Animal and Crop Production. The keeping, grazing, feeding, or breeding of animals by the property owner or occupant for commercial gain and/or the growing and harvesting of agricultural products to provide food, fiber, or horticultural vegetation for ornamental purposes, or any combination of these uses. Typical uses include dairy and poultry farms, the growing of field crops, and fruit and nut orchards. This use does not include nurseries, greenhouses, processing, or retail sales of agricultural products from the site. It does not include medical marijuana collectives, home gardens, or community gardens.

Animal and Crop Sales. The term “general agriculture” includes such uses as the necessary treatment, packing or storage of farm products produced on premises, the sale of any farm crops or livestock raised on premises, and any signs, structures, or fences utilized for agricultural functions.

General Agricultural. Land which is being used for the production of farm, garden, or orchard crops, or the grazing or raising of farm animals, including feeding pens that are incidental and subordinate to a grazing operation. Examples of commodities produced include vegetables, fruit trees, grapes, cotton, grain, poultry, horses, cattle, sheep and swine. It includes dairy operations, including areas designated for raising heifers and bulls. It does not include signs advertising off-premises facilities, junkyards, other retail sales, manufacturing, any nonagricultural services, stockyards, slaughterhouses/meat packing plants, commercial pen feeding, production wineries, bone yards, plants for the reduction of animal matter, poultry feeding operations, or agricultural processing plants.

Farmers and Animal Produce Stand. A stand located on an active farm that sells processed agricultural products, such as jams, preserves, pickles, juices, cured olives, and other value-added products made with ingredients produced on or near the farm, in addition to fresh produce, eggs, and other goods produced on the farm. These stands should be accessory to on-site agricultural operations. The intent is to encourage the sale of locally grown fresh produce, not the establishment of traditional retail stores or convenience markets in agricultural zones. [Ord. 18-05 § 1; Res. 18-20; Ord. 14-12 § 1; Res. 14-36 Art. 601.]

Residential Housing Types.

Senior and Long-Term Care. Establishments that provide 24-hour medical, convalescent or chronic care to individuals who, by reason of advanced age, chronic illness or infirmity, are unable to care for themselves, and are licensed under A.R.S. Title 36, Chapter 4, et seq., including but not limited to rest homes, nursing homes, and convalescent hospitals, but not group and residential care homes, hospitals, or clinics.

Family Day Care. A day care facility licensed by the state of Arizona, that is located in a single-unit residence or other dwelling unit where a resident of the dwelling provides care and supervision for children under the age of 14 or under 18 years if the child has a developmental disability, for periods of less than 24 hours a day.

Mobile Home Parks/Recreation Vehicle Parks. A development designed and occupied by manufactured homes, including development with facilities and amenities used in common by occupants who rent, lease, or own spaces for mobile homes through a subdivision, cooperative, condominium or other form of resident ownership.

“Group home” means a residential dwelling unit shared as a primary residence by minors, disabled, handicapped or elderly persons, living together as a single housekeeping unit, in a long term, family-like environment in which staff persons provide on-site care, training, or support for the residents.

Supportive Housing. Dwelling units with no limit on length of stay that are occupied by the target population as defined in A.R.S. Title 36, and that are linked to on-site or off-site services that assist supportive housing residents in retaining the housing, improving their health status, and maximizing their ability to live and, where possible, work in the community. Supportive housing may be provided in a multiple unit structure. Facilities may operate as licensed or unlicensed facilities subject to applicable state requirements. This classification includes domestic violence shelters.

Transitional Housing. Dwelling units with a limited length of stay that are operated under a program requiring recirculation to another program recipient at some future point in time, including a supervised residential center for individuals who are completing a sentence and/or reside for a defined period of time for counseling, job placement assistance, and similar services that assist in transitioning from institutional to community living. Transitional housing may be designated for homeless or recently homeless individuals or families transitioning to permanent housing as defined in A.R.S. Title 36. Facilities may be linked to on-site or off-site supportive services designed to help residents gain skills needed to live independently. [Ord. 18-05 § 1; Res. 18-20; Ord. 14-12 § 1; Res. 14-36 Art. 601.]

Cemetery. Establishments primarily engaged in operating sites or structures reserved for the interment of human or animal remains, including mausoleums, burial places, and memorial gardens.

Colleges and Trade Schools, Public or Private. Institutions of higher education providing curricula of a general, religious or professional nature, typically granting recognized degrees, including conference centers and academic retreats associated with such institutions. This classification includes junior colleges, business and computer schools, management training, technical and trade schools, but excludes personal instructional services such as music lessons.

Community Assembly. A facility for public or private meetings including community centers, banquet centers, religious assembly facilities, civic auditoriums, union halls, meeting halls for clubs and other membership organizations. This classification includes functionally related facilities for the use of members and attendees such as kitchens, multi-purpose rooms, and storage. It does not include gymnasiums or other sports facilities, convention centers, or facilities, such as day care centers and schools that are separately classified and regulated.

Cultural Facilities. Facilities engaged in activities to serve and promote aesthetic and educational interest in the community that are open to the public on a regular basis. This classification includes performing arts centers for theater, music, dance, and events; spaces for display or preservation of objects of interest in the arts or sciences; libraries; museums; historical sites; aquariums; art galleries; and zoos and botanical gardens. It does not include schools or institutions of higher education providing curricula of a general nature.

Day Care Facility. Establishments providing nonmedical care for persons on a less-than-24-hour basis other than family day care. This classification includes nursery schools, preschools, and day care facilities for children or adults, and any other day care facility licensed by the state of Arizona.

Educational Facilities, Public or Private. Facilities for primary or secondary education, including public schools, charter schools, and private and parochial schools having curricula comparable to that required in the public schools of the state of Arizona.

Emergency Shelter and Facilities. A temporary, short-term residence providing housing with minimal supportive services for homeless families or individual persons where occupancy is limited to six months or less. Medical assistance, counseling, and meals may be provided.

Government Buildings. A building, structure, site, or any portion thereof that is used by the city, state, or federal government.

