A.Â
Words used in the present tense include the future tense.
B.Â
Words used in the singular include the plural, and words
used in the plural include the singular.
C.Â
The word "person" includes an individual, firm, company,
partnership or corporation.
D.Â
The words "shall" or "will" are mandatory; the word "may"
is permissive.
E.Â
The words "used" or "occupied" as applied to any land
or building, shall be construed to include the words "intended, arranged or
designed to be used or occupied."
F.Â
Any reference to an "R District" shall be interpreted
to mean the R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4 and R-A Districts.
G.Â
Any reference to a "C District" shall be interpreted
to mean the C-1, C-2 and R-C Districts.
H.Â
Any reference to an "M District" shall be interpreted
to mean the M-1 and M-2 Districts.
For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms or words used herein
shall be interpreted or defined as follows:
An additional self-contained dwelling unit contained within a single-family
residence which is subordinate to the principal one-family dwelling in size,
location and appearance, with physically separate access and providing complete
housekeeping facilities, including kitchen, sleeping and sanitary facilities
for the exclusive use of the occupant(s).
A subordinate building located on the same lot as the main building,
occupied by or devoted to an accessory use. Where an "accessory building"
is attached to the main building in a substantial manner, as by a wall or
roof, such "accessory building" shall be considered part of the main building
for purposes of yard determination. More than one accessory building is permitted
only by approval of the Town Board.
A use customarily incidental and subordinate to the main use or building
and located on the same lot therewith. In no case shall such an "accessory
use" dominate, in area, extent or purpose, the principal lawful use or building,
except that vehicle parking areas may be larger than the building area.
The cultivation of soil for food products or other useful or valuable
growths in the field or garden. "Agriculture" shall be deemed to also include
poultry or livestock production or breeding, and the raising of cattle for
the purpose of milk production.
As applied to a building or structure, a change or rearrangement
in the structural parts or in the exit facilities or an enlargement, whether
by extending on a side or by increasing in height, or the moving from one
location to another. An enclosure of a porch in excess of 100 square feet
is considered an "alteration."
The premises or buildings used for the diagnosis, treatment or other
care of the ailments of domesticated household animals, which may include
related facilities, such as laboratories, offices and temporary quarters,
for such animals.
A story partly below curb level or finished grade level having at
least 1/2 of two outside walls or all of one outside wall (measured from floor
to ceiling inside of the basement) above curb or finished grade level. A basement
shall be considered in determining the permissable number of stories.
A combination of any materials, whether portable or fixed, having
a roof, to form a structure affording shelter for persons, animals or property.
The word "building" shall be construed, when used herein, as though followed
by words "or part of parts thereof" unless the context clearly requires a
different meaning.
The total of areas taken on a horizontal plane at the main grade
level of the principal building and all accessory buildings exclusive of uncovered
porches, terraces and steps. All dimensions shall be measured between the
exterior faces of walls.
The vertical distance measured from the average elevation of the
proposed finished grade at the front of the building to the highest point
of the roof.
That distance from the street line that complies with the minimum
front yard requirements and the line, parallel to the street line, drawn through
the nearest point of any exterior wall of structure to the street line.
A structure in which is conducted the principal use of the site on
which it is situated.
A story partly underground and having more than 1/2 of its clear
height below the average level of the adjoining ground. A "cellar" shall not
be considered in determining the permissable number of stories.
A residential subdivision, designed for a single-family dwelling
purpose, comprising 10 or more acres in which minimum lot areas and minimum
lot dimensions may be reduced by a specific amount, provided that land not
used for residential lots, except streets, in the subdivision is used for
recreational or open space purposes. The phrase "clustering" shall refer to
"cluster housing."
An apartment house or house in which the apartments or dwelling units
are individually owned, each owner receiving a deed enabling him to sell,
mortgage or exchange his apartment independent of the owners of the other
apartments in the building or buildings.
A place for the care of three or more children, away from their own
homes, who stay for a period of three hours or more, but less than 24 hours,
during any day, irrespective of compensation, reward or otherwise.
A building and/or area for the purpose of boarding more than three
dogs that are more than six months old.
A restaurant wherein all persons thereof are not required to be seated
to be served.
A building used as the living quarters for one or more families.
DWELLING UNIT — One or more rooms designed for occupancy
by one family for cooking, living and sleeping purposes.
SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLING — A building containing one dwelling
unit and designed or used exclusively for occupancy by one family.
TWO-FAMILY DWELLING — A building containing two dwelling
units and designated or used exclusively for occupancy by two families living
independently of each other, or two one-family dwellings having a party wall
in common.
