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Cleveland City Zoning Code

CHAPTER 345

INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS

§ 345.01 Residence-Industry District Defined and Established

   (a)   As used in this Zoning Code, “Residence- Industry District” means an industrial area controlled with respect to character of occupancy, manufacturing processes, provision for off-street parking and off-street loading, location of driveways, setbacks from residential boundary lines and from residential streets and treatment of such setback open spaces, so as to protect the character of any adjoining or adjacent residential area.
   (b)   The Residence-Industry District is hereby created in order to permit lands suitable for industrial use and in locations where such use is consistent with the general plan for the City adopted by the City Planning Commission, including locations which are adjoining or adjacent to a Residence District, to be used for industrial purposes under conditions that will not be detrimental to such Residence District.
(Ord. No. 2215-96. Passed 4-7-97, eff. 4-7-97; Reprinted 7-2-97 CR)

§ 345.02 Permitted Buildings and Uses in Residence-Industry District

   Within any Residence-Industry District no building or premises shall be erected, altered, used, arranged or designated to be used, in whole or in part for other than one (1) or more of the following specified uses, provided that:
   (a)   All resulting cinders, dust, flashing, fumes, gases, noises, odors, refuse matter, smoke, vapors and vibrations are effectively confined to the premises;
   (b)   All materials are stored inside buildings;
   (c)   Setback building lines to the same extent as required in this Zoning Code for Residence Districts are observed on any street on which the Residence- Industry District adjoins a Residence District, and suitable planting is maintained in the setback area. Side yards and rear yards not less than twenty-five (25) feet are provided at lot lines which are also boundary lines of Residence Districts or of lots used for residences in a Local Retail Business District or Shopping Center district. A chain link fence not less than six (6) feet high is constructed on lot lines which are also boundary lines of Residence districts or of lots used for residences in a Local Retail Business District or Shopping Center District;
   (d)   There are adequate off-street loading and unloading facilities so designed that any standing vehicle using them is within the property lines and is either not visible from streets or not nearer than fifty (50) feet to streets;
   (e)   There is adequate off-street car parking for the employees, owners and others coming to the premises on matters incidental to the uses thereof, and adequate off-street parking of trucks in space so located as not to be visible from the streets or not nearer than fifty (50) feet to streets;
   (f)   Entrance and exit to any building or premises are from a street designated as a major thoroughfare on the general plan adopted by the City Planning Commission or, if the premises in question does not abut such street, then from any street approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals if it finds the probable volume and type of traffic to such premises will not change materially the existing character of such streets nor be detrimental to the adjoining or adjacent residential area;
   (g)   In the case of nonresidential use, trucking operations are not conducted evenings, nights, Sundays nor on holidays generally observed by business and single-shift industry:
      (1)   Any use permitted in a Multi-Family District;
      (2)   Office buildings, loft buildings, telephone exchanges, transformer stations, research laboratories;
      (3)   Retail tin shops and furnace shops, retail plumbing shops, and plumbing supply shops, signs, display or decorating shops, printing shops;
      (4)   The following uses if located not less than one hundred (100) feet from a Residence district: repair garage for repair or painting of motor vehicles, creamery, milk bottling or milk distributing stations;
      (5)   Operation of any internal combustion engines in connection with any use permitted in the District, provided such engines are equipped and operated only with an effective muffling device;
      (6)   Carpet cleaning, dry cleaning or dyeing, laundries, cold storage plants, bottling works, ice plants, ice cream plants, cigar factories;
      (7)   Wholesale, jobbing, distributing or warehouse establishments for such materials as cotton, wool, clothing, fabrics, furniture, hardware, ice, leather, metals other than scrap or junk metals, rubber, shop and store supplies, including the making, assembling, remodeling, repairing, altering, finishing or refinishing of these products or merchandise, provided the processes used comply with the limitations specified in this section;
      (8)   Machine shops in which only lathes, drill presses, hydraulic presses, shavers, milling machines, planers, grinders and similar tools are used, and no hammering, rolling, spinning, heat treating by other than induction processes or riveting is done and no forges, metal saws other than automatic hack saws, heavy shears, multiple spindle automatic screw machines or other noise or vibration-producing tools or machines are operated;
      (9)   Charitable institutions, including correctional halfway houses, as regulated in Section 347.15;
      (10)   Hospitals, sanitariums, nursing, rest or convalescent homes;
      (11)   State-licensed medical marijuana cultivator, adult use cultivator, or level III adult use cultivator as defined in and subject to Section 347.19 or Section 347.191 of this Code;
      (12)   State-licensed medical or adult use marijuana processor, as defined in and subject to Section 347.19 or Section 347.191 of this Code;
      (13)   Any other building or use similar in character and operation and in effect on conforming uses in adjoining more restricted use districts as the buildings or uses herein permitted.
(Ord. No. 529-2024. Passed 6-3-24, eff. 7-3-24)

