Any building, structure, or part thereof, converted, constructed, altered, or moved shall conform with the requirements for lot area, frontage, yards, usable open space, lot coverage, density, and height as herein set forth or as provided elsewhere in this ordinance.

Note: For the Rowe’s Quarry Reclamation and Redevelopment District, see MCC 12.28.140.

*Square Feet per Dwelling Unit **Square Feet per Child- For the purpose of Day Care Centers, usable open space shall include areas as small as 100 square feet per area with a minimum width in any direction of 10 feet, and may include porches and terraces and paved areas. ***Except in the case of slab construction (no cellar) on ledge or within the Flood Plain overlay district, in which case maximum height shall be three stories but no more than 30'. + Provided that for subdivisions of three or more, a minimum of 8,750 square feet shall be required. ++ Provided that for subdivisions of three or more, a minimum of 15,000 square feet shall be required. +++ Provided that for subdivisions of three or more, a minimum of 7,500 square feet shall be required. ^Except in the Central Business District and the Residential Incentive Overlay, where minimum usable open space will be 200 sq. ft./dwelling unit. ^^ Provided that up to 100 Sf/dwelling unit may be provided in one or more shared, pervious, landscaped terraces of 40 SF minimum dimension and may be visible to the public, notwithstanding MCC 12.16.080 Paragraph B and MCC 12.16.080 Paragraph C of this Ordinance. ^^^ Provided that up to 40% coverage may be allowed if a minimum of 60% of all required parking is provided underground.

~ Square foot of open space per square foot of primary classroom space.

For the purpose of interpreting the intensity regulations with regard to multi-use buildings or lots, the most stringent controls of the uses of the lot shall prevail, except for the following: coverage principal building, coverage accessory building, and maximum height; where the maximum control shall apply. However, lots with gasoline filling and service stations in combination with the retail sale of food shall require a special permit by the Planning Board in conformance with the following controls:

1. Compliance with the dimensional and parking controls of the multiple uses.
2. The proposal must not endanger the public health.
3. The proposal must be in harmony with the surrounding land uses.
4. The proposal must not, in any way, create a traffic or safety hazard.
5. There must be adequate protection against the creation and spread of litter and debris.
6. The proposal must be in the interest of the common good.

All allowed uses do not have to conform with lot area, frontage, front yard, side yard, rear yard, coverage, and court requirements as they appear in Table I of Intensity Regulations, but all lots must have a minimum lot area of five thousand square ft., a frontage of fifty (50) feet, and not exceed a height of fifty five (55) feet and twelve (12) stories. Usable open space requirements may be reduced by fifty (50) percent. Density requirements may be reduced to not less than five hundred (500) square feet of lot area per dwelling unit for structures not exceeding six (6) stories in height. All allowed uses do not have to conform to height requirements as specified in the Table of Intensity Regulations, provided that no structure shall exceed twelve (12) stories, and further provided that all structures with greater than six (6) stories shall comply with MCC 12.12.110.

In Highway Business (BH) Districts allowed uses shall have the following dimensional controls:

1. Minimum setback- twenty (20) feet from the street line.
2. Minimum side yard- fifteen (15) feet from the property lines for all buildings up to twenty-five (25) feet in height with an additional one (1) foot of setback required for each five (5) feet of height over twenty-five (25) feet. Setback requirements shall apply where side yards are adjacent to streets.
3. Maximum height of buildings shall not exceed six (6) stories or fifty (50) feet in height, not including chimneys, parapets, elevators, air conditioners, penthouse towers, or other similar superstructures necessary to the permitted uses.

1. The rear yard requirement for all allowed uses is waived in those cases where properties abut railroad or rapid transit rights-of-way, or water courses, excluding the Malden River, which is defined to include the Malden River and Little Creek, as referenced by the USGS Topographic Map, where day lighted, and associated properties or easements in public ownership.
2. The required minimum lot size may be reduced to twelve thousand (12,000) square feet by special permit issued by the Board of Appeal providing, however, that said lot reduction does not adversely affect the surrounding area.

1. The required frontage for dwelling purposes may be reduced on existing (but not newly created) irregularly shaped lots, lots on curved streets, and lots on turning circles by not more than fifty (50) percent, provided that the required lot width is attained at the required setback line.
2. Frontage width on corner lots shall be at least five (5) feet wider than specified in the Table of Intensity Regulations.
3. No lot upon which any building or structure stands in conformance with this ordinance shall be changed for any reason in size or shape so as to violate any of the provisions of this ordinance except through an exercise of the powers of eminent domain.

