For the purpose of this title, certain terms and words are hereby defined as follows. The following words, when applied in this title, shall carry full force when used interchangeably: lot, plot, parcel, or premises; used, arranged, occupied, or maintained; sold or dispensed; construct, reconstruct, erect, alter.

When there appears to be a conflict between the content of the text of this title and any definition given in the following chapters, the text shall control.

"Abandonment" means the actual cessation of a nonconforming use coupled with the intent not to put the premises again to the same use. Proof of any intent not to abandon must be inferable from existing facts.

"Accessory building/use" means a use, a building or structure, part of a building or structure which is subordinate to, and the use of which is incidental to, that of the main building, structure or use on the same lot. If an accessory building is attached to the main building or structure by a common wall or roof, such accessory building shall be considered as part of the main building.

“Agency” means the Zoning Administrator as established in Section 18.205, which is designated to enforce the clear vision triangle.

"Agriculture" means the use of land for agricultural purposes including farming, dairying, pasturage, grazing land, animal and poultry husbandry, feed lots, and the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating, storing, or shipping of products. Raising and harvesting timber is also included.

"Alley" means a passage or way, open to public travel and dedicated to public use, affording a secondary means of vehicular access to abutting lots and not intended for general traffic circulation.

"Alterations" means a change or rearrangement of the structural parts of existing facilities, or an enlargement by extending the sides or increasing the height or depth, or the moving from one location to another.

"Apartment" means a room or a suite of two or more rooms in a multiple-family dwelling or in any other building, except a single-family dwelling or a two-family dwelling, occupied or suitable for occupancy as a dwelling unit for one family.

"Apartment house" means a building or a portion of a building arranged or designed to be occupied by three or more families living separately from each other and containing three or more apartments.

"Arterial" means a street designed to provide for large volumes of through traffic movement between areas and across the urban area. Arterials offer direct access to abutting property and are subject to necessary control of entrances, exits, and curb use.

“Assembly Hall” means an open partially enclosed or fully enclosed facility used or intended to be used for entertainment events, expositions, and other public gatherings.

"Automobile repair shop" means a facility in which passenger cars and small trucks are serviced and repaired. Such services and repairs may include those offered by an automobile service station (see Section 18.638.050), engine removal for repair or replacement, transmission repair, body work, and painting. Such facility shall not be involved in the dismantling of motor vehicles.

See "service station."

"Automobile wrecking yard" means any premises devoted to the destruction, wrecking, and/or dismantling of motor vehicles and trailers, or the storage, sale, or dumping of wholly or partially dismantled, obsolete, or wrecked vehicles or their parts.

"Basement" means that portion of a building partly underground and having at least one-half of its height more than five feet below the adjoining finished grade.

"Bed and breakfast" means a single family detached dwelling containing, in addition to living accommodations for the resident-manager, individual sleeping rooms without cooking facilities for the purpose of providing to the general public, for compensation, lodging bathroom facilities, and breakfast only to overnight patrons.

"Beneficial open space" means any open space performing necessary or desirable function in relation to the adjoining residential use. Beneficial open spaces may include, but are not limited to, rivers, lakes, public parks, and grounds around public buildings.

"Board of adjustment" means a quasi-judicial body created under Chapter 18.207 of his title.

"Boarding house" means a dwelling, or part thereof, other than a hotel, motel or restaurant, where one or more meals per day and lodging for periods of one week or longer are provided, for compensation, for two or more unrelated persons, where no cooking or dining facilities are provided in the individual rooms.

"Buildable area" means that portion of a lot upon which a building may be lawfully constructed.

"Building" means any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls for the housing or enclosure of persons, animals, or chattel. When any portion thereof is completely separated from every other portion thereof by a division wall without openings, then each such portion shall be deemed to be a separate building, provided that each division is on a separate lot, not occupied by the same tenet and the cumulative first floor area is not more than 10,000 (ten thousand) square feet.

"Building area or footprint" means the total area covered by enclosed building space including total area of all covered open space, except for open space covered by eaves and normal overhang of roofs, but not including uncovered entrance platforms, uncovered terraces, or uncovered steps where such features do not themselves constitute enclosures for building areas below them.

"Building height" means the vertical distance from the established grade to the highest point of the roof or parapet wall.

"Building line" means the line of that face, corner, roof, or part of a building nearest the property line. For purposes of meeting yard requirements the building line is established inside of the permitted intrusions into the adjacent yard.

