[Amended 4-8-1999; 8-11-1999; 3-10-2008; 2-14-2011; 9-12-2011; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
A public or private right-of-way providing the ability to enter, approach or pass to and from one area to another area.
A building or structure subordinate to and located on the same lot with a main building, the use of which is clearly incidental to that of the main building or to the use of the land, and which is not attached by any part of a common wall or roof to the main building.
A use of a building, lot or portion thereof which is customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the main building or the lot.
The official charged with the administration and enforcement of this chapter.
Crushed rock, gravel or similar surface.
A public right-of-way which affords pedestrian access and a secondary means of vehicular access to the side or rear of property.
A change in this chapter and/or the Zoning Map granted by the Town Council after review and comment by the Town Planning Commission.
A multifamily structure originally intended, arranged or designed to be occupied by three or more families, each in an individual dwelling unit and living independently of each other. The number of families in permanent residence shall not exceed the number of dwelling units provided. Entranceways through the structure to the units may be either common or separate, and each lot on which the building is located shall be held in single ownership, even though individual units may be sold in accordance with this chapter. Such term shall not include "row house" or "townhouse."
A licensed professional architect, licensed in the commonwealth by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation as an "architect."
A commercial building where goods and other items are sold at public auction.
Any lot or place that is exposed to weather and upon which more than five vehicles of any kind that are incapable of being operated and which it would not be economically practical to make operative are placed, located or found. The movement or rearrangement of vehicles within an existing lot or facility does not render this definition inapplicable. The provisions established by this chapter shall begin with the first day that the vehicle is placed on the subject property.
A lot or portion thereof, other than an automobile sales lot, held out or used for the storage or parking of six or more motor vehicles for a consideration, where service or repair facilities are not permitted. Such parking lot shall not be considered an accessory use, nor shall it be used for the storage of dismantled or wrecked motor vehicles, parts thereof or junk.
A lot arranged, designed or used for the storage and display for sale of any new or used motor vehicle capable of independent operation or any type of travel trailer and recreation vehicle, provided that the travel trailer and recreation vehicle are unoccupied, and where repair work is done wholly enclosed within a building.
Any place of business with pumps and underground storage tanks, having as its purpose the servicing, at retail, of motor vehicles, but not including a paint or body shop, machine shop or vulcanizing shop. Major repairs shall be performed within an enclosed building.
Any establishment, including an unmanned bank teller machine(s), wherein the primary occupation is concerned with such state-regulated businesses as banking, savings and loan companies and investment companies. Any drive-in automatic teller machine(s) not ancillary to a bank or any bank having a drive-in window(s) or drive-in automatic bank teller machine(s) shall be deemed a drive-in facility.
A story partly underground and having 50% or more of the total exterior wall area exposed. It shall not be occupied for residential purposes until the remainder of the building has been completed. A basement shall be counted as a story for the purpose of height requirements.
A business consisting of a single-family dwelling that provides overnight accommodations for paying guests with no more than five guest rooms for rent. Breakfast shall be provided to the guests only. The operator of the bed-and-breakfast establishment shall be the owner or the owner's agent, who is required to reside in the bed-and-breakfast establishment, or on contiguous property.
The property bound on all sides by one side of a street or combination of street line, railroad right-of-way, unsubdivided land, river, live stream, stream bed or any other barrier to the continuity of development.
The Town Board of Zoning Appeals.
A building where, for compensation, lodging and meals are provided for a least three and not more than 13 persons. A boardinghouse is to be distinguished from a hotel. No provisions shall be made for cooking in individual rooms or suites.
A structure having a roof supported by columns or by walls and intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of any person, animal or chattel. The word "building" shall include the word "structure."
An official designated by the Town or county to be responsible for certifying building inspections.
The relationship between the mass of a building and its surroundings, including the width of street, open space and mass of surrounding building. Mass is determined by the three-dimensional bulk of a structure; height, width and depth.
An adult who provides care for a mentally or physically impaired person within the commonwealth. A caregiver shall be either related by blood, marriage or adoption to, or the legally appointed guardian of, the mentally or physically impaired person for whom he is caring.