Hospitals and Clinics. State-licensed facilities providing medical, surgical, psychiatric, or emergency medical services to sick or injured persons. This classification includes facilities for in-patient or out-patient treatment, including substance abuse programs, as well as training, research, and administrative services for patients and employees. This classification excludes veterinaries and animal hospitals.

Park and Recreation Facilities, Public. Parks, playgrounds, recreation facilities, trails, wildlife preserves, and related open spaces, which are open to the general public. This classification also includes playing fields, courts, gymnasiums, swimming pools, picnic facilities, tennis courts, golf courses, and botanical gardens, as well as related food concessions or community centers within the facilities and restrooms within a primary structure or in an accessory structure on the same site.

Public Safety Facilities. Facilities providing public safety and emergency services, including police and fire protection and emergency medical services, with incidental storage, training and maintenance facilities.

Religious Facility. A building, structure, site, or any portion thereof, designed and used for religious assembly or house of worship. This classification includes functionally related facilities for the use of members and attendees such as kitchens, multi-purpose rooms, and storage. It does not include gymnasiums or other sports facilities, convention centers, or facilities, such as day care centers and schools that are separately classified and regulated.

Social Service Facility. Facilities providing a variety of supportive services for disabled and homeless individuals and other targeted groups on a less-than-24-hour basis. Examples of services provided are counseling, meal programs, personal storage lockers, showers, instructional programs, television rooms, and meeting spaces. This classification is distinguished from licensed day care centers (see Day Care Center), clinics (see Clinic), and emergency shelters providing 24-hour or overnight care (see Emergency Shelter). [Ord. 18-05 § 1; Res. 18-20; Ord. 14-12 § 1; Res. 14-36 Art. 601.]

Adult-Oriented Businesses. An establishment that, as a regular and substantial course of conduct, offers, sells or distributes adult-oriented merchandise, or that offers to its patrons materials, products, merchandise, services, entertainment or performances that have sexual arousal, sexual gratification, and/or sexual stimulation as their dominant theme, or are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on the depiction, simulation, or acting out of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas and are not customarily open to the general public because they exclude minors by virtue of their age. This classification includes, but is not limited to, adult arcades, adult bookstore, adult cabarets, adult hotel/motel, adult motion picture theater, adult retail use establishment, and adult theater. It does not include any establishment offering professional services conducted, operated, or supervised by medical practitioners, physical therapists, nurses, chiropractors, psychologists, social workers, marriage and family counselors, osteopaths, and persons holding licenses or certificates under applicable state law or accreditation from recognized programs when performing functions pursuant to the respective license or certificate.

Animal Care, Sales and Services. Retail sales and services related to the boarding, grooming, and care of household pets, including:

Automobile/Vehicle Sales and Services. Retail or wholesale businesses that sell, rent, and/or repair automobiles, boats, recreational vehicles, trucks, vans, trailers, and motorcycles, including the following:

Banks and Credit Unions. Financial institutions providing retail banking or check-cashing services. This classification includes only those institutions engaged in the on-site circulation of money, including credit unions, but excluding check-cashing businesses. For administration, headquarters, or other offices of banks and credit unions without retail banking services/on-site circulation of money, see Offices, Business and Professional.

Building Materials Sales and Services. Establishments whose primary activity is the sale of equipment to individuals and business, and whose activities may include storage and delivery of items to customers. This classification includes lumberyards, tool and equipment sales or rental establishments, and includes establishments devoted principally to taxable retail sales to individuals for their own use but may include wholesale of building materials and goods. This definition does not include plant nurseries (see Nurseries and Garden Centers).

Business Services. Establishments providing goods and services to other businesses on a fee or contract basis, including printing and copying, blueprint services, mailbox services, equipment rental and leasing, office security, custodial services, film processing, model building, and taxi or delivery services with two or fewer fleet vehicles on site (for three or more fleet vehicles, see Light Fleet-Based Services).

Commercial Entertainment and Recreation. Provision of participant or spectator entertainment to the general public. This classification may include restaurants, snack bars, and other incidental food and beverage services to patrons.

Commercial Kitchen. Kitchens used for the preparation of food to be delivered and consumed off site. Typical uses include catering facilities. This classification does not include businesses involved in the processing or manufacturing of food products (see Industry, Limited).

Eating and Drinking Establishments. Businesses primarily engaged in serving prepared food and/or beverages for consumption on or off the premises.

Food and Beverage Sales. Retail sales of food and beverages for off-site preparation and consumption. Typical uses include food markets, groceries, and liquor stores.

Funeral Parlors and Mortuaries. An establishment primarily engaged in the provision of services involving the care, preparation, or disposition of human remains and conducting memorial services. Typical uses include a crematory, columbarium, mausoleum, or mortuary.

Instructional Services. Establishments that offer specialized programs in personal growth and development. Typical uses include classes or instruction in music, fitness, art, or academics. Instructional services may include rehearsal studios as an accessory use.

Light Fleet-Based Services. Passenger transportation services, local delivery services, medical transport, and other businesses that rely on fleets of three or more vehicles with rated capacities less than 10,000 pounds. This classification includes parking, dispatching, and offices for taxicab and limousine operations, ambulance services, nonemergency medical transport, local messenger and document delivery services, home cleaning services, and similar businesses. This classification does not include towing operations (see Automobile/Vehicle Sales and Service, Towing and Impound) or taxi or delivery services with two or fewer fleet vehicles on site (see Business Services).

Live/Work. A unit that combines a work space and incidental residential occupancy occupied and used by a single household in a structure that has been constructed for such use or converted from commercial or industrial use and structurally modified to accommodate residential occupancy and work activity.

Lodging. An establishment providing overnight accommodations to transient patrons who maintain a permanent place of residence elsewhere for payment for periods of less than 30 consecutive calendar days.

Maintenance and Repair Services. Establishments engaged in the maintenance or repair of office machines, household appliances, furniture, and similar items. This classification excludes maintenance and repair of motor vehicles or boats (see Automotive/Vehicle Sales and Services) and personal apparel (see Personal Services).

Medical Marijuana Uses.

Mobile Merchant. Person who sells any type of tangible personal property, including, but not limited to, food and drink, at or adjacent to the person’s mobile sales unit in which such tangible personal property is carried. This definition shall not include any person working or acting for a person holding a mobile merchant permit issued in accordance with this section.

