(A)

General rules. The following general rules shall govern the interpretation of words and phrases used in this ordinance:

The word "person" includes firms, associations, organizations, partnerships, trusts, company or corporations, as well as an individuals.

The present tense includes the future tense, the singular number includes the plural, and the plural number includes the singular.

The word "shall" is mandatory; the word "may" is permissive.

The words "used or occupied" include the words "intended, designed, or arranged to be used or occupied.

The words "erected or altered" include the words "constructed, reconstructed, restored, extended or structurally altered."

(B)

Words and phrases. Words and phrases used in this ordinance are defined as follows:

Abutting. The condition of adjoining properties having a common property line or boundary, including cases where two (2) or more lots adjoin only on a corner or corners.

Access. Any means of ingress/egress to a parcel of property for pedestrians and/or vehicles.

Accessory dwelling unit. A detached accessory building used to house guests of occupants of the principal building.

Adjoining property owner. Property that touches or is directly across a street, private street or access easement, or right-of-way from the subject property.

Alabama Department of Environmental Managements (ADEM). ADEM is the state agency responsible for administering all federal environmental laws in the state.

Accessory structure. A detached subordinate building located on the same building site with the main building the use of which is incidental to that of the main building.

Accessory use. A use customarily incidental to the principal use of a building site or to a building and located upon the same building site with the principal use.

Alley. Any public space or thoroughfare twenty (20) feet or less in width which has been dedicated or deeded for public use.

Alteration. Any structural change in the supporting or load-bearing members of a building such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.

Applicant. The owner and/or developer of land proposed to be developed or a person designated in writing by the legal owner as his or her representative.

As-built plans. A post construction record providing details of construction and reflecting all changes in the engineering plans during the course of the development's construction.

Bed and breakfast. An owner-occupied, transient lodging establishment, generally in a single-family dwelling or detached guesthouses, primarily engaged in providing overnight or otherwise temporary lodging for the general public in which the only meal served to guests is breakfast.

Best management practices plan (BMP). A BMP is a method of reducing the amount of pollution from non-point sources to a level acceptable with state and local water quality standards for a specific site. It may include a specific method or a combination of methods designed to achieve this result. The BMP considers the site conditions, including topography, soil type, and other characteristics of the site.

Boarding house. A building arranged or used for lodging for compensation with or without meals, and not occupied as a single-family unit.

Buildable area. The portion of a building site remaining after required yards have been provided.

Building. Any covered structure intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals or chattels.

Building height. The vertical distance from grade to the highest finished roof surface in the case of flat (or nearly flat) roofs, or to a point at the average height of roofs having a pitch of more than three (3) feet in twelve (12) feet.

Building official. The officer charged with the administration and enforcement of these regulations.

Building setback line. The line indicating the minimum horizontal distance between the street line and the face of buildings.

Build-to line. An alignment established a certain distance from the curb line to a line along which the building shall be built. Front porches and handicap ramps may be exempt from build-to line requirements but must occur behind the property line. There shall be designated a minimum build-to line and a maximum build-to line with a maximum distance between of five (5) feet in which the part of the structure nearest the street or access easement will be served. Build-to lines may be allowed in planned unit developments, new subdivisions, or commercial developments by approval of the planning commission and in some cases, the city council.

Buffer strip. An area of land, which may include landscaping, walls, fences, and berms that is located between land uses of different character to physically and visually separate such uses and is intended to mitigate negative impacts of the more intense use on a residential or vacant parcel.

Building site. The land occupied or to be occupied by a principal building and its accessory buildings and including such open spaces, yards, minimum area, off-street parking facilities and off-street truck loading facilities as are required by this ordinance; every building site shall abut upon a dedicated street for at least thirty (30) feet. Any building site established after the effective date of this ordinance, which occupies only a portion of a lot of record, may be established only in accordance with the requirements of the Subdivision Regulations.

