For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meaning:

1.   “Accessory buildings.” An accessory building is a subordinate building or a portion of the main building, on the lot, not attached thereto and used for purposes customarily incidental to those of the main building.

2.   “Accessory uses.” A use which is clearly incidental to, or customarily found in connection with, the main use of the premises.

3.   “Agricultural activity.” Agricultural activity, including forests and forest products, harvest and management, dairy farming, livestock grazing and pasturage, truck gardening, the raising of crops, fruit and nursery stock, fish farms, animal kennels and fur- bearing animal farms, and the harvesting, processing, packaging, packing, shipping, and selling of products produced on the premises, and incidental farm occupations and uses such as machinery, farm equipment and domestic repair and construction, excluding commercial feed lots.

4.   “Alley.” A public right-of-way which affords only a secondary means of access to abutting property.

5.   “Apartment.” See “dwelling unit.”

6.   “Automobile service station.” Any land, building, structure or premises used for the sale, at retail, of motor vehicle fuels, oils, or accessories or for serving or lubricating motor vehicles or installing or repairing parts and accessories, but not included the repairing or replacing of bodies or fenders of motor vehicles, or painting of motor vehicles or operation of public garages.

7.   “Basement.” A story having part but not more than one-half of its height below grade. A basement is counted as a story for the purposes of height regulation if subdivided and used for dwelling purposes other than by a janitor employed on the premises.

8.   “Bed and breakfast homes.” A house or portion thereof where short-term lodging, rooms and meals are provided. The operator shall live on the premises.

9.   “Bistro.” A home occupation providing private dining, reservation-only, onsite dining only, with off-street parking requirements to conform to the number of stalls required for restaurants. Maximum seating capacity shall be no greater than 40 persons. The operator shall live on the premises.

10.   “Block front.” All of the property on one side of a street between two intersecting streets or between an intersecting street and the dead end of a street.

11.   “Boardinghouse.” A building, other than a hotel or apartment hotel where, for compensation and by prearrangement for definite periods, lodging, meals, or lodging and meals are provided for three or more persons.

12.   “Building.” Any structure including a roof supported by walls, designed or intended for the support, enclosure, shelter or protection of persons, animals, chattels or property and forming a construction that is safe and stable; the word “building” shall include the word “structure.”

13.   “Building, height of.” The vertical distance from the grade (elevation of the curb, sidewalk or average elevation of the ground around the street) to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, or to the deck line of a mansard roof, or to the mean height level between eaves and ridge for gable, hip or gambrel roofs.

14.   “Building Official.” The individual designated to administer the zoning ordinance and who is responsible for the enforcement of the regulations imposed by said ordinance.

15.   “Cellar.” A portion of a building located partly or wholly underground and having one-half or more of its floor-to-ceiling height below the average grade of the adjoining ground.

16.   “Clinic.” An establishment where patients are not lodged overnight, but are admitted for examinations and treatment by a group of physicians or dentists practicing medicine together.

17.   “Club, private.” Permanent nonpublic buildings and facilities owned or operated by a corporation, association, person or persons for the purpose of rendering a service to its membership and their guests only.

18.   “Commission” or “Planning Commission.” The City Planning and Zoning Commission of Le Mars.

19.   “Conditional use.” A use allowed in a zoning district after a permit is granted by the Board of Adjustment in accordance with the provisions of Section 167.20.

20.   “Dwelling.” Any building or portion thereof designed or used exclusively for residential purposes.

21.   “Dwelling, single-family.” A building designed for use or occupied exclusively by one family which may include not more than two roomers or boarders not members of the family.

22.   “Dwelling, two-family.” A building designed for or occupied exclusively by two families which may include not more than two roomers or boarders not members of either family.

23.   “Dwelling, multiple.” A dwelling containing more than two dwelling units.

24.   “Dwelling unit.” A room or group of rooms within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with facilities for living, sleeping and cooking.

25.   “Family.” One or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption occupying a dwelling and living as a single housekeeping unit and doing their own cooking on the premises.

26.   “Floor area.” The sum of the gross horizontal areas of all floors of a building measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or from the center line of walls separating buildings, but not including cellar or basement space not used for retailing and not including accessory off-street parking or loading space.