"Building permit" means an official document or certificate issued by the building official authorizing the erection, construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, movement, improvement, removal, conversion or demolition of any structure within the planning area.

"Business or commercial use" means the purchase, sale, offering for sale, or other transaction involving the handling or disposition of any article, service, substance, or commodity for livelihood or profit; or the management or occupancy of office buildings, offices, recreation or amusement enterprises; or the maintenance and use of buildings, offices, structures, or premises by professions and trades or persons rendering services.

"Campground" means any area or tract of land used or designed to accommodate two or more camping parties, including cabins, tents, camping trailers, or other camping outfits.

"Carport" means a structure to house or protect motor vehicles which has at least fifty percent of the total area of its sides open to the weather.

1. An establishment whose primary or accessory use or activity is gambling, either in the form of gambling machines (video, keno, etc.), card games or other licensed gambling activity. A casino will normally have beverage and restaurant facilities as ancillary uses. In all instances, an establishment will be considered a casino for the purpose of these regulations if any one of the below characteristics apply:
   1. The establishment is referenced as a "casino" or uses the following words "betting, gambling, gaming, or chance" in signage, advertising (on-site, off-site, or media) or by name;
   2. Has any card tables on the premise;
   3. Has more than two gambling machines on premise; or
   4. The predominant source of income is from gambling revenue.
2. Generally, an establishment will not be considered a casino when the premise contains no live card games, has two or fewer gambling machines, and the gambling machines are clearly incidental to the primary use.

See "day care."

"Church" means a building, together with its accessory buildings and uses, where persons regularly assemble for religious worship and is maintained and controlled by a religious body organized to sustain public worship.

"Clear vision triangle" means that area at the intersection of two roads or a road and railroad tracks created by measuring along both roadways to a point forty feet from the point of intersection and connecting those two points to form a triangle.

"Clinic" means a building designed and used for the medical or similar examination and treatment of persons on an outpatient basis.

"Club" means an incorporated or unincorporated association of persons organized for social, fraternal, religious, athletic, educational, literary, or charitable purposes whose activities are confined to members and their guests and are not extended to the general public. Property occupied by a club shall be subject to the regulations governing public buildings and places.

"Cluster" means a pattern of residential development wherein units are grouped together around access courts with the remainder of the yard left in its natural condition.

See "business or commercial use."

"Common wall" means the wall or walls extending from the basement or ground floor line of a building to the roof along a side lot line that is shared with an adjoining lot.

"Conditional use" means a use permitted in one or more zones as defined in this title but which, because of size, technological processes or equipment, or because of the exact location with reference to surroundings, streets, and existing improvements, or demands upon public facilities requires a special degree of control to make such uses consistent with and compatible to other existing or permissible uses in the same zone or zones.

"Conditional use permit" means the documented evidence of authority granted by the city council to locate a conditional use at a particular location.

"Condominium" means ownership in common with others of a parcel of land and certain parts of a building, together with individual ownership in fee of a particular unit or apartment in such building.

See "nursing home."

"Court" means an open, unoccupied space other than a yard which is on the same lot as a building or buildings and is bounded on two or more sides by such building or buildings, including the open space of a house, court, or apartment, providing access to the units thereof.

"Covered moorage building area" means the area of water lying directly beneath that portion of a structure covered by a roof.

“Cryptocurrency facility” means any digital mining facility, server farm or data center whose purpose is to support digital mining of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies (digital value currencies or derivatives). These facilities are typically comprised of high-powered computers running 24 hours per day, 365 days per year; may or may not have on site staffing.

"Dairy" means any premises where three or more cows, three or more goats, or any combination thereof are kept, milked, and/or maintained.

"Day care" means a facility which provides daily care and supervision of five or more children or handicapped, disabled, or elderly adults not related by blood or marriage and not the legal ward of the attendant adult. "Homes" (5-12 individuals) must be registered with the appropriate State agency. "Centers" (13 or more individuals) must be licensed with the appropriate state agency.

"Density" means the number of dwelling units per gross acre in any residential development.

"Detached building" means any building surrounded on all sides by open space.

"Developer" means an owner, or any person authorized by the owner, who intends to improve or to construct improvements upon the owners property.

"District" means an area defined by boundaries and location on an official zoning map and within which area only certain types of land uses are permitted and within which other types of land uses are excluded, as set forth in this title.

"Dock" means a basin for the storage of boats, including a basin formed between the extension of two piers on the area between a bank or quay and a pier. Docking facilities may include moorage, docks, or any place or structure connected with the shore or upon shorelands provided for the securing of a boat.

