The purpose of the village zone is: (1) to stabilize and improve property values in the community; (2) to foster civic beauty; (3) to strengthen the local economy; (4) to advance the community as a social, economic and political unit; (5) to further the community's general welfare by retaining, protecting and preserving the substantial character of the area by continuing a uniformity in the exterior of all structures in the community; (6) to maintain a relationship between the exterior architectural features and color schemes of the structure, to the remainder of the structure and to surrounding structures; (7) to attain a general compatibility of exterior design, arrangement, texture and materials proposed to be used; (8) to encourage the continuation and establishment of small businesses, professions and skilled craft occupations in conjunction with residential uses.

(Prior code Art. XI (Art. V-A § (part)))

Uses permitted in the village zone are as follows:

A.

Town houses, duplexes, multifamily and single-family dwellings;

B.

Schools, libraries, museums, parks, playgrounds and community centers;

C.

Nursery schools or child day care centers provided the play area is fully fenced and one parking space per employee is provided, and one hundred (100) square feet of open space per child is provided;

D.

Boarding & lodging and bed & breakfast inns; if one additional paved off-street parking spaces per bedroom is provided;

E.

Medical centers, rest homes and nursing homes; provided off-street parking is provided for each attendant or worker and for each three patients to be cared for therein;

F.

Clubs, lodges, hospitals, sanitariums, institutions and fire departments;

G.

Neighborhood Retail Outlets. Furniture, clothing, dry goods, shoe and variety service, and sales and service for small and large appliances;

H.

Food, Drug and Beverages. Grocery, fruit or vegetable stores, meat markets, delicatessens, drug stores, bakery in conjunction with retail sales, restaurants, tea rooms, and cocktail lounges; retail wine and spirit shops;

I.

Specialty Shops. Gift shops, jewelry stores, magazine, book, and stationery outlets; except no store that sells pornographic or other obscene materials shall be permitted; florist shops, camera and photography shops, and studios, sporting goods, antique shops, taxidermists, bicycle sales and service;

J.

Service and Recreation. Laundromats, dry cleaning and laundry pickup stations, barber and beauty shops, dressmaking and millinery shops, shoe repair and tailor shops, mortuaries, indoor storage, commercial recreation, repair shops for small appliances and small articles, newspaper printing, and publishing facilities, print shops, print brokers, furnace, heating, computer, plumbing and tire shops, volunteer fire departments, and ambulance service, public service buildings and offices, and meeting places for nonprofit organizations, sales and service of small and medium size outdoor power equipment, not to exceed 25 hp and 2500 lb in weight;

K.

Business and Professional Office. Medical and dental offices and clinics, law offices, insurance and real estate offices, banks, finance, and utility company offices;

L.

Home occupation.

M.

Family day care home licensed by the state.

N.

Place of worship, theatre, auditorium.

(Ord. 04-21 (part): Ord. 04-09: Ord. 00-16: prior code Art. XI (Art. V-A § (part))

(Ord. No. 13-13, 11-18-13; Ord. No. 12-05, 5-21-12; Ord. No. 17-12, 9-5-17)

Accessory uses and structures permitted in the VZ zone are: detached one story accessory uses (such as a private garage, a private swimming pool and a garden or tool shed). Accessory structures may be placed in side or rear yards, but are not allowed in any front yard as defined in Section 17.04.020.

Accessory structures less than one hundred fifty (150) square feet in size shall remain three feet from the side lot lines and six feet from the rear lot lines, or in the case of a swimming pool, a distance equal to the maximum depth of the pool. Detached means not connected to the principal structure. No satellite dishes may be installed on roof lines. Where the lot width existing as of May 1, 2012 is thirty (30) feet or less, an accessory structure less than one hundred fifty (150) square feet in size shall remain at least three feet from the side lot lines and six feet from the rear lot line.

A private detached garage, car canopy or structure one hundred fifty (150) square feet or larger shall remain six feet off the side and rear lot lines. In the case of a private detached garage, car canopy or structure one hundred fifty (150) square feet or larger, where the lot width existing as of may 1, 2012, is thirty (30) feet or less, the side setback requirement shall be a distance of at least six feet from one side lot line, and six feet from the rear property line.

Additionally, accessory structures must also meet the requirements listed below:

1.

No more than thirty (30) percent of the rear yard of a lot, as defined in Section 17.04.020, is allowed to be covered with accessory structures.

2.

Only one accessory structure on a lot may be built under the zero lot line setback as allowed for lots less than thirty (30) feet in width.

3.

All lots with accessory structures must demonstrate a clear and direct six foot path from the rear of the lot to the principal structure on the lot.

(Ord. 03-16: Ord. 92-7 § 1; prior code Art. XI (Art. V-A § (part)))

(Ord. No. 12-06, 5-21-12; Ord. No. 16-02, 2-1-16)

A.

The off-street parking requirements in this section shall be waived for any existing commercial/nonresidential use and/or any commercial/nonresidential use being established in an existing building so long as that building is not being enlarged in any way. This waiving of off-street parking requirements refers only to commercial/nonresidential uses and does not include and/or affect any residential uses.