§ 345.03 Semi-Industry Districts

   (a)   Definition. As used in this Zoning Code, “Semi-Industry District” means an area usually adjacent to a Retail Business District or more restricted use district, in which storage, wholesaling, passenger or motor-freight transportation terminals, light manufacturing and other semi-industrial operations of such nature as not to be detrimental to an adjacent Retail Business District or more restricted use district, are permitted.
   (b)   Retail Business Uses, Conditions. Within any Semi-Industry District no building or premises shall hereafter be erected, altered, used, arranged or designed to be used, in whole or in part for other than one (1) or more of the following specified uses; provided that all resulting cinders, dust, flashing, fumes, gases, odors, refuse matter, smoke and vapor either are effectively confined to the premises or are disposed of in a manner which will not create a nuisance or hazard to safety or health, and provided further that noise and vibration are effectively prevented from being audible or perceptible at a distance of fifty (50) feet from such premises;
   Except as otherwise provided in this Zoning Code, all uses permitted and as regulated in a General Retail Business District. However, after the effective date of this Zoning Code no dwelling house, row house or multiple dwelling, and no building or Institutional H Occupancy Classification, shall be located within two hundred (200) feet of the boundary line of an adjoining General or Unrestricted Industry District, and no existing building within two hundred (200) feet of such boundary line shall be converted or altered to any such use, except that the Board of Zoning Appeals may, in specific instances, permit such erection, conversion or alteration when the development of the immediately surrounding area is essentially residential in character and the erection or establishment of an additional residence building would not be incompatible with or hamper or obstruct the use of the Semi-Industry District and the adjoining General or Unrestricted Industry Districts for the uses for which they are intended, and except that the Board may grant special permission for temporary dwellings, or for permanent dwellings for a limited number of personnel required to reside on the premises of a permitted use for the safe and proper operation of that use.
   (c)   Additional Commercial and Semi-Industrial Buildings and Uses.
      (1)   Second-hand truck lot;
      (2)   Repair garage for repair or painting of motor vehicles, provided that such use is located not less than one hundred (100) feet from a Residence District;
      (3)   Amusement enterprises operated as a business; provided that the Board may, in specific instances, exempt such enterprises from the requirement that noise be effectively prevented from being audible at a distance of fifty (50) feet from such premises where the premises upon which such enterprise is located and operated is sufficiently distant from any existing residential occupancy, and noise is confined to a practicable degree, or where the use is of a temporary nature, or where the audibility of noise beyond the fifty (50) foot limit would not adversely affect the use of surrounding premises, if the Board determines that the intent and purpose of such requirement are adequately served, under the circumstances;
      (4)   Operation of internal combustion engines in connection with any use permitted in the District, provided such engines are equipped and operated only with an effective muffling device;
      (5)   Carpet cleaning;
      (6)   Dry cleaning or dyeing;
      (7)   Laundries employing any number of persons;
      (8)   Cold storage plants;
      (9)   Bottling works;
      (10)   Ice plants;
      (11)   Ice cream plants;
      (12)   Creamery, milk bottling or milk distributing stations, if such buildings or uses are located not less than one hundred (100) feet from a Residence District;
      (13)   Except where prohibited by division (a) of Section 347.01, motor freight depots or trucking terminals; provided such buildings or uses are not less than three hundred (300) feet from a Residence District and the entrances thereto and exits therefrom are not located where prohibited by division (b) of Section 347.01, and are to or from a permitted street whose near curb, in front of the property, is not less than twenty-two (22) feet from the center line of the street; and provided further that any loading or unloading platform facing such street is not less than eighty (80) feet from the center line of the street and not less than fifty (50) feet behind any setback building line on the street;
      (14)   Tin shops, furnace shops;
      (15)   Plumbing shops, plumbing supply shops, blacksmith shops;
      (16)   Sign, display or decorating shops;
      (17)   Wagon sheds or stables for any number of horses;
      (18)   Wholesale bakeries;
      (19)   Manufacture of food products;
      (20)   Manufacture of confections;