Church. A building, together with its accessory buildings and uses, where persons regularly assemble for religious worship, and which building, together with its accessory buildings, and uses, is maintained and controlled by a religious body organized to sustain public worship.

City council. The chief legislative body of the City of Florence.

City engineer. The city engineer is responsible for supervising the execution of all contracts with the city for the improvement of streets, sidewalks, parks, bridges, and storm sewer systems in the city.

Clinic, dental or medical. A building in which a group of physicians, dentists, or allied professional assistants are associated for the purpose of carrying on their profession; the clinic may include a dental or medical laboratory but it shall not include in-patient care or operating rooms for major surgery.

Clubs, private. A corporation or association; profit or non-profit

Completely enclosed structure. A building enclosed by a permanent roof and by solid exterior walls pierced only by windows and customary entrance and exit doors.

Conditional overlay district. An overlay zone that may be required by the planning commission and city council to provide for additional regulation of commercial, industrial, or residential uses of land and structures in order that uses and development of said land, buildings and structures will be harmonious and compatible with and not have an undesirable or detrimental impact on surrounding development.

Congregate living facilities. A building or part thereof that contains sleeping units where residents share bathroom or kitchen facilities or both.

Convenience store. A store principally operated for the retail sale of gasoline dispensed solely by the purchaser and/or an assortment of container food items, refrigerated food items stored in display coolers, tobaccos, toiletries, and other convenience items.

Dead storage. The keeping of goods not in active use for residential, business, or industrial purposes.

Development. The act of installing site improvements and building structures.

Drugstore. A drugstore containing a minimum of five thousand (5,000) square feet principally operated for the sale of prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and toiletries.

Dwelling unit. One (1) room, or rooms connected together, constituting a separate, independent housekeeping establishment for owner occupancy, or rental or lease on a weekly, monthly, or longer basis, and physically separated from any other rooms or dwelling units which may be in the same structure and contain independent cooking and sleeping facilities.

Dwelling, single-family. A residential dwelling unit, other than an apartment or a mobile home, designed for or occupied by one (1) family only.

Dwelling, mobile home. A detached residential dwelling unit designed for transportation, after fabrication, on streets or highways on its own wheels or on a flatbed or other trailers, and arriving at the site where it is to be occupied as a dwelling complete and ready for occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations, location on jacks, or other temporary or permanent foundations, connections to utilities, and the like. A travel trailer is not to be considered as a mobile home.

Dwelling, multi-family. A residential building designed for or occupied by two (2) or more families, with the number of families in residence not exceeding the number of dwelling units provided.

Easement. A grant by the owner for the use of a strip of land by others for specific purposes (ie: utility or drainage). Drainage easements shall be specifically identified as drainage easements. If there are other utilities within the drainage easement, it shall be designated as a drainage and utility easement.

Engineer. A licensed professional engineer in the State of Alabama who serves as an agent for the applicant and/or developer and provides engineering and construction services during site development.

Engineering plans. The drawings on which the proposed subdivision improvements are shown and which, if approved, will be used for construction of the improvements.

Family. Any persons living together related by blood, marriage, adoption, or guardianship "plus one." A maximum of five (5) unrelated individuals may occupy a single dwelling unit in the same manner and to the same extent as any family unit as defined herein provided the occupants are handicapped as defined in Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 as amended by the Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988 and the Alabama Fair Housing Law, Code of Alabama 24-8-1, et seq., or if they are disabled.

Fifty-year frequency rainstorm. A rainstorm with a two (2) percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

Gourmet food shop. A shop or store principally operated for the sale of containerized, epicurean food items and may include dairy products and fresh fruits.

Grocery store. A store principally operated for the sale of a large variety of diversified container foods, produce, and the cutting and preparation of meats by an on-premises butcher.

Gross floor area. The sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a building, including interior balconies and mezzanines; all horizontal dimensions shall be measured between the exterior faces of walls, including the walls of roofed porches having more than one (1) wall. The gross floor area of a building shall include the floor area of accessory buildings on the same building site, measured the same way.