A portion of a building having less than 50% of the total exterior wall area exposed. All portions of the total exterior wall area exposed shall be counted for the purpose of height requirements, but shall not be considered a story.
A place for burial of the human dead, or remains of the human dead.
A state-licensed facility in which child day programs are offered to two or more children under the age of 13 years old in a facility that is not the residence of the provider or of any of the children in care or to 13 or more children at any location for only part of a twenty-four-hour period.
An establishment where human patients who are not lodged overnight are admitted for examination or treatment by physicians or dentists.
See "Planning Commission."
An open tract or parcel of land, owned in undivided interest, not devoted to structures but directly related and adjunct to a development, as provided in this chapter.
See "nursing home."
Percentage of the total lot area which may be occupied by all buildings or located under projections from building. Parking area or patios constructed at ground level shall not be included in the calculation of coverage.
The number of dwelling units permitted on one acre of land as specified in this chapter.
The process of erecting or causing to be erected buildings or structures on a lot.
Unless otherwise specified, all distances shall be measured horizontally and at right angles to the line in relation to which the distance is specified.
A site devoted to the production, warehousing and distribution of alcohol or spirits.
A portion of the Town within which, on a uniform basis, only certain uses of land and buildings are permitted as set forth in this chapter, and within which certain lot areas and other uniform requirements are established.
Any place or premises used for the sale, dispensing or serving of food, refreshments or beverages in automobiles, including those establishments where customers may serve themselves and may eat or drink the food, refreshments or beverages in motor vehicles on the premises; a refreshment stand; a fast-food or, primarily, a carry-out establishment. Food may also be eaten inside.
A space or area providing access specifically designated and reserved on a lot for the movement of vehicles from one lot to another or from a lot to a public street.
A two-family residential structure, with each unit having its own exterior entrance and its own kitchen and bath facilities. The residential units may be arranged one above the other or be semidetached.
A building or portion thereof which is used or intended to be used exclusively for human habitation. A dwelling shall be constructed in accordance with the State Building Code.
One room, or rooms connected together, constituting a separate, independent housekeeping establishment for owner occupancy, or rental or lease on a weekly, monthly or longer basis, physically separated from any other rooms or dwelling units which may be in the same structure, containing independent cooking and sleeping facilities and containing not less than 600 square feet of residential floor area. Each dwelling unit shall be constructed in accordance with the requirements of the State Building Code.
A dwelling having any portion of each of two walls in common with adjoining dwellings.
A dwelling which is entirely freestanding on the same lot.
A structure originally arranged or designed to be composed of three or more dwelling units (an apartment house), with the number of families in residence not exceeding the number of dwelling units provided.
A dwelling having any portion of one wall in common with an adjoining dwelling.
A residential dwelling unit, other than a mobile home, designed for and occupied by one family.
A portable dwelling not necessarily attached to a permanent foundation. These units shall be used only as specified in this chapter.
A residential building containing not more than two dwelling units within the single building, with such units arranged one above the other or side by side, and such structure designed for occupancy by not more than two families.
A grant by a property owner of the use of his land by another party for a specific purpose. The initial property owner in the agreement may be compensated for the use of his property.
A licensed professional engineer, licensed in the commonwealth by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation as an "engineer."
One person, or a group of two or more persons, living together interrelated by bonds of consanguinity, marriage or legal adoption, occupying a dwelling unit as a separate housekeeping unit with a common set of cooking facilities. The persons constituting a family may also include foster children and domestic servants.
Any child day program offered in the residence of the provider of the home of any of the children in care for five through 12 children in a twenty-four-hour period, exclusive of the provider's own children and any children who reside in the home, when at least one child receives care for whose care tuition fees or other forms of compensation are charged. Licensing by the Virginia Department of Education is required for any family day home extended. Family day homes with one to four children, exclusive of the provider's own children and any children who reside in the home, shall be treated as a residential occupancy by a single family.
A building, stalls, stands or place which is open to the general public for the sale of horticultural or agricultural products.
See "drive-in restaurant."
A barrier, usually made of posts and wire, boards or masonry, intended to prevent escape or intrusion or to make a boundary. Trees, shrubbery or other foliage does not constitute "fence" under this definition.
