In pursuance of authority conferred by the General Statutes of South Carolina, Act No. 487, Acts of 1967 and S.C. Code 1976, §§ 5-23-10 and 5-23-20, and for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals, or general welfare of the community; lessening congestion in the streets, securing safety from fire; providing adequate light and air; preventing the overcrowding of land; avoiding undue concentration of population; and facilitating the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, and other public improvements, in accordance with a plan, the city council does ordain and enact into law the following sections.

(Code 1983, § 22-1; Ord. of 3-21-1979, art. I; Ord. No. 2001.216)

This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "zoning ordinance," and the map referred to, which is identified by the title "Zoning Map, City of Lake City, South Carolina," shall be known as the "zoning map."

(Code 1983, § 22-2; Ord. of 3-21-1979, art. II; Ord. No. 2001.216)

(a)

General definitions.

(1)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Building includes the term "structure."

City means the City of Lake City, South Carolina.

Governing authority means the city council of the City of Lake City, South Carolina.

Lot includes the term "plot" or "parcel."

Map or zoning map means the zoning map of the City of Lake City, South Carolina.

Person includes a firm, association, organization, partnership, trust, company, or corporation as well as an individual.

Shall is mandatory.

Used or occupied, as applied to any land or building, shall be construed to include the words "intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied."

(2)

Words used in the present tense include the future tense.

(3)

Words used in the singular include the plural, and words used in the plural include the singular.

(b)

Specific definitions.

Accessory use means use customarily incidental and subordinate to the main use or building and located on the same lot therewith. In no case shall such accessory use dominate, in area, extent or purpose, the principal lawful use or building.

Alley means a right-of-way publicly maintained and used primarily as a means of secondary access to the side or rear of abutting property.

Alteration of building means any change in the supporting members of a building (such as bearing walls, columns, or girders); any addition or reduction to a building; any change in use; or any relocation of a building from one location or position to another.

Automobile service station means buildings and premises on any parcel or lot where gasoline, oils and greases, batteries, tires and automobile accessories, and installation of same, including minor service, may be supplied and dispensed at retail (or in connection with a private operation), and where no part of the premises is used for the storage of dismantled or wrecked vehicle parts.

Basement means a story of a building or structure having one-half or more of its clear height below grade.

Building means any structure with substantial walls and roof securely affixed to the land and entirely separated on all sides from any other structure by space or walls in which there are no communicating doors, windows, or openings; and which is designed or intended for the shelter, enclosure, or protection of persons, animals or chattels.

Building, accessory, means building subordinate to the main building on a lot and used for purposes customarily incidental to those of the main buildings.

Building, height, means the vertical distance from grade to the average elevation of the roof of the highest story.

Building, principal, means a building in which is conducted the main or principal use of the lot on which said building is situated.

Centerline of street means that line surveyed and monumented by the governing body having jurisdiction; or if such centerline has not been surveyed, it shall be that line running midway between the outside curbs or roadway of such street.

Code enforcement officer means the officer or other designated authority charged with the administration and enforcement of this chapter.

Condominium means a unit in a series or in a multi-unit type structure which may be owned or leased by an individual, firm or corporation who may have common use of all related activities associated with the structure.

Drive-in establishment means a business where a customer is encouraged or permitted, either by the design of physical facilities or by service and/or packaging procedures, to carry on his business, in the off-street parking area accessory to the business, while seated in his motor vehicle.

Dwelling unit means a dwelling or portion thereof providing facilities for one or more persons living as a single housekeeping unit.

Dwelling, multifamily, means a building or portion thereof used or designed as a residence for three or more families living independently of each other, with the number of families in residence not exceeding the number of dwelling units provided.

Dwelling, one-family, means a building arranged or designed to be occupied by one family.

Dwelling, two-family, means a building arranged or designed to be occupied by two families living independently of each other on a single lot.

Dwelling, townhouse, means one of a series of three or more attached but separate one-family dwelling units which:

(1)

May or may not have a common roof;

(2)

Share at least one common wall;

(3)

Are separate from each other by two-hour fire resistive partitions extending at least from the lowest floor level to the roof;

(4)

Townhouses may be developed as either condominiums or sold as individual lots of record.

Family means one or more persons occupying a single dwelling unit, provided that all members are related by blood or marriage, and further provided that domestic servants employed on the premises may be housed on the premises.

