The City Council may authorize by specific use permit an accessory off-street parking lot on (1) any zoning lot in a residential district which abuts, either directly or across an alley, a commercial district or an industrial district, or on (2) any zoning lot in an OP district which abuts, either directly or across an alley, any other commercial district or an industrial district, subject to the following requirements:

■

Permitted Use. Such lot shall be used solely for the parking of passenger automobiles, as a use accessory to one or more principal uses located in said commercial or industrial districts and shall not be used as a commercial parking lot.

■

Proximity to Commercial or Industrial Districts. No part of the lot shall be more than 300 feet from the nearest boundary of a commercial or industrial district.

■

Entrance Location. Each entrance and exit of such lot shall be at least 20 feet from any other property in a residential district.

■

Signs. Only signs for the direction of traffic or for the identification of the lot shall be established or maintained on such lot.

■

Other Requirements. Such lot shall be subject to all requirements of this section which are applicable generally to off-street parking lots and to any additional requirements or conditions which the City Council may find necessary for the protection of adjacent property.

16.02.1.

Generally. An accessory building may be erected as an integral part of a principal building, except when the accessory building is a stable or other structure for housing animals, or it may be connected with the principal building by a breezeway or similar roofed structure, or it may be erected completely detached from the principal building.

16.02.2.

Time of Construction. No accessory building shall be constructed on any lot prior to the time of construction of the principal building to which it is accessory.

16.02.3.

Location.

1.

An accessory building erected as an integral part of the principal building shall be made structurally a part thereof, shall have a common wall therewith, and shall comply in all respects with the requirements of this ordinance applicable to the principal building. An enclosed accessory building for off-street parking of automobiles which is erected within 10 feet of a principal building shall comply in all respects with the requirements of this ordinance and the fire code applicable to the principal building.

2.

A carport is defined as an open sided structure attached to an automobile garage on one end or side and supported by poles or decorative posts. The supporting framework shall be of wood or metal. The roof covering shall be wood, metal or a composition material considered permanent in nature. A carport is to be used for temporary parking of motor vehicles used on a day to day basis. No carport is allowed to substitute for a garage as defined, or required by any existing ordinances. A carport, although considered a permanent structure, cannot be used for any purpose other than motor vehicle or trailer parking.

Carport construction is governed by the following regulations:

a.

Roof. Not to exceed 20 feet length overall. Eave height not to exceed the height of the eave of the nearest building.

b.

Corner posts no further than 18 feet from the face of the permanent structure that measures the most setback from the property line.

c.

Sides must remain open, except for that portion of the side or end covered by attachment to an existing house or garage.

d.

No carport shall be erected nearer than five (5) feet to the front property line when measured from the longest projection of the roof line, eave, or decorative overhang; except when there is a 20-foot setback line, the five (5) foot requirement shall not apply. In such case, the carport shall not be extended nearer than one foot of the property line.

The purpose of this subsection is to allow the erection of carports in the front of a building, projecting toward the front lot line. This section is not intended to restrict the erection of a carport or accessory structure, in accordance with existing sections, on any side or rear lot.

3.

Except as provided under paragraphs 16.02.3(1) and 16.02.3(2) hereof, an accessory building shall be located on the rear two-thirds of the zoning lot (but this limitation shall not apply to carports, provided the required front yard is observed) and at least 10 feet from any dwelling existing or under construction on the same lot. No accessory building shall be located closer than three (3) feet to any interior lot line, unless such lot line abuts an alley. In the case of a corner lot, said accessory building shall not project in front of the front building line required or existing on the adjacent lot, nor closer than 20 feet from the street line from which vehicular access is gained. These provisions relating to accessory buildings shall be effective with respect to such buildings, even though other provisions of this ordinance require wider or deeper yards for principal buildings.

16.02.4.

Maximum Rear Yard Coverage. Accessory buildings shall not cover more than 30 percent of the area of the required rear yard.