Sections of land which are subject to periodic flooding and inundation, as defined or approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The floor area of a building is the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the floors of all buildings on the lot, such area to be measured from the interior faces of exterior walls. "Floor area" shall include the area of basements when used for residential, commercial or industrial purposes, but shall not include a basement or portion of a basement used for storage or housing of mechanical or central heating equipment.
A mobile food establishment located in a motor vehicle or trailer licensed to operate by the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Virginia Health Department.
Lot width at the setback line.
An establishment used for human funeral services, which includes facilities on the premises for embalming and may or may not include facilities for the performance of autopsies, other surgical procedures or cremation.
A garage used for the storage of vehicles for occupants of lots in the same block or adjacent blocks.
An accessory building used for the storage of vehicles by the occupants of a lot on which such building is located.
An accessory building, principal building or portion of a principal building used only for the storage of four or more vehicles by others than only those occupants of a lot on which such building is located.
A multifamily dwelling, not exceeding three stories in height, containing three or more separate dwelling units, having either common or separate entranceways on a lot held in single ownership, having yards in common, but which may also have other joint facilities and services. The term "garden apartment house" shall not be construed to include "row house" or "townhouse."
The Town Council.
Concrete, blacktop and macadam, or a similar surface.
The director of the County Department of Health or his designated deputy, or a representative of the State Department of Health.
The vertical distance from the established grade of the center of the front of the building to the highest point of the roof surface of a flat roof, to the deck line for a mansard roof or to mean height level between the eaves and ridge for hip, gable and gambrel roofs.
Any occupation within a dwelling operating clearly as a secondary use, or within an accessory building, carried on by members of the family residing on the premises, provided that no person not a resident on the premises is employed.
No advertising sign shall be displayed.
There shall be no exterior evidence that the building is being used for any purpose other than a dwelling.
There shall be no motor vehicle regularly operated from the premises that carries advertising relating to this home occupation larger than two square feet.
No traffic shall be generated by such home occupation in greater volume than would normally be expected in a residential neighborhood.
A nonprofit organization approved by the State Corporation Commission operating under recorded land agreements through which:
Each lot/property and/or home owner in a clustered or planned development is automatically a member; and
Each lot is automatically subject to a charge for a proportionate share of the expenses for the organization's activities, such as maintaining a common property; and
The charge if unpaid becomes a lien against the property.
A building designed or occupied as a temporary living place for 14 or more individuals who are, for compensation, lodged, with or without meals, and in which no provision is made for cooking in individual rooms or suites.
Any motor vehicle which is not in operating condition, or any vehicle which for a period of 60 days or longer has been partially or totally disassembled by the removal of tires and wheels, the engine or other essential parts required for operation of the vehicle, or any vehicle on which there are displayed neither valid license plates nor a valid inspection decal.
Old or scrap copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries, paper, trash, rubber, debris or waste; junked, dismantled or wrecked automobiles or parts thereof; and old or scrap iron, steel, or other ferrous or nonferrous material.
Any area, lot, land, parcel, building, or structure or part thereof used for the storage, collection, processing, purchase, sale or abandonment of junk, or the maintenance or operation of an automobile graveyard. "Junkyard" includes garbage dumps and sanitary landfills.
Shall be deemed also to include "building use" and "use of building."
A sanitary landfill site used for the disposal of solid wastes beneath layers of soil and other materials.
A building, or part thereof, where clothes or other household articles are washed or dry cleaned in self-service machines with a capacity for washing not exceeding 25 pounds dry weight, and where such washed clothes and articles may also be dried or ironed and no delivery service is provided in connection therewith.
A building, or part thereof, other than a laundromat, where clothes and other articles are washed, dried, ironed or dry cleaned.
A parcel of land occupied or to be occupied by a building and its accessory buildings, or by a use and its accessory uses, together with such open spaces as are required under the provisions of this chapter, having at least the minimum area required by this chapter for a lot in the zone in which such lot is situated and having its principal frontage on a street which has been approved by the Town. The word "lot" includes the words "plot" and "parcel."
