The regulations set by this article within each district shall be the minimum regulation, and shall apply uniformly to each class or kind of structure or land, except as hereinafter provided.

(Code 1983, § 22-5; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. V)

(a)

No land or building shall hereafter be used or occupied, and no building or parts shall hereafter be constructed, erected, altered or moved, unless in conformity with all of the regulations herein specified for the district in which it is located.

(b)

No part of a yard, or other open space, or off-street parking or loading required by or in connection with any building for the purpose of complying with this article, shall be included as part of a yard, open space, or off-street parking or loading space similarly required for any other building.

(c)

Right-of-way easements for streets and roads shall not be considered a part of a lot of open space, or front, rear or side yard for the purpose of meeting yard requirements.

(Code 1983, § 22-5.1; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. V, § 1)

No yard or lot existing at the time of passage of this article shall be reduced in dimension or area below the minimum requirements set forth herein. Yards or lots created after the effective date of the ordinance from which this article is derived shall meet the minimum requirements established by this article.

(Code 1983, § 22-5.2; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. V, § 2)

Where the owner of a lot at the time of the adoption of this article does not own sufficient land to enable him to conform to the frontage setback or area requirements of this article, such lot may nonetheless by used as a building site. If two or more adjoining lots, with insufficient frontage, setback or area are intended for use as building lots, they shall be combined to create one lot which shall meet the article requirements if possible, or being unable to meet the article requirements shall nevertheless be combined and used as one building lot only.

(Code 1983, § 22-5.3; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. V, § 3)

All buildings, structures and use of land shall conform to the following general provisions, except as hereinafter provided.

(Code 1983, § 22-6; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. VI)

Except as herein provided, only one principal building may hereafter be erected on any lot.

(Code 1983, § 22-6.1; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. VI, § 1)

Except as herein provided, no building shall hereafter be erected, constructed, moved or relocated on a lot not located on a publicly dedicated, accepted and maintained street with a right-of-way of not less than 30 feet and frontage of not less than 40 feet.

(Code 1983, § 22-6.2; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. VI, § 2)

No required yard area around an existing or proposed structure shall be considered as providing a yard area for any other building; nor shall any yard area required on an adjoining lot be considered as providing yard area on a lot whereon a building exists or is to be erected.

(Code 1983, § 22-6.3; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. VI, § 3)

Nonconforming land uses are declared by this article to be incompatible with permitted uses in the districts involved. However, to avoid undue hardship, the lawful use of any building or land use at the time of the enactment of this article may be continued even though such use does not conform with the provisions of this article except that the nonconforming building or land use shall not be:

(1)

Changed to another nonconforming use;

(2)

Reestablished after discontinuance for one year or more;

(3)

Repaired, rebuilt, or altered after damage exceeding 50 percent of its replacement cost at the time of destruction, providing reconstruction shall begin with six months after damage is incurred.

(4)

Enlarged or altered in a way which increases its nonconformity. Nothing in this article, however, shall prevent a church which existed prior to the adoption of the zoning ordinances from expanding, enlarging or altering its land or buildings in its present location, providing that it complies with all other zoning regulations.

Nothing in this article shall be deemed to prevent the strengthening or restoring to a safe condition of any building or part thereof declared to be unsafe by the code enforcement officer.

(Code 1983, § 22-6.4; Ord. of 7-8-1975, § II; Ord. No. 2001.216)

Any building or structure nonconforming as to regulation such as area requirements, parking and loading requirements, floor area requirements and height regulations, shall not be added to or enlarged in any manner unless such addition or enlargement conforms to all regulations of the zone in which it is located. In no instance shall a building or structure nonconforming as to regulations be added to or enlarged when the nonconformance is irremediable in the opinion of the code enforcement officer.

(Code 1983, § 22-6.6; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. VI, § 6)

All buildings, structures and uses of land shall conform to the following off-street parking and loading requirements.

(1)

Space to be provided. Off-street automobile storage or parking space shall be provided on every lot on which any of the following uses (column 1) are hereafter established. The number of off-street parking spaces shall be calculated according to the requirements indicated in columns 2 and 3:

(2)

Space criteria. The size of each required parking space shall be at least 195 square feet and shall have access for vehicles to a public street. Parking lots for more than five vehicles shall provide sufficient turning space to prevent cars from backing into the street.

(3)

Certificate of occupancy or use permit. A certificate of occupancy or use permit will be issued upon completion of any building when all off-street parking and loading requirements, shown upon the plans, or made a part of the building permit, shall be in place and ready for use.