      (21)   Breweries or distilleries;
      (22)   Cigar factories;
      (23)   Garment factories;
      (24)   Printing shops;
      (25)   Newspaper plants;
      (26)   Painting or varnishing shops;
      (27)   Cold mixing or grinding of paint;
      (28)   Vulcanizing shops;
      (29)   Woodworking shops;
      (30)   Monument shops;
      (31)   Machine shops in which only lathes, drill presses, hydraulic presses, shapers, milling machines, planers, grinders and similar tools are used, and no hammering, rolling, spinning, heat treating by other than induction processes or riveting is done, and no forges, metal saws other than automatic hack saws, heavy shears, multiple spindle automatic screw machines or other noise or vibration-producing tools or machines are operated;
      (32)   Any other manufacturing or industrial enterprise, operation or process, whether making, assembling, repairing, buffing, finishing, plating, painting, annealing or brazing by electric furnace, polishing, tempering, packing, shipping or storing, of a character, extent and hazard similar to those specified above and not specifically permitted only in a General Industry or Unrestricted Industry District, provided the building or use complies with the requirements of this section relating to the control of cinders, dust, flashing, fumes, gases, odors, refuse matter, smoke, vapor, noise and vibration;
      (33)   Storage in bulk of, or warehouse for, such materials as building materials, contractors' equipment, cotton, wool, clothing materials, fabrics, feed, furniture, hardware, ice, leather, machinery, metals other than scrap or junk metals, petroleum and other flammable liquids in above-ground tanks of less than ten thousand (10,000) gallons capacity each, paint and paint materials, pipe, rubber, shop and store supplies, provided that any material stored in unenclosed premises to a height greater than four (4) feet above grade level shall be a surrounded by a substantial seven (7) foot high wall or fence erected to observe all required building lines. Any lumber used for such wall or fence shall be new sound material surfaced and painted on the outside. There shall be no storage of salvaged lumber or other used building material, junk, paper, glass, rags, rubber, unclean or unrepaired containers or other discarded or salvaged articles or materials either in buildings or on premises, and there shall be no wrecking or dismantling of motor vehicles or storage of vehicles pending wrecking or dismantling on the premises. There shall be no storage of dirt, soil, crushed stone or gravel, mulch, construction and demolition debris, solid waste, or similar material. There shall be no processing of dirt, soil, crushed stone or gravel, mulch or similar material or construction and demolition debris, or construction material either in buildings or on a premises;
      (34)   Storage of coal in buildings, silos, hoppers or packages and storage of coke, wood or other solid fuel; provided that all dust, dirt and noise incident to such storage or handling are effectively confined to the premises and a fence or wall is provided around unenclosed premises when and as required by division (c)(33) of this section;
      (35)   Wholesale businesses;
      (36)   Produce markets;
      (37)   Poultry raising for profit;
      (38)   Wholesale sale of poultry or the storage or sale of poultry in crate lots, or the killing of poultry or game in wholesale quantities for persons other than the ultimate consumer, provided that such business is conducted in strict compliance with applicable statutes, laws, ordinances, rules and regulations including those requiring rat proofing, and provided further that the building in which the slaughtering is done, either for wholesale or for retail purposes, is located, arranged, built and equipped as required by division (b)(2) of Section 343.11;
      (39)   Charitable institutions, including correctional halfway houses, as regulated in Section 347.15;
      (40)   Any other building or use similar in operation and in effect on adjacent premises in adjoining more restricted use districts as the buildings or uses herein listed;
      (41)   Signs: Signs permitted in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 350;
      (42)   An accessory use customarily incident to a use authorized by this section, except that no use prohibited or permitted only by special permit in a General Industry District shall be permitted as an accessory use in a Semi-Industry District unless authorized under division (c)(43) of this section;
      (43)   The Board of Zoning Appeals may, after public notice and hearing and subject to appropriate conditions and safeguards, permit the location of a use authorized in a General Industry District on any lot in a Semi-Industry District that adjoins a railroad right-of- way, or adjoins a nonconforming use which is regularly permitted only in an industrial district.
(Ord. No. 806-18. Passed 7-18-18, eff. 7-20-18)