The average of the horizontal distances between front and rear lines of a lot, measured perpendicular to the street line.
A lot which has been recorded in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court.
The horizontal distance between the side lines of a lot, measured along the building setback line.
A lot abutting on two or more streets at their intersection.
Any lot other than a corner lot.
A lot, other than a corner lot, which has a frontage on two streets.
The processing and/or converting of raw, unfinished materials or products into articles or substances of different character, or for use for a different purpose.
A structure subject to federal regulation which is transportable in one or more sections; is eight body feet or more in width and 40 body feet or more in length in the traveling mode, or is 320 or more square feet when erected on site; is built on a permanent chassis; is designed to be used as a single-family dwelling, with or without a permanent foundation, when connected to the required utilities; and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems contained in the structure.
A person who is a resident of Virginia and who requires assistance with two or more activities of daily living, as defined in Code of Virginia, § 63.2-2200, as certified in writing provided by a physician licensed by the commonwealth.
A variety of complementary and integrated uses, including but not limited to residential, office, research and development, production, retail, public entertainment, conference and lodging uses, arranged in a compact urban form.
A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode is eight body feet or more in width or 40 body feet or more in length or when erected on site is 320 or more square feet, which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems contained therein.
An establishment consisting of a group of living or sleeping accommodations with bathroom and closet space located on a single zoning lot and designed for use by transient automobile tourists. Less than 50% of the living and sleeping accommodations are occupied or designed for occupancy by persons other than transient automobile tourists.
The otherwise legal use of a building, structure or tract of land that does not conform to the use regulations of this chapter for the district in which it is located either on September 26, 1978, or as a result of subsequent amendments to this chapter.
An otherwise legally platted lot that does not conform to the minimum area or width requirements of this chapter for the district in which it is located on September 26, 1978, or as a result of subsequent amendments to this chapter.
An otherwise legal building or structure that does not conform to the lot area, yard, height, lot coverage or other area regulations of this chapter, or is designed or intended for a use that does not conform to the use regulations of this chapter for the district in which it is located, either on September 26, 1978, or as a result of subsequent amendments to this chapter.
A place containing beds for two or more patients, established to render live-in and/or nursing care for chronic or convalescent patients and which is properly licensed by the state, but not including child care homes or facilities for the care of drug addicts, alcoholics or other patients requiring more extensive and/or intensive care than is normally provided in a general hospital or other specialized hospitals. Such terms shall include group homes serving developmentally disabled persons.
Space provided for vehicular parking outside of the dedicated street right-of-way.
A use consisting of a building, room or group of rooms used for conducting the executive, management, or administrative affairs of a business, organization, institution, or government entity and/or for the provision of professional services.
That space on the same zoning lot and contiguous to the principal building, except as noted in this chapter, which is landscaped with shrubs, planted with grass or developed and maintained for recreation purposes, excluding that portion of the lot which is utilized for off-street parking.
The keeping of goods, junk material, or merchandise outside of an enclosed building and in the same place.
Any projection, whether roof, bay window or similar cantilevered construction, which extends beyond the foundation of a structure. No such construction shall project into any required yard more than three feet and no such projection shall have a vertical surface whose area is more than 25% of the area obtained by multiplying the main height of the structure by the length of the structure along the yard which is violated.
An area of not less than 10 feet wide by 20 feet long for each automobile or motor vehicle, such space being exclusive of necessary drives, aisles, entrances or exits, and being fully accessible for the storage or parking of vehicles.
A bond of surety, cashier's check, line of credit, and/or cash deposit approved by the governing body equal to the full cost of improvements required by this chapter and providing for completion of said improvements within a definite term.
A structure or part thereof which is intended for organized religious services, including but not limited to a church, synagogue or temple.
The Town Planning Commission.
An open, unenclosed stoop or paved terrace which may project into a front or rear yard for a distance not exceeding eight feet and into a side yard for a distance not exceeding five feet, provided that this shall not be interpreted to include porches which may be enclosed by removable windows, fixed canopies or screens. A porch or any portion thereof shall not occupy more than 24 square feet of any side yard. A one-story bay window or a chimney may project not more than three feet into any required yard area. A porch shall not be included in the calculation of lot coverage.