(4)

Location on other property. If the required automobile parking spaces cannot reasonably be provided on the same lot on which the principal use is conducted, such spaces may be provided on other off-street property, provided such property lies within 400 feet of the main entrance to such principal use. Such automobile parking space shall be associated with the principal use and shall not hereafter be reduced or encroached upon in any manner. Furthermore, if such a parking facility is bordered by a residential property, a ten-foot wide evergreen buffer strip shall be provided.

(5)

Common off-street parking areas. Two or more principal uses may utilize a common parking area in order to comply with off-street parking requirements, provided that the total number of individual spaces available in such common area is not less than the sum of the spaces required for the individual uses as separately computed in accordance with the provisions of this article, and provided that the owner of said lot relinquishes his development rights over the property in an instrument of record until such time as parking space is provided elsewhere.

(6)

Use of public rights-of-way for maneuvering area. When determining parking area requirements for individual uses, portions of the public rights-of-way on minor streets may be considered as permissible for maneuvering area incidental to parking. On streets designated as collector or major streets, parking facilities shall be designed and constructed to provide space outside the public rights-of-way for maneuvering incidental to parking.

(7)

Off-street loading and unloading space. Every building or structure used for business, trade or industry (except CBD District), shall provide space as indicated herein for the loading and unloading of vehicles off of a street or public alley.

a.

Retail business. One space ten feet by 25 feet for each 10,000 square feet of total floor area or fraction thereof.

b.

Wholesale and industry. One space ten feet by 50 feet for each 10,000 square feet of total floor area or fraction thereof.

c.

Bus and truck terminal. Sufficient space to accommodate the maximum number of buses or trucks to be stored or to be loaded or unloaded at the terminal at any one time. The planning and zoning commission shall make this determination.

(8)

Application of parking requirements:

a.

Location of off-street parking areas. All parking spaces required herein shall be located on the same lot with the principal building or use or uses served, except as noted in subsection (1) of this section.

b.

Mixed uses. Where more than one principal or accessory use or uses, whether with the same or different parking requirements, occupy the same building or premises, or in the case of joint use of a building or premises by more than one use having the same parking requirements, the parking spaces required shall equal the sum of the requirements of the various uses computed separately.

c.

Change in use, alteration of use, or extension of use. Off-street parking spaces shall be provided in accordance with these regulations whenever a building or use is changed, altered, or enlarged in floor area, number of employees, number of dwelling units, seating capacity, or otherwise.

d.

Requirements for uses not specifically listed. The parking space requirements for a use not specifically listed in subsection (1) of this section shall be the same as for a listed use of similar characteristics of parking demand generation, as determined by the code enforcement officer.

e.

Reduction of requirements. The total number of parking spaces required may be reduced by up to ten percent below that otherwise required by this article when it can be demonstrated that such reduction is warranted by some particular circumstance, subject to the approval of the code enforcement official.

f.

Compilation of total employment. Except as otherwise provided, the number of employees shall be compiled on the basis of the number of persons employed on the premises at one time on an average day or average night, whichever is greater. Seasonal variations in employment may be recognized in determining an average day.

g.

Fractional computations. Where fractional spaces result, the parking spaces required shall be construed to be the next highest whole number.

(Code 1983, § 22-6.7; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. VI, § 7; Ord. No. 2010.327, 1-19-2010)

In all zoning districts established by this article, except CBD District, no fence, wall, terrace, sign, shrubbery, planting or other structures or object capable of obstructing driver vision between the heights of two and ten feet above the finished street level shall be permitted on a corner lot within 25 feet of the point formed by the intersection of the street right-of-way lines (or such lines extended in case of rounded corner) which bound said lot. State and local governmental street and highway markers are excepted from this provision.

(Code 1983, § 22-6.8; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. VI, § 8)

At the intersection of any private drive or entrance with a public street, no fence, wall, hedge or other planting, or sign forming a barrier to visibility over a height of two feet shall be erected, planted, placed or maintained from the point of intersection to 30 feet along a line parallel to the paved thoroughfare.

(Code 1983, § 22-6.9; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. VI, § 9)

Campers and travel trailers may be parked or stored on any lot in a residential district, provided such storage is in a carport or enclosed building or out of sight of a public thoroughfare. However, such equipment may be parked anywhere on residential premises for a period not to exceed 24 hours while loading or unloading. No such equipment shall be used for living, sleeping, or housekeeping purposes when parked or stored on a residential lot, or in any location not approved for such uses.

(Code 1983, § 22-6.10; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. VI, § 10)

Automotive vehicles or trailers of any kind or type without current license plates shall not be parked or stored on any residentially zoned property other than in completely enclosed buildings.