"Drive-in restaurant" means a use wherein its retail character is dependent on a driveway approach and parking space on the premises for motor vehicles so as to either serve customers while in the vehicle or permit consumption of food or beverages obtained on the premises in the vehicle.

"Dwelling" means a building used for human residential purposes.

"Multi-family dwelling" means a building designed to house three or more families living independently of each other in separate dwelling units but having one yard in common.

"Two-family dwelling" means a detached or semi-detached building used for residential occupancy by two families living independently of each other.

"Dwelling unit" means one or more rooms designed for or occupied by one family for living or sleeping purposes and containing kitchen and bathroom facilities for use solely by one family. All rooms comprising a dwelling unit shall have access through an interior door to other parts of the dwelling unit.

"Electrical distribution substation" means an assembly of equipment designed to receive energy from a high voltage distribution supply system, convert it to a form suitable for local distribution, and to distribute the energy to feeders through switching equipment designed to protect the service from the effects of faults.

"Established grade" means the high point of the sidewalk at the front or side lot line as established by the city.

"Existing use" means the actual lawful use of the premises at the time this title was adopted or at the time a building permit has been issued, provided the work has actually been done thereon or a valid contract made for such work within the intent of the permit and before the amendment of this title, insofar as it affects the use allowed under the permit.

"Extractive industries" means commercial or industrial operations involving the removal and processing of natural accumulations of sand, rock, soil, gravel or any mineral.

"Family" means one or more persons related by blood, marriage, adoption, or a group of not more than four persons, excluding servants, not related by blood or marriage, living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit.

"Fence" means a masonry wall or a barrier composed of parts connected by boards, rails, panels, or wire for the purpose of enclosing space or separating parcels of land. Retaining walls are not considered to be fences.

"Floor area" means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the floors of a building or buildings, measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls and from the centerline of division walls. Floor area shall include: basement space where the ceiling is at least thirty inches above the ground elevation of adjacent portions of the lot, elevator shafts and stairwells at each floor, mechanical equipment rooms or attic spaces with head room of seven feet six inches or more, penthouse floors, interior balconies and mezzanines, enclosed porches. Floor area shall not include: accessory water tanks and cooling towers, mechanical equipment or attic spaces with headroom of less than seven feet six inches exterior steps or stairs, terraces, breezeways, and open spaces.

"Foster home" means a facility wherein:

1. The operator is not legally related to the individuals supervised and is licensed by the state, and
2. Not more than eight individuals reside and are provided with room, board, ordinary care, and supervision. More than eight individuals may reside in a home where such individuals are all related to one another as brothers and/or sisters. The term "foster home" includes, without limitation by reason of enumeration, receiving homes and free homes.

"Fraternity, sorority or student cooperative" means a building occupied by and maintained exclusively for students affiliated with an academic or professional college or university, or other recognized institution of higher learning and regulated by such institution.

"Commercial garage" means a building or portion thereof designed and used for the storage, repair or servicing of motor vehicles or boats as a business.

"Private garage" means an accessory building or accessory portion of the main building enclosed on not less than three sides and designed or used only for the shelter or storage of vehicles owned or operated only by the occupants of the main building or buildings.

"Greenbelt" means a strip of land variable in width for the planting, growing and maintaining of a sight-obscuring screen of healthy native trees or cultivated landscaping to attain an ultimate height of not less than eight feet.

"Ground elevation" means the finished grade of a sidewalk adjacent to any front yard property line or the adjacent street right-of-way line if no sidewalks exists. On side and rear property line, ground elevation shall be the natural grade of said side or rear property line.

"Group home" means a facility wherein:

1. A. The operator is not legally related to the individual supervised and is licensed by the State, and
2. One or more individuals is provided with room, board, specialized and distinctive care and supervision in a family environment or where five or more individuals reside and are provided with room, board, ordinary care and supervision in a family environment. The term group home shall include, without limitation by reason of enumeration, receiving homes and work or wage homes.

"Guest house" means a detached structure being an accessory to a one-family dwelling with not more than two bedrooms, and may include kitchen facilities and which shall be used and/or designed for use primarily by guests.

