This chapter establishes general performance standards for land and building development activity throughout the city.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-1)

All developments shall demonstrate continuing compliance with the applicable performance standards.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-2)

(a)

Provision required. All developments, and all lots or parcels within a development, shall have direct access to municipal water and sewer utilities. Provision of utilities, including any extension of water and sewer mains, shall be the responsibility of the developer in accordance with this Code.

(b)

Easements. No building shall be placed in any utility easement, public or private. Only wire or rail fences or solid wood fences with a separable section across the easement may be constructed across utility easements. Private utilities may impose even more restrictive requirements on fences crossing their easements.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-3; Ord. No. 517, 3-18-1998)

(a)

Access required. All developments and all lots or parcels within a development shall have safe, direct access to a dedicated public street that meets or exceeds the standards of section 9-17-5. Provision of access, including street extensions, shall be the responsibility of the developer.

(b)

Private streets. Direct access to a dedicated public street may be permitted via private streets, in the discretion of the planning and zoning commission, subject to the following:

(1)

Unique or special circumstances exist with respect to the proposed use, design, location, topography, or other features of the development or its surroundings such that private streets will serve to enhance the overall development.

(2)

Private streets shall provide safe and effective movement of vehicular and pedestrian traffic in compliance with the standards of section 9-17-5.

(3)

Private streets shall provide adequate access for service and emergency vehicles.

(4)

Private streets shall not adversely affect access or good transportation planning to adjacent property and to the area of travel networks.

(5)

Private streets shall not landlock adjacent property due to topography or parcel layout.

(6)

Other than to provide emergency access, private streets shall not interfere with the continuity of public streets.

(7)

The use or alignment of private streets shall not interfere with the continuity of public streets.

(8)

An appropriate mechanism shall be established for the maintenance and repair of private streets, including provisions for the funding thereof.

(c)

Access drives. All access driveways, including residential driveways, shall comply with the standards for access driveways found in sections 9-17-3 and 9-17-5, respectively.

(d)

Clear vision triangles. A clear vision triangle shall be maintained at all street intersections and all points of access to a public street.

(1)

No solid fence or wall, planter, hedge, shrub, or other visual obstruction more than three feet in height above grade shall be permitted within a clear vision triangle.

(2)

No parking shall be permitted within a clear vision triangle.

(3)

Trees shall be permitted in clear vision triangles, but only if all branches are removed to a height of at least seven feet above grade.

(e)

Access to arterials. The number of points of access to arterial streets shall be minimized.

(f)

Access to commercial and industrial uses. No commercial or industrial use shall have its principal access through an area in the RA or RB zoning district.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-4; Ord. No. 596, 1-6-2010)

All uses shall provide off-street parking and loading areas as required by section 9-17-3, except in the CC zoning district, where reliance on on-street parking shall be permitted. Snow storage shall not be permitted to reduce the size of required off-street parking or loading areas.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-5)

Curbing, gutter and sidewalks shall be provided by all new subdivision developments, homes, and commercial buildings where these facilities do not exist, and sidewalks shall not be required in HI zones. Any improvement, or detached structure, on existing subdivision developments, homes or commercial buildings and heavy industrial facility which adds 400 square feet or more shall require curb and gutter where curb and gutter do not exist. Penalties shall be as follows: In addition to any other penalties set forth in this chapter, any person violating this section or any other provision of this chapter shall pay a civil penalty of $1,000.00 therefor.

(Code 2011, § 11-12-6; Ord. No. 606, 9-7-2011; Ord. No. 653, § 11-12-6, 2-2-2022)

Any use that is, or may reasonably be expected to be, subject to the reporting requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA) shall demonstrate continuing compliance with state and federal requirements for the storage and handling of hazardous substances.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-7)

Potential nuisances and hazards shall be mitigated by appropriate means.

(1)

Noise. No commercial or industrial development shall create excessive levels of noise adversely affecting other commercial or residential uses. Excessive noise, as measured at the property line of the affected use, is any noise that exceeds the standards of Table 9-12-28, as follows:

TABLE 9-12-28. DETAILED PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR NOISE

^L10 Means this noise level may be exceeded ten percent of the time. dBA equals decibels.

(2)

Light, glare, heat. No commercial or industrial development shall direct light, glare, or heat beyond its property line. Welding equipment and other sources of intense light or glare shall be shielded from the view of neighboring properties or public ways by enclosure in a building, location on the property, or construction of a fence or wall.

(3)

Dust, smoke. No development shall generate dust, smoke, odors, or other airborne pollutants that travel beyond its property line, except as permitted by state and federal air quality standards.

(4)

Drainage. No development shall channel stormwater or melt water runoff so as to adversely affect neighboring properties or public ways.

(5)

Solid waste storage. Solid waste shall be stored in enclosures or containers and in such a manner as not to attract rodents or other vermin, be susceptible to spillage by dogs or cats, generate odors beyond the property line or liquid runoff, or permit blowing of paper and other lightweight waste. No solid waste, including construction or demolition debris, shall be buried within the city, except where permitted by the International Building Code as a rubble fill for a construction site.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-8; Ord. No. 563, 4-16-2003)

Swimming pools shall be entirely enclosed with a suitable fence or structure so as to prevent access to the pool by unwary persons and/or children.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-9)

The International Building Code is hereby adopted to regulate excavation and grading activities.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-10; Ord. No. 563, 4-16-2003)

(a)

American Falls Reservoir. In order to provide for the effects of continuing shoreline erosion, all structures shall be at least 500 feet from the high water mark of the American Falls Reservoir.

