Appendix A. DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms and words shall be defined as set forth below, unless otherwise provided in this chapter:
Abut or abutting: Having a common border with, or being separated from such a common border only by a street, alley, stream, or railroad tracks.
Accessory apartment: A dwelling unit located within a structure that is accessory to, and is located on the same lot as, a single-family detached dwelling.
Accessory structure: A structure detached from but located on the same lot as a principal building and customarily accessory and clearly incidental and subordinate to the principal building and used for purposes customarily incidental to that of the principal building.
Accessory use: A use of land or a structure, or portion thereof, which is customarily accessory and clearly incidental and subordinate in area, extent, and purpose to the principal use of the land or structure and located on the same lot as such principal use. An accessory use may not be accessory to another accessory use.
Agent to the Architectural Review Board: The staff member of the Department of Planning, Building and Development who has been elected by the Architectural Review Board to review applications for a Certificate of Appropriateness.
Agent to the Planning Commission: The staff member of the Department of Planning, Building and Development who has been elected by the Planning Commission to review development plans and other matters related to this chapter.
Agricultural operations: The use of property for the purpose of producing agricultural, horticultural, or floricultural products including livestock, poultry, eggs, dairy products, vegetables, trees, or similar products. A garden that is accessory to a residential use shall not be deemed an agricultural operation. Agricultural operations shall not include principal industrial uses related to food processing or distribution.
Airport: Any area of land designed, set aside, or used for the landing and take-off of aircraft, and any appurtenant areas designated, set aside, or used for airport buildings or other airport facilities. Such airport facilities and operations may include runways, heliports, air traffic control towers, passenger terminals, air cargo terminals, navigational equipment, emergency and maintenance operations, parking lots or structures, airline service and maintenance operations, hangar facilities, general aviation facilities, flight instruction, aircraft sales, rental, or chartering, and fuel storage for on-site distribution.
Airport-related commercial and personal service uses: Commercial and personal service uses located within the general aviation terminal facility and intended primarily to serve the needs of airline travelers, including motor vehicle rental, eating and drinking establishments, eating establishments, financial institutions, general or professional offices, retail sales, and personal service establishments.
Amateur radio tower: A freestanding or building-mounted structure, including any base, tower or pole, antenna, and appurtenances, intended for noncommercial airway communication purposes by a person holding a valid amateur radio license issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Amphitheater: An establishment for the performing arts with open-air, generally tiered, seating for audiences.
Amusement, commercial, indoor: An establishment primarily engaged in the provision of multiple amusement or entertainment devices or machines or games of skill, chance, or scoring to the general public for a fee, where all such activity occurs enclosed in a building. Such games include billiards, pool, table tennis, dartboards, foosball, pinball, video games, and other similar amusement or entertainment devices, whether or not they are coin-operated. Typical uses include pool halls, video arcades, and game rooms. "Indoor commercial amusement" establishments may include accessory uses, such as snack bars, which are designed and intended primarily for the use of patrons of the amusement use. "Indoor commercial amusement" establishments do not include gun-firing ranges or any use which is otherwise specifically listed in the Use Tables in Article 3 of this chapter.
Amusement, commercial, outdoor: An establishment primarily engaged in the provision of amusement or entertainment devices or games of skill or scoring to the general public for a fee where any portion of the activity takes place outside of a building, including miniature golf course, archery range, or similar facility. "Outdoor commercial amusement" establishments do not include go-cart or motorcycle courses, raceways, drag strips, overnight camping, or gun-firing ranges, or any use which is otherwise specifically listed in the Use Tables in Article 3 of this chapter.
Animal hospital or veterinary clinic: An establishment for the care, observation, or treatment of domestic animals, including household pets, and which may include medical or surgical treatment and care. The boarding of animals shall be limited to short-time boarding necessitated by and directly related to surgery or medical treatment and shall be clearly incidental to the operation of the animal hospital or veterinary clinic.
Animal shelter: A use in which the principal activity is the temporary housing of stray, abandoned, abused, neglected, or unwanted domestic animals, placed there for adoption or disposal in a manner regulated by the Virginia Comprehensive Animal Laws, with such use owned, operated, or maintained by a public body, an established humane society, animal welfare organization, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other nonprofit organization devoted to the welfare, protection, and humane treatment of animals. Such establishments may include crematoriums as an accessory use.
Applicant: The party applying for approval of a zoning permit, sign permit, Certificate of Occupancy, Certificate of Appropriateness, or development plan, requesting the approval of a rezoning, conditional rezoning, special exception, or variance, or appealing a decision of the Zoning Administrator, as required by this chapter.
Application: The completed form(s) and all accompanying documents, exhibits, and fees required of an applicant for review, approval, or permitting purposes for a zoning permit, sign permit, Certificate of Occupancy, Certificate of Appropriateness, development plan, rezoning, conditional rezoning, special exception, variance, or an appeal of a decision of the Zoning Administrator.
Arbor: Open frameworks designed to offer shady resting places in a garden or park. Arbors are often made of metal work or latticework which serves as a trellis on which climbing plants may grow.
Artist studio: An establishment for preparation, display, and sale of individually crafted artwork, jewelry, furniture, painting, sculpture, pottery, art photography, leather craft, hand-woven articles, candles, hand-blown glass, and similar items. Such space is primarily a working studio where such artist, artisan, or craftsperson may display and sell work, but such establishment may also include the teaching of classes in the applicable fine art or craft, including "the arts" associated with vocal or instrumental music, acting, and writing.
Athletic field: Outdoor site, often requiring equipment, designed for organized athletic competition in field sports such as softball, baseball, soccer, and football, and which is not a "sports stadium, arena, or coliseum" as defined in this chapter. Athletic fields may include bleachers, but do not provide locker rooms.
Attached structures: Structures attached to buildings that are substantially unenclosed on their sides and designed to provide a transition from adjacent grade to an entrance. There are four (4) defined types of attached structures:
(1)
Deck: An attached structure with an elevated floor and no solid roof.
(2)
Pergola: An attached structure with vertical supports of an open roof, with no floor.
(3)
Porch: An attached structure with an elevated floor and vertical supports for a solid roof.
(4)
Stoop: A small attached structure with an elevated floor and without a solid roof. Stoops do not exceed one-hundred (100) square feet in floor area.
Bakery, confectionary, or similar food production, Retail: An establishment primarily engaged in the preparation, cooking, baking, and retail sale of baked products, confectionary products, or similar food products on the premises. The retail sale of such food products is intended primarily for off site consumption, but such use may include incidental food service on site. While on-site retail sales is a required component of this use, this use may also include the wholesale sales of such food products.
Bakery, confectionary, or similar food production, Wholesale: An establishment engaged in the preparation, cooking, baking, and selling of baked products, confectionary products, or similar food products intended solely for wholesale or institutional off-premises distribution, and where over-the-counter or other retail dispensing of baked products, confectionary, or similar prepared food products shall be prohibited.
Bed and breakfast: A building or buildings in which bedrooms are provided for overnight guests for compensation on a daily basis, and, which may offer breakfast meals to such guests. A bed and breakfast use may include meeting hall functions as an accessory use where permitted by this Chapter.
Block face: The properties abutting on one (1) side of a street and lying between the two (2) nearest intersecting streets, or nearest intersecting street and railroad right-of-way, watercourse, or city boundary.
Blood bank or plasma center: An establishment primarily engaged in the collection and storage of whole blood or blood plasma for future use, including the collection of blood from donors, typing donated blood, separating such blood into several components, storing such whole blood or blood plasma, and preparing such blood for transfusions to recipients.
Boarding house: A dwelling, or portion thereof, where up to, but not more than, six (6) furnished bedrooms are provided for lodging for monetary compensation on a weekly, monthly, or longer basis, where no more than a total of six (6) persons reside, where the rental or leases are for definite periods of time, and where such establishment is not open to the public or overnight guests. No meals are provided to outside guests. Such establishments provide a common kitchen facility and shared bathroom facilities. A "boarding house" is also commonly known as a rooming house.
Body piercing establishment: An establishment which engages in the act of penetrating the skin to make a hole, mark, or scar, generally permanent in nature. For purposes of this definition, "body piercing" does not include the use of a mechanized, pre-sterilized ear piercing system that penetrates the outer perimeter or lobe of the ear, or both.
Broadcasting studio or station: An establishment primarily engaged in the provision of broadcasting services accomplished through the use of electronic mechanisms, and which includes satellite earth station equipment. Typical uses include television studios and radio stations. "Broadcasting towers" are not considered customary accessory uses for purposes of this definition.
Building: A structure with a roof supported and wholly enclosed by walls and intended for shelter, housing, or enclosure of persons, animals, activity, process, equipment, goods, or materials of any kind.
Building Code: The Uniform Statewide Building Code, adopted pursuant to the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended, Section 36-97 et seq., and Article II, Chapter 7, of this Code.
Building façade: That portion of any exterior elevation on a building extending from grade to top of the parapet, wall, or eaves along the entire width of the building elevation.
