A. 
Generally. District dimensional regulations are specified in § 218-41, Dimensional Table. This Section delineates the minimum standards for lot area, setbacks, building coverage, and building height which apply in each district. § 218-37, Specific Land Use Standards and Conditions, provides additional detailed performance standards which must be met by uses. The purpose of these standards are to protect neighbors from adverse impacts of adjoining land uses and to protect the general health, safety, and welfare by limiting where uses may be established. The standards also insure that traffic congestion is minimized, control the intensity of use, and prescribe other such performance criteria necessary to implement the Comprehensive Plan and to meet the purposes of this Ordinance.
A. 
Front Lot Lines.
(1) 
Corner Lots/Lots Fronting on More Than One Street.
(a) 
Improved Lots.
[1] 
On improved lots the street line onto which the main entrance to the structure, or the front door, if a residential dwelling faces shall be deemed to be the front lot line. The property line and/or street line intersecting the front lot line shall be deemed to be side lot lines.
[2] 
Owners of improved lots may elect, once and only once, to select the other street line as the front lot line. The property line and/or street line intersecting the selected front lot line shall thereafter be deemed to be side lot lines. This election shall be made at the time a structural building permit is issued and shall be expressly noted on the application for such permit and on accompanying plans submitted therewith. Such election, or the issuance of such permit in the absence of election, shall finally determine the front lot line of the lot and shall be binding upon the successors, heirs and assigns of the owner to which such permit is issued.
(b) 
Unimproved Lots.
[1] 
The owners of unimproved lots of record may elect, once and only once, the street line of their choice as the front lot line. The property line and/or street line intersecting the selected front lot line shall thereafter be deemed to be side lot lines. This election shall be made at the time a structural building permit is issued and shall be expressly noted on the application for such permit and on accompanying plans submitted therewith. Such election, or the issuance of such permit in the absence of election, shall finally determine the front lot line of the lot and shall be binding upon the successors, heirs and assigns of the owner to which such permit is issued.
(2) 
Conformance with Setbacks. Nothing in this Section shall preclude compliance with the required building setbacks for lot lines as set forth in this Ordinance, upon the final determination of the front lot line in accordance with the provisions of this Section.
B. 
Building Height. In all districts the height of any building or structure shall not exceed the following:
Lot Size (SF)
Maximum Height (Ft.)
Less than 40,000
30
40,000 and greater
35
(1) 
Buildings between 30' and 35' will require a minimum 6 pitch for all roof lines above 30' and there will not be allowed any habitable structures, or parts thereof, exterior to the roof structure above 30' (i.e. roof decks, widows walk, etc).
(2) 
The following structures or parts of structures that are usually required to be placed above the roof level and are not intended for human occupancy may be erected no more than fifteen percent above the specified height limitations of this ordinance: church spire, church belfry, church tower, grain elevator, chimney, elevator penthouse, silo, necessary mechanical appurtenances, ornamental towers, spires, or water supply structures.
(3) 
Exceptions:
(a) 
The Mixed-Use Zoning Overlay District — The maximum height shall be limited to 35' on all C1 and C2 zoned properties.
(b) 
The maximum height for buildings and structures erected in Special Flood Hazard areas (see definition) shall be in accordance with the Dimensional Table of this ordinance (§ 218-41) minus the difference between the base flood elevation, however established, and the average existing grade. Additionally, any building or structure erected in a Special Flood Hazard area on a parcel of less than 40,000 SF shall be permitted to increase the maximum building height by the difference between the design flood elevation and the average existing grade, up to a maximum building height of 35'.
[Amended 2-11-2019 by Ord. No. 381]
(c) 
Existing buildings and structures, which exceed the allowable height requirements for the lot size, if all the other dimensional requirements of this ordinance are met, may be added to with a maximum allowable height as exist on the present building or structure. The maximum height will not exceed 35'.
(d) 
A building or structure destroyed by accident or by an act of God may be restored within two years to its original height provided that the location and the total floor area are not increased or altered.
C. 
Yard Regulations. Yards required by this Ordinance and the space above them shall be unobstructed by buildings or structures except as provided in this Section or otherwise provided in this Ordinance:
(1) 
Ordinary projections of window sills, cornices, and other structural features may not extend more than twelve inches into the space above required yards.
