§ 190-6. Definitions and word usage., Article I. General Provisions, Chapter 190. Zoning, Part II. General Legislation, Code of Ordinances, Lockport, City

Unless the context otherwise indicates, the following definitions shall be used in the interpretation and construction of this chapter:

ACCESSORY USE OR STRUCTURE: A use of structure subordinate to the principal use of a building on the same zone lot and serving a purpose customarily incidental to the use of the principal building.

ALLEY: A public thoroughfare which affords only a secondary means of access to abutting property.

ALTERATION: As applied to a building or structure, a change or rearrangement in the structural parts, or in the entrance and exit facilities, or an enlargement, whether by extending on a side or by increasing in height, or the moving from one location or position to another.

APARTMENT HOUSE: A building arranged, intended or designed to be occupied by three or more families living independently of each other.

AREA, BUILDING: The total of areas taken on a horizontal plane at the main grade level of the principal building and all accessory buildings exclusive of uncovered porches, terraces and steps.

AREA, NET SITE: The total area within the property lines, excluding external streets.

AUTO COURT: A building or group of buildings, whether detached or in connected units, used as individual sleeping or dwelling units designed primarily for transient automobile travelers and providing for accessory off-street parking facilities. The term "auto court" includes buildings designated as tourist courts, motor lodges, motels and similar appellations.

AUTOMOBILE SERVICE STATIONS: Any area of land, including structures thereon, that is used for the sale of gasoline, or any other motor vehicle fuel, and oil and other lubricating substances, including the sale of motor vehicle accessories and which may or may not include facilities for lubricating and other minor servicing of motor vehicles, but not including the painting thereof by any means; any rebuilding, reconditioning or collision services involving frame and fender straightening or repair, or any dismantling or disassembly of frame and exterior parts is not an "automobile service station."

AUTOMOBILE WRECKING: The dismantling or disassembling of two or more used motor vehicles or trailers, or the storage, sale or dumping of two or more dismantled, partially dismantled, obsolete or wrecked vehicles or their parts.

BASEMENT: A story partly underground but having less than 1/2 of its clear height below finished grade.

BED-AND-BREAKFAST RESIDENCE: Temporary living quarters for rent within the principal structure of an owner-occupied residence. Such living quarters shall not be separated from the main structure to form a dwelling unit for lease or rent.

BOARDER: A person who occupies rooms by prearrangement for definite periods of not less than one week where common meals are provided for compensation.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Any dwelling in which more than three persons, either individually or as families, are housed or lodged for hire with or without meals. A rooming house or a furnished rooming house shall be deemed a "boardinghouse."

BUILDING: Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls, used or intended to be used for the shelter or enclosure of persons, animals or property. When such a structure is divided into separate parts by one or more unpierced walls extending from the ground up, each part is deemed to be a separate "building."

BUILDING, ACCESSORY: A supplemental building, the use of which is incidental to that of the main or principal building and located on the same lot therein.

BUILDING, DETACHED: A building surrounded by open space on all sides on the same lot.

BUILDING, FRONT LINE OF: The line of that face of the building nearest the front line of the lot. This face includes sun parlors and covered porches, whether enclosed or unenclosed, but does not include steps.

BUILDING GROUP: Any structure which is divided into separate parts by one or more unpierced walls, extending from the ground up.

BUILDING HEIGHT: The vertical distance measured from the average elevation of the proposed finished grade at the front of the building to the highest point of the roof for flat roofs, to the deck line of mansard roofs, and to the mean height between eaves and ridge for gable, hip and gambrel roofs.

BUILDING, MAIN: A building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is located.

BUILDING, PRINCIPAL: A building in which is conducted the main or principal use of the lot on which said building is situated.

CELLAR: A story partly underground and having more than 1/2 of its clear height below the average level of the adjoining ground. A "cellar" shall not be considered in determining the permissible number of stories.

CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT: A development of residential structures comprising 10 or more acres in which minimum lot areas and minimum lot dimensions may be reduced by a specific amount, provided that the area reduced is deeded to the municipality for public purposes, or held in common ownership by individual property owners.