Nurseries and Garden Centers. Establishments primarily engaged in retailing nursery and garden products, such as trees, shrubs, plants, seeds, bulbs, and sod, that are predominantly grown elsewhere. These establishments may sell a limited amount of a product they grow themselves. Fertilizer and soil products are stored and sold in packaged form only.

Offices. Offices of firms, organizations, or public agencies providing professional, executive, management, administrative or design services, such as accounting, architectural, computer software design, engineering, graphic design, interior design, investment, insurance, and legal offices, excluding banks and savings and loan associations with retail banking services (see Banks and Financial Institutions). This classification also includes offices where medical and dental services are provided by physicians, dentists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, optometrists, and similar medical professionals, including medical/dental laboratories within medical office buildings but excluding clinics or independent research laboratory facilities (see Research and Development) and hospitals.

Off-Track Betting Establishment. A wagering facility which simulcasts horse, harness or dog racing events for the purpose of pari-mutuel wagering. It may be operated as an accessory use to an eating and drinking establishment. An off-track betting establishment is authorized by issuance of a teletrack wagering permit in accordance with A.R.S. § 5-112 and Arizona Administrative Code Title 19, Chapter 2, Article 4.

Outdoor, Temporary, and Seasonal Sales. An outdoor place, in an approved location, or for an approved activity, where new or used goods or secondhand personal property is offered for sale or exchange to the general public by a multitude of individual licensed vendors, usually in compartmentalized spaces. The term is interchangeable with and applicable to swap meets, flea markets, auctions, open air markets, outdoor sales activities, or other similarly named or labeled activities.

Parking Facility. Surface lots and structures for long- or short-term automobile parking that can be for the use of occupants, employees, or patrons on the subject site or offering parking to the public for a fee when such use is not incidental to another on-site activity. They can be publicly or privately owned.

Personal Services.

Retail Sales.

Artist Studio and Production. Work space for an artist or artisan, including individuals practicing one of the fine arts or performing arts, or an applied art or craft. This use may include incidental display and retail sales of items produced on the premises and instructional space for small groups of students. It does not include joint living and working units (see Live/Work). Small-scale art production is generally of a low impact and typically includes painting, photography, jewelry, glass, textile, and pottery studios. Art production on a medium or large scale generally uses heavy equipment and includes large-scale metal and woodworking studios.

General Industrial. Manufacturing of products from extracted or raw materials or recycled or secondary materials, or bulk storage and handling of such products and materials. This classification includes heavy agriculture processing, such as stockyards, slaughterhouses/meat packing plants, commercial pen feeding, production wineries, bone yards, plants for the reduction of animal matter, poultry feeding operations, or agricultural processing plants. It also includes biomass energy conversion; production apparel manufacturing; photographic processing plants; leather and allied product manufacturing; wood product manufacturing; paper manufacturing; chemical manufacturing; plastics and rubber products manufacturing; nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing; primary metal manufacturing; fabricated metal product manufacturing; and automotive and heavy equipment manufacturing.

Light Industrial. Establishments engaged in light industrial activities taking place primarily within enclosed buildings and producing minimal impacts on nearby properties. This classification includes the manufacturing of finished parts or products primarily from previously prepared materials; commercial laundries and dry cleaning plants; monument works; printing, engraving, and publishing; sign painting shops; machine and electrical shops; computer and electronic product manufacturing; furniture and related product manufacturing; and industrial services. It also includes large-scale preparation, manufacturing, and/or packaging of food or beverages, including alcoholic beverages, for off-site consumption. Typical food and beverage manufacturing uses include canners, roasters, breweries, wholesale bakeries, and frozen food manufacturers.

Research and Development. A facility for scientific research and the design, development, and testing of electrical, electronic, magnetic, optical, pharmaceutical, chemical, and biotechnology components and products in advance of product manufacturing, including laboratories. This classification includes assembly of related products from parts produced off site where the manufacturing activity is secondary to the research and development activities.

Salvage and Wrecking. Storage and dismantling of vehicles and equipment for sale of parts, as well as their collection, storage, exchange or sale of goods, including but not limited to any used building materials, used containers or steel drums, used tires, and similar or related articles or property.

Storage and Warehouse. Storage and distribution facilities without sales to the public on site or direct public access except for public storage in small individual space exclusively and directly accessible to a specific tenant.

Airports and Heliports. Facilities for the takeoff and landing of airplanes and helicopters, including runways, helipads, aircraft storage buildings, public terminal buildings and parking, air freight terminals, baggage handling facilities, aircraft hangars, public transportation, and related facilities, including bus operations, servicing, and storage. Also includes support activities such as fueling and maintenance, storage, airport operations and air traffic control, incidental retail sales, coffee shops and snack shops, and airport administrative facilities, including airport offices, terminals, operations buildings, communications equipment, buildings and structures, control towers, lights, and other equipment and structures required by the United States Government and/or the state of Arizona for the safety of aircraft operations.

Bus/Rail Passenger Facilities. Facilities for passenger transportation operations. Includes rail and bus stations and terminals but does not include terminals serving airports or heliports. Typical uses include ticket purchasing and waiting areas out of the public right-of-way, restrooms, and accessory uses such as cafes.

Communication Facilities. Facilities for the provision of broadcasting and other information relay services through the use of electronic and telephonic mechanisms.

Freight/Truck Terminals and Warehouses. Facilities for freight, courier, and postal services by truck or rail. This classification does not include local messenger and local delivery services (see Light Fleet-Based Services).

Recycling Facility. A facility for receiving, temporarily storing, transferring and/or processing materials for recycling, reuse, or final disposal. This use classification does not include waste transfer facilities that operate as materials recovery, recycling, and solid waste transfer operations and are classified as utilities (see Utilities, Major).

Utilities, Major. Generating plants, water treatment and wastewater treatment facilities, electric substations, and other large utilities, including transfer stations and materials recovery facilities and similar facilities of public agencies or public utilities.

Utilities, Minor. Facilities necessary to support established and future uses involving only minor structures, such as electrical distribution lines, water wells and booster stations, lift stations, water tanks, and underground water and sewer lines.