§ 345.04 General Industry Districts

   (a)   Permitted Building and Uses. Within any General Industry District the following buildings or uses are permitted; no building or premises shall hereafter be erected, altered, used, arranged or designed to be used, in whole or in part for other than one (1) or more of the following specified uses:
      (1)   All buildings and uses permitted in a Semi-Industry District without the restrictions contained in Section 345.03 applying to such buildings or uses except that:
         A.   Loading or unloading platforms of motor freight depots or trucking terminals shall not be less than fifty (50) feet from the street line unless such platforms are so located that freight handling vehicles will not stand or maneuver in the space between the platform and the street line;
         B.   Dusty material storage and handling shall be subject to the limitations and restrictions of Section 347.05;
         C.   All buildings and uses shall conform to other applicable regulations of this Zoning Code and other applicable statutes, ordinances, rules or regulations.
      (2)   Any industrial, manufacturing, commercial or other nonresidential use, except the uses hereinafter listed as prohibited uses in a General Industry District;
      (3)   The open yard storage of dirt, soil, crushed stone or gravel, mulch or construction material, secondhand lumber or other used building material, junk, paper, rags, unrepaired or uncleaned containers or other salvaged articles provided the lot upon which the storage use occurs is located no closer than five hundred (500) feet to a residence district, and such uses are enclosed within a minimum seven (7) foot high solid masonry wall or solid, nontransparent, well-maintained substantial fence not closer to the street line than the setback building line. Such wall or fence may have one (1) opening not more than twenty (20) feet in width for street access, and may have two (2) such openings if the wall or fence along the street is more than two hundred (200) feet in length. Materials shall not be stored more than eight (8) feet above the top height of the wall or fence enclosing the property measured from the outside base elevation of the required screening fence;
      (4)   The operation of wrecking or dismantling of motor vehicles, or the storage of motor vehicles, pending wrecking or dismantling, in areas with a minimum area of fifty thousand (50,000) square feet providing such premises is enclosed within a minimum seven (7) foot high solid masonry wall or slightly solid, nontransparent, well-maintained substantial fence. Such wall or fence may have one (1) opening not more than twenty (20) feet in width for street access and may have two (2) such openings if the wall or fence along the street is more than two hundred (200) feet in length. All walls or fences referred to in this chapter shall be neatly constructed, kept in good order and repair; no printing, lettering or advertisement shall be made part of or attached thereto or painted on the outside of the wall or fence, except that a sign located at the entrance to the yard may be provided to identify the yard;
      (5)   The sale or storage for sale of liquefied petroleum gases and acetylene and other compressed or liquefied gases of a highly flammable nature;
      (6)   Buildings and structures in Use Group I-3 in the Ohio Building Code but only at the State of Ohio Pre-Release Center located on Orange Avenue and the Community Based Correctional Facility (CBCF) and/or Minimum Security Misdemeanant Jail (MSMJ) located on Croton Avenue, N.E.;
      (7)   The operation of a Recycling Facility provided the lot upon which the use occurs is located no closer than five hundred (500) feet to a residence district, and such uses are enclosed within a minimum seven (7) foot high solid masonry wall or solid, nontransparent, opaque, well-maintained substantial fence not closer to the street line than the setback building line. Such wall or fence may have one (1) opening not more than twenty (20) feet in width for street access, and may have two (2) such openings if the wall or fence along the street is more than two hundred (200) feet in length. All walls or fences referred to in this chapter shall be neatly constructed, kept in good order and repair; no printing, lettering or advertisement shall be made part of or attached thereto or painted on the outside of the wall or fence, except that a sign located at the entrance to the yard may be provided to identify the yard. Materials shall not be stored more than eight (8) feet above the top height of the wall or fence enclosing the property measured from the outside base elevation of the required screening fence;