27.   “Floor area ratio.” The floor area of the building divided by the area of the lot.

28.   “Garage, private.” An accessory building or portion of a building in which the primary use is to house motor vehicles.

29.   “Garage, public.” A garage other than a private garage.

30.   “Home occupation.” Any occupation or activity which is clearly incidental and secondary to use of the premises for dwelling and which is carried on wholly within a main building or accessory building by a member of a family residing on the premises, in connection with which there is no advertising other than an identification sign of not more than two square feet in area, and no other display or storage of materials or exterior indicating of the home occupation or variation from the residential character of the main building or accessory building; and in connection with which not more than one person outside the family is employed and no equipment used which created offensive noise, vibration, smoke, dust, odors, heat or glare, When within the above requirement, a home occupation includes, but is not limited to, the following: (a) art studio; (b) beauty parlor; (c) dressmaking; (d) professional office of a physician, dentist, lawyer, engineer, architect, accountant, salesman, real estate agent, insurance agent or other similar occupation; (e) teaching, with musical instruction limited to one or two pupils at a time; and (f) bistro; however, a home occupation shall not be interpreted to include barber shops, stores and restaurants.

31.   “Hotel.” A building in which lodging is provided and offered to the public for compensation and which is open to transient guests, in contradistinction to a boardinghouse or lodging house as herein defined.

32.   “Kennel.” An establishment where small animals are boarded for compensation or where dogs are bred or raised on a commercial scale.

33.   “Lodging or rooming house.” Same as “Boardinghouse.”

34.   “Lot.” A parcel or land occupied or intended for occupancy by a use permitted in this chapter, including one main building together with its accessory building, and the open spaces and parking spaces required by this chapter and having its principal frontage upon a street.

35.   “Lot, corner.” A lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersections.

36.   “Lot, depth.” The mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.

37.   “Lot, double frontage.” A lot having a frontage on two nonintersecting roads, as distinguished from a corner lot.

38.   “Lot, interior.” A lot other than a corner lot.

39.   “Lot of record.” A lot or parcel of land, the deed to which has been recorded in the office of the County Recorder of Plymouth County prior to March 8, 1962.

40.   “Lot, width.” The width of a lot at the front yard line.

41.   “Major, thoroughfare.” A street designated as a major thoroughfare on the official comprehensive plan of the City.

42.   “Manufactured home.” A factory-built, single-family structure, which is manufactured or constructed under the authority of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 5403, Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, and is to be used as a place for human habitation, but which is not constructed with a permanent hitch or other device allowing it to be moved other than of the purpose of moving to a permanent site, and which does not have permanently attached to its body or frame any wheels or axles. A mobile home is not a manufactured home unless it has been converted to real property and is taxed as a site- built dwelling. For the purposes of these regulations, a manufactured home shall be considered the same as any site-built, single-family detached dwelling.

43.   “Mobile home.” Any vehicle without motive power used or so manufactured or constructed as to permit its being used as a conveyance upon the public streets and highways and so designed, constructed or reconstructed as will permit the vehicle to be used as a place for human habitation by one or more persons; but shall also include any such vehicle with motive power not registered as a motor vehicle in Iowa. A mobile home is factory-built housing built on a chassis. A mobile home shall not be construed to be a travel trailer or other form of recreational vehicle. A mobile home shall be construed to remain a mobile home, subject to all regulations applying thereto, whether or not wheels, axles, hitch, or other appurtenances of mobility are removed and regardless of the nature of the foundation provided. However, certain mobile homes may be classified as “manufactured homes.” Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as permitting a mobile home to be located in other than an approved mobile home park, unless such mobile home is classified as a "manufactured home."

44.   “Mobile home court.” An area where one or more inhabited mobile homes can be or are intended to be parked.

45.   “Modular home.” Factory-built housing certified as meeting the State Building Code as applicable to modular housing. Once certified by the State, modular homes shall be subject to the same standards as site-built homes.

46.   “Motel, motor court, motor lodge or tourist court.” Any building or group of buildings containing guest rooms or dwelling units, some or all of which have a separate entrance leading directly from the outside of the building with garage or parking space conveniently located on the lot, and designed, used, or intended wholly or in part for the accommodation of automobile transients.