(Code 1983, § 22-6.11; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. VI, § 11)

Multifamily structures shall be constructed according to the design criteria established in this article. The specific locations of multifamily developments should be conveniently related to thoroughfares, shopping facilities, and employment centers.

(1)

General requirements: lot, yard, height and coverage requirements.

a.

Minimum lot requirements. The minimum area per dwelling unit on a lot shall not be less than indicated, by dwelling unit type and by height of structure, in Table A:

TABLE A

MINIMUM SQUARE FOOTAGE OF LAND REQUIRED FOR EACH DWELLING UNIT, BY TYPE, IN A MULTIFAMILY STRUCTURE

b.

Maximum dwelling units per acre. The maximum number of units per acre of land shall not exceed the number indicated, by dwelling unit type and height of structure, in Tables B and C:

TABLE B

MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MULTIFAMILY DWELLING UNITS, BY TYPE, PERMITTED ON EACH NET ACRE OF LAND ^*

^* NOTE: "Net" acres of land includes all land on which residential and accessory buildings and uses are constructed, exclusive of streets, schools, churches and related areas.  

TABLE C

TABLE FOR COMPUTING SQUARE FOOTAGE OF LAND REQUIRED WHERE A MIXTURE OF DWELLING UNITS IS PROPOSED

When there is more than one type of unit planned, the height of the planned structure will determine the amount of land which must be set aside for each dwelling unit. Select the correct column in Table C, then multiply the number of each type of unit by the total area required to determine how much land area is needed to comply. Example: A two-story building is planned on a lot 100 feet by 600 feet (or 60,000 square feet). The development is proposed to contain ten efficiencies, five one-bedroom, and five two-bedroom units. To determine if this many units of the type described is allowable, use Column 2 (which is for two-story buildings), then multiply as follows:

The builder's land acreage is sufficient.

c.

Minimum yard requirements (see subsection (2) of this section).

Furthermore, no multifamily unit may be erected on a lot which has a width at the building line of less than 100 feet.

d.

Maximum height permitted. No restriction on height, except that no building shall be erected which cannot be served by existing city firefighting equipment, and every building more than four stories in height must be certified by the fire chief that the structure is capable of being served by existing firefighting equipment.

e.

Building coverage. No more than 40 percent of the lot may be covered by principal and accessory buildings, except that where parking is located within the structure, the coverage may be increased to 50 percent.

f.

Accessory buildings. Accessory buildings not over 15 feet high may be located in the rear yard, provided such buildings occupy not more than 25 percent of the rear yard area; and, provided further, that no accessory building shall be closer to the rear or side yard line than three feet, except in the case of a corner lot, no wall of an accessory building shall be closer to a side street line than the side line of the main building; provided, however, that it shall also be as far from the side street line as the required front yard for buildings on the side street or as near thereto as the width of the lot will permit.

(2)

Additional requirements.

a.

Additional lot requirements. For each story above the second, all yard requirements shall be increased by two feet.

b.

Placement of drives and parking areas. No drive or parking area shall be located closer than ten feet from any lot line unless there is adequate buffering as determined by the building official. No off-street parking will be permitted in any front yard. Alleys shall not be permitted as the only means of ingress or egress to parking areas required by this article.

c.

Spacing of buildings. Detached principal or accessory buildings shall not be placed closer than ten feet from any other building.

d.

Swimming pools. Swimming pools may be located within the buildable area of any tract or parcel of land used for multifamily dwelling purposes; provided that, when located on property adjacent to single-family or two-family dwelling districts, such pools shall not be located within 100 feet thereof unless there is adequate buffering present to shield the adjacent use from the glare of outdoor lights, noise, and other adverse effects as determined by the code enforcement officer.

(3)

General information to be submitted for review by the planning commission prior to approval of the project. All applicants for multifamily structures shall submit architectural plans including details such as number, location, and orientation of dwelling units, etc.; plot plans; landscaping plans; plans for off-street parking and service areas and ingress and egress arrangements; plans for proposed signs; plans for lighting premises outside building; elevations of all portions of proposed structures; and perspective drawings showing the relationship between the proposed structure as it is to be located on the premises and the adjacent structures. The multifamily structures will be developed so that they will not be subject to hazards such as objectionable smoke, noxious odors, unusual noise, probability of flood or erosion, and so that the condition of soil, groundwater level, drainage, rock formation and topography will not create hazards to the property or to the health and safety of the occupants. Also, plans for water, sewerage, telephone, electricity, gas, and solid waste storage facilities shall be submitted for approval by the planning and zoning commission.

