Madison City Zoning Code
§ 195-30.1
Yard regulations.
(Note: Where applicable below, the regulations for off-street parking improvements in Article IV, § 195-25.15 are hereby incorporated by reference.)
A.
Required yards.
(1)
Every lot shall include front, side and rear yards having the areas and dimensions required within the particular zone in which said lot is located.
(2)
No yard or other open space provided for any building for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this article shall be considered as providing a yard or other open space for any other building on any other lot.
(3)
No land in a residential zone shall be used to fulfill open space, minimum areas, minimum yard and setback requirements, parking or other similar requirements for uses in nonresidential zones.
B.
Front yards.
(1)
Yards fronting on streets less than 50 feet wide. Where any lot abuts a street right-of-way which is less than 50 feet in width, the front yard setback required for such lot shall be increased in depth by 1/2 the difference between the width of the street and 50 feet.
(2)
Yards fronting on streets 50 feet or more in width, as shown on the Master Plan. Where any lot abuts a street with a proposed right-of-way 50 feet or more in width, as shown on the Borough Master Plan, the building setback distance shall be measured from the nearest line of the proposed street right-of-way on said Master Plan.
C.
Front yards on corner lots. Every yard of a corner lot which abuts a street shall be considered a front yard, and the front yard setback requirements for the zone in which the lot is situated shall be complied with on every street frontage, except in the Community Commercial Zone, where the side yard shall be 1/2 of the corner front yard setback.
D.
Front yards of through lots. In the case of a lot running through from one street to another, the frontage of such a lot, for the purpose of this article, shall be considered that frontage upon which the majority of the buildings in the same block front, but in case there has been no clearly defined frontage established, the front lot line shall be the line upon which the primary entrance of the principal building faces, or will face when constructed.
E.
Front yards in the R-2, R-3 and R-4 Zones. In the R-2, R-3 and R-4 Zones, the front yard requirement shall be as set forth in Schedule I,[1] except that where the existing principal buildings on the same side of the street and within 200 feet of any subject lot create an established setback, new buildings shall conform to such established setback or, if none is established, to the average of the setbacks of the principal buildings within 200 feet, provided that no new building may be situated nearer than 25 feet to the front property line nor be required to set back more than 60 feet from said front property line. The foregoing established front setbacks shall also apply to existing buildings for the purpose of determining whether front setback variance relief is required for proposed additions.
[Amended 10-16-2013 by Ord. No. 41-2013]
[1]
Editor's Note: Schedule I is included at the end of this chapter.
F.
Projections and encroachments. Yards and courts required by this article shall be free of buildings, structures or parts thereof, and no building or structure shall project into any front, side or rear yard required by this article, nor shall use be made of such yard, except as follows:
(1)
Unenclosed porches, including steps extending not more than 72 inches from the building line and not exceeding more than 20 square feet in size.
(2)
Window wells affording light and air to basement and cellar areas.
(3)
Cornices and eaves may project not more than two feet into any required yard.
(4)
Chimneys may project not more than two feet into any required yard.
(5)
Driveways providing access to permitted garages or parking areas; provided, however, that in residential zones, driveways used to provide access to private garages shall not be wider than 20 feet.
(6)
Sills, leaders and similar ornamental or structural features may project not more than six inches into any required yard.
(7)
Fences and retaining walls, where specifically permitted in this chapter.
(8)
Freestanding flagpoles, television antennas and radio aerial masts, children's playground equipment, outdoor fireplaces and yard clothes lines and posts, but they must be set back at least five feet from any property line. Except for freestanding flagpoles, such structures shall not be located in the front yard.
(9)
Accessory buildings and uses, including swimming pools, where specifically permitted in this chapter.
(10)
Residential heating and cooling units, if located in the side yard, shall be buffered from adjacent neighbors with evergreen plantings to help mitigate visual appearance, noise and vibration.
(11)
Front entry roofs with a maximum depth of 5 1/2 feet and a maximum width of eight feet shall be exempt from front yard setback requirements in residential zones, provided that the distance between the proposed front entry roof and the front property line is at least 75% of the required applicable front yard setback.
[Added 10-15-2008 by Ord. No. 65-2008]
G.
Lots abutting municipal parking lots. Any nonresidential lot abutting a municipal parking lot shall be required to meet only 1/2 of the minimum yard requirements for the zone in which located for the yard abutting the municipal parking lot.
H.
Side and rear yards in residential zones. In all residential zones, the area within five feet of all side and rear lot lines shall be free of all driveways, parking areas, walkways, decks, patios and other paved surfaces.
[Added 10-16-2013 by Ord. No. 41-2013]