No structures or land, shall hereafter be used and no structure or part thereof shall be erected, reconstructed, converted, moved, or structurally altered unless in conformity with the regulations as set forth in this ordinance. However, buildings which are legally nonconforming with respect to yard areas or height may be structurally altered or enlarged providing the portion of the building which is altered or the portion of the building which is added is in conformity with the provisions of this ordinance.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

Every building hereafter erected, reconstructed, converted, moved or structurally altered in a residential district shall be located on a lot of record which abuts at least on one public street. In no case shall there be more than one main building and its customary accessory buildings on one residential lot. A building may occupy more than one lot, but no further development can be allowed on the affected lots until a subdivision of the lots as approved by the planning commission and board of aldermen. This section is not applicable to the commercial and industrial zoning district classifications.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

No lot shall be reduced in area so that yards, lot area per family, building area, or other requirements of this ordinance are not maintained, unless each portion of the lot reduced is combined with an adjacent buildable lot, or follow procedures as established by the city subdivision regulations.

A portion of a buildable lot may be combined with another buildable lot provided that any remaining portion is a buildable lot, and if not, then the remaining portion will remain as a non-buildable lot until combined with another lot or portion of a lot which combined will result in a buildable lot. In all cases of land subdivision or partition, the owners are required to have the subdivision of land approved by the planning commission of the city in accordance with the subdivision regulations of the city. Variances can be granted by the Planning commission and board of aldermen after a public hearing has been held and the planning commission and board of aldermen determine that the granting of the variance will not violate the intent of the zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

No part of a yard, parking space, or other open space required for any building or use for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this ordinance shall be included as part of a yard or parking space required under this ordinance for another building.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

All territory which may hereafter be added to the city shall be zoned after recommendation by the zoning commission to the board of aldermen, after a study by the planning commission has been made as to the proper zoning for the territory to be annexed. This procedure shall begin immediately on notice from the board of aldermen that a petition for annexation has been filed. By proper procedures as set forth by this ordinance and by Louisiana State Statutes, the zoning commission shall recommend to the mayor and board of alderman those amendments necessary for creating the zoning classifications in the newly annexed areas.

During the interim period between annexation and zoning ordinance amendment approval by the board of alderman, no building permits shall be issued in the newly annexed area unless it conforms with the proposed zoning classifications recommended by the zoning commission.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

Corner lots located at the intersection of public streets have to conform to the general yard requirements shown in table 2, and article 14 in addition to requirements to provide an unobstructed view for motorists approaching the intersection.

The triangular shaped area of this unobstructed view, is defined by the right-of-way lines of the intersecting streets or roads and a diagonal line drawn between two points on the center line of each street or road, 80 feet from the intersection of the streets or roads. Within this triangular shaped area there shall be no visual obstruction between a height of two and one-half feet to nine feet above the average grade of the centerlines of the intersecting streets or roads.

When establishing yard requirements of corner lots based on table 2, article 14 and this section, the more restrictive requirements shall govern.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

If two or more lots or combination of lots and portions of lots with contiguous frontage in single ownership are of record at the time of passage or amendment of this ordinance, or become part under the jurisdiction of the city through annexation, and if all or part of the lots do not meet the requirements for lot width, and area as established by this ordinance, the lots involved shall be considered to be an undivided parcel for the purposes of this ordinance, and no portion of said parcel shall be used or sold which does not meet lot width and area requirements established by this ordinance, nor shall any division of the parcel which leaves remaining any lot with width or area below the requirements stated in this ordinance, unless otherwise provided in this ordinance.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

All areas within the city limits which are under water and are not shown as included within any district shall be subject to all regulations of the district adjacent to the water area. If the water area adjoins two or more districts, the boundaries of each district shall be construed to extend into the water area in a straight line. In the event the water area is a stream, canal, bayou, or river, the adjacent districts extend to the center line of the water area.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

All areas within the city limits and within the 100-year flood plains are governed by the latest amended "Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance for the City of Denham Springs, Louisiana," as required by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this ordinance shall be held to be minimum requirements, adopted for the promotion of the public health, safety, morals, or general welfare. Wherever the requirements of this ordinance are at variance with the requirements of any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations, or ordinance, the most restrictive or those imposing the highest standards shall apply.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

Home occupations will be permitted in any district in which dwellings are permitted with the following provisions and limitations: A home occupation is defined as an accessory use of a residential structure for any gainful occupation or profession which:

2.11.1 Is engaged only by a member of the family occupying the premises. Only one person not resident of the household may be employed in the business to be conducted at the premises.

2.11.2 Is in respect to the residential site, conducted entirely within the dwelling.

2.11.3 Does not occupy more than 20 percent of the gross floor area of the dwelling.

2.11.4 Does not require any special entrance into the structure.

2.11.5 Has no exterior evidence of the accessory use, except for a non-illuminated sign no larger than two square feet in area.

2.11.6 Mechanical equipment, air conditioning and heating used, shall be only that normally used in, or found in, a single family dwelling.