(2) 
Signs as permitted in ARTICLE XI Signs may be located in front yards.
(3) 
Open or semi-enclosed structures such as porches, canopies, balconies, platforms, garages, carports, covered patios, decks, and similar architectural projections when attached to a principal building shall be considered parts of the building to which attached and shall not project into the required minimum front, side, or rear yard. When such structures are not attached by the principal building they shall be considered accessory buildings and shall be governed by the provisions of ARTICLE VI § 218-37B. Accessory Uses.
A. 
Preexisting Substandard Lots.
(1) 
A lot with lesser amounts than required in ARTICLE VII Dimensional requirements, may be considered as nonconforming. Such lot must have been shown on a legally recorded plat or deed before the effective date of this Ordinance, and did not adjoin other land of the same owner, and met all the requirements of the zoning ordinance in effect at the time of its creation.
(2) 
A substandard lot of record shall not be required to seek any zoning relief based solely on the failure to meet minimum lot size requirements of the district in which such lot is located. For any structure proposed under this section on a substandard lot of record, the following dimensional regulations shall apply:
[Amended 2-12-2024 by Ord. No. 409; 10-28-2024 by Ord. No. 426]
(a) 
Minimum building setbacks, lot frontage and lot width requirements for a lot which is nonconforming in area shall be reduced by applying the building setback, lot frontage and lot width requirements from another zoning district in the municipality in which the subject lot would be conforming as to lot area. If the subject lot is not conforming as to lot area in any zoning district in the municipality, the setbacks, lot frontage and lot width shall be reduced by the same proportion that the area of such substandard lot meets the minimum lot area of the district in which the lot is located. By way of example, if the lot area of a substandard lot only meets forty percent (40%) of the minimum lot area required in the district in which it is located, the setbacks, frontage and width shall each be reduced to forty percent (40%) of the requirements for those dimensional standards in the same district.
(b) 
Maximum lot building coverage for lots that are nonconforming in area shall be increased by the inverse proportion that the area of such substandard lot meets the minimum area requirements in the district in which the lot is located. By way of example, if the lot area of a substandard lot only meets forty percent (40%) of the required minimum lot area, the maximum lot building coverage is allowed to increase by sixty percent (60%) over the maximum permitted lot building coverage in that district.
(3) 
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) herein, an owner or applicant of a legal non-conforming lot of record is eligible to voluntarily proceed under the provisions of this alternate section (3), provided that they shall follow the provisions of either section (2) or section (3) in its entirety.
The yard dimensional requirements for a structure may be reduced and the maximum building coverage requirements for a structure may be increased for a substandard lot of record, at the time of passage of this section, in the proportion that the area of such substandard lot is reduced from the minimum area requirements of the district in which the lot is located to a minimum of twelve (12) feet as to side yard, thirty-eight (38) feet as to rear yard and thirty (30) feet as to front yard setback. The necessary computation and determinations of the modifications for building setbacks of yard dimensional requirements for each substandard lot shall be made by the Charlestown Building Official at the time of application for a building permit. Whereas a substandard lot of record meets the area and/or width requirement of a lesser zone, the setback, coverage and height requirements of the lesser zone shall apply.
Applicants under this section (3) may also apply for additional dimensional relief, either administratively or through the Zoning Board of Review. Applicants under this section (3) are also eligible to apply for modifications or variances from the required dimensional requirements, as set forth in this ordinance.
[Added 4-8-2024 by Ord. No. 415]
(4) 
A pre-existing substandard lot may be increased in area even if the altered lot remains nonconforming to the then-existing dimensional requirements of this Ordinance without Zoning Board of Review approval.
B. 
Contiguous Substandard Lots.
[Amended 2-12-2024 by Ord. No. 409]
(1) 
On the basis of the lack of public infrastructure in all districts, when two or more pre-existing substandard contiguous lots are under single ownership, such lots shall be considered to be a single lot and no portion thereof shall be used in violation of any of the requirements of ARTICLE VII Dimensional requirements. No lots contiguous to each other and under single ownership shall be subdivided in a manner below the requirements fixed by this ordinance.
(2) 
The merger of lots shall not be required when the substandard lot of record has an area equal to or greater than the area of fifty percent (50%) of the lots within two hundred feet (200') of the subject lot, as confirmed by the zoning enforcement officer.