Waste Transfer Facility. A facility that operates as a materials recovery, recycling and solid waste transfer operation providing solid waste recycling and transfer services for other local jurisdictions and public agencies that are not located within the city of Maricopa. The facility sorts and removes recyclable materials (including paper, metal, wood, inert materials such as soils and concrete, green waste, glass, aluminum and cardboard) through separation and sorting technologies to divert these materials from the waste stream otherwise destined for landfill. [Ord. 18-05 § 1; Res. 18-20; Ord. 14-12 § 1; Res. 14-36 Art. 601.]

“Abutting” means the condition of two adjoining properties having a common property line or boundary, including cases where two or more lots adjoin only at a corner(s).

“Accessory building or structure” means a detached subordinate building or structure, the use of which is customarily incidental to that of the main building or to the main use of the land, and which is located in the same or a less restrictive zone, and on the same lot or parcel of land with the main building or use.

“Accessory use” means a use customarily incidental to, related and clearly subordinate to a principal use established on the same lot or parcel of land, which accessory use does not alter said principal use nor serve property other than the lot or parcel of land on which the principal use is located. “Appurtenant use” means the same as accessory use.

Adequate Public Facility-Related Terms. See Chapter 18.85 MCC, Adequate Public Facilities (not recommended by the task force).

“Adjacent” means directly abutting, having a boundary or property line(s) in common or bordering directly, or contiguous to.

“Adjoining” means two or more lots or parcels of land sharing a common boundary line, or two or more objects in contact with each other. Lots or parcels of land which touch at corners only shall not be deemed adjoining.

“Administrative review” means the process by which the community development department reviews submitted regulating, streetscape, site and/or building plans to determine compliance with this regulating document and design guidelines.

“Adult” means a person who is 18 years of age or older.

“Aggrieved person” means any person who, in person or through a representative, appeared at a city public hearing in conjunction with a decision or action appealed or who, by other appropriate means prior to a hearing, informed the local government of the nature of his or her concerns or who, for good cause, was unable to do either.

Airport-Related Terms.

“Alley” means a public or private right-of-way less than 30 feet wide which affords a means of vehicular access to the side or rear of properties abutting a street or highway.

“Alteration” means any change, addition or modification that changes the exterior architectural appearance or materials of a structure or object. Alteration includes changes in exterior surfaces, changes in materials, additions, remodels, demolitions, and relocation of buildings or structures, but excludes ordinary maintenance and repairs.

“Apex” means the highest point of a sign as measured from the point on the ground where its structure is located, or, if no sign structure is present, from the point on the ground directly below the sign itself.

“Applicant” means the person who applies for a permit pursuant to this article.

“Approval authority” means the official or decision-making body granted authority to approve a permit or other entitlement for development or use under the terms and regulations of this code. Also referred to as the “decision-making authority.”

“Arcade” means a private frontage conventional for retail use wherein the facade is a colonnade supporting habitable space that overlaps the sidewalk, while the facade of the first story remains at the frontage line.

“Arterial street” means a general term designating streets of major significance to the community, including section line and major streets and state and county highways, that are designed to carry substantial volumes of traffic, providing a system for citywide through-traffic movement.

“Article” means a chapter set out in this code, unless another code or statute is mentioned.

“Artist” means an individual engaged in the creation of art or crafts that require artistic skill. Examples of individuals typically engaged in this work include, but are not limited to, woodworkers, potters/ceramicists, costume makers, set designers, stained-glass makers, glassblowers, textile artists and weavers, jewelry makers, painters, fine art printmakers, photographers/filmmakers, leather workers, metal workers, musical instrument makers, model makers, papermakers, installation artists, sculptors, video artists, and other makers of art and crafts.

“Assisted living facility” means a residential care institution intended for occupancy by persons of advanced age or limited ability for self-care, which may provide food, transportation, recreation, or other services to the residents thereof, and which is licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services to perform supervisory care, personal care, or custodial care services. The term shall include boarding houses, dormitories, apartments, and similar multiple-residence living arrangements when operated as an assisted living facility as defined herein, but shall not include group homes for the handicapped, adult care homes, nursing homes, hospitals, or hotels.

“Automobile parking space, compact” means any permanently maintained space, having a width of not less than eight feet and a length of not less than 15 feet, so located and arranged as to permit the storage of a passenger automobile of compact size.

“Automobile parking space, standard” means any permanently maintained space, having a width of not less than eight and one-half feet and a length of not less than 18 feet, so located and arranged as to permit the storage of a passenger automobile of standard size.

“Automobile storage space” means “automobile parking space.”

“Avenue” means a thoroughfare of high vehicular capacity and low to moderate speed, acting as a short distance connector between urban centers, and usually equipped with a landscaped median.

“Awning” means an ancillary lightweight structure of wood, metal, or canvas, cantilevered from a building facade and providing shade to the fenestration and spatial containment to the pedestrian.

“Base district” means a rural, residential, commercial, mixed use, industrial, open space, public or institutional zoning district established under Division 2 of this title.

“Basement” means that portion of a building between floor and ceiling, which is partly below and partly above grade, but so located that the vertical distance from grade to the floor below is less than the vertical distance from grade to ceiling.

“Basin, detention” means storm water storage facility that temporarily stores surface runoff and releases it at a controlled rate through a positive outlet. A detention basin and park may be joined to serve both recreational needs and as a water storage facility.

“Basin, drainage” means a geographical area that contributes surface runoff to a particular concentration point. The terms “drainage basin,” “tributary area” and “watershed” are used interchangeably.

“Basin, retention” means a storm water storage facility that stores surface runoff. Stored water is infiltrated into the subsurface or released to the downstream drainage system or watercourse (via gravity outlet or pump), or evaporated after the storm event. A retention basin and park may be joined to serve both recreational needs and as a water storage facility.

“Berm” means an earthen mound, either natural or manmade.

“Bicycle lane” means a paved area located within a street right-of-way and within the pavement section that is designated for bicycle or other nonmotorized traffic.

“Block” means an aggregate land area circumscribed by thoroughfares.

“Block face” means the aggregate of all the principal frontage lines, or alternatively the building facades, on one side of a block.