No lot, yard, court, parking area, or usable open space shall be reduced in area or dimension so as to make said area or dimension less than the minimum required by this ordinance; and, if already less than the minimum required by this ordinance, said area or dimension shall not be further reduced. However, this section shall not be interpreted to prevent the erection of a single-family dwelling within any residential district when a portion of a lot is acquired for a public purpose, provided that the remaining lot area and lot width are not less than two-thirds of the required minimum and that all other requirements of this ordinance are complied with.

The lot, open space, or yard areas required by this ordinance for a particular building shall not be diminished and shall not be included as part of the required lot, open space, or yard area of any other building. If such areas for a particular building are diminished below the minimum required herein, the continued existence of such building shall be deemed to be a violation of this ordinance.

Nothing in this ordinance shall prevent the strengthening or restoring to a safe condition of any part of any building or structure declared unsafe by proper authority.

No portion of any required front yard in a residential district may be used for any purpose other than for required access drives and parking thereon, for landscaping, or for signs as permitted in the district; provided, however, that off-street parking which becomes nonconforming by virtue of this section, shall not be required to be discontinued.

In any residential district, a front yard as required for the district in which a through lot is located shall be required along both the front and the rear street lot lines.

16.09.1.

Off-street Loading Requirements.

■

General. Every building or structure hereafter constructed in any district for commercial, institutional and industrial purposes requiring the receipt or distribution by vehicles of material or merchandise shall provide and maintain on the same lot with such building, at least one off-street loading space for the first 10,000 SF or fraction thereof of gross floor area, and one additional such loading space for each 10,000 SF or major fraction thereof of gross floor area so used in excess of 10,000 SF, except that no more than three off-street loading spaces shall be required for any commercial use, nor more than five off-street loading spaces for any industrial use.

■

Size. Each loading space shall be not less than 10 feet in width, 35 feet in length and 14 feet in height.

■

Access. Where the off-street loading space does not abut on a street, public or private alley, or easement of access, there shall be provided an access drive at least 10 feet in width leading to the loading areas required hereunder; such drive shall be of such design as to permit ready access by semitrailer trucks.

■

Location. Such space may occupy all or any part of any required yard, or court space, but no such space may be located closer than 50 feet to any residential district unless wholly within a completely enclosed building or unless enclosed on all sides abutting the residential district by a solid fence or wall of not less than six (6) feet in height.

16.09.2.

Off-Street Parking Requirements.

■

General. In all zoning districts, except M2 and M3, in connection with any use, there shall be provided, at the time any building or structure is erected or enlarged or increased in capacity, or any other use is established, accessory off-street parking spaces for automobiles in accordance with the requirements set forth in Article 12, use groups. Parking space used in connection with an existing and continuing use or building on the effective date of this ordinance up to the number required by this ordinance, shall be continued and may not be counted as serving a new structure or addition. A parking space may not be substituted for a loading space and a loading space may not be substituted for a parking space.

■

Size, Construction. Each off-street parking space shall be at least nine (9) feet wide and 20 feet long, exclusive of access drive or aisles, and shall be constructed of concrete.

■

Access. Where the off-street parking space does not abut on a street, public or private alley or easement of access, there shall be provided an access drive constructed of concrete, of at least 10 feet in width in the case of a dwelling and at least 20 feet in width in all other cases, providing direct access to each parking space required. In the case of a parking area abutting on a street, the access drive shall not be greater than 20 feet in width and there shall be a minimum separation between access drives of 40 feet.

■

Location. Such off-street parking space may occupy all or any part of any required yard except as provided in Section 16.06 or any court space, but may not occupy any required usable open space. For any new use, structure or building, required off-street parking, which because of the size or location of the parcel cannot be provided on the same zoning lot with the principal use, may be provided on other property not more than 200 feet distant from the building site. Such parking space shall be deemed to be required parking space associated with the permitted principal use and shall not thereafter be reduced or encroached upon in any manner.

