Chapter 18.10
DEFINITIONS
Sections:
18.10.010 Definitions.
The word “person” includes a firm, association, organizations, partnership, trust, company, or corporation as well as an individual.
The word “shall” is mandatory and the word “may” is permissive.
The word “lot” includes the word “plot” or “parcel.”
The word “building” includes the word “structure.”
The words “used” and “occupied” include the words “intended,” “designed,” and “arranged to be used or occupied.”
When not inconsistent with the context, the present tense includes the future tense; the singular number includes the plural; and the plural number includes the singular.
All words and terms shall be interpreted according to their common usage unless otherwise defined.
“Accessory building” means a detached building on the same lot with, and of a nature customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal building. An accessory building attached to the main building shall be considered to be a part of the main building and shall maintain any yards required for a main building.
“Accessory use” means a use on the same lot with, and of a nature customarily incidental and subordinate to, the principal use.
“Accessory vehicle” includes any trailer (see definition in this section), fifth wheel or watercraft.
“Acre” means an area comprising 43,560 square feet.
“Alley” means a way dedicated and open to the public which affords a secondary means of access to the back or side properties otherwise abutting on a street.
“Amendment” means a change in the wording context, or substance of these regulations, an addition or deletion, or a change in the zoning district boundaries or classifications upon the official zoning map, which imposes any regulation not heretofore imposed or removes or modifies any such regulation theretofore imposed.
“Automobile graveyard” means any establishment or place of business maintained, used or operated for storing, keeping, buying or selling wrecked, abandoned, scrapped, ruined or dismantled motor vehicles or motor vehicle parts.
“Buildable area” means that net portion of the lot remaining after deducting all required yards from the gross area of a lot.
“Building” means a structure having a roof supported by columns or walls for housing, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or property of any kind.
“Building height” means the vertical distance from the grade to the highest point of structure.
“Carport” means an accessory building or portion of a principal building with two or more open sides designated or used for the parking of motor vehicles. Enclosed storage facilities may be provided as part of a carport.
“Commission” means the planning and zoning commission.
“Common area” means an area designated to serve two or more dwelling units or separate uses with convenient access to the area.
“Conditional use” means a use that may locate in certain zoning districts provided it will not be detrimental to the public good nor impair the integrity and character of the zoned district, and will be suitable to the community at large.
“Council” means the elected governing body of town of Huachuca City.
“Dwelling” means any building or portion thereof, which is designed or used exclusively for residential purposes.
“Dwelling, multiple-family” means a residence designed for occupancy by two or more households, with separate housekeeping and cooking facilities for each.
“Dwelling, single-family” means a detached residence designed for occupancy by one household only. This shall include manufactured homes when placed on a permanent foundation, converted to real property, and taxed as a site-built dwelling as provided by law.
“Dwelling unit” means one or more rooms designed for occupancy by one household for living purposes and having its own cooking and sanitary facilities.
“Factory-built housing” means a factory-built structure designed for long-term residential use.
For the purposes of these regulations, factory-built housing consists of three types: modular homes, mobile homes, and manufactured homes.
“Factory-built structure” means any structure that is wholly, or in substantial part, made, fabricated, formed, or assembled in manufacturing facilities for installation or assembly and installation on a building site.
“Fence” means a structure built to separate two parcels of land or to separate a parcel of land into different use areas.
“Floor area” means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of every floor, of all buildings on the lot measured from the exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating the buildings, including basement floor area, elevator shaft and stairwells at each floor, floor space used for mechanical equipment, penthouse, attic space whether or not a floor has been actually laid and having headroom of seven feet or more, interior balconies and mezzanines, and roofed porches, but not including any space devoted to parking, or to loading and unloading.
“Garage” means an accessory building or portion of the principal building designed or used for the shelter or storage of self-propelled vehicles owned or operated by the occupants of the principal building.
“Grade, natural” means the average elevation of the finished ground surface adjacent to the exterior walls of a building.
“Guest house” means an attached or detached accessory building used as a temporary dwelling for guests of the occupants of the main building, and which is never rented or offered for rent. A guest house providing cooking facilities shall be considered a dwelling unit.
“Home occupation” means an activity carried on by the occupant of a dwelling as a secondary use, including professional and semi-professional offices when conducted and entered from within the dwelling, in which there is no outside display or storage of stock-in-trade upon the premises, not more than one nonresident of the premises is employed and not more than one-fourth of the floor area of one story of the principal building, or a detached home workshop of not more than 200 square feet in area, is used for such home occupation; and provided, that the residential character of the dwelling is not changed by said use and that such occupation does not cause any sustained changes by said use and that such occupation does not cause any sustained or unpleasant or unusual noises, vibrations, noxious fumes, odors, or cause any parking or traffic congestion in the immediate neighborhood.