“Body piercing” means the creation of an opening in the human body for the purpose of inserting jewelry or other decoration, including the piercing of an ear, lip, tongue, nose, or eyebrow. “Body piercing” does not include piercing an ear with a disposable, single-use stud or solid needle that is applied using a mechanical device to force the needle or stud through the ear.

“Buffer area” means an area of land, including landscaping, berms, walls and fences but not building setbacks, that is located between land uses of different character or density and is intended to mitigate negative impacts of the more intense use on residential or vacant parcels.

“Buildable” means a lot or parcel that has the area, shape, slope, street frontage, or other attribute in order for a permitted use, based on the lot or parcel’s zoning district, to be developed, without the need for any variance from this code.

“Building” means any structure having a roof supported by columns or by walls and intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or property of any kind.

“Building, enclosed” means a building enclosed on all sides.

“Building setback line” means the required minimum distance, as prescribed by this code, between the property line and the closest point of any building or structure.

“Building site” means a lot or parcel of land occupied, or to be occupied, by a main building and accessory buildings together with such open spaces as are required by the terms of this title and having its principal frontage on a street, road, highway, or waterway.

“Canopy” means the extent of the outer layer of leaves of an individual tree or group of trees.

“Canopy density” means the general permeability of a tree canopy to light as a characteristic of branch number and structure; canopy density can either be full (greater than 50 percent) or open (less than 50 percent).

“Canopy shape” means the general shape of the outer layer of leaves of an individual tree as structured by the tree’s branches.

“Carport” means an accessory structure that is roofed but permanently open on at least two sides and maintained for the storage of motor vehicles.

“Centerline” means the centerline established by the city engineer for any proposed or dedicated public way.

“Changed plans” means any changes in physical design, site layout, lot sizes and patterns, building footprints, elevations or siting, drainage, utilities, or roadway locations on a development plan. Changes in architectural materials and finishes, lighting fixtures, or a planting palette are not considered plan changes.

“Child” means a person under 18 years of age.

“Chord” means a straight line joining two points on a curve.

“City” means the city of Maricopa, Arizona.

“City council” means the city council of the city of Maricopa.

“Civic” means the term defining not-for-profit organizations dedicated to arts, culture, education, recreation, government, transit, religious, and municipal parking.

“Civic building” means a building operated by not-for-profit organizations dedicated to arts, culture, education, recreation, government, transit, and municipal parking, or for use approved by development services. A civic building is owned by a municipal or governmental body.

“Civic space” means an outdoor area permanently dedicated for public use. Civic space types are defined by the combination of certain physical constants including the relationships among their intended use, size, landscaping and surrounding buildings.

“Civic subdistrict” means a designation for public sites dedicated for civic buildings and/or civic space.

“Clearance” means the height above the walkway, or other surface if specified, of the bottom edge of an element.

“Cluster development” means development pattern that concentrates development in specific areas on a site rather than distributed evenly throughout a parcel as in conventional lot-by-lot development with the remaining portion of the site retained as natural open space or parks.

“Code, zoning” means MCC Title 18.

“Co-location” means the location of two or more wireless communications facilities owned or used by more than one public or private entity on a single support structure or otherwise sharing a common location. Co-location shall also include the location of wireless communications facilities with other facilities such as buildings, water tanks, light standards, and other utility facilities and structures.

“Commercial vehicle” means any vehicle currently registered as such with the State Department of Motor Vehicles or equivalent out-of-state or federal agency and is used primarily in the conduct of a business as opposed to private family or individual use.

“Commission” means the planning and zoning commission of the city of Maricopa.

“Committee” means the technical advisory committee, or any other committee as established by the city council of the city of Maricopa.

“Communication equipment building” means a building that houses operating electrical and mechanical equipment necessary for the conducting of a public utility communications business, with or without personnel.

“Community facilities” includes, but is not limited to, government buildings, libraries, hospitals, local businesses, parks, and historic sites.

“Common yard” means a planted private frontage wherein the facade is set back from the frontage line. The yard is visually continuous with adjacent yards.

“Complete application” means an application accompanied by the required fees and deposits and all of the information, including plans, written materials, specifications, reports and other documents that are required to be submitted for review and approval of an entitlement for development or use under the terms and regulations of this code.

“Conditional approval” means an affirmative action by the commission or council indicating that approval will be forthcoming with satisfaction of certain specified conditions or stipulations.

“Controlling person” means a natural person who either (1) has a 10 percent or greater interest in the ownership or earnings of the business, or (2) is any of the following:

“Construction” means construction, erection, enlargement, alteration, conversion or movement of any building, structures, or land.

“Coordinated frontage” means a condition where the landscape and paving of public frontage and private frontage are coordinated as a single, coherent design.

“Corral fence” means a structure consisting of vertical posts with horizontal connectors, so constructed that 75 percent or more of the vertical surface is open. Corral fences do not include chain link fences.

“Council” means the city council of the city of Maricopa.

“County” means Pinal County, Arizona.

“Court” means an open space enclosed wholly or partly by buildings or circumscribed by a single building.

“Courtyard” means a building placed within the boundaries of its lot to create a private courtyard, while internally defining one or more private patios.

“Cultivar” means a cultivated variety of street tree, deliberately selected for its desirable physical characteristics.

“Cultural facility” means a facility engaged in activities to serve and promote aesthetic and educational interest in the community that are open to the public on a regular basis. This includes performing arts centers for theater, music, dance, and events; spaces for display or preservation of objects of interest in the arts or sciences; libraries; museums; historical sites; aquariums; art galleries; and zoos and botanical gardens. This does not include schools or institutions of higher education providing curricula of a general nature.

“Day” means any day, Monday through Friday, that is not a federal, state, or local holiday.

“De novo” means “anew” or “from the beginning.” When used in hearings, new testimony can be taken and new information considered, rather than relying only on the information in the record.

“Density” means the number of dwelling units per unit of land area.

“Density bonus” means a density increase over the otherwise maximum allowable residential density provided in this code.

“Density, gross” means the number of dwelling units per gross unit of land area.

“Department” means the development services department of the city of Maricopa.

“Designated agent” means the person designated by the permittee/applicant to receive notices from the city pursuant to this title.