The appropriate city officials shall review and comment on the plans and report their comments back to the planning and zoning commission.

(Code 1983, § 22-6.12; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. VI, § 12)

Townhouses shall be constructed according to the design criteria established in this article. Further, it is the intent of this article to provide for several specific types of ownership and development methods.

(1)

General requirements.

a.

Townhouse dwelling units shall be separated from each other by a two-hour fire-resistive partition extending from the lowest floor level to the roof, constructed according to the "Southern Standard Building Code" and shall have no openings therein. Where a separation between fire walls is provided, such separation shall be positively sealed in a manner which provides a substantial, approved closure of the space between units which is permanently watertight and verminproof.

b.

Not more than ten contiguous townhouses nor fewer than three shall be built in a row with approximately the same (but staggered) front line. The staggering of the units may be single or in pairs, but must be at least eight feet.

c.

No portion of townhouse or accessory structure in or related to one group of contiguous townhouses shall be closer than 20 feet to any portion of a townhouse or accessory structure related to another building outside the townhouse area.

d.

Yard. No front, side, or rear yard as such is required in connection with any townhouse, except that each end building shall have a side yard of 30 feet from the street line of minor and collector streets, and 50 feet from the street line of major arterial streets. Each townhouse shall have its own yard, private and reasonably secluded from view from streets or from neighboring property. Such yard shall not be used for any accessory building except storage sheds and private garages.

e.

Townhouse dwelling units shall each have a minimum of two off-street parking spaces.

f.

Grouped parking facilities. Insofar as practicable, off-street parking facilities shall be grouped in bays, either adjacent to streets or in the interior of blocks. No off-street parking space shall be more than 100 feet by the most direct pedestrian route from the door of the dwelling unit it is intended to serve. Common parking facilities for three or more automobiles shall provide space outside the public right-of-way for maneuvering incidental to parking.

g.

Visibility at access points for automobiles. In addition to the general provisions concerning visibility across portions of corner lots at street intersections, the following requirements apply to all private drives and entrances to, or exits from, common parking areas. At the intersection of any private drive or entrance, or exit for a common parking area with a public street, no fence, wall, hedge, or other planting or structure forming a material impediment to visibility between the height of two and ten feet shall be erected, planted, placed or maintained.

h.

Sidewalks four feet wide shall be provided for each townhouse development project to provide safe pedestrian access throughout the entire development.

i.

Private streets (when permitted by the planning and zoning commission) are interior circulation roads designed and constructed to carry vehicular traffic from public streets within or adjoining the site to terminal parking areas and service areas. The design and arrangement of private streets shall be subject to review and approval by the planning and zoning commission.

1.

Private streets shall be provided with a minimum width of 36 feet, exclusive of parking bay areas, and a minimum pavement width of 24 feet, measured from edge of pavement to edge of pavement. Additional widths shall be required where parallel parking is to be provided or at the discretion of the planning and zoning commission.

2.

Approved concrete curb shall be required unless the planning and zoning commission shall determine that curbs are not needed when private streets transverse open areas.

3.

Angled parking areas directly adjoining private streets shall be permitted on one side of the street at a time only. However, such parking areas may be alternated from one side of the street to the other. The combined length of such parking areas shall not exceed 50 percent of the length of the adjoining roadway. All other angled parking areas must be clearly separated from the private street by at least a barrier island.

4.

In no case shall a street name be used which will duplicate or be confused with existing streets in the area of jurisdiction of the planning and zoning commission. All street names shall be subject to the approval of the planning and zoning commission.

j.

Density. Not more than ten townhouse units per gross residential acre shall be permitted.

k.

Floor area regulations.

1.

No townhouse unit shall be smaller than 800 square feet, and the average size of the townhouse in any group shall be a minimum of 1,000 square feet.

2.

Private usable open space, such as balconies, sun decks, patios, etc., shall be provided contiguous to each dwelling unit. The area of such open space shall not be less than ten percent of the floor area of the unit served; such square footage may consist of one or more patio areas. Open roof areas and balconies designed and planned for patio purposes may be credited for no more than 50 percent of the required patio area. All patio outdoor living areas for each townhouse unit shall be enclosed by a wall affording adequate screening except where a natural feature or common open area would suggest an exception after review of the site plan. Such wall shall be of masonry or other material having a life expectancy of not less than ten years and a minimum height of six feet. Such patio areas shall be made of a part of the townhouse unit and so stated in the declaration, as defined elsewhere in this article.

l.

