. Where the curb level
is not established or the building sets back from the street line.
The average ground level adjoining the street wall of the building
shall be considered the curb level.
DEPTH OF A LOT
The mean distance from the street line of the lot to its
rear line.
DWELLING
Any building or portion thereof which is used exclusively
for nontransient residential purposes and accessory uses permitted
herein.
[Added 1-5-2015 by L.L.
No. 2-2015]
DWELLING, MULTIFAMILY
A building containing three or more dwelling units.
[Added 1-5-2015 by L.L.
No. 2-2015]
DWELLING, ONE-FAMILY
A detached building containing one dwelling unit only.
[Added 1-5-2015 by L.L.
No. 2-2015]
DWELLING UNIT
A building or portion thereof designed for occupancy by and
containing housekeeping facilities for one family only.
[Added 1-5-2015 by L.L.
No. 2-2015]
FAMILY
As used herein shall mean:
[Amended 1-5-2015 by L.L.
No. 2-2015]
(1)
Any number of persons occupying a single dwelling unit, related
by blood, marriage or legal adoption, living and cooking together
as a single housekeeping unit.
(2)
Any group consisting of no more than three individuals unrelated
by blood, marriage or legal adoption occupying a single dwelling unit,
living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit as the functional
equivalent of a family. More than three individuals living in a single
dwelling unit who are unrelated by blood, marriage or legal adoption
shall not be considered a family. This presumption shall be rebutted
upon a showing, and a finding of the Board of Zoning Appeals, that
said group of unrelated persons is the functional equivalent of a
family as defined herein.
(a)
In determining whether a group of more than three unrelated
persons constitutes a family for the purpose of occupying a dwelling
unit, as provided herein, the Board of Zoning Appeals must find:
[1]
That the occupants share and have access to the entire dwelling
unit and do not act as separate boarders.
[2]
That the number of mailboxes, cable/satellite receivers, door
bells, keyed locks, utility accounts (gas, electric, water, etc.),
beds, stoves (or other cooking devices), sinks, and entrances is consistent
with the number of claimed dwelling units.
[3]
That the group has the stability and permanency akin to a traditional
family structure. In assessing the stability of the group structure,
the following criteria may be considered by the Board of Zoning Appeals:
[a]
The variance in composition of the household occupants over
time. Length of stay of the occupants in the dwelling unit(s). Whether
the household is a stable living arrangement or a temporary, transient
living arrangement.
[b]
The presence of minor, dependent children regularly residing
in the household.
[c]
The number of individuals acting as heads of households.
[d]
The sharing of expenses for food, rent or ownership costs, transportation,
insurance, utilities, or other household expenses by occupants of
the household.
[e]
Common ownership of furniture and appliances and the common
use of vehicles among the members of the household.
[f]
Whether each of the occupants uses the address of the dwelling
for his vehicle registration, driver's licenses, passports, bank accounts,
bills, loans, tax returns, and other licenses and permits, etc.
(b)
In making its determination the Board of Zoning Appeals may
consider any other factors reasonably related to whether or not the
group of persons is the functional equivalent of a family.
(3)
Any determination hereunder shall be limited to the status of
a particular group as a family and shall not be interpreted as authorizing
any other use, occupancy or activity. In making any such determination,
the Board of Zoning Appeals may impose such conditions and safeguards
as the Board of Zoning Appeals shall deem necessary or advisable in
order to maintain the stability and character of the neighborhood
and protect the public health, safety and welfare.
FLOOR AREA RATIO (FAR)
The ratio of the combined gross floor area of all buildings,
in square feet, to the total lot area of the lot or parcel on which
they are situated, in square feet. This calculation shall be computed
by adding together the gross floor area of each floor in each building
in which the floor-to-ceiling height averages seven feet six inches
or more, plus that portion of the floor area of any attic or loft
lying immediately under the building's roof and in which the floor-to-ceiling
height exceeds four feet or more, provided that at least 70 square
feet of the floor area of such attic or loft has headroom of at least
seven feet, and provided further that such attic or loft is accessible
from the next floor below by way of a permanent built-in interior
staircase.
[Added 12-13-2005 by L.L. No. 2-2005]
FRONT YARD
An open, unoccupied space on the same lot with a building,
situated between the street wall of the building and the street line
extending the full width of the lot.
GARDEN APARTMENT
A building or group of buildings not more than 2 1/2 stories
in height. No portion of any such building below the first story or
above the second story shall be used for dwelling purposes.
GROSS FLOOR AREA
The aggregate sum of the gross floor areas of each of the
several floors of a building, including interior balconies and mezzanines
and any roofed and fully enclosed garage, entrance anteroom, porch
or other similar space physically attached to, and directly accessible
from, any interior part or portion of such building, but in the case
of one- or two-family residential dwellings only, excluding the floor
area of basements and cellars. For the purpose of calculating and
determining the gross floor area of any particular floor, the horizontal
dimensions shall be taken and measured at the level of the horizontal
plane lying between, and intersected by, the outside finished surfaces
of all exterior vertical walls enclosing the overall space of that
floor.
[Added 12-13-2005 by L.L. No. 2-2005]
LOT
A parcel of land occupied by one building and the accessory
buildings or uses customarily incident to it, including such open
spaces as are required by this chapter.
NURSING HOME or CONVALESCENT HOME
A facility, other than a hospital or sanitorium, for the
custody or care of persons requiring nursing care or convalescent
care, excluding institutions operated principally for the care of
mental patients or persons addicted to drugs or alcohol, and excluding
so-called "halfway houses" operated for the housing and care of persons
undergoing rehabilitation for drug or alcohol addiction.
[Added 3-25-1991 by L.L. No. 5-1991]
PREMISES
Includes the land and all structures thereon.
REAR YARD
An open, unoccupied space on the same lot with a building,
situated between the rear wall of the building and the rear line of
the lot, extending the full width of the lot.
SIDE YARD
An open, unoccupied space on the same lot with a building,
situated between the building and the side line of the lot and extending
between but not into the front yard and the rear yard.
STORY
That part of a building between any floor and the floor above,
or in its absence, the ceiling or roof above. A story in which persons
live, sleep, work or congregate, the ceiling of which is more than
three feet above the earth level shall be counted as that fraction
of a story which the height above the earth level bears to the height
of a story. A story which extends less than three feet above the earth
level shall not be counted in determining the number of stories. Any
story under the pitched roof at the top of a building where the main
caves of the roof are not above the center height of another story
shall be deemed a half story.
STREET LINE
The dividing line between the street and the lot.
STRUCTURE
Includes, among other things, tents, trailers (whether movable
or stationary), platforms, pedestals, gasoline pumps, outdoor bins,
display signs, towers of any kind, including radio and television
towers and antennas, parabolic or hemispheric discs or dishes or other
similar convex or concave antennas, the purpose of which is to receive
or transmit television and radio and/or microwave or other similar
signals but excluding conventional television and radio aerials. Nothing
herein shall be construed to apply to, prohibit, regulate or otherwise
affect the erection, maintenance or utilization of antennas or support
structures by those licensed by the Federal Communications Commission
pursuant to 47 CFR 97 to operate amateur radio stations.
[Amended 3-27-1989 by L.L. No. 3-1989]