COMMUNITY CENTER: A structure owned, operated and used for nonprofit purposes by the members of a nonprofit organization for social, cultural and religious purposes.

COVERAGE: That percentage of the plot or lot area covered by a building.

DAY-CARE CENTER: Care provided for three or more children away from their own homes in a day-care center. Such care shall be for more than three hours and less than 24 hours per day per child to any child accepted for care therein.
[Added 3-15-1995]

DENSITY CONTROL: The planning and zoning enabling laws include the control of the density of population as one of the purposes of zoning.

DOG KENNEL: A structure used for the harboring of more than three dogs that are over six months of age.

DRIVEWAY: A private road giving access from a public thoroughfare to a building or buildings on abutting grounds.

DUMP: A lot or land, or part thereof, used primarily for the disposal by abandonment, dumping, burial, burning or any other means and for whatever purpose, of garbage, sewage, trash, refuse, junk, discarded machinery, vehicles, or parts thereof, or waste material of any kind.

DWELLING: Any building or portion thereof designed for or used exclusively as the residence for one or more persons and containing one or more rooms providing cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities but not including a hotel, motel, hospital, nursing or convalescent home, boarding- or rooming house, dormitory, fraternity or sorority house, military barracks, convents, monasteries, trailers, mobile homes or other similar structures.

DWELLING, MULTIPLE-FAMILY: A building designed for or occupied exclusively by three or more families living independently of each other separated by either vertical walls or horizontal floors and which contain separate cooking and sanitary facilities but which may have joint or common services for heating, lighting, and utilities and other facilities.

DWELLING, ONE-FAMILY ATTACHED ROW: A building on a separate zone lot designed for or occupied exclusively by one family on a lot, which is separated on both sides by an unpierced party wall extending from the ground up.

DWELLING, ONE-FAMILY DETACHED: A building on a separate zone lot designed for or occupied exclusively by one family on a lot and surrounded by open space on all sides of the lot.

DWELLING, TWO-FAMILY: A building on a separate zone lot designed for or occupied exclusively by two families living independently of each other and separated from each other collectively, separated from other buildings on all sides by open space.

DWELLING UNIT: One or more rooms, occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters by one family, provided that access is directly from the outside or through a common hall and that separate cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities are provided within the dwelling for the exclusive use of the occupants thereof.

ESSENTIAL SERVICE: The erection, construction, alteration or maintenance by public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies of underground, surface or overhead gas, electrical, steam or water transmission systems, including poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm boxes, police call boxes, traffic signals, light stations, telephone lines, hydrants, and other similar equipment and accessories herewith, reasonably necessary for the furnishing of adequate service by such public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies or for the public health, safety or general welfare, but not including buildings.

FAMILY: One or more than one person occupying a dwelling unit and living as a single nonprofit housekeeping unit with not more than two roomers, boarders or lodgers. A roomer, lodger or boarder residing with a "family" shall mean a person or group of persons residing within a household, not related by blood, marriage or adoption to the nonprofit housekeeping unit who pays a valuable consideration for such residence and who do not occupy such space within the household as an incident of employment therein.

FILLING STATION: Any area of land, including structures thereon, that is used or designed to be used for the supply of gasoline or oil or other fuel for the propulsion of motor vehicles and which may include facilities used or designed to be used for polishing, greasing, washing, spraying, dry cleaning or otherwise cleaning or servicing such motor vehicles.

FLOOR AREA RATIO OF A BUILDING: The quotient of the floor area of a building divided by its net lot area.

FLY ASH: Particles of gas-borne matter arising from the combustion of solid fuel such as coal or wood.

GARAGE, PUBLIC: Any garage, other than a private garage, available to the public, operated for gain and which is used for storage, repair, rental, greasing, washing, servicing, adjusting or equipping of automobiles or other motor vehicles.