"Home occupation" means any use conducted entirely within the dwelling and carried on by the members of the family, but may include one employee outside the family which use is clearly incidental and secondary to the dwelling for dwelling purposes and does not change the character thereof and in connection therewith there are no commodities sold from the premises, except that which is produced thereof, provided that the same does not involve more than one-fourth of the total square footage of the dwelling. The conducting of a hospital, tea room, tourist home, animal hospital or any use generating traffic volumes greater than that generated by typical residential use shall not be deemed to be a home occupation.

"Hospital" means an establishment which provides accommodations, facilities and services over a continuous period of twenty-four hours or more for observation, diagnosis and care of two or more individuals not related by blood or marriage to the operator, who are suffering from illness, injury, deformity or abnormality, or from any condition requiring obstetrical, medical or surgical services.

"Animal hospital" means a building or premises for the medical or surgical treatment of animals or pets including dog, cat, and veterinary hospitals, including the boarding of hospitalized animals but excluding the boarding of animals not subjected to medical or surgical treatment.

"Hotel" means a building containing five or more individual sleeping rooms or suites having each a private bathroom attached thereto for the purpose of providing overnight lodging facilities to the public for compensation with or without meals, excluding accommodations for employees. Where a hotel is permitted as a principal use, all uses customarily and historically accessory thereto for the comfort, accommodation and entertainment of the patrons, including the service of alcoholic beverages, shall be permitted upon proper licensure.

"Junk yard" means a lot, land or structure or a part thereof used for the collection, storage and sale of waste paper, rags, scrap metal or discarded material, or for the collection, dismantling, storage, salvaging, or sale of parts of machinery not in running condition.

"Commercial kennel" means any lot or building in which four or more adult dogs and/or cats are kept, boarded, trained or propagated whether in special structures or runways or not.

“Large building” means a building in areas zoned B2 or B4 with a floor area of ten thousand (10,000) square feet or more.

"Livestock" means horses, bovine animals, sheep, goats, swine, donkeys, mules and all wild animals.

"Lot" means a parcel of land occupied or to be occupied by one building and the accessory buildings or uses customarily incident to it including such open spaces as are arranged and designed to be used in connection with such buildings.

"Lot area" means the total horizontal area within the boundary lines of a lot. Where surface utilities or street easements are located within a parcel, lot area computation shall not include that area contained within the easement.

"Corner lot" means a lot at the junction of and fronting on two or more intersecting streets.

"Lot depth" means the mean dimension of a lot from the front street line to the rear line.

"Interior lot" means a lot fronting on one street

"Through lot" means a lot fronting on two streets that do not intersect on the parcels lot lines. May be referred to as a double frontage lot.

"Lot width" means a dimension of the lot line at the street or in an irregularly shaped lot the dimension at the building line or in a corner lot the narrow dimension of the lot at a street or building line.

"Manufactured home" means housing built on a chassis designed and constructed for transportation to a site for installation and use when connected to required utilities.

1. Class A manufactured home - a manufactured home meeting the following standards:
   1. A single-family dwelling constructed not more than eight years prior to placement and consisting of at least one thousand square feet of living space.
   2. At least twenty feet wide at the narrowest point.
   3. Placed on a permanent perimeter foundation.
   4. Hitch and/or tongue of the manufactured home is removed.
2. Class B manufactured home - a manufactured home that does not meet the above standards except that Class B manufactured homes must meet the permanent perimeter foundation requirement in the mobile home overlay districts.

"Manufactured home park" means a parcel of land which has been planned and improved for the placement of one or more manufactured homes for residential use.

"Manufactured home subdivision" means a subdivision designed and intended for residential use where residence is in manufactured homes exclusively, and where the lot is sold or rented to the occupant.

"Light manufacturing/assembly" means the manufacturing, fabricating, and/or assembly of products for retail, commercial or wholesale distribution. No heavy welding, casting, fiberglass forming or commercial painting activities are permitted. Light manufacturing/ assembly shall meet all of the special provisions criteria found in Chapter 18.430.

"Map" means the official zoning district map of Columbia Falls, Montana.

“Marijuana “means all plant material from the genus Cannabis containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or seeds of the genus capable of germination. It does not include hemp, including any part of that plant, including the seeds and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis, or commodities or products manufactured with hemp, or any other ingredient combined with marijuana to provide topical or oral administrations, food, drink, or other products. The term also does not include a drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration pursuant to Section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act, 21 U.S.C. 301, et seq.