2.11.7 No home occupation shall be permitted which creates a need for more than three parking spaces at any given time in addition to the required spaces for the dwelling unit.

2.11.8 Any activity resulting in traffic, noise, light, fumes and odors to such an extent that it is noticeable that the property is being used for nonresidential purposes, shall not constitute a home occupation.

In general, the following uses will be allowed as a home occupation; custom dress making, millinery, tailoring, sewing of custom apparel and custom home furnishing, laundering and ironing, fine arts studio, offices for professionals, child day care with no more than three children and in accordance with state laws and regulations; tutoring with not more than four students simultaneously, and in general such other activities that do not conflict with other sections of this ordinance.

2.11.9 A home occupation permit will be issued by the building official for any home occupation meeting these guidelines. If any variance is required, it will be issued by the board of aldermen after receiving a recommendation from the zoning commission.

2.11.10 No home occupation shall be permitted in any accessory structure.

(Ord. of 7-23-90; Ord. No. 11-01, art. I, 2-28-11)

All materials or wastes which might cause fumes, dust, odors, or constitute a fire hazard, or attract rodents or insects shall be stored outdoors only in closed bins or containers.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

Any building legally under construction but not in accord with the requirements of this ordinance, will become nonconforming at the time this ordinance or an amendment thereto becomes effective. However, buildings for which permits have been legally issued but construction work has not been substantially started and the building to be constructed or altered is not in conformance with the provisions of this ordinance, then said permit automatically becomes void at the effective date of this ordinance. Permits however, which have been issued prior to the adoption of this ordinance with proposed construction conforming to the requirements of this ordinance will not be affected.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

No accessory building shall be constructed upon a lot for more than six months prior to beginning of construction of the main building. If construction of the main building is not started and continued until completion within the six-month period, then the building cannot be used until the main building construction has been started.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

No garage, tent, trailer or accessory building shall at any time be used as a dwelling except mobile homes located in an approved mobile home park, and except for structures receiving a temporary permit by the board of aldermen after recommendation by the planning commission of a hardship situation. This temporary dwelling permit shall not exceed 90 days, except in cases where the planning commission determines that an extension of the permit is justified. In no case shall a temporary dwelling permit extend over six months. Provisions and procedures defined in this section do not apply in cases where the board of aldermen declare a state of emergency, in which case procedures as established by such a declaration will be followed.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)

Height, area, bulk regulations, off-street, parking regulations and land use regulations contained in tables within this ordinance and so identified hereby become a part of this ordinance. These tables are as follows:

Table 1A Off-Street Parking Regulations.

Table 1B Aisle and Space Requirements for Parking Lots.

Table 2 Height, Area and Yard Regulations.

Table 3 Land Use Chart.

TABLE 1A
OFF-STREET PARKING REQUIREMENTS

*G.F.S.: Gross floor area of building.

Zoning district for each specific use in accordance with district schedules and land use chart, table 3.

TABLE 1B
AISLES AND SPACE REQUIREMENTS
FOR PARKING LOTS

TABLE 2 ZONING DISTRCIT REGULATIONS
LOT, YARD AND HEIGHT REQUIREMENTS

ZONING DISTRICT REGULATIONS PERTAINING TO YARD REQUIREMENTS ARE FURTHER REGULATED AS FOLLOWS:

(1)

See article 14 for supplemental regulations governing lot area and yard area requirements.

(2)

D.U.: Dwelling unit.

(3)

On corner lots, the side yard on the side of the lot abutting the side street shall not be less than ten feet.

(4)

Commercial buildings may be constructed on side lot lines and may have a common wall with another building.

However, if not constructed on side lot line, there must be a minimum of three feet between the lot line and the wall or edge of roof of the building, whichever is closer to the side lot line. Commercial buildings constructed on lots adjacent to a residential district must provide a minimum side yard of ten feet.

(5)

Zero-lot-line development: See article 6, section 6.012 for additional yard requirements.

(6)

Minimum lot area per dwelling unit in R-3, three or more family units, is based on the following minimum dwelling unit sizes:

1 Bedroom = 1,000 sq. ft. of G.F.A.

2 Bedroom = 1,500 sq. ft. of G.F.A.

3 Bedroom = 2,000 sq. ft. of G.F.A.

(7)

Townhouse development shall consist of four or more dwelling units.

(8)

See article 7, subsection 7.0122.h for side yard requirements.

(9)

The central business district shall be comprised of that area included within a broken line on the zoning map and designated as C.B.D. on the legend.

LAND USE CHART
TABLE 3

This table summarizes by zoning districts, all uses permitted, conditionally permitted or allowed by special use permits.

The symbols' meanings are as follows:

X = Permitted use.

D = Permitted conditional uses with specific restrictions enumerated in district regulations.

S = Permitted use only with a "Special Use Permit."

SD = Permitted use with "Special Use Permit" and specific district regulations.

P = Planned unit development.

— = Not permitted.

*Cross reference #; See appendix 1. Prohibited uses in industrial districts are listed in section 12.05 exceptions: See section 14.01.

(Ord. of 7-23-90)