[Amended 3-24-2001 ATM; 6-10-2002 ATM; 9-12-2011 FTM; 4-9-2012 ATM; 9-14-2015; 9-17-2018 FTM; 4-1-2023 ATM]
A. 
Applicability. Except as hereinafter provided, no dwelling house, no principal building or structure, nor any accessory building or structure shall be erected on a lot in any district unless the lot and building or structure shall conform to the requirements in the Schedule of Area and Dimensions.
B. 
Projections. Nothing herein shall prevent the projection of cornices or eaves not exceeding 18 inches in width, or of uncovered steps not exceeding more than 48 inches from the structure, into any required yard or other open space.
C. 
Gable dormer. A gable dormer has a ridgeline running perpendicular to the ridgeline on the wing of the house on which it is placed and has a sloped roof. The front wall of the dormer shall be set back from the outside edge of the soffit. The length shall not exceed 60% of the length of the ridgeline of the roof from which it emanates, with a gable wall setback of four feet, or whichever results in a smaller dormer. The pitch of the dormer roof shall be the same as that of the roof from which it emanates. The word "dormer" refers to one or more dormers.
D. 
Shed dormer. A shed dormer has a ridgeline parallel to the ridgeline of the wing of the house on which it is placed. The front wall of the dormer shall be set back from the outside edge of the soffit. The length shall not exceed 80% of the length of the ridgeline of the roof from which it emanates, with a gable wall setback of two feet, or whichever results in a smaller dormer. The pitch of the dormer roof shall be a minimum of 3:12 and shall not rise above the ridgeline of the roof from which it emanates.
E. 
Height limitations. No building in any district shall exceed 30 feet in height or 2 1/2 stories above the ground. Buildings can exceed these limits when authorized by a special permit issued by the Zoning Board of Appeals. The height limitation shall not apply to private radio or television antennas, chimneys, flagpoles, church spires, belfries, monuments, water towers or municipal fire towers.
F. 
Corner lots. For purposes of this by-law, corner lots shall be considered to have two front yards. The setback of each front yard shall be considered individually.
G. 
Lot width. Each lot created shall have at least a minimum lot width of 40 feet between the side lot boundary lines from the front to the rear of the lots. Since the side lot boundary lines may be irregular, the lot width shall be measured by a circle of 40 feet in diameter inscribed within the side lot of boundary lines. For lots which cannot conform to this width, a special permit may be granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
H. 
Driveways. Driveways in excess of 500 feet shall be of sufficient width, suitable grade, and adequate construction to allow for access by emergency vehicles.
I. 
Residential dwellings.
(1) 
Application and purpose. This subsection applies to residential buildings in the SRAA, SR, RA, and R Zoning Districts. The purpose of this subsection is to require a minimum proportionality between the size of a building lot and the buildings on that lot.
(2) 
Aggregated gross floor area. "Aggregated gross floor area" is the sum of the gross floor areas of existing or proposed buildings.
(3) 
Gross floor area and side setbacks.
(a) 
On a lot of two acres or less, no residential building, or any combination of a residential building and accessory building(s), shall have an aggregated gross floor area of greater than 7,000 square feet. The limitation of this subsection shall apply to the aggregated gross floor area of an existing or proposed residential building and an accessory building proposed for construction on the same lot.
(b) 
Residential and accessory buildings shall have the following side setbacks:
[1] 
Twenty feet for residential buildings with 4,000 to 5,999 square feet of gross floor area or for any combination of residential and accessory buildings with 4,000 to 5,999 square feet of aggregated gross floor area.
[2] 
Twenty-five feet for residential buildings with 6,000 square feet or more of gross floor area or for any combination of residential buildings and accessory buildings with 6,000 square feet or more of aggregated gross floor area.
Zone
SRAA Single Res. AA*
SR Single Residential
RA Residential A
R Residential
SMR Semi-Residential
G General
D Downtown***
Minimum Lot Dimensions
Area square feet, one-family
40,000
20,000
12,000
10,000
10,000
7,500
5,000
Area square feet, two-family
40,000
20,000
20,000
15,000
15,000
7,500
7,500
Area square feet, other uses***
40,000
20,000
20,000
15,000
15,000
7,500 (10,000 (5))
7,500
Frontage on street or way
150
75
75
50
50
50
30
Minimum Required Yard Dimensions/Setbacks (1)****
Front yard (2)
20
20
20
20
20
15
10(2A)
Side yard
15
15
15
10
10
10
10
Rear yard
15
15
15
10
10
10
10
Maximum Building Height (3)
Stories
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
Feet
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
Coverage (8)**
Building coverage % of square feet
10%
15%
20%
25%
25%
50%
50%
Accessory Buildings or Structures (4) (5)
Minimum building separation (6)
15
15
15
15
15
10
10
Side/rear setbacks
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
Notes:
(1)
As measured perpendicular to nearest street or way. The front yard setbacks listed in this column apply to all buildings and structures.