MULTIFAMILY DWELLING — A building or portion thereof
containing three or more dwelling units and designed or used for occupancy
by three or more families living independently of each other.
A group of two or more dwellings located on the same lot and having
any yard or open space in common.
The Code Enforcement Officer or Deputy Code Enforcement Officer of
the Town of Boston.
An increase in floor area of an existing building or an increase
in the size of an existing structure or an increase in the area of land used
for an existing open use.
An increase in the amount of existing floor area used for an existing
use in an existing building.
Any number of individuals related by blood, marriage or adoption,
or not more than four persons who are not so related, living together as a
single housekeeping unit, using rooms and housekeeping facilities in common
and having such meals as they may eat at home, generally prepared and eaten
together.
Any parcel of land containing at least 10 acres which is used for
gain in the raising of agricultural products, livestock, poultry or dairy
products. It includes necessary farm structures within the prescribed limits,
the storage of equipment used and the use of temporary stands for the sale
of the produce of the "farm" on which located. It excludes the raising of
fur-bearing animals, riding academies, public stables and dog kennels. Private
stables and the breeding and training of not more than six dogs owned by the
owner or tenant of the premises is allowed.
A barn, silo or other related structure, having as its principal
purpose, the storage, housing or harboring of farm machinery, equipment, produce
or livestock.
Any area of land, including structures thereon, used for the retail
sale of gasoline or other motor vehicle fuel for the propulsion of vehicles.
A filling station can be either self-service or attendant-operated.
An accessory building or portion of a main building used for the
storage of self-propelled vehicles, including commercial vehicles having a
rated capacity of not more than 3/4 ton, used by the occupants of the premises,
and may include space for not more than one passenger vehicle used by others.
Any area of land, including structures thereon, used for the retail
sale of gasoline, other motor vehicle fuel, oil or other lubricating substances
and motor vehicle accessories, and which may or may not include facilities
for lubricating, washing or otherwise servicing motor vehicles; but not including
the painting thereof or the storage of vehicles for any purpose thereof or
the storage of vehicles for any purpose other than servicing with fuel, lubricants,
antifreeze, tire repair and other emergency repairs of a temporary nature.
That space contained within the walls of the principal building,
exclusive of the area of the cellar, garage, attic or porches.
Antennas constructed solely for the purpose of providing noncommercial
radio operations pursuant to Part 97 of the Federal Communication Commission
Regulations, which said antennas do not exceed 60 feet in total height above
ground level or, in the case of a roof-mounted antenna do not exceed 60 feet
in total height above ground level, does not occupy more than 10% of the roof
area of the structure on which it is located and which, together with all
other roof appurtenances, including but not limited to other antennas, chimneys,
belfries, spires and ventilators, does not occupy more than 25% of the roof
area of any structure.
[Added 10-1-1997 by L.L. No. 8-1997]
An accessory use of a service character, conducted within a dwelling
by residents thereof, which is clearly secondary to the dwelling use for living
purposes and does not change the character thereof or have an exterior evidence
of such use, and which conforms to the following additional conditions:
The home occupation shall be carried on wholly within the principal
building. No person outside the resident family shall be employed. There shall
be no exterior storage of materials used in the home occupation. No offensive
noise, vibration, smoke, dust, odor, light or glare shall be produced.
Home occupation may include dressmaking, home cooking, teaching and
musical instruction (limited to a single pupil at a time), practice by an
artisan; television, electrical or radio repair; barber; or cosmetologist.
Home occupation shall not be interpreted to include the following: commercial
stable and kennel; animal hospital; restaurant; music or dancing instruction
to groups; convalescent home; mortuary; garage or premises for the repair
of motor vehicles; and other trades or businesses of a similar nature.
Unless otherwise specified, includes sanitarium, sanitorium, preventorium,
clinic, rest home, nursing home, convalescent home, hospice and any other
care of ailments, and shall be deemed to be limited to places for the diagnosis,
treatment or other care of human ailments.
A building containing more than six sleeping rooms in which lodging
is provided primarily for transient guests for compensation and which may
include public dining facilities.
A place where junk, waste, discarded or salvaged materials are bought,
sold, exchanged, sorted, stored, baled, packed, disssembled, handled or abandoned;
but not including pawn shops, antique shops, establishments for the sale,
purchase or storage of used furniture, household equipment, clothing, used
motor vehicles capable of being registered or machinery to be reused for the
purpose for which originally manufactured; and also an automobile graveyard
as defined in the ordinance licensing and regulating dealers in second hand
junk and auto parts activities and business in the Town of Boston, New York.[1]
The temporary storage for pay of domestic pets. Domestic pet breeding
is permitted. Specifically excluded are pets and animals that may be pets
but are normally considered wild.