■

Development, Maintenance, and Use of Parking Areas. Every parcel of land hereafter used as a public or private parking area, including a commercial parking lot, shall be developed and maintained in accordance with the following requirements:

▶

Screening and Landscaping. Off-street parking areas for more than five vehicles shall be effectively screened on each side which adjoins or is located within 20 feet of any residential district or abutting a street, by a masonry wall or solid fence and shall be provided with a minimum two-foot width planting strip between the sidewalk area and the parking area. Such wall or fence shall be not less than four (4) feet or more than six (6) feet in height, measured from the finished grade, and shall be maintained in good condition without any advertising thereon. The space between such wall or fence and the side lot line adjoining said premises, or the front lot line facing said premises, in any residential district may be used only for landscaping and shall be maintained in good condition.

▶

Barriers. Off-street parking areas shall be provided with wheel guards or bumper guards so located that no part of a parked vehicle will extend beyond the parking area.

▶

Nature of Use. Required off-street parking areas shall not be used for the sale, repair, dismantling, or servicing of any vehicles, equipment, materials, or supplies.

▶

Shelter Building. An off-street parking area may not have more than one attendant shelter building conforming to all setback requirements for structures in the district, and which shelter building in any residential district shall not contain more than 50 SF of gross floor area.

▶

Surfacing. Any required off-street parking space and any off-street parking area for five or more vehicles shall be an approved concrete or asphalt surface, and shall be so graded and drained as to dispose of all surface water accumulated within the area, and shall be so arranged and marked as to provide for orderly and safe loading, unloading, parking, and storage of vehicles. The foregoing requirements with respect to surfacing shall not apply to a temporary parking area, but shall be applicable to drive-in facilities. Each required parking space shall be accessible from a public street without passing through another required space, except in the case of attended parking areas.

▶

Lighting. Any lighting used to illuminate any off-street parking area shall be so arranged as to direct the light away from the adjoining premises in any residential district.

A permanent screening fence of wood or masonry not less than six (6) feet in height shall be erected and maintained, except as otherwise specified in Section 15.06, subparagraphs 15.06.2(1) and 15.06.2(2) of this ordinance before any use other than the uses permitted in residential districts is made of property in the commercial or industrial districts which abuts or is adjacent to residentially zoned property. Insofar as possible, such screening fences shall be erected along the entire length of the common property line between commercial and/or industrial property and residentially zoned property.

16.12.1.

Distinction Between Nonconforming Structures and Nonconforming Uses. For purposes of this section, the following meanings shall apply:

1.

Nonconforming Structure. Any lawful structure which does not conform to the lot area, lot area per dwelling unit, yard, height, usable, and open space, regulations of this ordinance for the district in which it is located, and/or which does not conform to the special site conditions set forth in Article 12 or other site limitations established for the use of the structure for the district in which it is located, either at the effective date of this ordinance or as a result of subsequent amendments to this ordinance.

2.

Nonconforming Use. Any lawful use of a building, land or structure which does not conform to applicable regulations of this ordinance, and those regulations which determine a nonconforming structure, either at the effective date of this ordinance or as the result of subsequent amendments to the ordinance. No principal use shall, however, be deemed nonconforming because of failure to provide required accessory off-street parking or loading spaces, nor because of the existence of accessory signs, business entrances, or show windows which are themselves nonconforming uses. A nonconforming structure in combination with a nonconforming use shall be treated as a nonconforming use.

16.12.2.

Continuing Existing Nonconforming Uses and Structures. Except as hereinafter specified, any nonconforming use or nonconforming structure may be continued; provided, however, that this subsection does not apply to any use, building, or structure established in violation of any Zoning Ordinance previously in effect in Deer Park unless said use, building, or structure now conforms with this ordinance.

16.12.3.

Use or Structure Previously Nonconforming. Any use or structure which was previously nonconforming and which becomes conforming by virtue of a change in the use or structure, or at the effective date of this ordinance, or by virtue of subsequent amendments thereto, shall not be controlled by the provisions set forth herein applying to nonconforming uses or structure.

16.12.4.

Limitations on Nonconforming Uses. No nonconforming use of a building, structure, or land shall be changed, extended, reconstructed, enlarged, moved, or structurally altered, unless:

■

Such change is required by law or order; or

■

The use thereof is changed to a use permitted in the district in which such building, land, or structure is located; or

■

Authority has been granted by the board of adjustment to extend a nonconforming use throughout those parts of a building which were manifestly designed or arranged for such use prior to the date when such use became nonconforming, if no structural alterations, except those required by law, are made therein.