“Developer” (see also “Subdivider”) means a person, firm, partnership, joint venture, trust, syndicate, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity who desires to improve or otherwise engage in any development of property within the city of Maricopa, including the owner of the property; except that an individual serving as agent for such legal entity is not a developer.

“Development” means any manmade change to improved or unimproved real estate, including but not limited to the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any structure; any mining, excavation, landfill or land disturbance (excluding disturbance from agriculture-related grading).

“Development agreement” means an agreement between the city and any person having a legal or equitable interest in real property for the development of such property and which complies with the applicable provisions of Arizona Revised Statutes for such development agreements.

“Development review permit” means a permit required for uses or developments identified in Division 2, Base Zoning Districts; Division 3, Overlay Districts; and/or any other section of this code that requires development review.

“Director” means the director of the development services department and the planning and zoning division of the city of Maricopa, acting either directly or through authorized agents.

“Disabled person” means a person who: (1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person’s major life activities; (2) has a record of having such an impairment; or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment. However, “disabled” shall not include current illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance (as defined in Section 102 of the Controlled Substance Act [21 United States Code 802]).

“District” means a portion of the city within which certain uniform regulations and requirements apply to development and land uses, or various combinations thereof apply under the provisions of this code. Also referred to as “zoning districts.”

“Domestic animal” is an animal which is commonly maintained in residence with humans.

“Dooryard” means a private frontage type with a shallow setback and front garden or patio usually with a low wall at the frontage line to effectively buffer residential quarters from the sidewalk while removing the private yard from public encroachment.

“Driveway” means an accessway that provides vehicular access between a street and the parking or loading facilities located on an adjacent property.

“Duplex” means a building with two side-by-side units on a lot with a shared wall of the building.

“Dwelling unit” means a room or suite of rooms including one and only one kitchen, and designed or occupied as separate living quarters for one family, as defined below.

“Easement” means a portion of land created by grant or agreement for specific purpose; an easement is the right, privilege or interest which one party has in the land of another.

“Edgeyard” means a building placed within the boundaries of its lot to create an edgeyard around the building, with setbacks on all sides.

“Effective date” means the date on which a permit or other approval becomes enforceable or otherwise takes effect, rather than the date it was signed or circulated.

“Effective turning radius” means the measurement of the turning radius at a corner taking parked cars into account.

“Elevation” means an exterior wall of a building not along a frontage line.

“Emergency” means a sudden unexpected occurrence demanding immediate action to prevent or mitigate loss or damage to life, health, property or essential public services.

“Encroach” means to break the plane of a vertical or horizontal regulatory limit with a structural element, so that it extends into a setback, into the public frontage, or above a height limit.

“Engineer” means the city engineer of Maricopa or their designated representative.

“Engineering department” means the engineering division of the development services department of the city of Maricopa.

“Equipment cabinet or enclosure” means a cabinet or structure used to house equipment associated with a wireless communications facility.

“Facade” means the exterior wall of a building exposed to public view or that wall viewed by persons not within the building. The portion of any exterior elevation of a building extending vertically from the grade to the top of a parapet wall or eave, and horizontally across the entire width of the building elevation.

“Factory-built building” means a residential or nonresidential building including a dwelling unit or habitable room thereof which is either wholly or in substantial part manufactured at an off-site location to be assembled on site, except that it does not include a manufactured home, recreational vehicle or mobile home as defined in the manufactured home/recreational vehicle regulations of this code, MCC 18.120.150.

“Family” means one or more persons living together as a single nonprofit housekeeping unit and sharing common living, sleeping, cooking and eating facilities. Members of a family need not be related by blood but are distinguished from a group occupying a hotel, club, fraternity or sorority house.

“Feasible” means capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, environmental, social and technological factors.

“Fence” means an artificially constructed barrier of any material or combination of materials erected to enclose or screen an area of land.

“Figure” means any graphic representation noted as a “Figure” within this code, that is used to illustrate and exemplify certain standards and regulations contained within the language of this code.

“Fill” means soil, rock, or other material deposited at a location by man that raises the grade at that location.

“Finished grade” means the final grade and elevation of the ground surface after grading is completed and in conformance with the approved grading plans.

“Floodplain” means lowlands adjoining the channel of a river, stream or watercourse, lake or other body of water, which have been or may be inundated by floodwater, and those other areas subject to flooding. A floodplain may be that area further defined by the drainage policy of the city of Maricopa and as shown on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood insurance rate maps (FIRM) or an approved flood control study.

“Floor area” means the total floor area in a building (including basements, mezzanines, interior balconies, and upper stories or levels in a multistory building) unless otherwise stipulated; e.g., “ground floor” area.

“Floor area ratio” means the numerical value obtained through dividing the aboveground gross floor area of a building or buildings located on a lot or parcel of land by the total area of such lot or parcel of land.

“Forecourt” means a private frontage wherein a portion of the facade is close to the frontage line and the central portion is set back.

“Foster home” means a dwelling maintained by an individual or individuals having care or control of one but not more than six minor children, other than those related by blood, marriage, or adoption or those who are legal wards of such individuals, which is licensed by the Arizona State Department of Economic Security.

“Foster home, group” means a foster home suitable for the placement of more than six but not more than 10 minor children which is licensed by the Arizona Department of Economic Security.

“Frontage, building” means the exterior building wall of a ground floor business establishment on the side or sides of the building frontage and/or oriented toward a public street, highway or parkway.

“Frontage line” means a lot line bordering the public frontage and where minimum lot width is measured. Facades facing frontage lines define the public realm and are therefore more regulated than the elevations facing other lot lines.

“Frontage, space” means the area between a building facade and the vehicular lanes of a thoroughfare, inclusive of its built and planted components. Frontage is divided into private frontage and public frontage.

“Frontage, street or highway” means that portion of a lot or parcel of land which borders a public street, highway or parkway.

“Gallery” means a private frontage conventional for retail use wherein the facade is aligned close to the frontage line with an attached cantilevered shed or lightweight colonnade overlapping the sidewalk.

“Garage” means a building or portion of a building that is enclosed and roofed and designed for the storage of motor vehicles.