Business premises equipped with individual clothes washing and drying
machines for the use of retail customers, exclusive of laundry facilities
provided as an accessory use in an apartment house or an apartment hotel.
A parcel or plot of land occupied or capable of being occupied by
a principal building or use, or a group of principal buildings or uses that
are united by a common interest or customary accessory buildings or uses,
and including such open spaces to be used in connection with such buildings
or uses.
The gross area, expressed in square feet, within the lot lines computed
in a horizontal plane, except that no area within the highway right-of-way
be included.
A lot at the junction of and fronting on two or more intersecting
streets.
The portion of a lot, expressed as a percent, which is determined
by dividing the square footage of the surface of said lot which is occupied
on a horizontal plane by the principal building, other main buildings, accessory
buildings and porches or decks by the lot area.
The mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.
A lot other than a corner lot.
The property line bordering a lot. Where any property line parallels
a street and is not coincident with the street line, the street line shall
be construed as the property line for the purpose of complying with the area
and setback requirements of this chapter.
Where a lot abuts upon only one street, the street line shall be
the "front lot line." Where a lot abuts upon more than one street, the owner
may designate either street lot line as the "front lot line."
Any lot line which is opposite and more or less parallel with the
front lot line. In the case of a lot which comes to a point at the rear, the
"rear lot line" shall be an imaginary line, 10 feet in length, entirely within
the lot, parallel to and most distant from the front lot line.
Any lot line which is not a front lot line or a rear lot line.
A lot in which the front lot line and the rear lot line abut a street.
The least horizontal distance across the lot between side lot lines,
measured at the front of a main building erected or to be erected on such
a lot and at a distance from the front lot line equal to the required depth
of the front yard; provided, however, that in the case of an approved subdivision
the same shall be measured from building lines established as part of a subdivision
map cover filed in the Erie County Clerk's office.
A manufactured, single-family dwelling unit, designed for year-round
occupancy, which is mounted on its own carriage for movement by towing to
a mobile home court unit. This definition does not include vehicles considered
to be camping trailers, travel trailers, motorized homes, pickup coaches or
fifth wheels.
A parcel of land which has been designed and improved for the placement
of mobile homes for nontransient use.
A prefabricated home built in sections and transported to the building
site, provided that such homes meet the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention
and Building Code.
A building or group of buildings, whether detached or in connected
units, used as individual sleeping or dwelling units designed primarily for
transient automobile travelers and providing accessory off-street parking
facilities, but with no cooking facilities except in a restaurant or caretaker's
unit. The term "motel" includes buildings designated as "motor lodges," "auto
courts" and similar appellations.
Any lawful building or structure or any lawful use of land, premises,
building or structure which does not conform to the regulations of this chapter
for the district in which such building, structure or use is located either
at the effective date of this chapter or as a result of subsequent amendments
thereto.
A school designed to provide daytime care or instruction for three
or more children from two to five years of age, inclusive, and operated on
a regular basis.
Any building where persons are housed or lodged and furnished with
meals and nursing care for hire.
The unoccupied area open to the sky on the same lot with a principal
building or structure and/or any accessory building, exclusive of parking
areas or driveways. "Open space" also refers to a parcel or parcels of land
or an area of water, or a combination of land and water, within a site with
any or all of such features as common outdoor recreation areas, woodland areas,
parks, playfields, playgrounds, golf courses, tennis courts, skiing facilities,
nature trails, formal gardens, lakes and swimming pools, camping facilities,
unoccupied areas in a natural state and similar open areas, exclusive of streets
and parking areas.
Animals normally considered domestic pets, such as dogs and cats.
A single-family detached residence in which the residential occupant
has a professional office, such as an architect, accountant, chiropractor,
dentist, doctor of medicine, engineer, insurance agent, landscape architect,
land surveyor, lawyer, osteopath, physiotherapist, planning consultant, podiatrist,
psychologist or realtor, which is clearly secondary or accessory to the one-family
dwelling use for living purposes and does not change the residential character
thereof, and where not more than one person outside the family is employed.
Any building available to the public, operated for gain, which is
used for the storage, repair, painting, servicing or equipping of motor vehicles
and the sale of parts and accessories.
A parcel of land or part thereof used for the purpose of extracting
stone, sand, gravel or topsoil for sale, as an industrial operation, and exclusive
of the process of grading a lot preparatory to the construction of a building
for which a building permit has been issued by the Town of Boston.
