A. An ordinance establishing a zoning plan for the city of Attica, Indiana, and contiguous unincorporated territory under the jurisdiction of the Attica city plan commission, to conserve the value of property and to the end that adequate light, air, convenience of access, and safety from fire and other dangers may be secured that congestion in the public streets may be lessened or avoided; and that public health, safety, convenience, comfort and general welfare may be promoted in a manner which recognizes the needs of industry and business in the future growth of the city and which will encourage the development of healthy surroundings for family life in residential neighborhoods; all in accordance with a master plan designed to assure efficiency and economy in the process of development of the city and for the purpose of:

B. Furthermore, such a zoning plan shall provide for its administration and enforcement creating a board of zoning appeals and providing for review of the decisions of such board by the court. [Ord. 6, 1990 § 1; Code 1999 § 10-1.]

A. Agricultural use is a basic use of the land in unincorporated areas within the jurisdictional area of the plan commission and as such does not fall under the jurisdiction of this title.

B. Agricultural uses include the raising of farm crops, vegetables, flower gardens, plant nurseries, livestock and poultry; and all buildings on a tract of land containing five acres or more used exclusively for agricultural purposes.

C. No permits shall be required for buildings used exclusively for agricultural purposes.

D. Temporary housing for seasonal agricultural workers are considered to be buildings used for agricultural purposes. [Ord. 6, 1990 § 2-5; Code 1999 § 10-6.]

“Accessory use” means a use which is incidental to the main use of the premises.

“Alley” means a public thoroughfare which affords only secondary means of vehicular access to abutting property and less than 30 feet in width.

“Basement” means a story partly underground, but having more than one-half of its clean height below ground level which unless subdivided into rooms and used for tenant purposes, shall not be included as a story for the purpose of height measurements.

“Block” means property having frontage on one side of a street and lying between the two nearest intersecting or intercepting streets, or nearest intersecting or intercepting streets and railroad right-of-way, waterway or other barrier. When intersecting or intercepting streets and railroad right-of-way, waterway or other barriers do not exist, the unit of 660 feet shall be used and may begin at a quarter section line and terminate each 660 feet unless intersected by a street.

“Board” means the board of zoning appeals of the city of Attica, Indiana.

“Boarding house” means a building not open to transients, where lodging and/or meals are provided for compensation for three or more, but not over 30, persons regularly; a lodging house.

“Building, accessory” means a subordinate building, or a portion of a main building, which is located on the lot of the main building, the use of which is incidental to that of the main building but such accessory building shall not be used as a separate family dwelling.

“Building area” means the maximum horizontal projected area of the principal and accessory building, excluding open steps or terraces, unenclosed porches not exceeding one story in height, or architectural appurtenances projecting not more than two feet.

“Building, front line of” means the line of that face of the building nearest the front lot line.

“Building, height of” means the vertical distance measured from the lot ground level to the highest point of the roof for a flat roof; to the deck line of a mansard roof; and to the mean height between eaves and ridges for gable, hip and gambrel roofs.

“Building, principal” means a building in which is conducted the main or principal use of the lot on which said building is situated. Where a substantial part of the wall of an accessory building is a part of the wall of the principal building or where an accessory building is attached to the main building in a substantial manner by a roof, such accessory building shall be counted as a part of the principal building.

“Building” means a structure having a roof supported by columns or walls, for the shelter, support, enclosure or protection of persons, animals, chattels or property. When separated by party walls, without openings through such walls, each portion of such a building shall be considered a separate structure.

“Business” means the engaging in the purchase, sale, barter, or exchange of goods, wares, merchandise, or services; the maintenance or operation of offices, or recreational and amusement enterprises for profit.

“Camp, public” means any area or tract of land used or designed to accommodate two or more automobile house trailers, or two or more camping parties, including cabins, tents or other camping outfits.

Commercial. See “Business.”

“District” means a section of the city or the jurisdictional area for which uniform regulations governing the use, height, area, size and intensity of use of buildings and land, and open spaces about buildings, are herein established.

“Dwelling” means a permanent building used primarily for human habitation but not including mobile homes.

“Family” means a group of one or more persons occupying a building and living as a single housekeeping unit. No unrelated group living as a single housekeeping unit shall consist of more than six persons, as distinguished from a group occupying a lodging house or hotel.

“Fence” means a structure, including entrance and exit gates, designed and constructed for enclosure or screening.

“Garage, private” means an accessory building with capacity for not more than three motor vehicles for storage only, not more than one of which may be a commercial vehicle of not more than three tons capacity. Provided, however, that a garage designed to house one motor vehicle for each family housed in an apartment shall be classed as a private garage.

“Garage, public” means any building or premises, except those defined herein as a private garage, used for the storage or care of motor vehicles, or where such vehicles are equipped for operation, repaired, or kept for remuneration, hire or sale.

“Ground floor area” means the square foot area of a residential building within its largest outside dimensions computed on a horizontal plane at the ground level, exclusive of open porches, breeze-ways, terraces, garages, exterior and interior stairways.

“Home occupation” means an occupation carried on by a member of the family residing on the premises, in conjunction with which no commodity is sold or stock in trade is kept on the premises; no person is employed other than a member of said family; and no sign, other than a name plate, not exceeding one square foot in area, is displayed, and no change in the external appearance of the building shall be caused thereby, and that no accessory building shall be used for such home occupation. Barber shops and beauty shops shall be construed as home occupations so long as they meet the conditions set forth in this title, including this definition.