Front yard setback requirements for residential buildings may be reduced if the setbacks of residential buildings on adjoining lots are less than the minimum front yard setback specified herein. In such cases, the setback requirement shall be determined by taking the average setback of all residential buildings on the adjoining lots as the setback for the lot under consideration.
(2)
In the case of a lot having more than one front yard, each average setback shall be calculated individually, using setbacks from the same street or way.
(2A)
Within the D District, the provisions of Footnote 2 apply to determining the front yard setback of any structure. The Zoning Board of Appeals may grant a special permit for a lesser setback than the calculated average setback, including zero feet.
(3)
Vertical distance to ridge or highest point of roof as measured above the average existing grade. No deck shall be constructed above the elevation of the highest habitable story of the structure.
(4)
Half stories with a pitch of no less than 4:12, whose habitable square foot floor area shall not exceed 66% of the square foot floor area of the story directly below it or 66% of the floor area of the wing of the building directly below it, whichever is smaller. Habitable square foot floor area under a roof is defined in the State Building Code.
(5)
Accessory buildings or structures: For purposes of side and rear setbacks only, swimming pools and tennis courts are deemed to be accessory buildings.
(6)
For the purpose of computing minimum building separation, attached decks are deemed to be part of the building.
(7)
(Reserved)
(8)
Minimum required yard dimensions.
For lots that will not conform to building coverage requirements, a special permit may be granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals. NOTE: All dimensions are in feet unless otherwise noted.
Notes:
*
Amended 3-18-2000 ATM to include Single Residential AA Districts (SRAA)
**
Amended 9-8-2003 STM to include building coverage
***
Amended 9-12-2011 FTM to include Downtown District and area of square feet, other uses.
****
Amended 9-14-2015 FTM to include: Residential single-, two-family and multiple dwellings, accessory buildings, and townhouses shall have the following side setbacks: 20 feet for buildings with 4,000 to 5,999 square feet GFA, and 25 feet for buildings with greater than 6,000 square feet GFA
A. 
Tidal boundaries. Where any portion of a lot is covered by tidal waters, the mean high water line as established by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey shall be considered the boundary or boundaries in computing the size of the lot, the square foot area of the lot and the setback of the lot.
B. 
Accessory building yard dimension. Minimum required yard dimensions may be reduced for accessory buildings, excluding accessory dwelling units, by a special permit issued by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
C. 
Existing lots. Any lot which, at the time of the passage of the 1951 Zoning By-law, or any amendment thereof, was of lesser area than therein specified and which was described in a deed or shown on a plan recorded with the Registry of Deeds may be built upon; provided, however, that said lot was not subsequently diminished in area, and provided further that if, at the time of the passage of the Zoning By-law, or of any amendment thereof, there was other contiguous land of the same owner which might be used in connection with such lot, such contiguous land was used to the amount necessary to conform to the requirements of this section, and such lot was not thereafter diminished in area below the requirements stated in this section. In the case of any lot so described or shown in the Registry of Deeds which is without sufficient other land of the same owner, contiguous and capable of use to constitute a lot of the area required in this section, on such lot, the owner may erect and maintain one dwelling and such other structures as will comply with all regulations herein specified except for minimum lot area, provided, in all cases, that a lot has at least 5,000 square feet of area or 50 feet of frontage. For lots having less than 5,000 square feet or 50 feet of frontage, the Zoning Board of Appeals may grant special permits for the use of such lots.
D. 
SRAA Zoning District lot area definition. For all residential and nonresidential buildings, the lot area required for zoning compliance in the SRAA Zoning District shall not include areas subject to protection under Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act or anything relative thereto (MGL c. 131, § 40) and the regulations adopted thereunder, as amended, and/or resource areas subject to protection under the Rockport Wetlands By-law (Chapter 336 of the Rockport Code of By-laws), as amended, whichever is more restrictive.