El Paso City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
Residential A-2 District
§ 315-38 Purpose.
The Residential A-2 District is intended to include those older, already developed portions of the City where one-family detached dwellings or smaller individual lots predominate, where it is deemed desirable to maintain and protect this pattern of development, without imposing the undue burden of nonconformity to present-day standards and densities of residential single-family development.
§ 315-39 Permitted uses.
Any uses permitted in the Residential A-1 District shall be permitted in the Residential A-2 District.
§ 315-40 Height.
[Amended 1-5-2015 by Ord. No. 965; 1-3-2022 by Ord. No. 1048]
No building shall hereafter be erected or altered to exceed 35 feet in height if a main or principal building, nor to exceed 20 feet if an accessory structure. Notwithstanding the maximum height of 20 feet, in the event the primary structure built upon the lot is less than 20 feet in height, the maximum height of the accessory structure shall not exceed the height of the primary structure.
§ 315-41 Lot size.
Every building hereafter erected shall be on a lot having an area not less than 6,500 square feet, with a width of 50 feet measured along the front setback line; provided, however, that where a lot is smaller than herein required, and was of record at the time of passage of the ordinance codified in this chapter, said lot may be occupied by not more than one one-family detached dwelling.
§ 315-42 Yards for principal buildings.
[Amended 1977 by Ord. No. 487]
No principal building shall be erected or enlarged hereafter to extend closer to any lot line than the following distances:
A.
Sixty feet to the nearest right-of-way line of any federal or state highway.
B.
Thirty feet to the nearest right-of-way line of any other street, except that on a corner lot the principal building may be located 15 feet from the right-of-way line of the side street.
C.
Five feet to any interior side lot line.
D.
Thirty feet to any rear lot line.
E.
Notwithstanding the minimum distances set forth in Subsections A and B of this section, where 40% or more of the block frontage is improved with buildings that have observed a greater or lesser distance from the front street, no new building or enlargement of an existing building shall project beyond a straight line drawn between the point closest to the front property line of the two nearest principal buildings; but this regulation shall not be interpreted to require a front yard of more than two times the minimum required in Subsections A and B of this section, as applicable, nor to permit a front yard of lesser depth than that of the nearest building.
§ 315-43 Yards and maximum size of detached accessory structures and attached garages.
[Amended 1-3-2022 by Ord. No. 1048]
No detached accessory structures shall be erected upon any lot until and unless a primary residence is constructed and occupied. Once a residential primary structure is occupied, no detached accessory structure shall be erected or enlarged hereafter to extend closer to any lot line than the following distances:
A.
Sixty feet to the nearest right-of-way line of any federal or state highway.
B.
Thirty feet to the nearest right-of-way line of any other street, except that on a corner lot an accessory building may be located 10 feet from the right-of-way line of the side street, if it is at least the minimum required distance from the front street.
C.
Five feet to any interior side lot line.
D.
Five feet to any rear lot line.
E.
Any detached accessory structure shall be limited to the least of the following restrictions:
(1)
One thousand two hundred fifty square feet shall be the maximum square footage of all combined detached accessory structures and this requirement shall include the attached garage of the primary residence.
(2)
Sixty-five percent of the square footage of the primary structure foundation (footprint) which footprint shall not include the attached garage of the primary structure foundation. This 65% maximum requirement shall be waived if all detached structures on the lot and the primary structure combined (including attached garage) together do not exceed 10% of the total lot area.
F.
Any attached garage shall not exceed 50% of the square foot of the primary foundation (footprint).
§ 315-44 Building coverage.
[Amended 1-5-2015 by Ord. No. 965]
No building, with its accessory buildings, shall occupy in excess of 35% of the lot area.
§ 315-45 Habitable floor area.
§ 315-46 Prohibited parking or storage.
[Added 1995 by Ord. No. 692]
No semitrailers of any type or nature nor any commercial vehicles required by the Illinois Department of Transportation to display a placard indicating the vehicle is carrying hazardous materials shall be parked or stored overnight on any lot in the Residential A-2 District.
§ 315-47 Home occupations.
Within the Residential A-2 District, home occupations may be permitted as a special use by the City Council upon recommendation of the Zoning Board after a public hearing. Such special use shall only be granted upon finding that its establishment and operation will not have an adverse effect on adjoining residential uses; that sufficient on-site parking will be provided, so that no noticeable increase in on-street parking will result, nor increased traffic hazard due to entry or exiting vehicles; that delivery vehicles serving the home occupation, if any, will be of the size and type commonly observed on the streets in the Residential A-2 District; and that the occupation involves no retail or wholesale business or manufacture except as such may be an integral part of, and clearly incidental to, the rendering of a personal or professional service.
§ 315-48 Special uses.
[Added 1979 by Ord. No. 526; amended 2-6-2017 by Ord. No. 994; 3-6-2023 by Ord. No. 1060]
A.
Within the Residential A-2 District, a conversion of an existing single-family dwelling to a two-family residence and only a two-family residence may be permitted as a special use by the City Council upon recommendation of the Zoning Board after a public hearing. Such special use shall only be granted upon finding that its establishment will not have an adverse effect on adjoining residential uses; and upon further finding that the following requirements are met:
(1)
Height: Same as Residential A-2 District requirements.
(2)
Lot size. The lot shall have a minimum of 12,500 square feet if an interior lot, and a minimum of 15,000 square feet if a corner lot. An interior lot shall have a minimum of 120 feet of frontage along the street. A corner lot shall have a minimum of 120 feet of frontage along the front setback line parallel to the lesser street frontage. No lot shall he less than 100 feet in depth.
(3)
Front, rear and side yards: same as Residential A-2 District requirements.
(4)
Parking: a minimum of five off-street parking spaces with all-weather surfaces.
B.
Within the Residential A-2 District, the raising, housing, pasturing, or keeping of bees, fowl or livestock may be permitted as a special use by the City Council upon recommendation of the Zoning Board after a public hearing. Such special use shall only be granted upon finding that:
(1)
Such a use will not have an adverse effect on adjoining or neighboring residential uses;
(2)
Animals lawfully kept within the Residential A 2 District shall be kept within the fenced area of the rear yard at all times; and
(3)
Setback: such a use may only be permitted where the raising, housing, pasturing, or keeping of bees, fowl or livestock is located at a distance of 300 feet or greater from rear and side lot lines.
§ 315-49 Wheelchair access improvements.
[Added 1-5-2015 by Ord. No. 965]
Wheelchair access improvements, including but not limited to wheelchair ramps, lifts, elevators, and stairglides, shall be permitted notwithstanding the requirements of §§ 315-412, 315-43 and 315-44, but only upon the written consent of the Zoning Officer of the City of El Paso.