1. Front setback for single family houses and two (2) family detached and semi-detached houses shall be the greater of ten (10) feet or thirty-two and one-half (32-1/2) feet from the center line of the street, except in a Residential Office (RO) District.
2. Front setback for three (3), four (4), multi-family, town or row, rooming, and group houses shall be the greater of twenty (20) feet or forty-two and one-half (42-1/2) feet from the center line of the street, except in a Residential Office (RO) District.
3. Where a side or rear yard is adjacent to a street, the yard requirement shall be the same as the distance specified for front yard setback.
4. No building or subsurface structure, or portion thereof, shall be permitted within the required yard areas.
5. Business structures or uses shall not display goods for sale purposes or display coin-operated vending machines of any type in any location which would infringe upon the required yard areas specified in this ordinance.
6. No yard or other open space provided about any building for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this ordinance shall be considered to provide a yard or open space for any other building.
7. Buildings accessory to single, two, and town or row houses, eight (8) or less feet in height and 72 or less square feet in floor area shall be a minimum of three (3)feet from any side or rear property line, but must comply with Paragraph A and Paragraph B, and buildings accessory to single and two family uses that are greater than eight (8) feet in height or 72 square feet in floor area shall be a minimum of 6' from any side or rear property line, but must comply with Paragraph A except swimming pools in which side or rear yards may be reduced by special permit of the Planning Board providing, however, that said reduction or reductions do not adversely affect the surrounding area. All other accessory buildings shall comply in all respects with the yard requirements of this ordinance for the principal building.
8. All required areas, including minimum open space and all yard setback areas, but excluding minimum lot area, shall not exceed a grade of 25% post-development/post-construction on the lot, and shall not include, within their limits, a ledge cut or retaining wall in excess of six (6) feet.
9. Except in the CB zone and the Residential Incentive Overlay, for multifamily residential dwellings from 1-12 stories, a minimum of 50% of the required front yard shall be devoted to lawn and/or landscaping and not paving.
10. Any residential dwelling must be situated on a lot so that the front door faces the front yard.

1. Usable open space shall consist of areas for active or passive recreational use and shall not be used or considered for off-street parking or vehicular access or egress.
2. Each usable open space area shall be a minimum of one thousand (1000) square feet in area and shall have a minimum clear width of twenty (20) feet with a maximum grade not greater than eight (8) percent in any direction. Areas for usable open space may include tennis courts, basketball courts, swimming pools, lawns, walks, benches or other active or passive recreational facilities.
3. In all zoning districts, open space requirement may not be met by indoor recreational facilities. All open space shall be pervious, and landscaped to prevent erosion and allow onsite water filtration, provided, however, landscaping may not include crushed stone, stone dust or any other similar or overly compacted material; and a minimum of 50% shall be located in yard setback areas, where setbacks are required.
4. The area between the street line and any building line set by the Public Works Commission of the city of Malden shall not be included as usable open space.

1. A court shall be deemed to exist between portions of a principal building(s) or structure(s) and between a principal or accessory building(s) or structure(s) located upon the same lot.
2. The minimum width of a court shall be the greater of fifteen (15) feet or equal to the height of the lowest building or structure.

The density requirement for multifamily houses occupied by the "elderly" (as defined by the rules and regulations of the Malden Housing Authority) may be reduced to not less than seven hundred fifty (750) square feet per dwelling unit providing these houses are constructed by the Malden Housing Authority itself, built for the Housing Authority as "turnkey housing" (as defined by the rules and regulations of the Department of Housing and Urban Development), or built by non-profit organizations (as defined by the rules and regulations of the Department of Housing and Urban Development).

1. For all districts the maximum building height shall be an elevation of one hundred and fifty (150) feet above the Malden city base, except where the Inspector of Plumbing certifies that adequate water service is available at a higher elevation or where the Inspector of Plumbing approves the use of pump(s) to maintain adequate water service, and where the City Engineer certifies that the proposed building will not reduce the water service of other users in the general area to less than existing levels.
2. Parapets less than five (5) feet high, chimneys, flag poles, ventilators, water tanks, antennas, penthouses, solar panels, wind generators and associated towers, or other protections used for or intended to be used exclusively for utility services or access to the roof may exceed the height limitations of this ordinance by not more than twenty (20) feet.
3. The height limitations of this ordinance shall not apply to church spires, belfries, cupolas, and domes not used for human occupancy.
4. Buildings accessory to single and two family uses shall be limited to no more than 15' in height. All other accessory buildings shall comply in all respects with the height requirements of the ordinance for the principal building.

1. In all districts where allowed by right or by special permit, there shall be a maximum of six (6) connected units in a row.
2. The exterior front of the building(s) shall be interchanged such that no more than two (2) adjacent town or row house units will be of the same design.
3. The exterior fronts of the building(s) shall be staggered such that no more than two (2) adjacent town or row house units are on the same vertical plane.
4. Dwelling, Town or Row allowed in Residence A Districts under MCC 12.28.010 Paragraph D,1, must conform to the dimensional controls of this ordinance, unless specifically changed by this section.
   1. Minimum lot size shall be eleven thousand (11,000) square feet with a minimum of four thousand (4,000) square feet for each end unit and three thousand (3,000) square feet for each middle unit.
   2. Minimum rear yard requirements shall be twenty-five (25) feet.
   3. No more than one (1) parking space shall be permitted between each dwelling unit and the street.

Two (2) or more residential buildings on the same lot are to be considered separate structures, even though connected by breezeways.