“Hotel/motel” means a building, or group of buildings, used primarily for accommodation of transient guests in rooms or suites.
“Household” means an individual or two or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption and usual servants living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit or a group of not more than five persons who need not be related, living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit.
“Junk” means old or scrap copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries, paper, trash, rubber debris, waste, or junked, dismantled or wrecked automobiles or parts thereof, iron, steel, and other old or scrap ferrous or nonferrous material.
“Junkyard” means any establishment or place of business maintained, used, or operated for storing, keeping, buying, or selling junk, or for maintenance or operation of an automobile graveyard, and including garbage dumps and sanitary landfills.
“Landscaping” means the application or use of some combination of planted trees, shrubs, vines, ground cover, flowers or lawns. In addition, the combination may include rocks, and such structural features as fountains, pools, art works, screens, walls, fences, or benches.
“Lot” means a legally created parcel of land under one ownership of sufficient size to meet minimum zoning requirements for use, coverage and area, and to provide such yards and other open spaces as are required by these regulations.
“Lot, corner” means a lot located at the intersection of two or more streets. A lot abutting on a curved street or streets shall be considered a corner lot if straight lines drawn from the foremost points of the side lot lines to the foremost points of the lot meet at an interior angle of less than 135 degrees.
“Lot coverage” means the percentage of the area of a lot which is occupied by all buildings or other covered structures.
“Lot depth” means the distance between the midpoints of straight lines connecting the foremost points of the side lot lines in front and the rearmost points of the side lot lines in the rear.
“Lot, interior” means a lot other than a corner lot with only one frontage on a street other than an alley.
“Lot line, front” means the boundary of a lot which separates the lot from the street. For the purpose of determining yard requirements on corner and through lots, all lot lines separating the lot from streets shall be considered front lot lines.
“Lot line, rear” means the boundary of a lot which is most distant from, and is, or is most nearly, parallel to the front lot line; except that in the absence of a rear lot line as is the case of the triangular shaped lot, the rear lot line may be considered a line within the lot, parallel to and at a maximum distance from the front lot line, having a length of not less than 10 feet.
“Lot line, side” means the boundary of a lot which is not a front line or a rear lot line.
“Lot lines” means the lines bounding a lot.
“Lot of record” means a lot which is a part of a subdivision, the plat of which has been recorded in the office of the Cochise County recorder; or a lot, parcel or tract of land described by metes and bounds, the deed of which has been recorded in the office of the Cochise County recorder.
“Lot width” means the distance between side lot lines measured across the rear of the required front yard parallel to the street or street chord.
“Lot, zoning” means a single parcel of land, or one or more lots of record, designated by its owner as a tract to be used, developed, or built upon as a unit, under single ownership or control, meeting all of the requirements set forth in these regulations.
“Manufactured home” means a factory-built structure that is manufactured or constructed under the authority of 42 United States Code Section 5401 and is to be used as a place for human habitation, but which is not constructed or equipped with a permanent hitch or other device allowing it to be moved other than for the purpose of moving to a permanent site, and which does not have permanently attached to its body or frame any wheels or axles. A mobile home is not a manufactured home, except as hereinafter provided.
“Medical marijuana” means all parts of the genus Cannabis, whether growing or not, and the seed of such plants that may be administered to treat or alleviate a qualifying patient’s debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the patient’s debilitating medical condition.
“Medical marijuana cultivation” means the process by which a person grows a marijuana plant. A facility shall mean a building, structure or premises used for the cultivation or storage of medical marijuana that is physically separate and off-site from a medical marijuana dispensary.
“Medical marijuana dispensary” means a nonprofit entity defined in ARS Section 36-2801(11) that sells, distributes, transmits, gives, dispenses, or otherwise provides medical marijuana to qualifying patients that is duly registered and certified pursuant to ARS Section 38-2804.
“Medical marijuana dispensary off-site cultivation location” means the one additional location if any duly identified pursuant to ARS Section 36-2806(E) during the process of registering a nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary where marijuana will be cultivated for sale at a nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary duly registered and certified pursuant to ARS Section 36-2804 and complies with all regulations.
“Medical marijuana qualifying patient” means a person who has been diagnosed by a physician as having a debilitating medical condition as defined in ARS Section 36-2801.13.