“General plan” means the general plan of the city of Maricopa, and all elements thereof.

“Glare” means the effect produced by a light source within the visual field that is sufficiently brighter than the level to which the eyes are adapted, such as to cause annoyance, discomfort or loss of visual performance and ability.

“Gooseneck lighting” means a down-lit illumination of signage set on an outpost usually attached to a wall or post.

“Grade” means the approved grade of a lot or parcel of land at the time such lot or parcel is created, except when excavation is proposed. When excavation occurs after the lot or parcel is created, the grade of the excavated area shall be the grade after the excavation.

“Green” means a civic space type available for unstructured recreation, spatially defined by landscaping.

“Green building” means a whole systems approach to the design, construction and operation of buildings that substantially mitigates the environmental, economic, and social impacts of conventional building practices. Green building practices recognize the relationship between the natural and built environments and seek to minimize the use of energy, water and other natural resources and provide a healthy, productive indoor environment.

“Greenway” means an open space corridor in largely natural conditions which may include trails for bicycles and pedestrians.

“Gross floor area” means the sum of the gross areas of the floor or floors of a building or buildings.

“Handicapped person” means a person who: (1) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person’s major life activities; (2) has a record of having such an impairment; or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment. However, “handicapped” shall not include current illegal use of or addiction to a controlled substance (as defined in Section 102 of the Controlled Substance Act [21 United States Code 802]).

“Hardscape” means part of a building’s grounds consisting of structures, such as plazas, retaining walls and sidewalks, made with materials such as concrete and sidewalk pavers.

“Hazardous materials” includes any substance characterized as flammable solids, corrosive liquids, radioactive materials, oxidizing material, highly toxic materials, poisonous gases, reactive materials, unstable materials, hypergolic materials and pyrophoric materials and any substance or mixture of substances which is an irritant, a strong sensitizer or which generates pressure through exposure to heat, decomposition or other means, or as otherwise defined by law.

“Health department” means the Pinal County Health Department.

“Hearing officer” means the hearing officer of the city of Maricopa, or his or her designee.

“Height,” when referring to a building, tower, or any other structure, means the vertical distance measured from the natural grade level to the highest point of the structure directly above the natural grade when such structure is not located in a platted subdivision. If the structure is located in a platted subdivision, the height shall be the vertical distance measured from the finished grade as shown on the subdivision grading plans or finished grade as shown on the individual lot’s grading plan (whichever is lower) to the highest point of the structure directly above the finished grade.

“Heritage District” means the area also known as Old Town, the original town site of the community, including older neighborhoods and agricultural, commercial and industrial land generally located in the northwest area of the city of Maricopa. This area also is referred to as the “Redevelopment District Area” and “Redevelopment Area.”

“Heritage District Design Guidelines” means the architectural design guidance for residential, commercial and industrial development and commercial/industrial signage in the Heritage District, which has been adopted by the city council. These guidelines show how new development and new signs should be designed to fit into and improve the built environment; they apply to all development in the Heritage District Redevelopment Project Area.

“Highway” means any expressway, freeway, major, secondary, or limited secondary highway.

“Illegal nonconforming building or use” means any use of land or building that does not have the currently required permits and was originally constructed and/or established without permits required for the use at the time it was brought into existence.

Illegal Nonconforming Use and Development-Related Terms.

“Improvement plan” is a term defined in MCC 17.05.060 that means a set of plans setting forth the profiles, cross-sections, details, specifications, and instructions and procedures to be followed in the construction of public or private improvements in the city of Maricopa that are prepared and bear the seal of an Arizona-registered land surveyor, engineer, architect or landscape architect in accordance with the approved preliminary plat, and zoning stipulations, and in compliance with standards of design and construction that are to be approved by the city engineer, other city departments, the applicable county departments, and all applicable utilities.

“Improvement standards” means a set of regulations and exhibits setting forth the details, specifications and instructions to be followed in the design and construction of required improvements.

“Irrigation facilities” means laterals, ditches, conduits, pipes, gates, pumps, and allied equipment necessary for the supply, delivery, and drainage of irrigation water and the construction, operation, and maintenance of such.

“Kitchen” means any room or space used, or intended or designed to be used for cooking or the preparation of food.

“Lamp” means any source created to produce optical radiation (i.e., light), often called a bulb or tube.

“Landscape” means vegetation and irrigation, hardscape, public art or a combination thereof that may be calculated as open space (refer to the definition of “open space”).

“Landscaping” means the planting, configuration and maintenance of trees, ground cover, shrubbery and other plant material, decorative natural and structural features (walls, fences, hedges, trellises, fountains, sculptures), earth patterning and bedding materials, and other similar site improvements that serve an aesthetic or functional purpose.

“LEED®” means the “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” green building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

“Legal parking space” means an area designated for vehicle parking in the city right-of-way that may be paved or unpaved and may be delineated by road surface markings. Does not include a parking space in a parking lot on property owned by the city.

“Licensee” means the adult, firm, partnership, association, corporation, county, city or other public agency having the authority and responsibility for the operation of a licensed community care facility.

“Light court” means a private frontage type that is a below-grade entrance or recess designed to allow light into basements.

“Lighting, exterior” means any equipment or fixture located or used to provide illumination of outdoor areas, objects or activities.

“Lighting fixture” means light fixtures including but not limited to the lamp, pole, post, ballast, reflector, lens diffuser, shielding, electrical wiring, and other necessary or auxiliary components.

“Lighting system” means all exterior manmade lighting sources, associated infrastructure and controls on a site.

“Liner building” means a building specifically designed to mask a parking structure from a frontage.

“Live/work building” means a mixed use unit consisting of a commercial and residential use. The commercial use may be anywhere in the unit. It is intended to be occupied by a business operator who lives in the same structure that contains the commercial activity. (Synonym: shophouse.)

“Longitudinal” means a type of pavement marking with lines set parallel to the public frontage, repeating in a sequence across the entire width of the vehicular lanes of a thoroughfare to demarcate a pedestrian crosswalk.

Lot-Related Terms.

“Main civic space” means the primary outdoor gathering place for a community. The main civic space is often, but not always, associated with an important civic building.