Building façade, primary: That building façade which faces a public right-of-way and contains the principal entrance to the building.
Building footprint: The outline of the total area covered by a building's perimeter, as measured from the outside of all exterior walls, at the ground level.
Building frontage: The horizontal linear dimension of the exterior wall of a building that faces upon a public street, a private street in an approved Planned Unit Development District, or an on-site parking lot.
Building line: The line, parallel to the street right-of-way, that passes through the point of the principal building nearest that street right-of-way. Such point shall be thirty (30) inches or greater above the graded ground level and shall exclude any permitted front yard encroachments.
Building supplies and materials, Wholesale: Establishments exclusively engaged in wholesale sales, from the premises, of materials which are generally essential to the construction of buildings or structures, including lumber, concrete, bricks, roofing materials, siding, plumbing, heating and electrical equipment, windows, doors, insulation, landscaping supplies, and similar materials.
Bus passenger terminal or station: A facility for the transient housing or parking of buses, and the loading, unloading and interchange of passengers.
Business service establishment: An establishment primarily engaged in the sale, leasing, or repair of office equipment, supplies, and materials, or the rendering of services used by office, professional, and service establishments. Typical uses include office equipment and supply firms, small business machine repair shops, convenience printing and copying establishments, management and consulting services, office security services, advertising and mailing services, data and records storage, and other professional, scientific, or technical services or administrative or support services not otherwise specifically listed in the Use Tables in Article 3 of this chapter.
Caliper: The measurement of a tree trunk's diameter in inches at a height six (6) inches above the ground for trees up to and including four (4) inches in caliper, and at a height twelve (12) inches above the ground for trees exceeding four (4) inches in caliper.
Campground: An establishment that provides campsites for temporary occupancy by recreational vehicles, tents, or other such enclosures designed as temporary living quarters, and that provides on-site restroom and bathing facilities.
Canopy: A structure made of permanent construction without pillars or posts, which is totally or partially attached to a building for the purpose of providing shelter to patrons or motor vehicles, or as a decorative feature on a building wall. A canopy is not a completely enclosed structure and cannot be raised or retracted. A freestanding, permanent cover, open on at least three (3) sides and located over an outdoor service area, such as a gas pump island, shall also be considered a canopy.
Car wash: The washing, cleaning, waxing, or vacuuming of motor vehicles for compensation, including self-service facilities and the use of personnel in conjunction with or without complete automatic or mechanical devices for purposes of this activity. A "car wash" includes motor vehicle detailing services but does not include the washing of commercial fleets as an accessory use to the principal use with which the fleet is associated.
Caterer, commercial: The service of preparing and delivering food for off-site consumption at special events, including corporate activities, banquets, parties, weddings, and similar functions, for a fee, with such service generally including the serving of food at such special function. For purposes of this definition, a "commercial caterer" does not include catering services associated with a principal use having a retail component including an "eating establishment," "eating and drinking establishment," or "retail bakery, confectionary, or similar food production."
Cemetery: Land used or dedicated to the burial of the dead, including accessory chapels, columbaria, mausoleums, and necessary sales and maintenance facilities.
Civic space: A public space located between a street and building that serves as a gathering space.
Club, lodge, civic or social organization: Buildings or facilities, or portion thereof, owned or operated by a nonprofit corporation, association, or other formal association of persons for private social, civic, educational, or recreational purposes, to which access is restricted to members of such groups and their guests. Such principal use may include accessory uses such as recreational facilities and banquet facilities.
Commercial motor vehicle: Any motor vehicle or trailer used, designed, or maintained for the transportation of persons or property for compensation or profit, and which is one (1) of the following types of vehicles: trucks, tractor cabs, farm tractors, construction equipment, passenger buses, trailers, semi-trailers, limousines, tow trucks, dump trucks, roll back tow trucks, flatbed trucks, step vans or any vehicle designed or used for the transportation of a hazardous material. Commercial motor vehicles shall not include any passenger cars, vans, trailers, or pickup trucks that are customarily used for non-commercial purposes.
Commercial motor vehicle rental establishment: An establishment engaged exclusively in the rental of commercial motor vehicles. Included in this use type is the incidental storage, maintenance, and servicing of such equipment.
Commercial motor vehicle sales and service establishment, New: An establishment which engages in only the sale or lease of new and used commercial motor vehicles, the performance of any repair or maintenance work of such commercial motor vehicles, and financial services conducted as an accessory use to the establishment.
Commercial motor vehicle sales and service establishment, Used: An establishment whose activities include the display of used commercial motor vehicles for sale or lease, or the performance of any repair or maintenance work of used commercial motor vehicles, but whose activities do not include the sale or lease of new commercial motor vehicles.
Commercial printing establishment: An establishment which engages in the professional printing and reproduction of publications, including newspapers, magazines or other periodicals, and books.
Common ownership: Ownership by the same person, corporation, firm, entity, partnership, or unincorporated association; or ownership by different corporations, firms, partnerships, entities, or unincorporated associations, in which a stock owner, partner, or associate owns an interest in each corporation, firm, partnership, entity, or unincorporated association.
Community center: A place, structure, area, or other facility used as a place for meetings, recreation, or social activity and not operated for profit. Such facility is generally open to the public and designed to accommodate and serve significant segments of the community. Such facilities may include those owned or operated by the city to serve a designated segment of the community; those owned or operated by a neighborhood organization and used for meetings or activities of such neighborhood organization; or such facilities owned or operated by a homeowners association, condominium association, or similar entity and located within or adjacent to such residential development for use solely by the residents or guests of such development.
Community food operation: A distribution center for food to persons where prepared food is distributed for immediate consumption or where on-premises consumption of the food occurs. Food is distributed primarily for no charge or for less than fair market value. A community food operation is not an "eating establishment" or "eating and drinking establishment" as elsewhere defined and used in this chapter.
Community garden: The active cultivation of fruits, flowers, vegetables, or ornamental plants by more than one (1) person or family. For purposes of this chapter, the definition of a "community garden" does not include "retail sales."
Community market: From a permanent, fixed location, the offering for retail sale of fresh produce, prepared food items, other agricultural items, or handmade crafts directly to the consumer from stalls or tables which are not enclosed in a building, where the vendors are generally individuals who have raised the vegetables or produce or have made the crafts or have taken the same on consignment for retail sale.
Composting facility: A facility where organic matter that is derived primarily from off-site is to be processed by composting or is processed for commercial purposes. Activities of a composting facility may include management, collection, transportation, staging, composting, curing, storage, marketing, or use of compost. For purposes of this chapter, the shredding or grinding of wood to create mulch shall be considered a composting facility.
Contractor/subcontractor: Any business or person who agrees to furnish materials or perform services at a specified price, pertaining to the construction or maintenance of buildings or lands, including general building contractors; special trade contractors who assist in building construction or remodeling, such as carpentry, electrical, masonry, painting, metalworking, cabinetmaking, flooring installation, duct work, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and roofing; landscape contractors engaged in the decorative and functional alteration, planting, or maintenance of grounds; furniture refinishing or upholstery, sign making, or similar work.
Contractor or tradesman's shop, General or special trade: An establishment where a general contractor engaged in the construction of residential or commercial structures, a special trade contractor that assists in building construction or remodeling including carpentry, electrical, masonry, painting, metalworking, cabinetmaking, flooring installation, duct work, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and roofing, a landscape contractor engaged in the decorative and functional alteration, planting, or maintenance of grounds, furniture refinishing or upholstery, sign making, or similar work, maintains its principal office or a permanent business office, where the establishment may engage in the retail sale of goods manufactured, assembled, or serviced on the premises, and where such establishment engages in one (1) or both of the following:
(1)
The fabrication, assembly, servicing, or storage of products or materials on site within a wholly enclosed building; or
(2)
Where permitted by this chapter, the outdoor storage of construction equipment and other materials customarily used in the trade carried on by the contractor but not including any construction or demolition debris or waste materials.
Contractor's shop, Heavy construction: An establishment where a heavy construction contractor engaged in such activities as paving, highway construction, utility construction, or similar work, maintains its principal office or a permanent business office, and where such establishment engages in one (1) or all of the following:
(1)
The storage of products or materials on site within a wholly enclosed building;
(2)
The outdoor storage of construction equipment or other commercial motor vehicles on the site; or
(3)
Where permitted by this chapter, the outdoor storage of materials customarily used in the trade carried on by the contractor but not including any construction or demolition debris or waste materials.
Day care center, Adult: The provision of a supervised, communal setting and supplementary care and protection to four (4) or more aged, infirm, or disabled adults who reside elsewhere, during only a part of a twenty-four (24) hour day. Such center shall not include any overnight stays or overnight sleeping facilities. Services may include aid in personal hygiene, eating and drinking, ambulation, or recreation. This term does not include the home or residence of an individual who cares for only persons related to such resident by blood or marriage.