“Mobile home” means a transportable, factory-built home, designed to be used as a year-round residential dwelling and built prior to enactment of the Federal Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, which became effective June 15, 1976. In many cases, mobile homes were built to a voluntary industry standard of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A119.1 Standards for Mobile Homes.
“Mobile home park” means a parcel of land under single ownership on which two or more mobile homes are occupied as residences, regardless of whether or not a charge is made for such accommodations.
“Mobile home space” means a plot of ground within a mobile home park designed for the accommodation of one mobile home or recreational vehicle together with its accessory structures.
“Mobile home subdivision” means a subdivision designed and intended for sale, lots, for residential occupancy in mobile homes.
“Modular home” means factory-built housing certified as meeting the local or state building code as applicable to modular housing. Once certified by the state, modular homes shall be subject to the same standards as site-built homes.
“Nonconforming building” means a building, structure, or portion thereof, which does not conform to the requirements of these regulations applicable to the zoning districts in which such building is situated, but which legally existed prior to the effective date of these regulations.
“Nonconforming lot” means a lot of record or parcel of land having less area, frontage or dimensions than required by these regulations for the zoning district in which it is located, but which was lawfully established and recorded prior to the effective date of these regulations.
“Nonconforming use” means a use of a building or parcel of land which does not conform to the requirements of these regulations but which lawfully existed prior to the effective date of these regulations.
“Nursery school” means a public or private school or kindergarten providing day care and/or education to five or more children six years old or under.
“Parking garage” means an enclosed building used for parking, storage, or rental of motor vehicles.
“Permitted use” means a use specifically permitted or a use analogous to those specifically permitted.
“Planned area development” means a planned development consisting of lands either under single or multiple owners acting in concert to develop multiple uses on contiguous parcels of land consisting of not less than 20 acres of developable area, regardless of the zoning districts, with the end product being a better quality mixed use development of residential, recreational and/or business uses that can not otherwise be achieved reasonably with the lot size, setback, building height and related requirements set forth in other provisions of the zoning regulations.
“Prohibited use” means a use not specifically permitted or a use analogous to those not specifically permitted.
“Recreational vehicle” means a movable or portable dwelling unit 40 feet or less in length and eight feet or less in width, built on a chassis, designed primarily for temporary living quarters for recreational or travel use, which either has its own motive power or is mounted on or drawn by another vehicle.
“Self-service station” means a space, building or part thereof, arranged or designed to be used for retail sales or supply of motor fuels.
“Setback” means the shortest distance between the property line and the foundation, wall or main frame of a building or structure.
“Sign” means any device for visual communication that is used for the purpose of bringing the subject thereof to the attention of the public, but excluding any flag, badge or insignia of any government or government agency, or of any civic, charitable, religious, patriotic, fraternal or similar organization, any official traffic control device, and any notice posted according to law; the display of any letter, numeral, figure, emblem, picture, outline, beacon, or spectacular, either in whole, in part, or in combination, whereby such display is made on, attached to, or is a part of a structure erected for the purpose, or is on, attached to, or a part of any other structure, surface or thing, including but not limited to the ground or any rock, tree or other natural object, which display is visible beyond the boundaries of the lot or parcel in or over which it is located.
“Sign, accessory” means a basic category of signs which direct attention to a business, profession or activity conducted on the premises on which the sign is located, including:
1. “Bulletin board” means a wall or ground sign announcing activities of a permitted educational, governmental or religious institution or recreation area.
2. “Contractors’ sign” means a temporary wall or ground sign designating the name of persons or firms engaged in construction or repair on the premises.
3. “Developers’ sign” means a temporary wall or ground sign designating the use which will occupy the premises at some future date.
4. “Home occupation sign” means a wall sign identifying a permitted home occupation on the premises.
5. “Identification sign” means a wall, ground or roof sign identifying a permitted principal use, but which bears no advertising or message other than the name, year established, street number and kind of business or activity conducted on the premises.
6. “Name plate sign” means a wall or ground sign identifying the name and address of the occupant of the premises.
7. “Real estate sign” means a temporary wall or ground sign advertising the premises for lease, rent or sale.
8. “Subdivision development sign” means a temporary wall or ground sign advertising the sale of properties in a subdivision.
9. “Temporary sign” means a sign that is displayed no longer than one year. (An extension to the one-year limit may be granted by the planning and zoning commission.)
10. “Utility sign” means a wall or ground sign marking the entrance or exit to the parking lot or other permitted accessory use.
“Sign, freestanding” means a sign supported by uprights or braces placed upon or in the ground, and not attached to any building.