Guest house. An attached or detached accessory building used to house guests of the occupants of the principal building and which is never separately leased or offered for rent.

Guest room. A room used or intended to be used by one (1) or more guests for living or sleeping purposes.

Home occupation. A home occupation is an occupation for gain or support conducted in a dwelling unit only by members of a family residing in the dwelling unit and not including the employment of any additional persons. The occupation is incidental to the residential use of the dwelling unit and does not utilize more than twenty-five (25) percent of the floor area, and no part of the occupation is conducted in an accessory building. No traffic shall be generated by such home occupation in greater volumes than would normally be expected in a residential neighborhood.

There shall be no sign and no visible evidence of the conduct of a home occupation. Home occupations shall be regulated in accordance with Section IV-100 of these regulations.

Hotel. A building containing guest rooms in which lodging is provided, with or without meals, for compensation and is open to transient or permanent guests, or both; the term includes "motel," "tourist home," and "rooming house."

Hospital. An institution providing health services, primarily for in-patients, and medical and surgical care of the sick or injured, including as an integral part of the institution, such related facilities as laboratories, out-patient department, training facilities, central service facilities, and staff offices.

Improvements. Street surfacing, with curb, gutter, sidewalks, water mains, sanitary sewers, storm sewers, utilities, and monuments, detention basins, hydrants, required open spaces, street-trees, etc;.

Lodging house. A one-family dwelling where one (1) or more occupants are primarily permanent in nature and rent is paid for guest rooms. Owner-occupied lodging houses with five (5) or fewer guest rooms shall be permitted to be constructed in accordance with the International Residential Code.

Main stream. A stream on which floods are controlled by the Tennessee Valley Authority's reservoir system, or a stream which has the channel capacity adequate to accommodate the ten-year frequency rainstorm without overflow as determined by the city engineer.

Manufactured home. A structure defined by and constructed in accordance with the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 as amended, 42 U.S.C. section 5401, et seq. The definition at the date of adoption of this part is as follows:

"Manufactured home" means a structure, transportable in one (1) or more sections, which in the traveling mode, is eight (8) body feet or more in width and forty (40) body feet or more in length, or when erected on site, is three hundred twenty (320) or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation, when connected with required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein; except that such term shall include any structure which meets all of the requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a certification required by the secretary and complies with the standards established under this title.

References herein to manufactured home or manufactured houses shall refer solely to manufactured homes designed for occupancy by a single-family unit.

Master plan. The comprehensive plan made and adopted by the Florence City Planning Commission for the physical development of the City of Florence and surrounding area; the term includes any unit or component part of such plan separately adopted and any amendment to such plan or part thereof.

Mobile home. A mobile home is a single-family structure constructed prior to June 15, 1976, designed for occupancy by a single-family unit complying in all respects with the definition of a manufactured home herein.

Mobile home park. A plot of ground containing a minimum of eight (8) acres on which a minimum of fifty (50) mobile homes sites are located for long-term occupancy (for periods of thirty (30) days or more) for use as dwellings. Mobile home parks shall not be occupied by travel trailers. Mobile home parks must be developed in accordance with the Subdivision Regulations of the City of Florence.

Municipal or municipality. The City of Florence and, where appropriate to the context, that area lying within the corporate limits of such city as such corporate limits exist or may exist in the future.

National pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES). The national pollutant discharge elimination system program was created by the federal government to control point discharges of water pollution.

Nonconforming structure. A building or part thereof lawfully existing on the effective date of this ordinance and which does not conform to all of the regulations of the district in which it is located. A lawful structure is one that was not illegal pursuant to any comprehensive zoning ordinance heretofore adopted by the City of Florence.

Nonconforming use. A use which lawfully occupies a building or land on the effective date of this ordinance and which does not conform to the regulations of the district in which it is located. A lawful use is one that was not illegal pursuant to any comprehensive zoning ordinance heretofore adopted by the City of Florence.

