Greensburg City Zoning Code
ARTICLE I
General Provisions
§ 265-1 Title; Zoning Map.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Zoning Ordinance of the City of Greensburg." The map, showing the division of the city into the designated zoning districts, shall be known as the "Zoning District Map." Said map shall be an integral part of this chapter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Zoning Map is included in the pocket part at the end of this volume.
§ 265-2 Conflicts with other laws; greater restrictions to prevail.
The provisions of this chapter shall control wherever they impose greater restrictions than those imposed by other laws, ordinances, rules, regulations or permits or by easements, agreements or covenants.
§ 265-3 Community development objectives.
A.
This chapter is one of the available legal instruments to implement community development objectives. The Master Plan is hereby designated as the official statement of the city's intentions regarding either the preservation or change of land use.
B.
The intent of this chapter, as developed and applied at this time and as may bear relationship to the Master Plan, is:
(1)
Zoning districts are intended to give protection to the existing development of the city until such time as it becomes necessary and possible to change the form and matter of existing development and achieve a new development that is attractive, stable and in accord with sound economic planning principles.
(2)
The zoning text contains standards and, as amended in the future, should contain such additional or revised standards that may, when appropriate, be applied to areas of prospective change that can permit and guide that change into desirable and (in some cases) new patterns of land use relationships.
(3)
The Master Plan shall serve as a reference and a guide to the Planning Commission in its recommendations and to the Council in its legislative actions amending the Zoning Ordinance as to the form and direction which these amendments should take to be consistent with a predeveloped scheme of land use relationships and to avoid changes that may be considered discriminatory, arbitrary or capricious.
§ 265-4 Interpretation and intent.
A.
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the City of Greensburg.
B.
It is fundamental to the purpose of the chapter to recognize that many existing lots throughout the city are less adequate than others because of their location or size or odd shape or difficult topography, or any combination of these limitations. A claim of hardship under this chapter, therefore, shall not be allowed on behalf of any lot because the physical characteristics of the lot prevent it from being built upon exactly as in another lot abutting or close to it or in the same zoning district. The regulations herein permit most such lots to be satisfactorily built upon. There can be some alleviation for other lots through variances (minor concessions) granted by the Zoning Hearing Board when special physical conditions make literal enforcement of the regulations either unsatisfactory in the interest of the people at large or actually impossible. It is not the ordinance but the physical conditions that prevent a lot from accommodating a type or area or bulk of structure unsuited to it. For a typical example, it is not intended that each lot in a General Residence District automatically become the prospective site for a multiple-family dwelling and use. If a lot in such a district, after provision of the yards and other open spaces prescribed for its own and adjacent property protection, has a buildable area too small in extent or dimensions for a multiple-family dwelling, then the lot may be used under its district regulations for another type of dwelling or structure permitted in that district.
§ 265-5 Preambles and drawings not part of chapter.
The preambles preceding the initial sections of Articles IV to X, inclusive, and any illustrative drawings are to be considered explanatory and directive only, to be used in interpreting the intent of the aforesaid Articles and the application of the provisions illustrated, but not a part of this chapter, in establishing applicable regulations or provisions.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The preambles and drawings are on file and available for inspection in the city offices.