“Hotel” means a building in which lodging is provided and offered to the public for compensation, and which is open to transient guests, in contradiction to a boarding or lodging house.

“Junk yard, including automobile wrecking” means a lot or part thereof used for the storage, keeping or abandonment of metallic and nonmetallic materials, including scrap metal and/or vehicles, machinery and/or parts thereof.

“Jurisdictional area” means, for planning and zoning, the area incorporated within the city of Attica, Indiana, and the contiguous unincorporated territory shown on a map filed by the Attica city plan commission with the recorder of Fountain County, Indiana.

“Kennel” means any lot or premises on which four or more dogs at least four months of age are kept.

“Lodge or club” means an association of persons for some common purpose, but not including a group organized primarily or which is actually engaged to render a service which is customarily carried on as a business.

“Lot” means a parcel of land occupied or intended for occupancy by a use permitted in this title, including one principal building and its accessory buildings, and the open space required by this title, and having its principal frontage on a street, or an officially designated and approved place.

“Lot, corner” means a lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection.

“Lot coverage” means the percentage of the lot area covered by the building area.

“Lot, depth of” means the mean horizontal distance between the front line and rear line of the lot, measured in the general direction of the side lot lines.

Lot, Ground Level.

“Lot, interior” means a lot other than a corner lot or through lot.

“Lot line, front” means, in the case of an interior lot, a line separating the lot from the street or place; and in the case of a corner lot, a line separating the narrowest street frontage of the lot from the street, except in cases where deed restrictions in effect specify another line as the front lot line.

“Lot line, rear” means a lot line which is opposite and most distance from the front lot line and, in the case of an irregular or triangular shaped lot, a line 10 feet in length within the lot, parallel to and at the maximum distance from the front lot line.

“Lot line, side” means any lot boundary line not a front lot line or a rear lot line.

“Lot, through” means a lot having frontage on two streets at opposite ends of the lot.

“Mobile home court” means any area or tract of land used or designed to accommodate two or more mobile homes for nontransient use meeting the standards established by the Indiana State Board of Health for such park or court.

“Motel” means a building or group of buildings in which lodging is provided and offered to the public for compensation, and catering primarily to the public traveling by motor vehicle.

“Nonconforming use” means a building or premises which does not conform in its use or otherwise with all of the regulations of the district in which such building or premises is located.

“Parking lot” means a parcel of land devoted to unenclosed parking space for five or more motor vehicles for compensation or otherwise.

“Place” means an open unoccupied space other than a street or alley, permanently reserved for use as the principal means of access to abutting property.

Professional Office. When conducted in a residential district, a professional office shall be incidental to the residential occupation; shall be conducted by a member of the resident family entirely within a residential building and accessory building and shall include only the offices of doctors or practitioners, ministers, architects, landscape architects, professional engineers, lawyers, authors, musicians and other recognized professional occupations occasionally conducted within residences.

“Sanitarium” means a private hospital, whether or not such facility is operated for profit.

“Story” means that portion of a building included between the surface of any floor other than the basement and the surface of the floor next above it. If there is no floor above it, then the space between such floor and the ceiling next above it shall be the story.

“Story, half” means that portion of a building under a sloping gable, hip, or gambrel roof, the wall plates on at least two opposite exterior walls of which are not more than three feet above the floor level of such half-story.

“Street” means a public thoroughfare 30 feet or more in width between property lines, which affords principal means of vehicular access to abutting property.

“Structure” means anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires more or less permanent location on the ground or which is attached to something permanently located on the ground.

“Structural alteration” means any change in the supporting members of a building such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams or girders, or any substantial change in the exterior walls or the roof, excepting such alteration as may be required for the safety of the building.

“Tourist home” means a dwelling in which overnight accommodations for not more than 10 transient guests are offered for compensation.

“Vehicle parking spaces” means the area required for parking one automobile, which in this title is held to be an area nine feet wide and 20 feet long plus 70 square feet of maneuver area for each vehicle parking space, making a total of 250 square feet.

“Vision clearance on corner lots” means a triangular space at the street corner of a corner lot, free from any kind of obstruction to vision between the height of three and one-half and 12 feet above established grade, determined by a diagonal line connecting two points measured equidistant from the corner along each property line.

“Yard, front” means horizontal space measured at 90 degrees with the property line, between the front line of the principal building and the property line of the street upon which the building faces, unoccupied other than by steps, walks, terraces, and open, unroofed, unenclosed porches; or architectural appurtenances projecting not more than 24 inches from the building.

“Yard, rear” means horizontal space measured at 90 degrees to the rear lot line, between the rear of the principal building and the rear line of the lot, unoccupied other than by vehicle parking space, architectural appurtenances, or accessory buildings which do not occupy more than 30 percent of the required rear yard.

“Yard, side” means horizontal space measured at 90 degrees to the side lot line between the side of a building and the adjacent side line of the lot, unoccupied other than by architectural appurtenances projecting not more than 24 inches, or open or lattice-enclosed fire escapes or fire escapes or fireproof outside stairways, projecting not over four feet. [Ord. 6, 1990 §§ 3-43 – 3-60; Code 1999 § 10-7.]