Day care center, Child: A regularly operating service arrangement for more than five (5) children under the age of thirteen (13) who are unrelated to the operator where, during the absence of a parent or guardian, a person or organization has agreed to assume responsibility for the supervision, protection, and well-being of such children for less than a twenty-four-hour period. This term includes nursery schools, preschools, daytime care, after-school care, and similar uses but excludes public and private educational facilities or any facility offering care to individuals for a full twenty-four-hour period.
Day care home, Adult: An adult day program offered in the residence of the provider for up to three (3) aged, infirm, or disabled adults who reside elsewhere. Such day care home shall provide services during only a part of a twenty-four (24) hour day and such home shall not include any overnight stays or overnight sleeping facilities. Services may include aid in personal hygiene, eating and drinking, ambulation, or recreation. The maximum number of adults permitted by this definition shall not include the provider or anyone related to the provider by blood, marriage, or adoption.
Day care home, Child: A child day program offered in the residence of the provider, serving one (1) through four (4) children at any one (1) time, exclusive of any children related to the provider by blood, marriage, or adoption. A child day program means a regularly operating service arrangement for children where, during the absence of a parent or guardian, a person has agreed to assume responsibility for the supervision, protection, and well-being of children under the age of thirteen (13) for less than a twenty-four-hour period.
Density: The number of dwelling units on a lot divided by the lot area.
Development plan: The drafted proposal for a development, including site plans, maps, and other documentation delineating all easements and other conditions relating to use, location, and bulk of buildings, density of development, parking arrangements, public access, common open space, landscaping, public facilities, and other such information necessary to determine compliance with this chapter.
Distribution center: An establishment where goods are received, sorted, and dispatched for delivery to the ultimate customer at remote locations.
Dormitory: A building, or portion thereof, owned or operated by an educational facility or hospital, which provides boarding house style accommodations exclusively to students, faculty, and employees of such institution.
Drive-through facility: A nonresidential use which provides a service or product directly to a customer who drives a motor vehicle onto the premises and to a window or mechanical device through or by which the customer completes a service transaction or purchases a product without exiting the motor vehicle. This use does not include the selling of fuel at a service station or the functions of a car wash, but does include the drive-up services and windows of uses such as banks, fast food restaurants, pharmacies, dry cleaners, and similar establishments.
Drive-through kiosk: A freestanding structure for the purpose of vending food, drink, or retail goods from a drive-through window to customers seated in their motor vehicles for consumption off the premises and that provides no indoor or outdoor seating or indoor service.
Driveway: A private way which establishes a connection between an off-street parking space or an off-street loading space and a street.
Driveway entrance: The connection between a public or private right-of-way and a lot adjacent to the right-of-way that is intended to provide access for vehicles from the right-of-way to the adjacent lot.
Dry cleaning and laundry pickup station: An establishment, serving individuals or households, maintained for the pickup and delivery of dry cleaning or laundry, and which may include the maintenance or operation of laundry or dry cleaning equipment or machinery on the premises.
Dry cleaning plant or commercial laundry: An establishment primarily engaged in laundering, cleaning, or dyeing of fabrics, textiles, wearing apparel, or articles of any sort by immersion and agitation, or by immersions only, in volatile solvents, and the processes incidental thereto. Such establishment does not include a dry cleaning and laundry pickup station. Typical uses include bulk laundry and cleaning plants, diaper services, or linen supply services. A dry cleaning plant or commercial laundry does not include a laundromat.
Dwelling: A building, or portion thereof, designed to be used for continuous, year-round residential purposes, containing one (1) or more independent housekeeping units and including the following specific types:
(1)
Dwelling, Single-family, attached: A one-family dwelling unit, with its own independent entrance at ground level, which is part of a building consisting of two (2) one-family dwelling units, attached by a common vertical wall, and with each dwelling unit being located on its own individual lot.
(2)
Dwelling, Single-family detached: A site built, modular, or industrialized building designed exclusively as one (1) dwelling unit for continuous year-round occupancy by one (1) family only, which is located on its own individual lot and which is not attached to any other dwelling by any means.
(3)
Dwelling, Two-family: A building on an individual lot containing two (2) dwelling units, designed for occupancy by not more than two (2) families.
(4)
Dwelling, Multifamily: A building, a portion of a building, or multiple buildings on a single lot, designed for the permanent occupancy of three (3) or more families, regardless of the method of ownership, with the number of families in residence not exceeding the number of dwelling units provided.
(5)
Dwelling, Manufactured home: A factory-built, single-family structure, transportable in one (1) or more sections, subject to federal regulations and constructed after June 15, 1976, which is constructed on a chassis for towing to the point of use, and is not less than nineteen (19) feet in width when assembled, and is set up on a permanent foundation on an individual lot for continuous year-round occupancy as a single-family dwelling when connected to the required utilities.
(6)
Dwelling, Mobile home: A structure, transportable in one (1) or more sections, not subject to federal regulations and constructed prior to June 15, 1976, which is constructed on a chassis for towing to the point of use and designed to be used, with or without permanent foundation, for continuous year-round occupancy as a single-family dwelling when connected to the required utilities.
(7)
Dwelling, Townhouse or rowhouse: A one-family dwelling unit, with its own independent entrance at ground level, which is part of a building consisting of three (3) or more one-family dwelling units, attached horizontally in a linear arrangement and separated by common vertical walls.
Dwelling unit: A room or group of connected rooms occupied or capable of being occupied as an independent and separate housekeeping establishment by only one (1) family, and which contains independent kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping facilities.
Eating establishment: An establishment engaged in the preparation and selling of food to the customer in a ready-to-consume state, and where the customer consumes these foods on or off the premises. An eating establishment does not sell alcoholic beverages. Such establishment may provide, as an accessory function, live performances with only nonelectronic musical instruments or recorded background music and a dance floor not to exceed ten (10) percent of the seating area of the establishment.
Eating and drinking establishment: An eating establishment also having as a function the sale of beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises. Such establishment may provide, as an accessory function, live performances with only nonelectronic musical instruments or recorded background music and a dance floor not to exceed ten (10) percent of the seating area of the establishment.
Educational facilities, Business school or nonindustrial trade school: A specialized instructional establishment that provides on-site training of business, commercial, vocational, or trade skills such as accounting, data processing, computer repair, secretarial skills, barbering or hair dressing, or other trades of a nonindustrial nature, and not otherwise defined as a "college/university educational facility," "elementary/middle/secondary educational facility," or a "home occupation." Incidental instruction services in conjunction with another primary use shall not be considered a business or trade school.
Educational facilities, College/university: An institution providing full-time or part-time education beyond the high school level and authorized by the Commonwealth of Virginia to award associate, bachelor, master, or doctoral degrees. Such use may include lodging or housing for students or faculty.
Educational facilities, Elementary/middle/secondary: A public, private, or parochial school offering instruction at the elementary (kindergarten through grade 5), middle (grades 6 through 8), or secondary (grades 9 through 12) school level in the branches of learning and study required to be taught in the public schools of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Educational facilities, Industrial trade school: A specialized instructional establishment for teaching industrial trade skills in which machinery is employed as a means of instruction. This definition shall not be deemed to include "college/university educational facility," "elementary/middle/secondary educational facility," "home occupation," or incidental instruction services provided in conjunction with another primary use.
Educational facilities, School for the arts: A school where classes in the various fine arts, including painting, sculpting, photography, music, dance, or dramatics are taught, and where such establishment is not otherwise defined as an "elementary/middle/secondary educational facility," "college/university educational facility," "artist studio," or "home occupation."
Elderly: Persons of fifty-five (55) years of age and older.
Entertainment establishment: An establishment where entertainment is provided (including magicians, comedians, dancers, stage performances or music performances by more than one (1) instrument or amplified music including amplified recorded sound and electronic musical instruments), or having a dance floor which occupies more than ten (10) percent of the seating area of the establishment. Entertainment establishments include lounges, discos, nightclubs, private clubs, music or dance establishments, and similar facilities, but do not include "indoor commercial recreational facilities" or "indoor commercial amusement" establishments.
Escort service: Any business, agency, or person who, for a fee, commission, or profit, furnishes or offers to furnish names of persons, or who introduces, furnishes or arranges for persons, who may accompany other persons to or about social affairs, entertainments, or other activities.
Family: The term "family" includes:
(1)
One (1) or more persons occupying a single dwelling unit and living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit, or
(2)
Up to and including eight (8) mentally ill, mentally retarded, or developmentally disabled persons who reside with one (1) or more resident counselors or other staff persons in a residential facility for which the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services is the licensing authority pursuant to the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended.
(3)
Up to and including eight aged, infirm, or disabled persons who reside with one (1) or more resident counselors or other staff persons in a residential facility for which the Department of Social Services is the licensing authority pursuant to the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended.
The word "family" does not refer to more than four (4) persons unrelated by blood, marriage, or adoption except as specifically provided in (2) of this definition. For purposes of this definition, mental illness and developmental disability shall not include current illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance as defined in Section 54.1-3401 of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended.