Family day care home means an occupied residence in which child day care is regularly provided for no more than six children, unattended by a parent or legal guardian, including those children living in the home and children received for day care who are related to the resident care giver; provided, however, that an occupied residence in which child day care is regularly provided only for a child or children related to the resident care giver, or only for the child or children of one unrelated family, or only for a combination of such children is not a family day care home.

Garage, private, means an accessory building or portion of a principal building used only for the private storage of motor vehicles as an accessory use.

Garage, public, means any garage other than a private garage which is used for storage, minor repair, rental, servicing, washing, adjusting or equipping of automobiles or other vehicles.

Garage, repair, means building and premises designed or used for purposes indicated under the definition for "automobile service station" and/or major commercial repairs, provided that body work and painting shall be conducted within fully enclosed buildings, and provided further that self-propelled vehicles in process of repair shall be stored in a fully enclosed and secluded area.

Guest house means living quarters situated within a detached or semidetached building located on the same premises with the principal building; such quarters shall:

(1)

Be used only by a bona fide nonpaying guest or relative of the occupants of the premises; and

(2)

Not be rented or otherwise occupied as a separate dwelling.

Home occupation means any use conducted entirely within a dwelling and carried on by the occupants thereof, which use is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling for residential purposes and does not change the exterior character thereof, and no persons not residents on the premises are employed specifically in connection with the activity. Not more than one assistant may be employed by the following home occupations: seamstress, piano teacher, lawyer, physician, dentist, chiropractor, and similar recognized professions or occupations; provided that no mechanical equipment is installed or used except such as is normally used for domestic or professional purposes, and that not over 25 percent of the total floor space of any structure is used for home occupations.

Hotel means a building or buildings in which lodging, with or without meals, is provided and offered to the public for compensation, which is open to transient or semi-permanent guests.

Inside use means an activity permitted under the terms of this chapter which is conducted wholly within a building such as a grocery store, beauty shop, or drug store.

Junkyard or salvage yard means the use of any part of a lot, whether inside or outside of a building, for the storage, abandonment, sale or resale of junk, salvage, or scrap materials; or for the dismantling, demolition or abandonment of automobiles and other vehicles, machinery, equipment, or parts thereof.

Lot means a parcel of land of varying size and shape occupied or capable of being occupied by a building or group of buildings devoted to a common use, together with the customary accessories and open spaces belonging to the same.

Lot, corner, means a lot located at the intersection of two or more streets.

Lot, depth, means the average horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.

Lot, interior, means a lot, other than a corner lot, which has frontage on only one street other than an alley.

Lot, width, means the distance between the side lot lines measured at the front building line.

Mobile home means a movable or portable structure over 30 feet in length and eight feet in width, constructed to be towed on its own chassis and designed to be installed without a permanent foundation. The term "mobile home," as used in these regulations, shall not include prefabricated, modular or unitized dwellings placed on permanent foundations, nor shall it refer to travel trailers, campers or similar units designed for recreation or other short-term uses.

Mobile home park means premises where two or more mobile homes are parked for living or sleeping purposes, or where spaces are set aside or offered for rent for use of mobile homes for living or sleeping purposes, including any land, building structure, or facility used by occupants or occupied by mobile homes, on such premises.

Mobile home space means a plot of ground within a mobile home park designed for the accommodation of one mobile home.

Modular home means a factory built residential dwelling unit manufactured by a licensed modular building manufacturer and labeled by the state building codes council. Modular homes shall be placed on an individual lot on a permanent foundation with permanent utility connections. Modular units shall be a minimum of 24 feet wide and 35 feet long and shall be assessed as real property by the county tax assessor and given an occupancy permit by the code enforcement officer.

Motel-tourist court means a building or group of buildings in which lodging is provided and offered to the public for compensation, and catering primarily to the public traveling by motor vehicle.

Nonconforming structure means a building or portion thereof lawfully existing at the time this chapter became effective and which was designated, erected, or structurally altered for a use which does not conform to the uses of the district in which it is located.

Nonconforming use means any building or land lawfully occupied by a use which does not conform with the permitted uses for the zoning district in which it is situated, either at the effective date of this chapter or as the result of subsequent amendments to this chapter.

Nursing home, convalescent home means a health facility where persons are housed and furnished with meals and continuing nursing care for compensation, but excluding alcoholic patients.

Open space means space devoid of buildings or other physical structures except where accessory to the provision of recreational opportunities.

(1)

The term "open space" includes:

a.

Land area of the site not covered by buildings, parking structures, or accessory structures except recreational structures (underground parking and decks may be counted as specified further in this chapter);

b.