GASOLINE STATION: Any area of land, including structures thereon, that is used for the sale of gasoline, or any other motor vehicle fuel, and oil and other lubricating substances, including the sale of motor vehicle accessories, tobacco products and items traditionally sold in vending machines. Facilities for lubricating, washing or otherwise servicing motor vehicles may or may not be included. The painting of vehicles or any part thereof, is prohibited.

HOME OCCUPATION: Any use conducted entirely within a dwelling or an accessory building and carried on by the inhabitants thereof, which use is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling as a place of residence and does not alter or change the character thereof or have any external evidence of such use. The home occupation must meet the conditions and standards set forth in the district regulations and as otherwise required by the Planning Board.

HOSPITAL: Unless otherwise specified, the term "hospital" shall be deemed to include sanitarium, rest home, nursing home, convalescent home, and any other institution providing health services primarily for inpatient medical or surgical care of the sick or injured and including related facilities such as laboratories, outpatient departments, training facilities, central service facilities and staff offices which are an integral part of the facility. Types of hospitals include general, mental, chronic disease and allied special hospitals such as cardiac, contagious disease, maternity, orthopedic, cancer, and the like.

HOTEL: A building or group of buildings designed for occupancy as the temporary residence of individuals who are lodged with or without meals.

HOUSE TRAILER: Any portable or mobile vehicles used or designed to be used for living purposes and with its wheels, rollers or skids in place.

JUNKYARD: A lot, land or structure, or part thereof, used for the collection, storage or sale of wastepaper, rags, scrap metal or discarded material; or the collecting, dismantling, storage and salvaging of machinery, structures or vehicles not in running and useful condition, or for the sales or parts thereof including automobile wrecking yards, house wrecking and metal materials and equipment, but not including the purchase or storage of used furniture, household equipment and used cars in operable condition.

LAUNDERETTE: A business premises equipped with individual clothes-washing machines and/or drying machines for the use of retail customers, exclusive of laundry facilities provided as an accessory use in an apartment house or an apartment hotel.

LODGING HOUSE: A building occupied for, or arranged, intended or designed to be occupied for, rooming or rooming and boarding for compensation by no more than five persons by prearrangement for definite periods of not less than one week in contradistinction to hotels for transients.

LOT AREA: The computed area contained within the lot lines.

LOT, CORNER: A lot at the junction of and abutting upon two or more streets.

LOT, DEPTH OF: The mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines, measured in the general direction of the side lot lines.

LOT LINES: The property lines bounding the lot.

LOT WIDTH: The mean width of a lot measured at right angles to its depth.

MECHANICAL AUTOMOBILE-WASHING ESTABLISHMENT: A building or place of business where the washing of automobiles or other motor vehicles is carried on with or without the use of a chain or other conveyor, and blower, water and/or steam-cleaning device.

MOBILE HOME: A vehicle or movable dwelling structure which is less than 20 feet wide, not including expanding sections thereof, and which is designed to be used for living and/or sleeping quarters and which stands on wheels or on rigid supports, or on a foundation and which contains not more than one dwelling unit; but excluding prefabricated homes or sections thereof and also excluding travel trailers as defined herein.

MOBILE HOME PARKS: A parcel of land upon which two or more mobile homes are parked and occupied for living and/or sleeping purposes.

MOTELS, MOTOR COURTS AND MOTOR HOTELS: See "hotel."

NONCONFORMING LOT: Any zone lot in single ownership, where the owner of said lot does not own any adjoining property, the subdivision of which could create one or more conforming lots, which does not conform with the minimum area and/or dimensions required in the district in which the lot is situated, or for any special use, as the case may be.

NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE: A preexisting structure or sign, the design or size of which does not conform to the regulations of this chapter for the district in which it is located.

NONCONFORMING USE: A preexisting building, structure or premises legally existing and/or used at the time of adoption of this chapter or any amendment thereto, which does not conform with the use regulations of the district in which it is located.

NURSERY SCHOOL: A school designed to provide day-time care or instruction for two or more children from two to five years of age inclusive, and operated on a regular basis.