Family day home: a child day program offered in the residence of the provider or the home of any of the children in care for five (5) through twelve (12) children under the age of thirteen (13), exclusive of the provider's own children and any children who reside in the home, when at least one (1) child receives care for compensation.
Fence: A barrier, railing, or other upright structure, constructed of wood, wire, or other durable and permanent materials.
Financial institution: The provision of financial and banking services to consumers or clients, including banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, lending establishments, and mortgage offices, and which may include their support services such as call centers, training centers, and offices.
Flea market: A market established at a permanent, fixed location, in an open area or within a structure where goods are offered for sale to the general public by independent vendors from open, semi-open, or temporary stalls, tables, or other spaces and where there are ordinarily no long term leases between sellers and operators.
Floor area, gross: The sum of the horizontal areas (floors) of the several stories of a building or buildings, measured from the exterior surfaces of the exterior walls, or in the case of a common wall separating two (2) buildings, from the centerline of such common wall. Gross floor area shall include the total floor area of all buildings situated on a lot. Gross floor area shall include exterior balconies, mezzanines, porches, and attached carports. Gross floor area shall not include interior parking and loading spaces or air spaces above atriums.
Floor area, net: The gross floor area of a building excluding hallways, stairwells, utility rooms, and other areas not meant for habitation or public service. For the purpose of this chapter, net floor area shall equal seventy-five (75) percent of the gross floor area.
Floor area ratio: The gross floor area in square feet of all buildings on a lot divided by the area of such lot in square feet.
Example calculation:
Gross floor area = 20,000 square feet
Total lot area = 10,000 square feet
20,000 square feet divided by 10,000 square feet = 2.0Result: Floor area ratio is 2.0 or 2 to 1.
Fueling station: Any lot, or portion thereof, with fuel pumps and underground storage tanks for the wholesale sales of motor vehicle fuels or oils, generally by contract, or for the fueling of motor vehicles directly associated with a commercial establishment. A fueling station is a stand-alone use which does not include "gasoline stations" or fuel pump areas on the site of a commercial or industrial establishment for purposes of servicing its own fleet of motor vehicles.
Funeral home: An establishment engaged in undertaking services such as preparing the dead for burial and arranging and managing funerals. A funeral home, for purposes of this chapter, includes a funeral chapel, and may include a crematorium as an accessory use.
Gaming establishment: The operation or conducting of any games of chance for the return of money, cash, or prizes, or anything that could be redeemed for money, cash, or prizes. "Gaming establishments" include bingo halls, off-track betting parlors, and the operation of games of chance played with cards or mechanical or electro-mechanical devices. This definition does not apply to the Virginia Lottery or games of chance operated by charitable organizations licensed under the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Garage or carport: A building or roofed structure, accessory to a permitted principal residential structure, and providing for the storage of one (1) or more motor vehicles and in which no business, occupation, or service for profit is conducted.
Gasoline station: Any lot, or portion thereof, with fuel pumps and underground storage tanks for retail sale to the public of motor vehicle fuels or oils, which establishment may include the sale of propane or kerosene as accessory uses.
General service establishment: An establishment primarily engaged in repair or maintenance services to individuals and households, rather than businesses, of household or commercial goods, including appliances, electronics, computers, and similar goods, but excluding "personal service," "business service," or "motor vehicle repair or service" establishments or any use which is otherwise specifically listed in the Use Tables in Article 3 of this chapter.
Glare: Light coming directly from a light source to the eye, hampering vision or causing visual discomfort, resulting from insufficiently shielded or inappropriately aimed light sources in the field of view.
Government offices: Governmental offices providing administrative, clerical, or public contact services that deal directly with the citizen. Typical uses include federal, state, and City offices.
Group care facility: A residential facility or dwelling unit housing persons unrelated by blood, marriage, adoption, or guardianship, including congregate homes, group care homes, halfway houses, nursing homes, and transitional living facilities as defined below:
(1)
Congregate home: A group care facility providing accommodation and supervision to individuals or families where medical care is not a major element and including homes for orphans, foster children, veterans, victims of domestic violence including battered men, women or children, the elderly, pregnant teenagers, nonresident families of hospitalized patients, mentally handicapped, or similar uses.
(2)
Group care home: A group care facility in which more than eight (8) mentally ill, mentally retarded, or developmentally disabled persons reside with one (1) or more resident counselors or other staff persons.
(3)
Halfway house: A group care facility providing accommodation, rehabilitation counseling, and twenty-four (24) hour a day on-site supervision to persons suffering from alcohol or drug addiction, or persons suffering from similar disorders, or persons re-entering society after being released from a correctional facility or other institution.
(4)
Nursing home: A group care facility providing long term accommodation to the elderly, mentally or physically handicapped, or other individuals incapacitated in some manner for medical reasons and where primary or nonprimary medical treatment facilities are a component of the use.
(5)
Transitional living facility: A group care facility providing shelter to the homeless and generally integrated with other social services and counseling programs to assist in the transition to self-sufficiency through the acquisition of a stable income and permanent housing.
Group home:
(1)
A residential facility in which no more than eight (8) individuals with mental illness, intellectual disability, or developmental disabilities reside, with one (1) or more resident or other nonresident staff persons, and for which the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services is the licensing authority pursuant to the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended.
(2)
A residential facility in which no more than eight (8) aged, infirm, or disabled persons reside, with one (1) or more resident or other staff persons, and for which the Department of Social Services is the licensing authority pursuant to the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended.
For purposes of this definition, mental illness and developmental disability shall not include current illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance as defined in Section 54.1-3401 of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended.
Guarantee: A performance bond, letter of credit, or other form of surety acceptable to the City Attorney and the City Director of Finance, which is held or provided as security for the execution, completion, or existence of a requirement of this chapter or a condition imposed with the granting of a special exception.
Hazardous materials facility: An establishment in which the principal activity is the testing, storage, treatment, or disposal of hazardous materials or waste. Such facility may consist of several treatment, storage, or disposal operational units and includes all areas where hazardous materials or waste may be received, stored, handled, or processed. For purposes of this definition, hazardous materials or waste means any refuse or discarded material or combinations of refuse or discarded materials in solid, semisolid, liquid, or gaseous form which cannot be handled by routine waste management techniques because they pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or other living organisms because of their chemical, geological, or physical properties. This use type shall not include uses in which the storage or disposal of hazardous materials is accessory and incidental to the principal use.
Health and fitness center: An establishment designed and equipped for the conduct of recreational sports, physical exercise, leisure time activities, or other usual recreational activities, and open to members and guests or open to the public for a fee. Such establishments may offer classes or instruction in such activities as physical exercise, weight training, marital arts, or weight control and include such facilities and equipment as handball courts, basketball courts, squash or racquetball courts, gymnasiums, tennis courts, swimming pools, cardio exercise apparatus, or weight training equipment.
Heat island: An urban area in which a greater amount of heat is retained, as by impervious surface, than in nearby areas.
Height of structure: The vertical distance measured from the average ground level on all sides of the structure to the level of the highest point of the roof or top of a structure having a flat roof, or the mean level between the eaves and the highest point of the roof of a structure having a pitched roof. Fence or wall height shall be measured as the vertical distance from the average level of the ground adjacent to the fence or the wall to the top of the highest projection.
Home occupation: An occupation conducted as an accessory use within a dwelling unit or within an accessory structure located on the same lot as the dwelling unit, and conducted by the resident thereof, provided that the use is limited in extent and incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling unit for residential purposes and does not change the character of the dwelling unit or the lot on which the dwelling unit is located.
Homestay: An establishment that offers for compensation a portion of any dwelling unit for overnight stays to guests, and not meeting the definition of a bed and breakfast.
Hospital: An institution, licensed by the State department of health, providing primary health services and medical or surgical care to persons, primarily in-patients, suffering from illness, disease, injury, deformity, or other abnormal physical or mental conditions, and including as an integral part of the institution, related facilities such as laboratories, outpatient facilities, or training facilities. A hospital complex may include an eating establishment, medical transport related heliports, physical therapy, employee housing, temporary patient or patient family housing, and shops for medical equipment, pharmaceutical supplies, gifts, books, magazines, toiletries, flowers, candy, or similar items, provided such uses are primarily for the benefit of patients, staff, and visitors.
Hotel or motel: A building or group of buildings in which lodging units are provided and offered to the public for compensation, which is open to transient guests on an overnight or weekly basis, and which is not a "boarding house" or "group care facility" as defined in this chapter. Such uses include furnished rooms, a lobby, clerk's desk or counter, facilities for registration, and daily linen and housekeeping services. A hotel or motel is designed, used, or intended, wholly or in part, for the accommodation of travelers on a temporary basis.
Impervious surface: Any man-made surface or material that does not readily absorb water or that substantially reduces or prevents the infiltration of stormwater. For purposes of this chapter, impervious surfaces shall include, without limitation, roofs, private streets, decks, sidewalks, outdoor storage areas, and parking and other areas paved with asphalt, concrete, compacted sand, compacted gravel, or clay.