■

Whenever a nonconforming use has been changed to a conforming use, such use shall not thereafter be changed to a nonconforming use.

16.12.5.

Limitations on Nonconforming Structures. No nonconforming structure shall be changed, extended, reconstructed, enlarged, structurally altered, or moved so as to extend the degree of nonconformity, unless:

■

The building line of a principal structure is continued alongside the side lot line, where such building line is nonconforming, and only if it is an extension of the same building line and does not further reduce the separation from the side lot line at any point, provided no other applicable regulations are violated by such extension; or

■

The mean height of the roof line on an addition otherwise permitted does not exceed the average of the permitted height and the height of the nonconforming structure at the point of connection.

16.12.6.

Cessation of Use of Building or Land. A lawful nonconforming use of a building, structure, or land that has been discontinued for a period of three calendar months shall not thereafter be resumed.

16.12.7.

Discontinuance of a Nonconforming Open Use of Land. A nonconforming agricultural, commercial, or industrial open use of land shall be discontinued within one year from the effective date of this ordinance. Any such nonconforming use of land which becomes nonconforming by reason of any subsequent amendment to this ordinance shall also be discontinued one year from the date of such amendment.

16.12.8.

Reserved.

16.12.9.

Replacement of Damaged or Destroyed Nonconforming Uses or Structures. Any nonconforming building or structure damaged more than 50 percent of the assessed valuation for tax purposes by the City of Deer Park, exclusive of foundations, by fire, flood, explosion, wind, earthquake, war, riot, or other calamity or Act of God, shall not be restored or reconstructed and still be used as a nonconforming use, or in such a manner that it will continue to be a nonconforming structure.

16.12.10.

Repairs to Nonconforming Uses; Limitation. Such repairs and maintenance work as are required to keep it in sound condition may be made to a building or structure devoted to a nonconforming use, provided that no structural alterations shall be made except such as are required by law or ordinance. Except as otherwise provided elsewhere in this ordinance, the total structural repairs and alterations that may be made to a building or structure devoted to a nonconforming use shall not, during its lifetime subsequent to the date of its becoming a nonconforming use, exceed 50 percent of reproduction new-minus-depreciation value, unless such building or structure is changed to a conforming use.

16.12.11.

Amortization of Nonconforming Uses. The lawful nonconforming use of any building or land existing at the time of the enactment of this ordinance may be continued for such definite periods of time and subject to such regulations as to maintenance of premises and conditions of operation as the board of adjustment may reasonably require for the protection of adjacent property and the ultimate removal of such nonconforming use, it being the declared purpose of this ordinance that nonconforming uses be eliminated and required to conform to the uses prescribed by this ordinance, having due regard for the property rights of the owners of the property on which any such nonconforming use exists and for the rights of the adjacent property owners, and in this connection the board of adjustment may, upon its own motion, or upon causes presented by any interested property owner and following due notice and hearing, where circumstances warrant, taking into consideration the general character of the neighborhood and the necessity for all property within a zoning district to conform to the regulations of this ordinance for such district, require the discontinuance of any nonconforming use in any residential zone under any plan, whereby the full value of the nonconforming structures used in connection with any such nonconforming use can be amortized within a definite period of time, or if there be no such nonconforming structures on the land, then within a definite period of time, not less than one (1) year after the date of such order. All such orders shall be binding on subsequent purchasers.

16.12.12.

Preserving Rights in Pending Litigation and Violations Under Existing Ordinances. By the passage of this ordinance, no presently illegal use shall be deemed to be legalized unless specifically such use is a conforming use under this ordinance. Otherwise, such use shall remain a nonconforming use or, an illegal use, as the case may be. It is further the intent and declared purpose of this ordinance that no offense committed, and no liability, penalty, or forfeiture, either civil or criminal, incurred prior to the time the present Zoning Ordinance was adopted shall be discharged or affected by such adoption; but prosecutions and suits for such offenses, liabilities, penalties or forfeiture may be instituted or causes presently pending proceeded within all respects as if this ordinance had not been adopted.