NURSING HOME: A proprietary facility, licensed or regulated by the State of New York for the accommodation of convalescents or other persons who are not acutely ill and not in need of hospital care but who require skilled nursing care and related medical services which are prescribed by or performed under the direction of a person or persons licensed to provide such care or services in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

OPEN SPACE: An unoccupied space open to the sky on the same lot with the building.

PARKING SPACE: An off-street space available for the parking of one motor vehicle and having an area of not less than 200 square feet exclusive of passageways and driveways appurtenant thereto and giving access thereto, and having direct access to a street or alley.

PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT: A structure or group of structures designed to be maintained and operated as a unit in single ownership or control by an individual, partnership, cooperative or corporation and which has certain facilities in common such as yards, open space, recreation areas, garages and parking areas.

PLANNING BOARD: Hereafter, the "Planning Board" shall mean the Planning and Zoning Board of the City of Lockport.

PLAT: A map, plan or layout of the City, town, section or subdivision indicating the location and boundaries of individual properties.

PRECISE PLAN: Such plans, specifications, information and other data as may be necessary, incidental to or required by the Planning Board in the consideration or determination of any application on which the Board may be required to pass.

QUARRY, SAND PIT, GRAVEL PIT, TOPSOIL STRIPPING: A lot or land or part thereof used for the purpose of extracting stone, sand, gravel or topsoil for sale as an industrial operation and exclusive of the process of grading a lot preparatory to the construction of a building for which application for a building permit has been made.

RECREATION VEHICLE: Any vehicle other than a licensed automobile, station wagon, motorcycle, moped, pickup truck that is operated for recreation or amusement, including campers, mobile homes (self-propelled or towed), snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and golf carts, among others.

RESIDENTIAL HOTEL: A dwelling occupied by permanent guests only and not by transients. It may include restaurants, newsstands and other accessory services primarily for serving its occupants and only incidentally the public.

ROOMER: A person who occupies rooms where no common meals are provided, by prearrangement, for definite periods of not less than one week for compensation.

SIGN: See sign regulations (Article XVII).

SPECIAL USE: A use which because of its unique characteristics requires individual consideration and approval in each case by the Common Council and the Planning Board, before it may be permitted in the district enumerated in this chapter.

STORY: That portion of a building included between the upper surface of any floor and the upper surface of the floor next above, except that the topmost story shall be that portion of a building included between the upper surface of the topmost floor and the ceiling or roof above.

STORY, HALF: A space under a sloping roof which has the line of intersection of roof decking and wall face not more than three feet above the top floor level, and in which space not more than 2/3 of the floor area is finished off.

STRUCTURAL ALTERATION: Any change in the structural members of a building, such as bearing walls, party walls, columns, beams or girders, or any complete rebuilding of the roof.

STRUCTURE: Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires more or less permanent location on the ground or attachment to something having a permanent location on the ground, including stationary and portable carports.

TRAVEL TRAILER: A vehicle, less than 30 feet in length and used for temporary living or sleeping purposes.

VARIANCE: The Board of Zoning Appeals authorized departure from the terms of this chapter in accordance with the procedures set forth in this chapter in direct regard to a hardship peculiar to an individual lot or situation.

YARD: An open space, as may be required by this chapter, of uniform width or depth on the same lot with a building or group of buildings, which open space lies between the principal building or group of buildings and the nearest lot line and is unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as herein permitted.

YARD, FRONT: An open space extending across the principal street side of a lot measured between the side yard lines, the depth of which yard is the minimum horizontal distance between the curbline or existing edge of paved street and the main building or any projection thereof other than steps and unenclosed balconies, not extending more than eight feet from the front of the building, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. Parking will only be provided in the front yard on the paved driveway.

YARD, REAR: An open space extending across the rear of a lot measured between the side lot lines and being the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the rear of the principal building or any projection thereof other than steps and unenclosed balconies not extending more than eight feet from the rear of the building, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. On both corner and interior lots, the rear yard shall in all cases be at the opposite end of the lot from the front yard.

YARD, SIDE: An open space from the front yard to the rear yard between the building and the nearest side lot line unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except for steps and as otherwise specified in this chapter.