“Sign, nonaccessory” means a basic category of signs which direct attention to a business, commodity, service, entertainment, or other activity or thing, not exclusively related to the premises on which the sign is located; including directional signs as hereinafter defined:
1. “Directional sign” means a sign directing or informing the public as to the location of publicly owned facilities, historical or scenic points of interest, educational, charitable or religious institutions, hospitals or sanitariums, and major business districts.
“Sign, projecting” means a sign which is attached to a building or structure and extends beyond the wall of the building or line of the structure more than 12 inches.
“Sign, roof” means a sign which extends above and is supported by the roof of a building.
“Sign, wall” means a flat sign placed against or attached to an exterior front, side or rear wall of a building, including signs placed parallel to and extending not more than 12 inches horizontally out from the wall of a building.
“Story” means that portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the next floor above, or if there is no floor above, the space between such floor and the ceiling above. A basement shall be considered a story if its ceiling is more than five feet above the average established grade of its perimeter, or if it is used for business purposes by other than janitors or domestic servants in the same building.
“Street” means a way dedicated to the public, which affords that principal means of access to abutting property.
“Street line” means the dividing line between a lot, tract or parcel of land and a contiguous street, the right-of-way line of a street.
“Structural alteration” means any change in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams or girders, or any complete rebuilding of the roof or exterior walls, or which expands the height of area thereof.
“Structure” means any thing constructed or erected with fixed location on the ground, or attached to something having a fixed location on the ground, including, but not limited to, buildings, towers, swimming pools, walls, fences and billboards.
“Structure, temporary” means anything constructed or erected which is readily movable and intended to be used, or used for a period of time not to exceed 90 consecutive days. Such temporary structure shall be subject to all applicable requirements of these regulations for the zoning district in which it is located.
“Trailer” means any recreational vehicle, box truck or automobile trailer, trailer coach, box trailer, house trailer or structure designed and constructed in such manner as to permit occupancy as sleeping quarters for one or more persons and so designed that it is or may be mounted on wheels and used as a conveyance on highways or streets, propelled or drawn by its own or other motive power, excepting a device used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
“Trailer in transit” means any trailer actually being transported from a point of origin outside of the town to a point of destination outside of the town, but which is parked temporarily for a period not to exceed 30 days on any tract of land in a residential zone within the town while the occupants of such trailer are bona fide guests of residents of the town.
“Trailer park” means any trailer court, site, lot, parcel or tract of land designed, maintained or intended for the purpose of supplying a location or accommodations for any trailer and upon which any trailer is parked, excepting automobile, mobile home or trailer sales lots on which unoccupied trailers are parked for the purposes of inspection and sale.
“Use” means the purpose, for which land or building is occupied or maintained, arranged, designed or intended.
“Use permitted upon application” means a use specifically permitted upon application to and with written approval of the zoning commission.
“Use, principal” means the main use of land or a building as distinguished from an accessory use.
“Variance” means a relaxation or waiver of the terms of these regulations where such variance will not be contrary to the public interest and where, owing to conditions peculiar to the property and not the result of the actions of the applicant, a literal enforcement of the regulations would result in unnecessary and undue hardship.
“Wall” means any barrier, separate structure, for screening purposes forming a physical barrier, which is so constructed that 100 percent of the vertical surface shall be closed solid, except for approved gates or other access ways.
“Yard” means space open, unoccupied and unobstructed by any structure or portion of a structure from two and one-half feet above the general level of the graded lot upward; provided, however, that fences and walls may be permitted in any yard subject to height limitations as indicated herein.
“Yard, front” means a yard on the same lot with principal building extending across the full width of the lot between the front lot line and the nearest front wall line of the principal building. Any attached carport, porch, or structure, or part thereof, shall be considered as part of the principal building.
“Yard, rear” means a yard on the same lot with a principal building extending across the full width of the lot between the rear lot line and the nearest rear wall line of the principal building. Any attached carport, porch, or structure, or part thereof, shall be considered as a part of the principal building.
“Yard, required” means the minimum open space unoccupied and unobstructed as specified by these regulations for front, rear and side yards, as distinguished from any yard area in excess of the minimum required.
“Yard, side” means a yard on the same lot with a principal building extending from the front yard to the rear yard between the side lot line and the nearest side wall line of the principal building. Any attached carport, porch, or structure, or part thereof, shall be considered as a part of the principal building.
“Zoning district” means any portion of the incorporated area of the town of Huachuca City in which the same zoning regulations apply. (Ord. 19-01 § 1, 2019; Ord. 16-16 § 1, 2016; Ord. 10-06 § 1-A, 2010; Ord. 06-10, 2006; prior code § 17-2-1)