Land which is accessible and available to all occupants of dwelling units for whose use the space is intended.

(2)

The term "open space" does not include:

a.

Proposed street rights-of-way;

b.

Open parking areas and driveways for dwellings;

c.

School sites;

d.

Commercial areas, and the buildings, accessory buildings, parking and loading facilities for these commercial areas;

e.

Unsuitable land (such as swamps).

Outside use means an activity permitted under the terms of this chapter which is conducted primarily outside a building such as a gasoline filling station, retail car sales, or a plant nursery.

Planned unit development (PUD) means a land development project comprehensively planned as an entity via a unitary site plan which permits flexibility in building siting, mixtures of housing types and land uses, usable open spaces, and the preservation of significant natural features.

Retail means retail shops and stores, personal and professional services conducted as inside or outside uses and including broadcasting stations, commercial recreation facilities, drive-in financial institutions and personal service pick-up stations. Retail activities included within this definition do not include those activities defined under the term "retail automotive."

Retail automotive means business enterprises oriented to serving the traveling public, and their accessory uses, including automotive sales, services and repair activities and inside and outside uses such as motels, tourist courts, service stations, and including any "drive-in" facility such as drive-in theaters or drive-in restaurants.

Setback means the minimum horizontal distance between the street, rear or side lines of the lot and the front, rear or side lines of the building.

Shopping center means a retail business area characterized by a concentrated grouping of stores, shops, and other uses, ordinarily planned as a comprehensive development, and built according to such plan.

Sign means and includes every sign, billboard, poster panel, freestanding ground sign, roof sign, projecting sign, pylon sign, illuminated sign, sign painted on a wall, window, marquee, awning or canopy, and shall include any announcement, declaration, demonstration, display, ribbon, banner, illustration or insignia used to advertise or promote the commercial interests of any person when the same is placed in view of the general public traveling along a public street right-of-way.

(1)

Freestanding sign structure. Freestanding sign structures may contain a sign or signs on one side only or it may be a V-shaped structure or one containing signs back to back. A freestanding sign structure is one sign.

(2)

Sign area. The term "sign area" means the area of the face of the sign formed by a perimeter consisting of a series of straight lines enclosing all parts of the sign. The area of a freestanding sign structure is the area of the face or faces on one side only.

(3)

Business identification sign. The term "business identification sign" means a sign that contains the name of the business enterprise located on the same premises as the sign and the nature of the business conducted therein.

(4)

Business identification pylon sign. The term "business identification pylon sign" means a sign erected on one or more poles which contains only the name or the nature of the business conducted on the premises on which it is located.

(5)

Illuminated signs. When artificial illumination techniques are used in any fashion to project the message on a sign, the sign shall be an illuminated sign.

(6)

Outdoor advertising sign. The term "outdoor advertising sign" means an attached or freestanding structure or projection other than a business sign conveying some information, knowledge, or idea to the public.

Street means, relates to, and includes streets, avenues, boulevards, roads, highways, expressways, lanes, alleys, and other ways. For the purpose of this chapter, streets are classified by function as they appear in the major thoroughfare plan for the city.

Structure means anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires more or less permanent location on the ground or which is attached to something having more or less permanent location on the ground.

Travel trailer or camper means any vehicle or structure capable of moving or being moved over streets and highways on its own wheels or on flatbeds or other carriers, which is designed or utilized to:

(1)

Provide temporary quarters for the conduct of a business, profession, trade, or occupation;

(2)

Serve as a carrier of people, new or used goods, products, or equipment; or

(3)

Be used as a selling, advertising or display device.

Variance means a modification of the strict terms of this chapter granted by the zoning board of adjustment where such modification will not be contrary to the public interest, and where, owing to conditions peculiar to the property, and not as the result of any action on the part of the property owner, a literal enforcement of the chapter would result in unnecessary and undue hardship.

Yard means a space on the same lot with a principal building, open, unoccupied, and unobstructed by buildings or structures from ground to sky except where encroachments and accessory buildings and structures are expressly permitted.

Yard, front, means a yard situated between the front building line and the front lot line extending the full width of the lot.

Yard, rear, means a yard situated between the rear building line and the rear lot line and extending the full width of the lot.

Yard, side, means a yard situated between a side building line and a side lot line and extending from the front yard to the rear yard.

(Code 1983, § 22-3; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. III; Ord. No. 1997.143; Ord. No. 1999.177; Ord. No. 2001.216)