47.   “Nonconforming use.” Any building or land lawfully occupied by a use before March 8, 1962, and which does not conform with the use regulations of the district within which it is located.

48.   “Nursing home.” A home for the aged or infirm in which three or more persons not of the immediate family are received, kept or provided with food and shelter, or care for compensation; but not including hospitals, clinics, or similar institutions devoted primarily to the diagnosis and treatment of the sick or injured.

49.   “Parking space.” A surfaced area, enclosed or unenclosed, sufficient in size to store one automobile (not less than nine feet wide and 20 feet long) connected to a public street or alley by a surfaced driveway and permanently reserved for the parking or storage of one motor vehicle.

50.   “Plat, lot.” A drawing of a lot showing its dimensions, the building arrangement thereon and such other information as may be needed for enforcement of this chapter.

51.   “Premises.” A lot, together with all buildings and structures thereon.

52.   “Public improvements.” Public improvements shall be defined in accordance with Section 384.95 of the Code of Iowa, and as amended.

53.   “Restaurant.” A use engaged in the preparation and retail sale of food and beverages, including sale of alcoholic beverages when conducted as an accessory or secondary feature and producing less than 50 percent of the gross income. Typical uses include restaurants, coffee shops, dinner houses and similar establishments with incidental alcoholic beverages service.

54.   “Servants’ quarters.” An accessory building or portion of the main building located on the same lot as the main building and used as living quarters for servants employed on the premises and not rented to otherwise used as a separate domicile and containing no kitchen facilities.

55.   “Sign.” A sign is any structure or part hereof, or any device attached to, painted on or represented on a building or other structure, upon which is displayed or included any letter, work, model, banner, flag, pennant, insignia, decoration, device or representation used as or which is in the nature of an announcement, direction, advertisement or other attention-directing device. A sign shall not include a similar structure or device located within a building except for illuminated signs within show windows. A sign includes any billboard, but does not include the flag, pennant or insignia of any nation or association of nations or of any state, city or other political unit or of any political, charitable, educational, philanthropic, civic, professional, religious or like campaign, drive, movement or event.

56.   “Sign area.” That area within a line including the outer extremities of all letters, figures, characters and delineations or within a line including the outer extremities of the framework or background of the sign, whichever line includes the larger area. The support for the sign background, whether it be columns, a pylon or a building or part thereof, shall not be included in the sign area.

57.   “Story.” That portion of a building, other than a basement, included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it or, if there is no floor above it, the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it. A half-story is a partial story under a gable, hip or gambrel roof, the wall plates of which on at least two opposite exterior walls are not more than four feet above the floor of each story.

58.   “Street.” A street is a public right-of-way which affords traffic circulation and a principal means of access to abutting property. An alley shall not be considered a street.

59.   “Structural alteration.” Any change in structural members of a building, such as walls, columns, beams or girders.

60.   “Structure.” Any constructed or erected, the use of which requires permanent location on the ground.

61.   “Town house.” A building that has one-family dwelling units erected in a row as a single building, on adjoining lots, each being separated from the adjoining unit or units by a masonry party wall or walls extending from the basement floor to the roof along the dividing lot line, and each such building being separated from any other building by space on all sides, provided that no more than six dwelling units shall be contained in any one building.

62.   “Travel trailer.” A vehicle designed for temporary or vacation living or used to carry units so designed.

63.   “Travel trailer camp.” An area where one or more travel trailers can be parked for periods not exceeding two weeks.

64.   “Yard.” An open space on the same lot with a building unobstructed from the ground upward and measured as the minimum horizontal distance between the lot line and main building.

65.   “Yard, front.” A yard extending across the front of a lot between the side lot lines, and being the minimum horizontal distance between the street line and the main building or any projections thereof other than the projections of uncovered steps, uncovered balconies, terrace or uncovered porches. On corner lots the front yard shall be considered as parallel to the street upon which the lot has its least dimension.

66.   “Yard, rear.” A yard extending across the rear of the lot between the side lot lines and measured between the rear lot line and the rear of the main building or any projection other than steps, unenclosed porches or entranceways.

67.   “Yard, side.” A yard between the main building and the side line of the lot, and extending from the front yard line to the rear yard, and being the minimum horizontal distance between side lot line and side of the main buildings or any projections thereof.