Permitted structure. A structure meeting all the requirements established by this ordinance for the district in which the structure is located.

Permitted use. A use meeting all the requirements established by this ordinance for the district in which the use is located.

Pharmacy. An establishment principally operated for the sale of prescription drugs.

Planned unit development (PUD). A flexible development option under which land can be subdivided, developed, or redeveloped with innovation, imagination, and creative architectural design when sufficiently justified under the provisions of these regulations. A PUD is site plan specific allowing controlled mixed land use under one (1) zoning classification and prepared under design review guidelines. The planning commission and city council must approve a PUD proposal.

Planning commission. The Florence City Planning Commission, as such commission, was created heretofore by ordinances adopted by the City of Florence, pursuant to Title 11, Chapter 52, of the Code of Alabama, 1975, as amended.

Recreational vehicle. A vehicular portable structure built on a chassis, designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for travel and recreational purposes, having a body width not exceeding eight (8) feet. For purposes of these regulations, the term includes pickup campers, camping trailers, and motorized homes (living facilities constructed as integral parts of self-propelled vehicles).

Recreational vehicle park. Any plot of ground on which two (2) or more travel trailers are located for short-term (less than thirty (30) days) occupancy during travel, recreational or vacation use. Trailer parks shall not be occupied by any travel trailer for thirty (30) days or more nor by any mobile home.

Restaurant. A structure in which the principal use is the preparation and sale of food and beverages. The following types of restaurants may be permitted in the City of Florence.

Carry-out/take-out/delivery. Establishments where food is usually ordered by telephone and prepared on the premises, primarily for consumption off the premises. There is limited or no seating provided on the premises. The establishment may deliver food to the customer, or the customer may pick food up.

Drive-in. A building and adjoining parking are used for the purpose of furnishing food, soft drinks, ice cream, and similar confections to the public normally for consumption outside the confines of the principal permitted building, or in vehicles parked upon the premises, regardless of whether or not, in addition thereto, seats or other accommodations are provided inside for the patrons. Services are effected principally while patrons remain in their vehicles.

Fast-food. Restaurants where most customers order and are served their food at a counter or in a motor vehicle in packages prepared to leave the premises, or able to be taken to a table or counter to be consumed. Customer pays for food prior to consumption and orders and/or service may be by means of a walk-up counter or window designed to accommodate automobile traffic. Typically, self-service condiment bar is utilized and trash receptacles are provided for self-service bussing. Consumption may be either on or off the premises.

Full menu*. An establishment maintained, operated, and/or advertised or held out to the public as serving a diversified selection of food on demand from a menu during stated business hours in or on non-disposable dishes to be consumed primarily while seated at tables or booths within a building.

Although the primary serving area is located completely within the building, an extended service area may be permitted outside the facility in an area which functions as an extension of the principal use of the private property of the restaurant. This extended service area is not located in a completely enclosed building and may encompass an outdoor, patio-seating area open to the sky except that it may have awnings, umbrellas, or building overhang and shall be used exclusively for dining and circulation therein.

Upon approval by the city council, in B-3 and SD zones only, an extended service area may also include the sidewalk area of a public right-of-way, which is normally adjacent to a street. The city council may set forth any conditions deemed necessary for utilization of a sidewalk area for extended service for the health, safety and welfare of pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic as well as the surrounding businesses.

Specialty menu*. An establishment maintained, operated, and/or advertised or held out to the public as serving a specialty or limited selection of food on demand from either table service with a printed menu or counter service placing order from a menu-board during stated business hours in or on non-disposable dishes to be consumed primarily while seated at tables or booths within a building.

Although the primary serving area is located completely within the building, an extended service area may be permitted outside the facility in an area which functions as an extension of the principal use of the private property of the restaurant. This extended service area is not located in a completely enclosed building and may encompass an outdoor, patio-seating area open to the sky except that it may have awnings, umbrellas, or building overhang and shall be used exclusively for dining, and circulation therein.

