Chatsworth City Zoning Code
ARTICLE III
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section A. - Use of Land:
No land shall be used except for a purpose permitted in the district in which it is located.
Section B. - Location of Buildings:
Every building hereafter erected, converted, enlarged, reconstructed, moved, or structurally altered shall be located on a lot as herein defined except as approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals under Article XVI.
Section C. - Use of Buildings:
No building or structure shall be erected, converted, enlarged, reconstructed, moved, structurally altered, or used, except for a use permitted in the district in which such building or structure is located.
Section D. - Height of Buildings:
No building shall be erected, converted, enlarged, reconstructed, moved, or structurally altered to exceed the height limit herein established for the district in which such building is located.
Section E. - Dimensional Regulations:
No building or use shall be erected, converted, enlarged, moved or structurally altered except in conformity with the minimum space requirements (i.e., the lot area, floor area, and building height, etc.) for the district in which such building is located.
Section F. - Use of Yards:
The minimum yards, parking spaces, and open spaces required by this ordinance for each building existing at the time of passage of this ordinance, or for any building hereafter erected or structurally altered, shall not be encroached upon or considered as part of the yard, parking space or open space required for any other structure.
Section G. - Off-Street Parking and Loading:
No building shall be erected, converted, enlarged, reconstructed, moved, or structurally altered except in conformity with the off-street parking and loading regulations of Article XI.
Section H. - Signs:
No sign shall be erected, converted, enlarged reconstructed, moved, or structurally altered except in conformity with the Chatsworth Sign Ordinance.
Section I. - Accessory Structures:
No permanent accessory structure shall be located, constructed, or moved upon a lot until the construction of the main building has actually been commenced. [See Article VIII, Section B (1).]
Section J. - Use and Construction of Temporary Buildings:
Temporary buildings other than provided herein shall not be allowed in any district except that temporary buildings used in conjunction with construction work or pending completion of a permanent building for a period not to exceed one (1) year may be permitted in any district but shall be removed when the construction has been substantially completed.
Section K. - Requirements for Building Permit:
No building shall be erected, converted, enlarged, reconstructed, moved, or structurally altered except upon application for and issuance of a building permit by the Zoning Administrator.
Section L. - Rights of Way.
No DOT, City, public, or private utility, or any other right-of-way not owned by the owner of a property may be utilized in the calculation of any setback, or any part of a setback, as required by Article V, Summary Zoning District Schedule.
Section M. - Density:
No building or other structure shall hereafter be erected, constructed, reconstructed, or altered to house a greater number of dwelling units per acre; nor shall any lot area be reduced below the lot area per family requirements of this ordinance for the district in which such lot is located except as otherwise provided in this ordinance; or to occupy a greater percentage of lot area.
Section N. - Street Frontage:
No principal building shall be erected on any lot which does not have immediate frontage on at least one public or private street or road for a distance of not less than fifty (50) feet. For lots that front on a private street, the building permit shall contain a signed statement that the petitioner acknowledges the private access to his property and understands that the city of Chatsworth will not accept or maintain such access until such street is upgraded fully to public standards by the property owners having access to such private street; failure by the petitioner to provide such statement shall not void the requirements of this Section. [Exception: for townhouses or single family attached dwellings, the minimum frontage applies to the total lots contained in a single building, not the individual dwelling unit(s).]
Section O. - Lots of Record:
Any lot of record which is legal at the time of the adoption or amendment of this Ordinance, may be used, subject to the following exceptions and modifications.
Single Lots: Where the owner of a lot at the adoption of this Ordinance or his successor in title thereto does not own sufficient land, in width or area, to enable him to conform to the dimensional requirements of this ordinance, such lot may be used as a building site for a minimum building (ie. Single family detached home in residential zone districts) that is allowed in the district where the lot is located.
For such a lot, when it is not possible to provide the required side yards and at the same time build a minimum width building, the Zoning Board of Appeals is empowered to hear the request for a minimum variance.
Adjoining Lots: If two or more adjoining lots with continuous frontage are in a single ownership at any time after the adoption of this ordinance and such lots individually are too small to meet the yard, width, and area requirements of the district in which they are located, such groups of contiguous lots shall be considered as a single lot or several lots of minimum permitted size and the lot or lots in one ownership shall be subject to the requirements of this Ordinance.