B.

Existing on-site parking at an existing commercial/nonresidential facility may not be decreased if doing so would create or increase nonconformance with the requirements of paragraph D.

C.

A bituminous concrete or concrete surfaced off-street automobile parking area shall be provided on any lot on which any of the prescribed uses are established. Such space shall be provided with safe vehicular access to a street or alley. For purposes of computing, each space shall not be less than nine feet wide, nor less than twenty (20) feet long. Such parking shall not be located in the front yards of any structure within fifty (50) feet of a residential district.

D.

The following are minimum requirements for specific uses:

1.

Residential Uses:

Single-Family Dwelling. Two spaces.

Lodging Houses. Two spaces per the primary dwelling plus one for each guest room or boarding unit.

Town Houses and Multifamily Dwellings. Two off-street spaces for each dwelling unit.

2.

Commercial building erected on a new site, or expanded, in the VZ District shall provide one off-street parking space for each three hundred (300) square feet of floor space used for customer service.

3.

Place of Worship erected on new site, or expanded:

One parking space on the lot for each ten seats in the main worship/assembly room.

4.

Places of Public Assembly, not existing at the date of enactment of this title, such as auditoriums and theaters, one parking space for each four seats provided.

5.

Hospitals. One parking space for each hospital bed.

6.

Institutions, Clubs, Lodges and Other Public and Semipublic Buildings, erected on new site or expanded. One space for each one hundred (100) square feet of floor area.

E.

The foregoing requirements are subject to the following general rules and exceptions:

1.

In the VZ district, parking space may be provided on a separate lot if within five hundred (500) feet of the building, and two or more lot owners may join together in the provision of this parking space;

2.

Existing buildings not complying with off-street parking requirements may be remodeled, repaired and structurally altered, but any enlargement, except as otherwise exempted above, must provide the required parking space for such enlargement. (Refer to subsections B. and C. of this section);

3.

Off-street loading shall conform to Section 17.08.150;

4.

In the VZ district, public and semi-public buildings which provide critical emergency services (fire, police, and ambulance services), may be remodeled, repaired, structurally altered, or enlarged. Any enlargement which does not provide required off-street parking shall be subject to the approval of the Emmitsburg planning commission as demonstrated on the required site plan, and shall be limited to the facility's ability to provide emergency services only; i.e., space for administration, living quarters, and vehicle housing. Enlargements for any other purposes other than those prescribed above shall be required to provide the required off-street parking for the enlargement.

F.

Lighting.

1.

Parking areas, main entrances, and exits which are open to the public shall be lighted to a minimum average of two foot-candles and a maximum of six foot-candles. All lighting shall be so arranged as to reflect the light downward and away from adjoining premises and public rights-of-way. Lighting plans, including photometrics and all details, shall be included with all plans.

2.

The planning commission may require lights along proposed streets and at key intersection locations, where deemed necessary.

3.

All lighting shall be directed downward and inward to the site. Proposed canopy lights shall be fully recessed and light fixtures within parking compounds shall be equipped with cutoff shields.

4.

Maximum height of street lights shall be fifteen (15) feet.

(Ord. 07-14 § 1: Ord. 07-04: Ord. 05-01 § 1: prior code Art. XI (Art. V-A § (part))

(Ord. No. 09-02, 3-2-09; Ord. No. 10-12, 10-18-10; Ord. No. 20-09, 10-5-20)

No new building and/or new accessory use shall be constructed to cover more than seventy (70) percent of the lot, and no existing building or structure shall be enlarged so as to cover more than seventy (70) percent of the lot.

(Prior code Art. XI (Art. V-A § (part)))

Required lot area, lot width and yards in the village zone are as follows:

* Corner lots shall provide two front yards and; where there are dwellings located on both adjoining lots to the side, the front yard setback may be the average of the front yard setback of both these lots.

(Prior code Art. XI (Art. V-A § (part)))

In the village zone, no building shall exceed a height of three stories or forty-two (42) feet.

(Prior code Art. XI (Art. V-A § (part)))

Signs shall be permitted in accordance with Chapter 17.38.

(Prior code Art. XI (Art. V-A § (part)))

(Ord. No. 20-09, 10-5-20)

Special exceptions in the village zone are as follows:

A.

Fraternities/sororities provided they meet the following conditions:

1.

There shall be provided one parking space per bed;

2.

Trash shall be contained in a single large metal container, located at the rear of the house.

B.

Reestablishment of a nonconforming business of the same use located in the village zone after six months may be approved based upon the following conditions:

1.

There has been document effort made to continue the use of the property;

2.

A site plan is submitted for review and is approved by the appropriate state and county agencies as well as the town planning and zoning commission and the board of commissioners;

3.

Reestablishment would not adversely affect adjacent properties, traffic patterns or surrounding neighborhoods;

4.

Reestablishment would not result in a more intense use of the property than there was originally;

5.

Every effort is made to comply with regulations existing at the time of reestablishment.

(Prior code Art. XI (Art. V-A § (part)))