Impervious surface ratio: That portion of a lot or zoning district which, when viewed from directly above, would be covered by any impervious surface. Compacted gravel parking areas shall be considered impervious for the purpose of calculating impervious surface ratio, unless specially designed to remain pervious as documented by an engineer. Impervious surface ratio (percentage) shall be calculated by dividing the area of impervious surface (in square feet) by the total area of the lot (in square feet).
Example calculation:
Area of impervious surface = 10,000 square feet
Total lot area = 20,000 square feet
10,000 square feet divided by 20,000 square feet = .50Result: Impervious surface ratio = 50%
Improved street or improved alley: A street or alley that has a paved surface that conforms to Section 31.1-400 of this Code.
Inoperative vehicle: Any motor vehicle on which valid license plates or a valid inspection decal is not displayed, or any motor vehicle which has been wrecked, partially or totally dismantled, or disassembled, such that the vehicle cannot be lawfully operated on a public street.
Internet sales establishment: A retail sales establishment that solely operates through online, mail order, or similar customer interaction. There is no storefront for the purchase of goods or other means of direct pickup of products by customers at the facility.
Janitorial services establishment: An establishment engaged in the cleaning of dwellings, offices, or places of business, and rendering such service on a fee or contract basis.
Junkyard: Property which is maintained, operated, or used for the collecting, storing, buying, or selling of scrap material or similar waste or other salvage or discarded materials, including used building materials, machinery, scrap metals, or other scrap materials and similar items, but not including motor vehicles or trailers, or parts thereof. "Junkyard" shall not include the processing or treatment of such "junk" for recycling purposes.
Kennel: The keeping, raising, breeding, training, showing, renting, selling, or boarding of dogs or cats. Such activity shall not be considered a kennel where accessory to a principal residential use, provided that not more than four (4) dogs or four (4) cats, or six (6) cats if such six (6) cats have been spayed or neutered, exceeding six (6) months of age are kept.
Laboratory, dental, medical, or optical: An establishment primarily engaged in bacteriological, biological, x-ray, pathological, or similar analytical or diagnostic services to medical doctors or dentists, and the production, fitting, or sale of optical or prosthetic appliances.
Laboratory, testing and research: An establishment primarily engaged in performing scientific research or testing activities in technological fields. Typical uses include biotechnology laboratories, engineering laboratories, environmental laboratories for the analysis of air, water, and soil, and pharmaceutical laboratories only involved in research and development. Excluded from this use are any laboratories which mass produce one (1) or more products directly for the consumer market.
Laundromat: A facility where patrons, for a fee, wash, dry, or dry clean clothing or other fabrics in machines operated by the patron.
Library: A public facility for the use of literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials.
Limousine service: The business of offering the public motor vehicles for carrying or transportation of passengers between the airport and points within the City for a fixed charge or fee, or offering a motor vehicle with driver for a fixed charge for transportation of passengers at an hourly rate. Such business may include facilities for servicing, repairing, and fueling the limousines.
Live-work unit: A structure or portion of a structure combining a residential living space with an integrated workspace principally used by the resident.
Loading area: An area provided for bulk pickups, deliveries, and refuse collection, including any related aisle, loading spaces, ingress and egress lanes, and driveways but not including any part of a public right-of-way or public street.
Loading space: Space provided for bulk pickups, deliveries, and refuse collection, scaled to delivery vehicles expected to be used, and accessible to such vehicles when required parking spaces are filled.
Lot or zoning lot: For purposes of this chapter, a lot or zoning lot is a clearly defined parcel of land identified on a plat of record, fronting on a public street or an approved private street within a planned unit development, and having sufficient area and dimensions to meet minimum zoning district requirements for area, frontage, use, and coverage, and to provide such yards and other open space as required by the respective zoning district regulations. In this chapter, the terms "lot" and "zoning lot" have the same meaning and may be used interchangeably. A lot may consist of combinations of contiguous lots of record or portions of lots so recorded, provided that in no case of subdivision or combination shall any residual lot, portion of lot, or parcel be created which does not meet the requirements of this chapter. Lots include the following specific types:
(1)
Corner lot: A lot located at the intersection of two (2) or more streets.
(2)
Interior lot: A lot with only one (1) frontage on a street.
(3)
Through lot: A lot which has frontages on two (2) streets that do not intersect at the boundaries of the lot.
Lot area: The total square footage or acreage of land within the boundaries of a lot.
Lot frontage: The horizontal linear dimension between the side lot lines measured from the points where the side lot lines intersect a street right-of-way. All sides of a lot that abut such streets shall be considered frontage.
Lumberyard: An area used for the storage, distribution, and sale of finished or rough-cut lumber and lumber products, but not including the manufacture or fabrication of lumber, lumber products, or firewood.
Manufactured home: See "Dwelling."
Manufacturing—Beverage or food processing: A facility where beverages or foods, excluding poultry and animal slaughtering and dressing, are processed and packaged for local, regional, or national distribution. Bottling facilities are included in this use type.
Manufacturing—General: An establishment engaged in the processing, fabrication, assembly, or mixing of materials to create a new product, and the incidental storage, sales, and distribution of such products, but excluding any use or establishment which is otherwise listed specifically in the Use Tables in Article 3 of this chapter.
Manufacturing—Wood products: A facility where logs or partially processed cants are sawn, split, shaved, stripped, chipped, or otherwise processed to produce wood products. This use type includes lumber mills, sawmills, and planing mills.
Mechanical equipment: Heating, ventilating, air conditioning, or power generation equipment.
Medical clinic: An establishment in which doctors, dentists, or other practitioners licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia provide health care services to clients, including medical or health-related physical or massage therapy, counseling, diagnoses, or treatment, exclusively on an outpatient basis. "Medical clinics" provide outpatient care on a routine basis, and may offer minor surgical care, but do not provide overnight care or serve as a base for an ambulance service. For purposes of this definition, "medical clinic" does not include "outpatient mental health and substance abuse clinics."
Meeting hall: A building designed for public assembly for special events or regularly scheduled programs, and available to the general public for a fee. "Meeting hall" includes banquet halls, reception halls, and wedding halls.
Microbrewery or microdistillery: An establishment which is engaged in the manufacture of beer or spirits and which may include the retail sales and on-site consumption of beverages. The maximum building footprint for this use is fifteen thousand (15,000) square feet, thus distinguishing it from the "manufacturing-beverage or food processing" industrial use by its smaller scale.
Mini-warehouse: An enclosed storage facility containing cubicles designed to provide independent, individual, fully enclosed storage space, for lease to individuals for long-term storage of their household goods or personal property, where each cubicle is enclosed by walls and ceiling, and where each cubicle has a separate entrance for the loading and unloading of stored goods. Such facilities are also called self-service storage facilities.
Mixed-use building: A single building containing more than one (1) type of land use permitted within a zoning district, including residential, commercial, and office.
Mobile home: See "Dwelling unit."
Mobile food vending: the preparation or sale of food or beverage from a motor vehicle, trailer or cart capable of being readily moved.
Motor freight terminal or truck terminal: A facility for the receipt, transfer, short-term storage, and dispatching of goods transported by truck. Loading and unloading is carried on regularly, and minor maintenance of the truck fleet is performed. Included in the use type are mail or package distribution facilities as well as motor freight companies regulated by the public utility commission or the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Motor vehicle: Any vehicle which is self-propelled or designed for self-propulsion. Any device designed, used, or maintained primarily to be loaded on or affixed to a motor vehicle to provide a mobile dwelling, a sleeping place, storage, or office or commercial space shall be considered a part of a motor vehicle.
Motor vehicle or trailer painting and body repair: Any facility, or portion thereof, used for the repair, replacement, or straightening of a motor vehicle body or frame or painting of motor vehicles. Mechanical service and engine repair may be performed as an ancillary function of the body work.
Motor vehicle rental establishment: Establishments engaged exclusively in the rental of motor vehicles, including incidental parking and servicing of vehicles for rent or lease, and may include the sale of rental inventory. Commercial motor vehicles shall not be included in the inventory of a motor vehicle rental establishment, except for trucks and trailers serving the purpose of household do-it-yourself movers. Typical uses include motor vehicle rental agencies and truck and trailer rentals for moving household personal property.
Motor vehicle repair or service establishment: An establishment primarily engaged in the repair or maintenance of motor vehicles or trailers, including the sale, installation, and servicing of equipment and parts. Typical uses include oil and lubrication services, tire sales and installation, wheel alignment and brake shops, repair and replacement of cooling, electrical, fuel, and exhaust systems, replacement of batteries, and similar repair and services activities where minor repairs and routine maintenance are conducted; repair garages, transmission shops, major engine repair, and radiator shops where major engine and transmission repair activities are conducted; motor vehicle upholstery repair or replacement; and motor vehicle radio or stereo system installation or service. For purposes of this chapter, the definition of motor vehicle repair and service establishments does not include "motor vehicle or trailer painting and body repair."