The primary or predominant use of any lot.
A structure used by a person in offering a service which requires specialized knowledge gained by intensive academic preparation, such as medicine, law, engineering, dentistry and other like endeavors.
Any person duly authorized to furnish and furnishing to the public, under federal, state or municipal regulations, electricity, gas, steam, communications, telegraph, transportation, water or like utilities.
Any building other than a drive-in restaurant in which, for compensation, food or beverages are dispensed for consumption on the premises, including, among other establishments, cafes, tea rooms, confectionery shops and refreshment stands.
A change in a plat of an approved or recorded subdivision or resubdivision if such change:
Buildings for display and sale of merchandise at retail or for the rendering of personal services, but specifically exclusive of coal, wood, oil storage, lumberyards and contractors storage yards.
A building other than a hotel where lodging is provided for three or more persons for compensation pursuant to previous arrangements, but not open to the public or transients.
A parochial or private school giving regular instruction during a normal school year.
An educational institution operated by a duly constituted governmental entity.
A school primarily devoted to giving instruction in professional, musical, dramatic, artistic, scientific or other special subjects, exclusive of a conventional primary or secondary curriculum, and does not require licensure by the state as a day-care center use.
A school which primarily provides instruction in vocational skills.
The minimum distance by which any building or structure must be separated from the lot lines.
Any conglomeration of commercial activities sharing a parcel of land which is held in single ownership and sharing parking facilities.
Any display of any letters, words, numerals, figures, devices, emblems or pictures, or any parts or combinations thereof, by any means whereby the same are made visible for the purpose of making anything known, whether such display is made on, attached to or is part of a structure, surface or any other thing.
The entire area within a single continuous perimeter enclosing the external limits of a sign, provided that such perimeter shall not include any structural elements lying outside the limits of such a sign and not forming an integral part of the display. On double-faced signs, only one display face shall be measured in computing total sign area where sign faces are parallel and are at no point more than two feet from one another.
A sign which directs attention to a business, commodity, service, activity or product sold, conducted or offered upon the premises where such sign is located.
A sign on the premises bearing the name of a subdivision, the name of a group housing project or the name of a school, college, park, church or other public or quasi-public facility, or a professional or firm nameplate, but bearing information pertaining only to the premises on which sign is located.
Any sign of any material and any character whatsoever which is placed (including erection, construction, posting, painting, printing, tacking, nailing, gluing, sticking, carving or other fastening, affixing or making visible in any manner) for outdoor advertising purposes in any way whatsoever.
A sign applying to a seasonal or other brief activity such as, but not limited to, summer camps, horse shows, auctions or sale of land.
A single person, or two or more persons related by blood or marriage occupying a dwelling, living together and maintaining a household, which may include not more than one unrelated person; however, not more than four unrelated persons occupying a dwelling, living together and maintaining a household shall be deemed to constitute a "single family."
A permit granted by the Town Council, upon review and recommendation of the Planning Commission, for a use permitted by the Council to occupy land and/or buildings erected thereon for a specific purpose not yet permitted by right, but in accordance with standards or conditions and procedures included in this chapter or established by the Town Council.
That portion of a building, other than a cellar or mezzanine, included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it, or if there is no floor above it, the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it; a mezzanine shall be deemed a full story when it covers more than 35% of the area of the story beneath the mezzanine, or if the vertical distance from the floor next below it to the floor next above it is 24 feet or more.
A space under a sloping roof which has the line of intersection of roof decking and wall face not more than three feet above the top floor level and in which space not more than 2/3 of the floor area is finished off for use.
The dividing line between a street or road right-of-way and the contiguous property.
A public thoroughfare, except an alley or driveway, which affords vehicular traffic circulation and principal means of access to abutting property.
Two or more retail buildings or establishments located on the same lot or parcel of land, not to exceed two acres.
Any change in the supporting members of a building or structure, such as bearing walls, partitions, columns, beams or girders, any change in the width or number of exits or any substantial change in the roof.
See "building."