(b)

Snake River. All structures shall be at least 100 feet from the canyon rim along the Snake River.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-11)

Child care services shall be provided in compliance with this title and state law.

(Code 2011, § 11-12-11.1; Ord. No. 469, 11-17-1993)

Yards created by required setbacks shall remain unenclosed, except as permitted by this division.

(1)

Overhangs. Eaves, rain gutters, bay windows, and similar above grade extensions may extend no more than three feet into a required yard.

(2)

Accessory buildings. Accessory buildings may be located in side and rear yards, within the required setbacks.

(3)

Loss of required yard space. No space required to make up any required yard, or to maintain the required maximum lot coverage, shall be removed from the lot by sale, lease, or other conveyance.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-12)

The review of special use permit applications shall include a determination that the proposed development is compatible with neighboring uses, with compatibility being evaluated using each of the factors listed herein.

(1)

Lot coverage and the extent of landscaping, including the effectiveness of proposed buffers.

(2)

Building bulk, height, and scale.

(3)

The effect on scenic views from adjoining properties and public spaces.

(4)

Activity levels, as measured by traffic and noise generation, parking area requirements, the number and size of signs, hours of operation, and similar indicators.

(5)

The extent of functional connections with adjoining developments (existing and anticipated), including shared access to arterial streets, shared parking and service access, shared buffering and open space, and shared pedestrian circulation.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-13)

Where residential development is proposed along an arterial street, reverse frontage and deeper lots shall be used to separate homes and traffic, and the developer shall provide a sidewalk or trail and landscaped buffer along the arterial. Landscaped buffer standards are found in Table 9-12-56.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-14)

(a)

Landscaped buffers shall be provided as required by Table 9-12-56, as follows, and section 9-17-4. Wherever landscaped buffering is required by this title, a planting plan shall be required as part of the application for a permit. That plan shall show the width of the buffer, the number, size, and species of all proposed plant materials, how the proposed buffer will be graded (i.e., level, berm, swale), how irrigation will be provided, and, where applicable, the location of any fences, walls, sign poles or pedestals, or other structures that will be placed in the buffer.

(b)

Existing vegetation shall be retained to serve required buffering or screening functions wherever possible.

TABLE 9-12-56. BUFFERING REQUIREMENTS ¹

¹ Detailed performance standards for the design and installation of buffers are found in section 9-17-4. Note that the buffering requirements of this table apply in both directions. That is, a residential development proposed adjacent to an existing commercial use would have exactly the same buffering responsibility as a new commercial development proposed next to a residential subdivision.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-15)

Any use permitted in the HC, LI, or HI zoning districts may also be established as a temporary use in those zoning districts.

(1)

Development permit. A development permit (see section 9-2-9) shall be required for a temporary use, but the duration of the permit shall be for a specified term not exceeding 90 days.

(2)

Access and parking. No temporary use shall reduce the number of parking spaces provided by any other use below that required by section 9-17-3, or interfere with safe access to a property or circulation through any parking or loading area.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-16)

A large-scale development includes 100 or more residential lots or units or commercial uses that will potentially generate 1,000 or more ADT (average daily trips).

(1)

Large-scale developments shall provide additional on- and off-site public facilities necessitated by their development. Such facilities shall be provided in compliance with all requirements of this title and may include off-site runoff and erosion control measures, central sewerage systems; such off-site road improvements as deceleration or acceleration lanes, left turn lanes, signs or signals, and bridges or culverts; solid waste transfer stations; emergency services buildings and apparatus, including fire engines and ambulances; and neighborhood parks (which may include space used for recreational trails) at a rate of two acres per thousand population.

(2)

The public facilities needs of any large-scale development shall be determined through a fact finding process conducted by the planning and zoning commission, at the expense of the developer. The commission may retain professional planners and/or engineers to conduct this study, the purpose of which shall be to determine what new facilities needs may be attributed to the proposed development. The large-scale development study process shall be conducted as follows:

a.

The administrator shall determine whether a proposed development is a large-scale development as defined in section 9-16-2;

b.

The administrator shall not approve a permit for or schedule a hearing on an application determined to be for a large-scale development, but shall, instead, place initiation of a large-scale development study on the agenda of the next regular commission meeting;

c.

At the commission meeting, the commission shall review the application. If it confirms the administrator's determination, the commission shall require a large-scale development study.

d.

Where a large-scale development study is required, the developer shall place a deposit with the administrator in the amount required by the resolution establishing fees for the administration of this title. The administrator shall retain appropriate professional assistance for the study, drawing against the deposit as necessary. Additional actual costs shall be billed to the developer, with such costs being paid before a hearing on the application is scheduled. Any unused funds shall be returned to the developer upon completion of the study.

e.

An application shall be considered complete and a hearing conducted only after completion of the large-scale development study.

(1992 Development Code; Code 2011, § 11-12-17)