Motor vehicle sales and service establishment, New: An establishment whose activities include the display, sale, or lease of new and used motor vehicles or trailers, and new and used commercial motor vehicles not exceeding twenty-six thousand (26,000) pounds empty gross weight, and the performance of any repair or maintenance work of such motor vehicles and commercial motor vehicles, including painting and body repair, and financial services conducted as an accessory use to the sales establishment. The exterior display of motor vehicle inventory for sale or lease shall be considered an outdoor showroom for customers to examine and compare products and as such shall not be considered "outdoor storage" for purposes of this chapter, provided such exterior display is limited to such motor vehicle inventory, is accessible to the general public, and does not include damaged motor vehicles, motor vehicles or equipment being serviced, materials or parts, or similar products.
Motor vehicle sales and service establishment, Used: An establishment which engages in only the display of three (3) or more used motor vehicles or trailers for sale or lease, and may engage in the repair or maintenance of such motor vehicles or trailers, but does not engage in the sale, lease, repair, or maintenance of commercial motor vehicles. The exterior display of motor vehicle inventory for sale or lease shall not be considered "outdoor storage" for purposes of this chapter, provided such exterior display is limited to such motor vehicle inventory, is accessible to the general public, and does not include damaged motor vehicles, motor vehicles or equipment being serviced, materials or parts, or similar products.
Museum: An establishment for preserving and exhibiting artistic, historical, scientific, natural, or man-made objects of interest. Such activity may include the sale of objects collected and memorabilia, the sale of craftwork and artwork, boutiques, and the holding of meetings and social events.
Nursery or greenhouse, commercial: A retail establishment whose exclusive activity is the sale of plants, shrubs, and trees and the sale of any article, substance, or commodity related to such planting, maintenance, or harvesting such as packaged fertilizers, soils, chemicals, or other nursery goods or products in small quantities to the consumer. Such establishment may conduct its activities both within an enclosed building and outside in the open. The exterior display of inventory for sale shall not be considered "outdoor storage" for purposes of this chapter.
Office, general: An establishment primarily engaged in providing administrative, clerical, and other services not involving the manufacture, assembly, storage, display, or direct retail sale of goods, and not including medical services. Typical uses include real estate, insurance, management, tax preparation, call centers, data processing, computer software development, travel or other business offices, and organization and association offices.
Office, professional: An establishment primarily engaged in the conduct of professional business by professional persons as defined herein but not including medical services. For purposes of this definition, a professional person is a person who practices an occupation in which some department of science or learning is applied to affairs of others, either advising or guiding them, or otherwise serving their interests or welfare in the practice of an art founded on such knowledge. The word professional implies attainments in knowledge as distinguished from mere skill and the application of such knowledge to serve others. Professional person may include an attorney, accountant, professional engineer, architect, surveyor, financial planner, landscape architect, or planner, but shall not include medical- or healthcare-related practitioners licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Office, general or professional, Large scale: A general or professional office for which the gross floor area of any building provides at least ten thousand (10,000) square feet of gross floor area dedicated exclusively to the general or professional office use.
Open space, usable: Open space within or directly related to a multifamily residential development or a Planned Unit Development which is designed and intended for the common use and enjoyment of the residents of the development, or employees of such Planned Unit Development. Such open space is land not covered by parking, driveways, buildings, or storm water management facilities, except that it may contain structures of a recreational nature (such as picnic shelters, gazebos, swimming pools, tennis courts, and the like). Usable open space shall consist of open areas of such a size that the smallest dimension is not less than fifteen (15) feet and is of such configuration to allow for the conduct of outdoor activities. Yards required by this chapter, which meet the foregoing dimensions, may be included in the allocation and calculation of usable open space. Other open or landscaped areas with a dimension of less than fifteen (15) feet in any direction shall not be credited to the usable open space requirement for the development.
Outdoor display area: The placement of goods or merchandise for sale or for advertisement, outside of the building or structure in which the merchandise is normally sold. For purposes of this definition, motor vehicle inventory for sale or lease, motor vehicle rental inventory, motor vehicle and commercial motor vehicle fleets associated with a business establishment, the inventory of a nursery or commercial greenhouse, and the inventory of a storage building sales establishment shall not be considered an "outdoor display area."
Outdoor storage: The keeping or storing, other than in a wholly enclosed building, of any goods, items, materials, or merchandise. "Outdoor storage" shall be permitted only as an accessory use where allowed by this chapter. For purposes of this definition, motor vehicle inventory for sale or lease, motor vehicle rental inventory, motor vehicle and commercial motor vehicle fleets associated with a business establishment, the inventory of a nursery or commercial greenhouse, and the inventory of a storage building sales establishment shall not be considered "outdoor storage."
Outpatient mental health and substance abuse clinic: An establishment which provides outpatient services primarily related to the treatment of mental health disorders, alcohol, or other drug or substance abuse disorders, which services include the dispensing and administering of controlled substances and pharmaceutical products by professional medical practitioners as licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Overlay district: A zoning district established by this chapter to prescribe special regulations to be applied to a lot in combination with, and supplemental to, the underlying or base district.
Paintball facility: An establishment engaged in the provision of a field or facility designated for the use of pneumatic paintball guns for recreational use. A pneumatic paintball gun means a paintball gun that expels by action of pneumatic pressure plastic balls filled with paint for the purpose of marking the point of impact.
Park: An area that is predominantly open space, used primarily for active or passive recreation, and not used for a profit-making purpose.
Parking area: An area provided for the temporary storage of motor vehicles, including any related aisles, parking spaces, ingress and egress lanes, and private garages but not including any part of a public right-of-way or public street.
Parking lot: A surface parking area for motor vehicles where there is no gross building area below the parking area and no gross building area or roof above it, and which provides one (1) or more parking spaces together with driveways, aisles, turning and maneuvering areas, incorporated landscaped areas, and similar features meeting the requirements established by this chapter. For the purposes of this definition, a "parking lot" includes a "parking lot facility" and a parking lot which is accessory to a permitted principal use.
Parking lot facility: Use of a site for a parking lot unrelated to a specific use. A "parking lot facility" does not include parking lots accessory to a permitted principal use.
Parking, off-site: Off-street parking which is located on a separate lot from the lot containing the use which the parking is intended to serve.
Parking space, off-street: A space on premises rather than on the street for the parking of one (1) motor vehicle conforming to the parking area standards of this chapter. For purposes of this definition, motor vehicle inventory for sale or lease, motor vehicle rental inventory, or motor vehicle and commercial motor vehicle fleets associated with a business establishment shall not be considered an "off-street parking space."
Parking structure: A structure, or portion thereof, composed of one (1) or more levels or floors used exclusively for the parking or storage of operable motor vehicles. A parking structure may be totally below grade (as in an underground parking garage) or either partially or totally above grade with those levels being either open or enclosed. For purposes of this definition, a "parking structure" includes a "parking structure facility" and a parking structure which is accessory to a permitted principal use.
Parking structure facility: Use of a site for a parking structure unrelated to a specific use. A "parking structure facility" does not include parking structures accessory to a permitted principal use.
Permeable pavement system: A system consisting of a surface pavement layer that allows water to pass through it into an underlying reservoir layer specifically designed to temporarily store runoff and either release it slowly or allow it to infiltrate into the subsoil. Such a system may include pervious concrete, porous asphalt, permeable grid pavers, or concrete pavers.
Personal service establishment: An establishment primarily engaged in the provision of frequent or recurrent needed individual services generally related to personal needs, such as the care of a person or a person's apparel, or the training and development of a person, including barber shops, beauty shops, nail salons, tanning salons, dressmakers and tailors, shoe repair shops, art or music lessons, and the like, but not including medical services, tattoo parlors, or body piercing establishments or any use which is otherwise specifically listed in the Use Tables in Article 3 of this chapter.
Personal service home occupation: A home occupation that generally provides services to an individual client related to the care of a person, a person's apparel, or the training and development of a person, including, but not limited to, beauty or barber shops, nail salons, dressmakers or tailors, music or art lessons, photography or portrait painting, and tutoring, but not including medical services, tattoo parlors, or body piercing establishments.
Pet crematorium: An establishment in which the principal activity is the cremation of domestic animals, and where all such activity occurs wholly enclosed in a building. For purposes of this definition, "domestic animals" shall include dogs and cats only.
Pet grooming: An establishment where, for a fee, domestic animals are bathed, clipped, or combed or brushed for the purpose of enhancing their aesthetic value or health, and where all such activity occurs wholly enclosed in a building. For purposes of this definition, "domestic animals" shall include dogs and cats only.
Petition: The completed form(s), with all documents, exhibits, and fees required of a petitioner for an appeal to the City Council or Circuit Court as provided for in this chapter.
Petitioner: The party filing a petition of appeal to the City Council or Circuit Court as provided for in this chapter.