      (8)   The operation of a Construction and Demolition Debris Processing Facility provided the lot upon which the use occurs is located no closer than five hundred (500) feet to a residence district, and such uses are enclosed within a minimum seven (7) foot high solid masonry wall or solid, nontransparent, opaque, well-maintained substantial fence not closer to the street line than the setback building line. Such wall or fence may have one (1) opening not more than twenty (20) feet in width for street access, and may have two (2) such openings if the wall or fence along the street is more than two hundred (200) feet in length. All walls or fences referred to in this chapter shall be neatly constructed, kept in good order and repair; no printing, lettering or advertisement shall be made part of or attached thereto or painted on the outside of the wall or fence, except that a sign located at the entrance to the yard may be provided to identify the yard. Materials shall not be stored more than eight (8) feet above the top height of the wall or fence enclosing the property measured from the outside base elevation of the required screening fence;
      (9)   The operation of a Solid Waste Transfer Facility, Solid Waste Landfill, Construction and Demolition Debris Landfill, Composting Facility, Scrap Tire Collection Facility, Scrap Tire Monofill Facility, Scrap Tire Monocell Facility, or Scrap Tire Recovery Facility, as those terms are defined in Title XXXVII of the Revised Code and Ohio Administrative Code, provided the lot upon which the use occurs is located no closer than five hundred (500) feet to a residence district, and such uses are enclosed within a minimum seven (7) foot high solid masonry wall or solid, nontransparent, opaque well-maintained substantial fence not closer to the street line than the setback building line. Such wall or fence may have one (1) opening not more than twenty (20) feet in width for street access, and may have two (2) such openings if the wall or fence along the street is more than two hundred (200) feet in length. All walls or fences referred to in this chapter shall be neatly constructed, kept in good order and repair; no printing, lettering or advertisement shall be made part of or attached thereto or painted on the outside of the wall or fence, except that a sign located at the entrance to the yard may be provided to identify the yard. Materials shall not be stored more than eight (8) feet above the top height of the wall or fence enclosing the property measured from the outside base elevation of the required screening fence.
   (b)   Accessory Uses by Special Permit. The following uses are prohibited as the main or primary use of the premises; they are permitted only as uses accessory or incidental to a permitted use and only if approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals through a Special Permit granted in accordance with the standards of division (c) of this section:
      (1)   Asphalt or tar manufacturing or refining;
      (2)   Blast furnaces, ore smelting or reduction, metal refining or smelting;
      (3)   Carbon, coke or lampblack manufacture;
      (4)   Coal gas manufacture;
      (5)   Cremation within three hundred (300) feet of a Residence District;
      (6)   Creosote manufacture or treatment;
      (7)   Dextrine, glucose or starch manufacture;
      (8)   Disinfectant or insecticide manufacture which emits offensive odors;
      (9)   Dye stuffs manufacture;
      (10)   Manufacture of steel by the Bessemer process;
      (11)   Match manufacture;
      (12)   Oil cloth or linoleum manufacture;
      (13)   Paper and pulp manufacturing by sulphite processes emitting noxious gases or odors;
      (14)   Production or refining of petroleum or other flammable liquids;
      (15)   Rock crushing;
      (16)   Rubber manufacture by reclaiming processes;
      (17)   Stock feed manufacture from refuse;
      (18)   Tanning, curing or storing of raw hides or skins;
      (19)   Wool pulling or scouring;
      (20)   Hair processing;
      (21)   Any other trade, industry or use that will be no more injurious, hazardous, noxious or offensive than the enterprises listed in division (b) of this section.
   (c)   Special Permits. In evaluating applications for Special Permits required by division (b) of this section, the Board of Zoning Appeals shall act to ensure that the proposed use or development does not adversely impact other properties and the uses located on those properties.
      (1)   Criteria for Special Permits. In its evaluation of potentially adverse impacts, the Board shall consider, among others, the following factors:
         A.   The degree to which dust, smoke, cinders, heat, flares, odor, fumes, gases, radioactive materials, glare, noise, vibration and other potentially harmful emissions or externalities are effectively confined to the premises of the proposed use;