Replacement or removal, excluding additions, of any part of a building,
structure, device or equipment, with like or similar materials or parts, for
the purpose of maintaining such building, structure, device or equipment.
A temporary storage space for a vehicle waiting for service or admission.
A public, parochial or private school.
See "building line."
A group of stores, shops and similar establishments occupying adjoining
structures, all of which may be deemed one building if designed as an architectural
unit and if it has adequate space in the rear for loading and unloading commodities.
A special exception deals with special permission, granted only by
the Town Board, after public hearing, to occupy land for specific purposes
under special and specific conditions when such use is not permitted by right.
That portion of a building between the surface of any floor and the
surface of the floor next above it, or, if there is no floor above it, then
the space between any floor and the ceiling next above it. A basement shall
be counted as a "story" for purposes of height measurement if the ceiling
is more than five feet above the average adjoining ground level or if used
for business or dwelling purposes.
A story under a sloping roof, having a ceiling height of seven feet
or more for an area not exceeding 1/2 the floor area of the next lower full
story in the building.
A public thoroughfare which affords the principal means of access
to abutting property and which as been dedicated to and accepted by or otherwise
acquired by the Town of Boston, County of Erie or State of New York. As used
in this chapter, the herein "street" includes the entire right-of-way dedicated
for highway purposes.
A line separating a lot from a street. In any case where a future
street line has been established or approved by the Town Board, such future
street line shall be considered as a "street line" for the purposes of determining
lot area and setback requirements.
Any change in the supporting members of a building or other structure,
such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.
Anything constructed or erected which requires permanent location
in or on the ground or attachment to something having such location, but not
including a trailer or mobile home.
A dwelling in which overnight accommodations are provided or offered
for transient guests for compensation. The accommodations should be contained
within the confines of the principal building.
A building or dwelling designed for or occupied by no more than one
family and attached to other similar buildings or dwellings by not more than
two common walls extending from the foundation to the roof and providing two
direct means of access from the outside. A "townhouse" is individually owned,
an owner receiving a deed enabling him to sell, mortgage or exchange his dwelling
unit independent of the owners of any other dwelling unit attached thereto
by a common wall.
HOUSE TRAILER or MOBILE HOME — Any portable structure
or vehicle used for living, commercial or business purposes, whether on wheels
or other supports, and exceeding seven feet, eight inches in overall length.
UTILITY TRAILER — A trailer not over 10 feet in overall
length, seven feet, eight inches in overall width and six feet in overall
height, capable of being drawn by a standard automobile or station wagon.
BOAT TRAILER — A trailer designed solely for the hauling
of boats not over 25 feet in overall length, capable of being drawn by a standard
automobile or station wagon.
TRAVEL TRAILER — A trailer not over seven feet, eight
inches in overall width and not over 24 feet in overall length, capable of
being drawn by a standard automobile or station wagon, designed solely for
temporary camping purposes and not designed or suitable for living purposes.
For the purposes of this definition, if a trailer is collapsible or if it
does not have toilet facilities or if it is not so designed that one can live
in it even temporarily, it shall be deemed to be a camping trailer.
TRUCK CAMPER — Any body or structure designed for the
specific purpose of converting any motor vehicle into a travel trailer or
camping vehicle and capable of being left freestanding.
The specific purpose for which land or a building is designed, arranged,
intended for which it is or may be occupied or maintained. The term "permitted
use" or its equivalent shall not be deemed to include any nonconforming "use."
Unoccupied space open to the sky on the same lot with a building
or structure.
A yard extending the full width of the lot and situated between the
street line and the front line of the principal building, projected to the
side lines of the lot. The depth of the "front yard" shall be measured between
the front line of the building and the street line. Covered porches, whether
enclosed or unenclosed, shall be considered as part of the main building and
shall not project into a required "front yard."
That portion of a rear yard of a through street extending along a
street line and from the street line for a depth equal to a required front
yard. Any "front yard equivalent" shall be subject to the regulations of this
chapter which applies to front yards.
A yard extending the full width of the lot and situated between the
rear line of the rearmost main building and the rear line of the lot.
A yard having a depth or width set forth in the applicable district
regulations. Such width or depth shall be measured perpendicular to lot lines.
A yard situated between the building and the side lot line and from
the required front yard to the required rear yard, except that, on a corner
lot where the side lot abuts a street, the "side yard" shall extend from the
required front yard to the rear lot line.
EXTERIOR SIDE YARD — A side yard extending along a street
line.
INTERIOR SIDE YARD — A side yard extending along a lot
line of an adjoining lot.