Place of worship: Any structure principally used as an assembly place for religious worship, including churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, and similar buildings, and including accessory uses customarily associated with such primary purpose such as parish houses, religious education buildings, convents, columbaria, cemeteries located on the same lot, bookstores inside the church building, and child care on the premises during worship services. "Elementary/middle/secondary educational facilities," "child day care center," "adult day care center," and "supply pantry" are not considered customary accessory uses for purposes of this definition.
Playground: Land which is improved with recreation equipment and facilities, such as swings, gym bars, and similar equipment, for the purpose of active recreation.
Portable storage container: A portable, weather-resistant receptacle designed and used for the storage or shipment of items, including, but not limited to, household goods, furniture, wares, building materials, equipment, or merchandise. The term shall not include dumpsters or refuse containers.
Post office: Postal services directly available to the consumer operated by the United States Postal Service for the purpose of a specific zip code area. Such facilities include service windows for mailing packages and letters, post office boxes, offices, and motor vehicle storage areas.
Primary entrance: An entrance designed as the principal entrance to a building, or one (1) of multiple principal entrances to a building, when more than one (1) such entrance is present. The primary entrance is an easily recognizable entrance located on the primary building façade that is accessible to all users of the building including, but not limited to, employees, residents, members, and patrons during regular business hours.
Primary street frontage: The lot frontage toward which the development on a lot is generally oriented.
Principal structure: A structure in which the primary use of the lot on which the structure is located is conducted.
Principal use: The main use of land or structures as distinguished from a secondary or accessory use.
Quarry: A lot or land, or portion thereof, used for the purpose of extracting stone, sand, gravel, clay, or top soil for sale, except where such excavation is for purposes of grading for a building lot or roadway. The extraction of minerals and sand and gravel operations are included in this definition.
Recreation, indoor: The provision of recreation facilities which are predominantly participatory uses, and which are located and conducted entirely within a building. Typical uses include tennis or other racquet courts, swimming pools, bowling alleys, ice skating or roller skating rinks, batting cages, paintball facilities, climbing walls, or similar recreation uses. "Indoor commercial recreation" establishments may include accessory uses, such as snack bars, pro shops, and locker rooms, which are designed and intended primarily for the use of patrons of the principal recreational use. "Indoor recreation" establishments shall not include any use which is otherwise specifically listed in the Use Tables in Article 3 of this chapter.
Recreation, outdoor: The provision of recreation facilities which are predominantly participatory uses, and which are conducted in open or partially enclosed or screened facilities. Typical uses include swimming pools, tennis or other outdoor racquet courts, basketball courts, athletic fields, batting cages, driving ranges, skateboarding courses, or similar recreation uses. "Outdoor recreation" facilities may include any accessory uses, such as snack bars, pro shops and clubhouses, which are designed and intended primarily for the use of patrons of the principal recreational use. "Outdoor recreation" facilities shall not include paintball fields or areas, go-cart or motorcycle courses, raceways, drag strips, overnight camping, or gun-firing ranges, or any use which is otherwise specifically listed in the Use Tables in Article 3 of this chapter.
Recreational vehicle: A vehicle which can be towed, hauled, or driven, designed and used as temporary living accommodations for recreational, camping, or travel uses only. Recreational vehicles shall include travel trailers, pickup campers, motor homes, tent trailers, or similar devices for temporary mobile housing.
Recycling center: A facility for the collection and processing of recoverable resources, such as paper, glass, metal, and plastic products, to return them to a condition in which they can be reused for production. "Processing" means the preparation of material for shipment to a site for remanufacturing into new products or the actual processing or treating for reuse by such means as baling, briquetting, compacting, flattening, grinding, crushing, mechanical sorting, shredding, cleaning and remanufacturing. This term does not include the salvaging and recycling of motor vehicles or trailers, or parts thereof.
Recycling collection point: An accessory use, structure, or movable container, that serves as a drop-off point for the temporary holding of recyclable materials, such as paper, cardboard, glass, metal, or plastic, or donated goods, such as clothing, furnishings, or other personal or household items, prior to delivery to a broker or user of such materials. Such use, structure, or movable container, is intended for household or consumer use and does not include use by commercial or industrial establishments or the permanent storage or processing of such items.
Resident manager apartment: A single dwelling unit which is accessory and subordinate to the principal permitted use and which is designated for use only by the resident manager or security personnel of such principal permitted use. Such dwelling unit shall not be sold, leased, or rented for other purposes.
Retail sales establishment: An establishment engaged in the sale or rental of goods, merchandise, or products directly to the consumer and including the incidental service of such merchandise. Retail sales establishments include warehouse clubs, grocery stores, florists, convenience stores, department stores, furniture stores, electronics stores, appliance stores, clothing stores, jewelry stores, drugstores, photo finishing services and supplies, picture framing, art galleries, bookstores, shoe stores, automobile parts and supplies store, antique stores, stationery stores, and similar retail establishments but shall not include any use or establishment which is otherwise listed specifically in the Use Tables in Article 3 of this chapter.
Retail sales establishment—Large appliances, furniture, household fixtures, swimming pools: A retail sales establishment pri
marily characterized by large showrooms and floor samples, and where the retail sale is generally followed by delivery to the home, and which may include installation of the purchased item. Such establishments include stores primarily engaged in the sale of large appliances such as refrigerators, ovens, washers, and dryers, furniture stores, stores primarily engaged in the retail sale of household fixtures such as bathroom fixtures, carpeting or other floor coverings, or lighting, and the retail sale of swimming pools, hot tubs, or spas. Such retail sales establishment shall not include any use or establishment otherwise listed specifically in the Use Tables in Article 3 of this chapter.
Retaining wall: A wall or terraced combination of walls designed to retain or restrain lateral forces of soil, such soil being similar in height to the height of the wall, and where such retaining wall is of a height no greater than that necessary to serve such stated purpose and is not used to support, provide a foundation for, or provide a wall for a building or other structure.
River rock: Stone intended for decorative ground cover, characterized by a rounded grain shape and having a grain diameter of no less than 3/16 of an inch.
Satellite dish antenna: An antenna in the shape of a shallow dish, and appurtenant equipment, used for the direct reception of broadcast signals from orbiting satellites.
Screening: A method of visually obscuring one abutting or nearby structure or use from another by fencing, walls, or densely planted vegetation. Screening is intended to substantially, but not necessarily totally, obscure visual impacts between adjoining uses, structures, or facilities.
Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation: The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, as codified in 36 CFR 67 (U.S. Department of Interior regulations), and Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resource Stewardship and Partnerships, Heritage Preservation Services, 1995), as amended.
Self-storage building: A building that contains enclosed storage units leased for long-term storage of personal property, where access to each unit is provided from the interior of the building.
Self-storage facility: A facility designed to provide enclosed storage units for long-term storage of personal property, where each unit has exterior access, and which may include outdoor storage.
Setback: The distance from a property line to the closet projection of a structure or from the closest projection of one structure to the closest projection of another structure.
Short-term rental: An accommodation for transient guests where, in exchange for compensation, a dwelling unit is provided for lodging for thirty (30) days or less and which is not a "boarding house" or "group care facility" as defined in this chapter. Such use may or may not include an on-site manager. For the purposes of this definition, a dwelling unit shall include only dwelling, single family, attached; dwelling single-family detached; dwelling, two-family; dwelling multifamily; dwelling townhouse or rowhouse; and accessory apartment, and shall exclude other group living or other lodging uses specifically listed or defined in this chapter.
Sight distance triangle: A sight distance triangle shall mean a triangular area illustrated by dashed lines in the diagram below:
Sign: Any object, device, structure, or fixture, or portion thereof, which is used to announce, advertise, identify, display, or direct or attract attention to an object, person, institution, organization, business, product, goods, service, special promotion, activity, event, or location. The means used to direct or attract attention include, without limitation, objects, devices, fixtures, words, letters, numerals, graphics, figures, emblems, designs, illustration, decoration, symbols, logos, trademarks, colors, or projected illumination or images. For definitions associated with signs, see Section 36.2-662.
Solar energy system: An energy system that consists of one or more solar collection devices, solar energy related "balance of system" equipment, and other associated infrastructure with the primary intention of generating electricity, storing electricity, or otherwise converting solar energy to a different form of energy. Solar energy systems shall be the primary source of on-site energy, but may generate energy in excess of the energy requirements of a property. Solar panels shall not be considered mechanical equipment for purposes of screening and buffering.
Solid waste collection or transfer station: Any storage or collection facility where solid waste, rubbish, garbage, or any like materials are regularly shifted, transferred, transloaded, or moved from one carrier, conveyance, or form of transport to any other carrier, conveyance, or form of transport.
Sports stadium, arena, or coliseum: A large open or enclosed space specifically designed as a place of public assembly for viewing sporting events or other special entertainment events, including concerts, and where such field or court is partly or completely surrounded by tiers of seats for spectators.
Stable, commercial: The boarding, breeding, or raising of horses or ponies not owned by the owner or occupant of the property or the riding of horses or ponies by other than the owner or occupant of the property and their nonpaying guests. Riding academies, where instruction in riding, jumping, and showing of horses is offered, and where horses may be hired for riding, are included in this definition.