         B.   The nature and proximity of nearby uses with respect to their vulnerability to the off-site impacts of the proposed use;
         C.   The extent to which impacts of the proposed use are comparable to the impacts typically associated with uses permitted in the General Industry District without the requirement for issuance of a Special Permit;
         D.   Hours of operation of the proposed use;
         E.   Hazards associated with combustible, flammable or explosive materials on the property of the proposed use;
         F.   The potential for adverse impacts to streams, rivers and lakes; and
         G.   Potentially mitigating effects of landscaping, buffering, or topographical features.
      (2)   Applications for Special Permits. The applicant for a Special Permit in the General Industry District shall submit to the Board of Zoning Appeals an application demonstrating that the proposed use will not adversely impact other properties, specifically with respect to the factors listed in this division. In evaluating the application, the Board may solicit comments from City officials or others with appropriate technical expertise.
   (d)   Buildings and Uses Prohibited.
      (1)   In a General Industry District no building or premises shall hereafter be erected, altered or arranged for human habitation other than at the State of Ohio Pre-Release Center located on Orange Avenue, and the Community Based Correctional Facility (CBCF) and/or Minimum Security Misdemeanant Jail (MSMJ) located on Croton Avenue, N.E., provided that these facilities are subject to review by the City Planning Commission and further, except that the Board of Zoning Appeals may grant special permission for temporary dwellings or for permanent dwellings for a limited number of personnel required to reside on the premises of a permitted use for the safe and proper operation of that use.
      (2)   In a General Industry District no building or premises shall hereafter be erected, altered, used, arranged or designed to be used, in whole or in part, for any of the following uses:
         A.   Acid manufacture, including hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, picric acid, sulphuric acid, and sulphurous acid;
         B.   Ammonia, bleaching powder, soda, soda compound, potash or chlorine manufacturing or refining;
         C.   Bronze powder or other metallic powder manufacture;
         D.   Cement, gypsum, lime, or plaster of Paris manufacture;
         E.   Distillation of bones, coal or wood, or manufacture of any of the by-products of such distillation;
         F.   Fat, grease, lard or tallow manufacturing, rendering or refining;
         G.   Fertilizer manufacture from phosphates or organic matter;
         H.   Gelatine, glue or size manufacture;
         I.   Incineration or reduction of dead animals, garbage, offal or refuse, except in a private incinerator constructed and operated as required by Section 337.23;
         J.   Manufacture of incendiary devices, pyrotechnical devices, fireworks, and other explosives, or the storage thereof;
         K.   Mineral insulation manufacture;
         L.   Rayon manufacture;
         M.   Slaughtering of animals, except poultry;
         N.   Stockyards;
         O.   Any other trade, industry or use that will be injurious, hazardous, noxious, or offensive to an extent equal to or greater than any one (1) of the enterprises enumerated in division (c)(2) of this section.
(Ord. No. 806-18. Passed 7-18-18, eff. 7-20-18)

§ 345.05 Unrestricted Industry Districts

   (a)   Buildings and Uses Permitted. Except as limited or restricted in this section or under Sections 343.19 to 343.21, 347.01 to 347.05 and Chapter 349, buildings or premises in an Unrestricted Industry District may be utilized for any use, provided such buildings, premises and uses conform to other applicable statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations.
   (b)   Buildings and Uses Prohibited.
      (1)   In an Unrestricted Industry District no building or premises shall hereafter be erected, altered or arranged for human habitation, except that the Board of Zoning Appeals may grant special permission for temporary dwellings, or for permanent dwellings for a limited number of personnel required to reside on the premises of a permitted use for the safe and proper operation of that use.
      (2)   Except as may be permitted by the Board of Zoning Appeals in specific instances, in an Unrestricted Industry District no open or unroofed yard for the storage of secondhand lumber or other used building material, junk, paper, unrepaired or uncleaned containers or other salvaged articles, or for the wrecking or dismantling of motor vehicles, may be established within fifty (50) feet of any public thoroughfare, public land or Residence District.
(Ord. No. 2204-A-48. Passed 12-19-49, eff. 1-29-50)