Upon approval by the city council, in B-3 and SD zones only, an extended service area may also include the sidewalk area of a public right-of-way, which is normally adjacent to a street. The city council may set forth any conditions deemed necessary for utilization of a sidewalk area for extended service for the health, safety and welfare of pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic as well as the surrounding businesses.

*Alcohol sales may be permitted only in full menu and specialty menu restaurants and are subject to Chapter 3, Alcoholic beverages, of the Municipal Code.

Roadway. The portion of a street available for vehicular traffic where curbs are laid including the portion between curbs.

Rooming or boarding house. A building where more than two (2), but fewer than six (6) rooms are provided for lodging for definite periods of times. Meals may or may not be provided, but there is one (1) common kitchen facility. No meals are provided to outside guests.

Self-storage facility. A building or group of buildings that contain varying sizes of individual, compartmentalized, controlled access storage units for purposes of dead storage service to the general public.

Sidewalk. The portion of a street or cross-walkway, paved or otherwise surfaced, intended for pedestrian use.

Stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP). The stormwater pollution prevention plan is the program by which the city monitors new construction to ensure compliance with the requirements of the city's Phase II NPDES stormwater permit application.

Street. A public right-of-way which provides access to adjacent properties.

Street line. The line or boundary separating the public right-of-way from the land or property adjoining.

Street trees. Trees currently located or required to be planted within the right-of-way of local streets, collector streets, major streets, or highways; planted in a linear fashion and provide spatial enclosures as well as other technical and aesthetic benefits, and are a tree species which is listed on the current street tree list.

Structure. Anything constructed or erected which requires fixed location on the ground or attached to something having a fixed location on the ground.

Surveyor. A licensed professional surveyor in the State of Alabama who serves as an agent for the applicant and/or developer and provides land surveying services during site development.

Ten-year frequency rainstorm. A rainstorm with a ten (10) percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

Traffic calming. The institute of transportation engineers (ITE) defines traffic calming as measures that involve "changes in street alignment, installation of barriers, and other physical measures to reduce traffic speeds and/or cut-through volumes in the interest of street safety, livability, and other public purposes."

Traffic control plan. If required, a traffic control plan shall be included with the engineering plans. This plan provides details for allowing the contractor to work safely during the construction of all public improvements for the site while still allowing the safe and efficient flow of traffic.

Traffic plan. A traffic plan shall be included with the engineering plans. The plan will show all traffic control features on the proposed public rights-of-ways, including, but not limited to "Stop," "Yield," speed limit, street name signs, and any traffic calming measures.

Transient. Occupancy of a dwelling unit or sleeping unit for not more than thirty (30) days.

Twenty-five-year frequency rainstorm. A rainstorm with a four (4) percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

Yard. A required open space unoccupied and unobstructed by any structure or portion of a structure from three (3) feet above the general ground level of the building site upward; provided, however, that fences, walls, poles, posts and other customary yard accessories, ornaments and furniture may be permitted in any yard subject to height limitations and requirements limiting obstruction of visibility contained herein, and further provided that:

(1)

Ordinary projections of sills, belt courses, cornices, buttresses, eaves and similar architectural features, and necessary mechanical features may project not more than two (2) feet into any yard; and

(2)

Open fire escapes may extend not more than three and one-half (3½) feet into any yard.

Yard, front. A yard extending the full width of the building site across its front, with required depth measured at right angles to the front street line of the building site.

Yard, rear. A yard extending the full width of the building site across its rear, with required depth measured at right angles to the rear line of the building site.

Yard, side. A yard extending from the rear line of the front yard to the front line of the rear yard, with required width measured at right angles to the adjacent sideline of the building site. If no front and/or rear yard is provided, the front and/or rear lines of the building site shall be construed as front and/or rear boundaries of the side yard.

(Ord. No. 2020-9, § I, 3-3-2020)