Darien City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 17
04 General Provisions
§ 17.04.010 Jurisdiction.
[Prior code § 17.0201]
The jurisdiction of this title shall apply to all structures, lands, water and air within the corporate limits of the Village.
§ 17.04.020 Compliance.
[Prior code § 17.0202]
No structure, land, water or air shall hereafter be used and no structure or part thereof shall hereafter be located, erected, moved, reconstructed, extended, enlarged, converted or structurally altered without a zoning permit and without full compliance with the provisions of this title and all other applicable local, county, and state regulations.
§ 17.04.030 Use regulations.
[Prior code § 17.0203]
Only the following uses and their essential services may be allowed in any district.
A.
Principal uses specified for a district;
B.
Accessory uses and structures as specified are permitted in any district but not until their principal structure is present or under construction;
C.
Conditional uses and their accessory uses are considered as special uses requiring review, public hearing, and approval by the Village Board in accordance with Section 17.72.040. When a use is classified as a conditional use as the date of adoption of the title, it shall be considered a legal use without further action of the Village Board. Changes to or substitution of conditional uses shall be subject to review and approval by the Village Board in accordance with Section 17.72.040.
D.
Limited conditional uses are the same as regular conditional uses excepting the further, in the considered findings of the Village Board and the granting thereof, because of any of the following: Their particularly specialized nature, their particular locations within a district, the peculiar unique relationships or needed compatibility of uses to involved individuals, or any other reason(s) the Village Board deems specially relevant and material to delimit the scope thereof should be lesser permanence than regular conditional uses and the duration or term of existence may be established until time certain or be limited to a future happening or event at which time the same shall terminate.
E.
Temporary uses are permitted subject to all the requirements applicable to uses permitted by right, plus any additional requirements applicable to that particular land use as specified in Chapter 17.22. Land uses permitted as temporary uses are subject to the review and approval of Village staff in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 17.72.110.
§ 17.04.040 Site regulations.
[Prior code § 17.0204]
No land shall be used or structure erected where the land is unsuitable for such use or structure by reason of flooding, concentrated runoff, inadequate drainage, adverse soil or rock formation, unfavorable topography, or low bearing strength, erosion susceptibility, or any other feature likely to be harmful to the health, safety, prosperity, aesthetics, and general welfare of this community. The Village Plan Commission, in applying the provisions of this section, shall in writing recite the particular facts upon which it bases its conclusion that the land is not suitable for certain uses. The applicant shall have an opportunity to present evidence contesting such unsuitability if he or she so desires. Thereafter the Village Plan Commission may affirm, modify or withdraw its determination of unsuitability.
A.
All lots shall abut upon a public street, and each lot shall have a minimum frontage of 66 feet, except in the central commercial district, which shall have a minimum of 40 feet of public street frontage.
B.
All principal structures shall be located on a lot; and only one principal structure shall be located, erected or moved onto a lot in the single-family and two-family residential districts. The Plan Commission may permit more than one structure per lot in other districts where more than one structure is needed for the orderly development of the parcel. When additional structures are permitted, the Plan Commission may impose additional yard requirements, landscaping requirements, parking requirements, or may require a minimum separation distance between principal buildings, per the requirements of conditional use permit for a group development (per Chapter 17.28).
C.
No zoning permit shall be issued for a lot which abuts a public street dedicated to only a portion of its proposed width and located on that side thereof from which the required dedication has not been secured.
D.
Lots abutting more restrictive district boundaries shall provide side and rear yards not less than those required in the more restrictive abutting district. The setbacks on the less restrictive district shall be modified for a distance of not more than 60 feet from the district boundary line so as to equal the average of the street yards required in both districts.
§ 17.04.050 Reduction or joint use.
[Prior code § 17.0205]
No lot, yard, parking area, building area, or other space shall be reduced in area or dimensions so as not to meet the provisions of this title. No part of any lot, yard, parking area or other space required for a structure or use shall be used for any other structure or use.
§ 17.04.060 Detailed land use descriptions and regulations.
[Prior code § 17.0206]
The land use categories employed by this title (particularly Section 17.30.040 and Chapters 17.32 through 17.52) are defined in the following chapters. Land uses which are not listed in this title are not necessarily excluded from locating within any given zoning district. Section 17.74.020 empowers the Zoning Administrator to make interpretations on matters regarding specific land use proposals which are not addressed by this title.