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Fair Haven City Zoning Code

§ 30-7.7

Yard Areas, Building Orientation and Fenestration.

[2002 Code § 16.28.070; Ord. No. 2009-29 § II; amended 4-17-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
a. 
No yard or other open space provided around any building for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this chapter shall be considered as providing a yard or open space for any other buildings, and no yard or other open space on one lot shall be considered as providing a yard or open space for a building on any other lot.
b. 
All yards facing on a public street shall be considered front yards and shall conform to the minimum front yard requirements for the zone in which located except:
1. 
Lots with frontage on more than one street which are not corner lots may have a front and rear yard designated by the owner subject to:
(a) 
If the lot contains a principal structure, the front will be considered the direction the principal structure faces.
(b) 
If the lot does not contain a principal structure and only one street frontage conforms to lot frontage requirements, the yard abutting the conforming street frontage will be considered the front yard.
2. 
The designated rear yard of a lot with frontage on more than one street shall be considered a rear yard for the purposes of this section, except for the area within the depth of the required minimum front yard determined as follows:
(a) 
Not less than the lesser of the setback of existing principal structures on any adjacent lots (but not less than 50% of the minimum front yard required by the zone district).
(b) 
No more than the minimum front yard required by the zone district.
3. 
Any lot not meeting the definition of a corner lot that in any event has two sides adjacent to the same street right-of-way shall meet the following requirements:
(a) 
Any yard adjacent to a street right-of-way is required to maintain the minimum front yard setback for the zone in which the property is located.
(b) 
For yards not adjacent to the street right-of-way, a minimum of a rear yard setback must be maintained for one yard and a minimum of one side yard setback must be maintained for any other yard.
c. 
In the case of a corner lot, the yard most nearly opposite the front yard shall be considered a rear yard and the minimum rear yard requirement of the zone shall be maintained. A proposed principal building must be oriented to face, which means it must have its most prominent facade and principal entrance face, the front of the lot. The front of the lot for the purpose of designating a rear yard and orienting the principal building, shall be:
1. 
The direction an existing principal building faces, or, if there is no existing principal building:
2. 
The lesser lot frontage or, if both frontages are the same;
3. 
Designated by the applicant.
d. 
Each exterior face of a single-family dwelling shall include windows. The fenestrated portion of any elevation of a principal single-family dwelling shall not be less than 4% of the area of the building face.
e. 
Every part of a required yard shall be open and unobstructed from its lowest level to the sky, except for the ordinary projections allowed by the State Uniform Construction Code including, but not limited to, sills, belt courses, chimneys, flues, buttresses, ornamental features, and eaves, provided, however, that none of the aforesaid projections shall project into the minimum required yards more than 24 inches, unless otherwise permitted by this chapter.
f. 
For New Construction only in residential zones, the minimum required front yard setback shall be established as the Prevailing Front Yard Setback, which is the greater of either:
[Added 4-17-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-02]
1. 
The minimum required front yard setback otherwise set forth in the zoning schedule for residential uses in the particular zone in which the subject property is located; or
2. 
For New Construction only, the average front yard setback calculated from the front yard setbacks of all principal structures existing on all properties that are (i) located within 200 feet of either side of the subject property, and are also (ii) located on the same side of the street as the subject property, and also (iii) have a front yard facing the same street as the front yard of the subject property; provided, however, that any property that would otherwise be included in the above calculation but which property has a front yard setback that exceeds the remaining average by more than 50% shall be excluded from and not considered in making the above calculation. Further, if the subject property is a corner lot, the average front yard setback shall be calculated to both frontages of that lot separately.