“Marijuana cultivation” means a use operated by a person licensed by the State of Montana to (a) plant, cultivate, grow, harvest, and dry marijuana; and (b) package and relabel marijuana produced at the location in a natural or naturally dried form that has not been converted, concentrated, or compounded for sale through a licensed dispensary. The use and placement of marijuana cultivation must be in compliance with Montana Code Annotated (MCA). The use may not be within 500 feet of, and on the same street as a building used exclusively as a church, synagogue, or other place of worship or as a school or postsecondary school other than a commercially operated school. This distance must be measured in a straight line from the center of the nearest entrance of the place of worship or school to the nearest entrance of the cultivation premises. A cultivator may not cultivate marijuana in a manner that is visible from the street or other public area without the use of binoculars, aircraft, or other optical aids.

“Marijuana dispensary” means a licensed premises from which a person licensed by the State of Montana may (a) obtain marijuana or marijuana products from a licensed cultivator, manufacturer, dispensary, or other licensee approved by the State; and (b) sell marijuana or marijuana products to registered cardholders, adults that are 21 years of age, or both. The location of a marijuana dispensary shall be located within CB-2/marijuana business zoning and shall be in compliance with Montana Code Annotated (MCA). The use may not be within 500 feet of, and on the same street as a building used exclusively as a church, synagogue, or other place of worship or as a school or postsecondary school other than a commercially operated school. This distance must be measured in a straight line from the center of the nearest entrance of the place of worship or school to the nearest entrance of the dispensary premises.

“Marijuana manufacturing” means a use operated by a person licensed by the State of Montana to convert or compound marijuana into marijuana products, marijuana concentrates, or marijuana extract and package, repackage, label, or relabel marijuana products. The use of marijuana manufacturing must be in compliance with Montana Code Annotated (MCA). The use may not be within 500 feet of, and on the same street as a building used exclusively as a church, synagogue, or other place of worship or as a school or postsecondary school other than a commercially operated school. This distance must be measured in a straight line from the center of the nearest entrance of the place of worship or school to the nearest entrance of the manufacturing premises. A manufacturer may not manufacture marijuana products in a manner that is visible from the street or other public area without the use of binoculars, aircraft, or other optical aids.

"Marquis" means a fixed shelter used only as a roof and extending beyond a building line and which is entirely supported by the building to which it is attached.

"Mean ground level" means the average of the finished ground level at the center of all exposed walls of the building. Where walls are parallel to and within five feet of a sidewalk, the sidewalk shall be considered the mean ground level.

“Micro-Brewery, Brew Pub and Mini Brewery.” A brewery where the total amount of beer sold or delivered directly to all retailers does not exceed 10,000 barrels a year and is licensed in accordance with state law. Brew Pubs for example may also serve alcohol and food items on site.

"Moorage" means a place to tie up or anchor a boat or vessel.

See "hotel."

1. "nonconforming use or legal non-conforming use" means:
   1. The use of any building or structure or of land which, at the time such use was initiated, was not prohibited by any then-existing applicable zoning ordinance but which, by virtue of the subsequent adoption of one or more zoning ordinances, would not be permitted due to requirements of any existing ordinance; or
   2. The use of any building or structure or of land that existed prior to April 19, 1955, and whose nonconformity shall be satisfactorily documented by a substantial preponderance of evidence supported by a history of several of the following factors existing prior to April 19, 1955, including, but not limited to, business licenses, building permits, zoning compliance permits, city/county billing records, assessment, tax or rent records, and by city directory listings, and is certifiable as a legal nonconforming use by the Planning Office.
2. “nonconforming building or structure, or legal non-conforming building or structure” means:
   1. The existence of any building or structure which, at the time such building or structure was constructed or placed on the parcel, was not prohibited by any then-existing applicable zoning ordinance, but which, by virtue of the subsequent adoption of one or more zoning ordinances, would not be permitted after such adoption due to requirements of any existing ordinance.
   2. Any building or structure that existed prior to April 19, 1955, and whose nonconformity shall be satisfactorily documented by a substantial preponderance of evidence supported by a history of several of the following factors existing prior to April 17, 1989, including, but not limited to, business licenses, building permits, zoning compliance permits, city/county billing records, assessment, tax or rent records, and by city directory listings, and is certifiable as a legal nonconforming building or structure by the Planning Office.
   3. The term “building” shall be synonymous with the term “structure”, for the purposes of determining issues involving conformance to the zoning.

See "day care center."

A health care institution other than a hospital or personal care facility which is licensed by the State of Montana as a skilled nursing facility for two (2) or more unrelated persons.

"Off-street parking" means parking facilities for motor vehicles on other than a public street or alley.