Any structure of any kind or character erected or maintained for outdoor advertising purposes, upon which any outdoor advertising sign may be placed, including also outdoor advertising statuary.
The division of a parcel of land into one or more lots or parcels of less than five acres each for the purpose of transfer of ownership or building development or, if a new street is involved in such division, any division of a parcel of land. The term includes resubdivision and, when appropriate to the context, shall relate to the process of subdividing or to the land subdivided.
A licensed professional surveyor, licensed in the commonwealth by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation as a "surveyor." This term shall also include "land surveyors."
A transportable residential structure, providing an environment facilitating a caregiver's provision of care for a mentally or physically impaired person, that i) is primarily assembled at a location other than its site of installation, ii) is limited to one occupant who shall be the mentally and physically impaired person or, in the case of a married couple, two occupants, one of whom is a mentally or physically impaired person, and the other requires assistance with one or more activities of daily living as defined in Code of Virginia, § 63.2-2200, as certified in writing by a physician licensed in the commonwealth, iii) has no more than 300 gross square feet, and iv) complies with applicable provisions of the Industrialized Building Safety Law (Code of Virginia, § 36-70 et seq.) and the Uniform Statewide Building Code (Code of Virginia, § 36-97 et seq.). Placing the temporary family health care structure on a permanent foundation shall not be required or permitted.
A commercially constructed, purpose-built container designed for vehicular transport and the storage of equipment, building materials or household goods. For purposes of this chapter, a temporary portable storage unit is neither an "accessory structure" nor a "travel trailer" as defined.
A use established for a fixed period of time with the intent that such use will terminate automatically upon expiration of the fixed time period, unless permission to conduct the use is renewed pursuant to this chapter.
A building designed and/or used primarily for the commercial exhibition of motion pictures to the general public or used for performance of plays, acts or dramas by actors and/or actresses.
A dwelling in which overnight accommodations are provided or offered for three or more transient guests.
At least three and not more than eight attached dwelling units forming a continuous structure, each unit being separated by common or party walls of masonry construction going through the roof of such unit, void of fenestration or means of ingress or egress from the basement through the roof, with individual exterior entrances at grade and with no more than four abutting townhouses or dwelling units having the same front yard setback.
A vehicular, portable structure built on a chassis as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreation and vacation, having a body width not exceeding eight feet and being of any length, provided that its gross weight does not exceed 4,500 pounds, or being of any weight, provided, further, that its body length does not exceed 29 feet.
Any establishment open to the public that has five or more diesel fuel pumps along with provisions for parking and/or servicing of five or more tractor trucks and tractor truck trailers.
The purpose or activity for which land or buildings thereon are designed or arranged, or for which land or buildings are occupied or maintained, including any manner of performance of such activity with respect to the performance standards of this chapter.
Shall be deemed also to include "erected," "reconstructed," "altered," "placed" or "moved."
A reasonable deviation from those provisions regulating the shape, size, or area of a lot or parcel of land or the size, height, area, bulk, or location of a building or structure when the strict application of the ordinance would unreasonably restrict the utilization of the property, and such need for a variance would not be shared generally by other properties, and provided such variance is not contrary to the purpose of the ordinance. It shall not include a change in use, which change shall be accomplished by a rezoning or by a conditional zoning.
An open space of a generally uniform width or depth, on the same land with a building or group of buildings, which open space lies between the building or group of buildings or other specified points and the nearest lot line, and is unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
A yard extending across the full width of the lot and lying between the adjacent street right-of-way and the building setback line.
A yard extending across the full width of the lot and lying between the rear property line of the lot and a line drawn generally parallel to the rear lot line at such distance as may be specified in this chapter for any district.
A yard between the side lot line and a line drawn generally parallel thereto at such distance as may be specified in this chapter for any district and extending from the setback line to the rear yard line. On a corner lot the side yard adjacent to a street shall extend the full depth of every such lot.
See "Administrator."
The Official Zoning Map of the Town and all amendments hereto.
A permit issued by the Zoning Administrator to the applicant before the applicant may proceed with any work affected by any provision of this chapter or begin any uses of land and/or structures as permitted by this chapter.