Stable, private: The keeping, breeding, or raising of horses or ponies exclusively for the personal use and enjoyment of the owner or occupant of the property or the riding of horses or ponies by the owner or occupant of the property and their guests, which stable is accessory to a single-family detached dwelling.
Stockade fence: A fence constructed of vertical wood or vinyl strips, with no intervening spaces, providing a complete visual barrier.
Storefront: That portion of the ground floor of a nonresidential building consisting of an entryway and windows, and that is leased to or occupied by an individual tenant, business, or other entity.
Street: Any public way (or private way as may be applicable in a PUD or an established private way upon which a lot or lots have frontage) for vehicular and pedestrian traffic which provides the primary means of access to lots.
Structure: Anything which is constructed or erected with a fixed location on the ground, or attached to something having a fixed location on the ground, including buildings, walls, fences, signs, manufactured homes, swimming pools (in-ground and aboveground), patios, parking areas and loading areas. Constructed or erected with a fixed location shall mean an item that is stationary and that cannot be readily moved without special equipment.
Studio/multimedia production facility: A facility for the staging and recording of video or audio productions such as commercials, film, programs, or music videos.
Supply pantry: An establishment engaged in the provision or sale of food, clothing, or other essential items at no charge or for less than fair market value where no on-premises consumption of the items being distributed occurs. Such establishments may commonly be referred to as "food banks," "thrift stores," or "clothes banks."
Tattoo parlor: An establishment which offers or practices the placement of designs, letters, scrolls, figure, symbols, or any other kind of marks upon or under the skin of a person with ink or any other substance, resulting in permanent coloration or marking of the skin, by the aid of needles or other instruments designed to touch or puncture the skin, except when performed by a medical doctor or other medical services personnel licensed pursuant to Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended, in the performance of his or her professional duties.
Taxicab business: A service that offers transportation in passenger motor vehicles to persons in return for a fee determined by meter or zone. Such business may include facilities for servicing, repairing, and fueling the taxicabs.
Temporary family health care structure: A transportable residential structure, providing an environment facilitating a caregiver's provision of care for a mentally or physically impaired person, and which has been primarily assembled at a location other than the site of installation. The term caregiver means an adult who provides care for a mentally or physically impaired person within the Commonwealth and the caregiver shall be either related by blood, marriage, or adoption to, or shall be the legally appointed guardian of, the mentally or physically impaired person for whom care is being provided.
Towing service: An establishment whose activities include the recovery, removal, and temporary storage of motor vehicles or trailers, but does not include the dismantling, demolition, repair, or salvage of such motor vehicles or trailers, or any part of such motor vehicles or trailers.
Trailer: Any vehicle without motive power designed for carrying property wholly on its own structure and for being drawn by a motor vehicle.
Transient guest: Any person who, for thirty (30) days or fewer, either at his or her own expense or at the expense of another, obtains lodging in a dwelling unit or hotel or motel as defined in this chapter.
Transparency, façade: Portion of a building façade constructed of a transparent material.
Transparent material: Material capable of transmitting light so that objects or images can be seen as if there were no intervening material.
Trellis: A structure usually made from interwoven pieces of wood, bamboo, or metal that is made to support a climbing plant or plants. It is usually constructed of long, narrow wood or metal slats that are crisscrossed to produce square or diamond-shaped spaces.
Use: The specific purpose for which land, water, or a structure is designed, arranged, intended, or for which it is or may be occupied or maintained.
Utility: Any person, firm, corporation, municipal agency, or authority duly authorized to furnish to the public, under regulation, electricity, gas, storm water drains, water, sewerage collection and treatment, steam, cable television, or telephone.
Utility distribution or collection, basic: Linear utility features for distribution of utility service to the customer, including electric power lines, water lines, ground water wells, sewer lines, telephone lines, cable television lines, and natural gas lines, and other distribution linear features including transformers and relay and booster devices.
Utility distribution or collection, transitional: Linear utility features for the compression, "step-down of voltage," switching, storage, or other similar function of a utility service that is necessary for distribution of the utility service directly to the customer, including electric or gas compressor substations, water or sewer pump or lift stations, and storage facilities such as water storage tanks.
Utility generation or treatment: Gas or electric generation plants, solid waste collection or transfer station, sewage treatment facility, or water treatment facility.
Utility maintenance and service facility: A utility facility supporting maintenance, repair, motor vehicle or equipment servicing, material storage, and similar activities associated with the provision of utility services, including storage yards and equipment service centers.
Utility service lateral or service line: The linear line of a utility extending from a utility's "common network" distribution line or transformer to the customer's property line or point of delivery in order to provide service connection to the customer. For purposes of this definition, "point of delivery" shall mean the point where facilities owned, leased, or under license by a customer connect to the utility's facilities.
Variance: 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 zoning 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.
Veterinary clinic: See "Animal hospital."
Visually opaque: A vertical surface characterized by a solid material through which no visual images can be seen. For purposes of "visually opaque" fencing, the openings of such fence, with gates closed, shall not exceed two (2) percent of any one (1) square foot of vertical fence surface area that is more than eight (8) inches above grade, nor shall any opening exceed one-half (½) inch in width.
Warehouse: A structure, or portion thereof, used for the storage and inventory of goods, materials, or merchandise. Such uses may include the wholesale distribution of such goods, a storage facility for inventory ultimately to be distributed directly to the customer, or a moving/storage firm facility.
Welding or machine shop: An establishment in which machines, machine parts, or other metal products are fabricated.
Wildlife rescue shelter or refuge area: A facility or area maintained for the welfare, protection, and preservation of wildlife species.
Wind turbine, commercial: A device constructed for the purpose of generating supplemental electricity from wind power. Such device may be either freestanding or building-mounted.
Wind turbine, small: A device constructed for the purpose of generating supplemental electricity from wind power. Such device is intended to be building-mounted.
Workshop: An establishment engaged in the assembly, fabrication, or manufacture of materials to create a new product, or the repair of such products, where the activity occurs within a wholly-enclosed building. Such use may include furniture making and repair, cabinetry, assembly of textiles, garment production and repair, assembly of electronics, florists, jewelrymaking, metalwork, or similar activities, and may include the retail sale of goods produced.
Wrecker yard: Any area or lot, or portions of a lot, which activities include the recovery, removal, and temporary storage of inoperative or damaged motor vehicles or trailers for dismantling, demolition, repair, salvage, or sale of such inoperative or damaged motor vehicles or trailers, or part of such motor vehicles or trailers, but whose activities do not include the sale of gasoline or the sale of new motor vehicles or trailers.
Yard: An open space, on the same zoning lot as a use or structure, which space is unoccupied and unobstructed from thirty (30) inches above the graded ground level to the sky, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. A yard extends along a lot line and to a depth or width specified in the yard requirements for the zoning district in which such zoning lot is located, with such depth or width being measured from the lot line on which the principal structure is located to the closest projection of the principal structure.
Yard, established front: A yard provided between a front lot line and either the building line or the façade of a building that faces the front lot line.
Yard, front: A yard extending between side lot lines across the front of a lot adjoining a street, the depth of which is the horizontal distance between the front lot line and a line parallel thereto on the lot, as required by the respective zoning district regulations.
Yard, rear: A yard extending along the full length of the rear lot line and back to a line drawn parallel to the rear lot line at a distance equal to the depth specified in the yard requirements for the zoning district in which such lot is located.
Yard, side: A yard extending from the real line of the required front yard (the setback line) to the rear lot line, at a depth required by the respective zoning district regulations, unless otherwise provided for in the supplemental regulations.
Zoning Administrator: The Zoning Administrator of the City of Roanoke, Virginia, or an authorized agent or designee thereof.
Zoo: An area, structure, enclosure, or premises which contains two (2) or more wild animals on exhibition for viewing by the public. Such use may include accessory retail and service establishments and grounds.
(Ord. No. 37633, § 19, 11-20-06; Ord. No. 37984, § 8, 12-17-07; Ord. No. 38237, § 7, 9-15-08; Ord. No. 38423, § 2, 4-20-09; Ord. No. 39122, § 1, 5-16-11; Ord. No. 39495, § 1, 9-4-12; Ord. No. 40088, § 1, 10-20-14; Ord. No. 40296, § 1, 7-6-15; Ord. No. 40710, § 1, 12-5-16; Ord. No. 41173, § 1, 6-18-18)
(Ord. No. 37633, § 19, 11-20-06; Ord. No. 37984, § 8, 12-17-07; Ord. No. 38237, § 7, 9-15-08; Ord. No. 38423, § 2, 4-20-09; Ord. No. 39122, § 1, 5-16-11; Ord. No. 39495, § 1, 9-4-12; Ord. No. 40088, § 1, 10-20-14; Ord. No. 40296, § 1, 7-6-15; Ord. No. 40710, § 1, 12-5-16; Ord. No. 41173, § 1, 6-18-18)