"Open space" means any part of a lot unobstructed from the ground upward. Any area used for parking or maneuvering of automotive vehicles or storage of equipment or refuse shall not be deemed public open space.

"Parking space" means a space within or without a building exclusive of driveways at least one hundred eighty square feet used to temporarily park a motor vehicle having access to a public street or alley.

"Pasture" means an area confined within a fence or other physical barrier and which area is used for grazing or roaming of livestock.

A permanent perimeter foundation consisting of concrete footings and concrete or concrete block foundation walls to conform with the state building code.

"Permitted uses" means any use authorized alone or in conjunction with another use in a specified district and subject to the limitations of the regulations of such use district.

"Personal care facility" means a residential health facility licensed by the State of Montana to provide nonskilled personal care services including meals, bathing and mobility assistance on a twenty-four hour basis.

"Planned unit development (PUD)" means a tract of land developed as an integrated unit. The development is unique and is based on a plan which allows for flexibility of design, setting, and density not otherwise possible under the prevailing zoning district regulations.

"Planning office" means the office designated by the city to provide planning services to the city.

"Planning staff" means the staff, employees or officials designated by the city to serve as its official city planners.

"Principal use" means the primary or predominant use to which the property is or may be devoted, and to which all other uses on the premises are accessory.

"Professional offices" means offices maintained and used as a place of business conducted by persons engaged in the healing arts for human beings, such as physicians and dentists (but wherein no overnight care for patients is given), and by engineers, attorneys, architects, accountants and other persons providing services utilizing training in and the knowledge of mental disciplines as distinguished from training in occupations requiring mechanical skill or manual dexterity or the handling of commodities.

"Projection" means the distance any part of the structure extends over public property or beyond the building setback line.

"Public utility" means a public service cooperation performing some public service and subjected to special governmental regulations, or a governmental agency performing similar public services, the services by either of which are paid for directly by the recipients thereof. Some services shall include but are not limited to water supply, electric power, telephone, television cable antennae, gas and transportation for persons and freight.

"Public open space" means any open space performing necessary or desirable functions in relation to the adjoining residential use. Public open spaces may include, but are not limited to rivers, lakes, public parks, and grounds around public buildings.

"Commercial recreation area" means an area operated for profit and devoted to facilities and equipment for recreational purposes, including swimming pools, tennis courts, playgrounds and other similar uses whether the use of such area is limited to private membership or open to the public upon payment of the fee or service charge.

Non-commercial recreation area" means an area devoted to facilities and equipment for recreational purposes, swimming pools, tennis courts, playgrounds, community club houses, and other similar uses maintained and operated by non- profit club, homeowners association, or other corporate structure and in which membership is limited to the residents within the area.

"Recreation space" means open space for both passive and active recreation. Passive recreation facilities include outdoor sitting areas in the form of sundecks, balconies or roof gardens, shaded areas along walkways or portions of walkways overlooking open areas. Active recreation areas include pedestrian ways located and landscaped to provide for strolling activities, tennis courts, swimming and boating areas, shuffleboard courts, bridle paths, playlots, playgrounds and playfields.

"Recreation vehicle" means a travel trailer or camping trailer designed to be towed, motorized homes, pickup campers, or coaches designed and constructed for human habitation, which can be operated independently or dependently of utility connections and designed to be used principally as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreation and vacation. A travel trailer shall adhere to the width restrictions as set forth by the MDOT, excluding slide outs.

"Recreational vehicle park" means a lot, tract, or parcel of land used or offered for use in whole or in part, with or without charge, for the parking of occupied recreational vehicles, tents, or similar devices used for temporary living quarters for recreational camping or travel purposes.

“Residential.” A structure regularly used by its occupants as a permanent place of abode, which is made one’s home as opposed to one’s place of business and which has housekeeping and cooking facilities for its occupants only. In situations where a dwelling is rented or leased, a residential use would involve lease periods of one month or more.

"Retail business" means a business that sells goods or commodities in small quantities directly to consumers as opposed to a business that is a producer or a wholesaler of goods. Retail business is open to the general public on a regular and frequent basis, for a period not less than seasonally. Retail businesses include but are not limited to the following: shops/stores/businesses that sell gifts, cards, appliances, art, art supply, automobile parts, bicycles, books, stationery, camera supplies, clothing, flowers, furniture, garden supplies, hardware, toys, paint, shoes, sporting goods, wall and floor coverings, jewelry, records, pets and pet supplies, and/or crafts.