Utilities and services. Each townhouse shall be independently served by separate heating, air conditioning, sewer, water, electric power, gas and other facility and utility services, wherever such utilities and services are provided, and no townhouse shall be in any way dependent upon such services, or utility lines located within another unit or on, or in another townhouse or townhouse site, except as may be installed in public easements. All townhouses must be connected to public water and sewer lines and all electrical and telephone lines in a townhouse development site shall be placed underground. Proper and adequate access shall be provided for firefighting purposes, and to service areas for garbage and waste collection, and for other necessary services.

m.

Screening of garbage and storage areas. All exterior garbage containers, incinerators, or other outside storage areas shall be screened by an opaque enclosure of not less than five feet in height.

n.

Open space. In group development projects involving townhouses, and in all townhouse projects where more than 20 units are to be constructed, a common area amounting to at least ten percent of the gross townhouse project area shall be provided on the same or adjacent block. No buildings, parking, storage, or other use shall be made in this open space.

o.

Maintenance of common space areas, parking, drives and other areas and facilities. Prior to approval of any townhouse development project, provisions satisfactory to the city shall be made to assure that non-publicly-owned areas (common areas) and facilities for the common use of the occupants and/or owners of the townhouses shall be maintained in a satisfactory manner. The instrument incorporating such provision (declaration) shall be approved by the city attorney as to form and legal sufficiency as provided in the provisions of the South Carolina Horizontal Property Act and/or the provisions of this article through deed restrictions or other legal agreements. All townhouse declarations shall require the Association, as defined elsewhere in this article, to provide exterior building maintenance services and architectural control.

p.

General information to be submitted for review by the planning commission prior to approval of the project. All applicants for townhouses shall submit architectural plans including details such as number, location and orientation of dwelling units, etc.; plot plans; landscaping plans; plans for off-street parking, service areas, and ingress and egress arrangements; plans for proposed signs; plans for lighting premises outside building; elevations of all portions of proposed structures; and perspective drawings showing the relationship between the proposed structure as it is to be located on the premises and the adjacent structures. The townhouses will be developed so that they will not be subject to hazards such as objectionable smoke, noxious odors, unusual noise, probability of flood or erosion, and so that the condition of soil, groundwater level, drainage, rock formation and topography will not create hazards to the property or to the health and safety of the occupants. Also, plans for water, sewerage, telephone, electricity, gas, solid waste storage and collection, and any and all other utilities and facilities shall be submitted for approval by the planning commission. The appropriate city officials shall review and comment on the plans and report their comments back to the planning commission.

(2)

Special requirements by ownership and development type.

a.

Small-scale townhouse projects consisting of an overall size of five acres or less shall be developed using either the condominium or resubdivision into individual lots of record methods without following the platting procedures prescribed under the PUD section of this chapter. The resubdivision of land shall be approved by the planning commission using the standard subdivision procedures only after 100 percent of the units have been constructed.

1.

Private streets are prohibited.

2.

Minimum lot size is 12,500 square feet prior to resubdivision into individual lots of record. After resubdivision, the minimum lot size shall be 2,500 square feet and the minimum width shall be 25 feet at the point abutting the public right-of-way.

b.

Large-scale township projects consisting of more than five acres shall be developed using either the condominium or resubdivision into individual lots of record method and shall be developed under the platting procedures prescribed under the PUD section of this chapter. In those cases where the townhouse units are a part of a larger PUD project, the PUD zoning district shall apply. In those cases where the townhouse project is not a part of a larger PUD project, the townhouse project shall be located in an R-2 District only.

1.

Private streets may be permitted by the planning commission as provided in subsection (1)i of this section.

2.

Minimum lot size prior to resubdivision of the project into lots of record shall be two acres. After resubdivision, the minimum lot size shall be 1,800 square feet and the minimum width shall be 20 feet at any given point.

3.

The resubdivision of land shall be approved by the planning commission using the procedures established in the PUD section of this chapter only after 100 percent of the units have been constructed. A project may be broken into several sections for purposes of resubdivision and platting; however, according to South Carolina Act 487 of 1967, the clerk of the county court shall not record a final plat for the resubdivision of the land unless the chairperson and/or secretary of the planning commission has signed the final plat. 100 percent of the units within the area to be platted must be constructed and all requirements of the planning commission and this article must be met for the planning commission to approve the final plat.

4.

An ownership association shall provide a means for maintenance and upkeep of common areas by assessment of lot owners or some other method to ensure that individual lot owners will be legally obligated to contribute a proportionate cost of the maintenance of the common areas of the project.

(Code 1983, § 22-6.13; Ord. of 3-21-1971, art. VI, § 13; Ord. of 6-14-1980)