"Retirement home" means a place of residence for several families or individuals in apartment-like quarters, rented, cooperative, or condominium, which may feature services to retired persons such as limited nursing facilities, minimum maintenance, living accommodations, and recreation programs and facilities.

See "boarding house.

"Safety island” means an area along the property line abutting a vehicle lane that is not a private driveway outside the public right-of-way, unobstructed, sufficient in width to permit standing or walking and reasonably accessible to a pedestrian; sidewalk; buffer strip.

"Satellite dish" means a device commonly parabolic in shape mounted at a fixed point for the purpose of capturing television signals transmitted via satellite communications facilities and serving the same or similar function as a common television antenna.

"Commercial school" means a building where instruction is given to pupils in arts, crafts, or trades and operated as a commercial enterprise as distinguished from schools endowed and/or supported by public taxation.

"Second hand/antique store" means any retail establishment in which the principal portion of the articles, commodities or merchandise handled/offered for sale or sold on the premises is used or not new.

"Semiprivate facility" means any facility to which a class or a group of the public is permitted to attend or use subject to the regulations of a club or other organization owning or regulating such facility.

"Automobile service station" means an occupancy which provides for drive-in type business and in which business or service may be provided with or without the customer leaving the vehicle. It may also include the following:

1. The servicing of motor vehicles and operations incidental thereto limited to the retail sale of petroleum products and automotive accessories;
2. Automobile washing, waxing and polishing of automobiles;
3. Tire changing and repairing, excluding recapping;
4. Battery service, charging and replacement;
5. Radiator cleaning and washing, excluding steam cleaning and repair; and
6. Installation of accessories;
7. The following operations if conducted within a building:
   1. Lubrication of motor vehicles;
   2. Brake servicing limited to servicing and replacement of brake cylinders, lines and brake shoes;
   3. Wheel balancing;
   4. The testing, adjustment, and replacement or servicing of carburetors, coils, condensers, distributor caps, fan belts, filters, generators, points, rotors, spark plugs, voltage regulators, water and fuel pumps, water hoses, and wiring.

"Shelter station" means a shelter for the protection from the elements of the waiting customers of the public transportation system.

“Shipping Container” means a container typically metal sided, used for multimodal shipping, not placed on a foundation, and used only for storage associated with the business on the premises. Semitrailers, truck boxes and box trailers, etc., are also considered shipping containers if the wheels or wheel carriage has been removed.

"Sign" means any medium or visual communication including its supporting structure and source of light which is used or intended to be used to attract attention to a location or subject matter for advertising, instruction or informational purposes.

1. Billboard means an off-site freestanding or building-attached sign that is generally designed with a surface on which temporary poster panels or bulletins are mounted for the purpose of conveying a visual product, business, charitable or church organization, candidate or point of view.
2. Construction sign means any sign giving the name or names of principal contractors, architects, and lending institutions responsible for construction on the site where the sign is placed, together with other information included thereon.
3. Freestanding sign means a sign so located that it is not attached to a building, fence or any structure other than a framework, post or other such device erected primarily to support the sign.
4. Illuminated sign means any sign illuminated in any manner by an artificial light source.
5. Message sign means a sign which displays community service oriented messages along with incidental advertising for the business to which it relates. It must contain electronically updated time, temperature and date.
6. Off-site sign means a sign advertising or otherwise relating to any business, product or activity not being conducted or produced on the lot or parcel on which the sign is located.
7. Political sign, means a sign with a message advocating a particular candidate, party or proposition.
8. Portable sign means a sign that is not permanently affixed to the ground or building and which is able to be readily moved from one location to another.
9. Projecting sign means a sign erected upon a building wall or canopy and projecting more than twelve inches outward from the plane of the business facade.
10. Readerboard means a sign constructed to display an advertising message that may be changed by the manual, electronic or other manipulation of letters or numbers on its face(s).
11. Real estate sign means a temporary sign with a message announcing the offer to build on, sell, rent or lease the premises upon which it is displayed.
12. Roof sign means any sign erected or constructed wholly upon and over the roof of any building and supported solely on the roof structure.
13. Event sign means a banner or sign with a message identifying a civic or public event or holiday.
14. Wall sign means a sign erected upon a building, fence or other structure, at no point projecting more than twelve inches horizontally to the back of the sign from the surface upon which it is erected. Also, the sign shall not project above the apex of the main roof or false roof structure which is visible from the public right-of-way.

"Site plan" means a schematic diagram of the lot, tract or parcel of land showing the specific location of all existing and proposed features such as buildings, other structures, driveways, parking, landscaped areas, easements, utilities, drainage, etc.

“Small building” means any building in any commercial or residential zone, except suburban agricultural zones, that is not defined as a large building, excluding residential buildings that have fewer than five (5) units.

"Solid planting" means the planting of evergreen trees and shrubs which will prevent a thorough and unobscured penetration of light and sight.

"Private stable" means a detached accessory building in which horses or other animals owned by the occupant of the premises are kept and in which no such animals are kept for hire, remuneration or sale.

"Public stable" means a stable other than a private stable.

"Storage yard" means any lot or portion of the lot which is used for the sole purpose of the outdoor storage of fully operable motor vehicles, construction equipment, construction materials, or other tangible materials and equipment in an orderly manner.

"Story" means that part of the building lying between two floors or between the floor and ceiling of the highest usable level of the building.

"Arterial street" means a major street with moderate to fast speeds, high volume and designed to provide access to the regional transportation system and move traffic through or around the city or from one general area of the city to another.

"Collector street" means intermediate streets which collect local traffic from neighborhoods and move it to an adjacent neighborhood or transfers the traffic to the arterial system.

"Local streets" means minor streets intended to serve individual sites buildings or lots. Local streets feed into collectors or provide destination access off of collectors.

"Public street" means a dedicated public right-of-way for vehicles which affords a principal means of access to abutting properties.

"Structural alterations" means any change in the supporting members of the building such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams or girders or any substantial change in the roof or exterior walls.

"Structure" means a combination of materials constructed and erected permanently on the ground or attached to something having a permanent location on the ground. Not included are residential fences less than six feet in height, retaining walls, rockeries, and similar improvements of a minor character less than three feet in height.

“Sublot” means a lot created for the purpose of allowing the construction of a building that is mounted on the lot line with a common wall that permits the conveyance of a portion of the building and portion of the lot occupied by the building as a distinct property separate from the remainder of the building and lot.

"Temporary" means not having or requiring permanent attachment to the ground, or involving structures which have no required permanent attachment to the ground.

"Theater" means a structure used for dramatic, operatic, motion picture or other performances for admission to which entrance money is received and no audience participation or meal service is allowed.

"Drive-in theater" means an establishment to provide entertainment through projection of motion pictures on an outdoor screen for audiences whose seating accommodations are provided by their own motor vehicles. Parking spaces provided on the same site with the outdoor screen.

"Truck repair shop" means a facility that services and repairs large delivery vehicles, passenger buses, and tractor-trailer rigs. Such facility shall not be involved in the dismantling of motor vehicles.

"Underlying zone" means the established zoning use district for an area for which a PUD or the equivalent is proposed.

"Use" means the specific purpose for which a building or lot is arranged, intended, designed, occupied or maintained.

“Vacation Rental.” A residential use that allows paid visitors to rent an entire house, townhouse unit, condominium unit, apartment or other residence located in the applicable zoning district for a period of between one and thirty days. In Columbia Falls, this use requires an Administrative Conditional Use Permit if proposed in suburban agricultural and residential zoning districts. Vacation rentals are not Bed and Breakfast, Hostel, Lodge, Motel or Hotel establishments and shall not provide food or beverages for sale on premises or with the rental of the dwelling.

"Variance" means an adjustment made in the application of the specific regulations to a particular piece of property, in the form of a special exception to this division granted by the appropriate body.

See "hospital, animal."

"Veterinary clinic" means a veterinary hospital; a building or premises for the medical or surgical treatment of small animals or pets including dog, cat, not to include livestock or other large animals, including the boarding of hospitalized animals but excluding the boarding of animals not subjected to medical or surgical treatment.

"Wholesale" means the business of selling goods or merchandise to retailers or jobbers for the resale to the ultimate user.

"Yard" means open space in front, rear, or side on the same lot with the building or proposed building unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward except for permitted incursions into these spaces.

"Front yard" means a yard extending between side lot lines across the front of a lot.

"Rear yard" means a yard extending between side lot lines across the rear of a lot.

"Service yard" means an open area usually paved with access to a street or alley to allow vehicular access to a building or use for purposes of loading or unloading equipment, freight, livestock or people.

"Side yard" means a yard extending from the front yard to the rear yard across the side of a lot.

"Zoning administrator" means a duly appointed officer of the city charged with the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this title.