“Maintenance and repair” means the repair or replacement of nonbearing walls, fixtures, wiring, roof or plumbing that restores the character, scope, size or design of a structure to its previously existing, authorized, and undamaged condition.

“Major development review permit” means a permit required for all new and modified buildings or structures, or for alterations to a building or structure that result in over 5,000 additional gross square feet, facade alterations that encompass more than 10 percent of the surface area, or as otherwise required in this code.

“Manufactured home” means a structure transportable in one or more sections which, in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more in width or 40 body feet or more in length, or, when erected on site, is 320 or more square feet, is built on a permanent chassis, and is designed to be used as a dwelling, with or without a permanent foundation, when connected to utilities. This term does not include recreational vehicles.

“Manufacturing” means the process of creating a finished product by fabrication or from raw materials, especially by means of a larger-scale industrial operation.

“Massage and massage services” means any method of pressure on or friction against, or stroking, kneading, rubbing, tapping, pounding, manipulation, or stimulating the external parts of the body, with or without the aid of any mechanical or electrical apparatus or appliances, with or without supplementary aids such as rubbing alcohol, liniments, antiseptics, oils, powders, creams, lotions, ointments, or other similar preparations.

“Master outdoor lighting plan” means a plan that is required for a PAD application that shows the locations and specifications for all proposed lighting for all areas of the proposed development, including but not limited to pedestrian travel areas.

“Master plan development (MPD)” is a term used in MCC Title 17, Subdivisions, that refers to a mandatory plan for any development that is 320 or more contiguous acres and/or will be a multi-phased development of a large or complicated development application which provides information and graphics meeting the requirements of the zoning code and an overall master plan meeting the requirements of MCC Title 17, Subdivisions, for the purpose of implementing an integrated development scheme for all phases of the proposed development.

“Master signage plan” means a plan that is required for a PAD application that shows the size and location of all proposed signs.

Medical Marijuana Terms.

“Microcell facility” means a wireless communication facility serving a single carrier and consisting of an antenna no larger than four feet in height or, if tubular, no more than six feet long and four inches in diameter comprised of a networked set of antennas that are connected with each other and to a wireless service source, such that one or more high-power antennas that serve a given area are replaced by a group of lower-power antennas to serve the same geographic area.

“Minor development review permit” means a permit required for all new and modified buildings or structures, or for expansions to a building or structure that result in an increase less than 5,000 gross square feet or 20 percent of the existing building area, alter more than 10 percent of the surface area of the exterior portion of any facade, or as otherwise required in this code.

“Mixed use development” means a building or group of buildings developed for residential uses that are integrated with nonresidential uses such as, but not limited to, office, retail, service, commercial, public, or entertainment in a compact urban form.

“Mobile food unit” means a food establishment that is licensed by this state, that is readily movable and that dispenses food or beverages for immediate service and consumption and other incidental retail items from any vehicle as defined in A.R.S. § 28-101.

“Mobile food vendor” means any person who owns, controls, manages or leases a mobile food unit or contracts with a person to prepare foods and vend from, drive or operate a mobile food unit.

“Mobile sales unit” means any vehicle used for carrying tangible personal property for sale at or adjacent to the vehicle in which such tangible personal property is carried.

“Natural grade” means the undisturbed natural surface of the land, including washes.

“Net acres” means the total acreage of a tract or parcel of land exclusive of the area existing or required for arterial or collector street right-of-way dedications and school/public site reservations. When calculating residential net acres within a master plan development (MPD) any multi-unit, commercial or industrial land use must be excluded in addition to those uses listed above.

“Newspaper, general circulation” means a newspaper published for the dissemination of local or telegraphic news and intelligence of a general character, which has a bona fide subscription list of paying subscribers, and has been established, printed, and published at regular intervals in the state, county or city.

“Nonchartered financial institution” means a business, other than a state or federally chartered bank, credit union, mortgage lender or savings and loan association, that offers check cashing services and loans for payment of a percentage fee. Specifically included are check cashing businesses that charge a percentage fee for cashing a check or negotiable instrument, and payday loan businesses that make loans upon assignment of wages received. Excluded are retail uses in which a minimum of 70 percent of the floor area of the store is devoted to the display or sale of merchandise.

“Notice of action” means an administrative notice sent to an applicant, which describes the action taken, including any applicable conditions, and lists the findings that were the basis for the decision.

“Notice of decision” means an administrative notice sent to an owner or occupant of a property subject to the abatement of nuisance provisions of this code describing a decision made by a responsible official.

“Notice of order” means an administrative notice sent to the property owner and occupant of a property on which a use, structure, or building exists that is deemed to be in violation of this code, or any nuisance as defined in this code. The notice specifies the exact violation or nuisance that has been identified, a date by which the nuisance must be corrected, provisions regarding re-inspection and any fees that may apply, and the name and contact information of the code enforcement officer or designee.

“Nursery” means an establishment primarily engaged in retailing nursery and garden products – such as trees, shrubs, plants, seeds, bulbs, and sod – that are predominantly grown elsewhere. These establishments may sell a limited amount of a product they grow themselves. Fertilizer and soil products are stored and sold in packaged form only.

“Occupancy, change in” means the discontinuance of an existing use and the substitution therefor of a use of a different kind or class.

“Occupant” means the person occupying or having custody of a structure or premises as a lessee or other.

“Off-site” means not located within the area of the property to be developed.

“On-site” means located on the lot, parcel or property that is the subject of discussion.

“Open space” means any parcel or area of land or water, natural or improved and set aside, dedicated, designated, or reserved for the use and enjoyment of all the residents of the development or the public in general. Open space does not include vacant or undeveloped lots, bike lanes or sidewalks attached to the back of the curb.

“Open space and trails master plan” means the city of Maricopa Parks, Trails and Open Space Master Plan as adopted by the city council.

“Open space, common” means a shared open space intended for the exclusive use of the occupants of a residential building.

“Open space, private” means an open space intended for the exclusive use of the occupants of a dwelling unit.

“Open space, public” means an open space area conveyed or otherwise dedicated to a municipality, municipal agency, state or county agency, or other public body for recreational or conservational uses.

“Open space, usable” is a term defined in MCC Title 17, Subdivisions, that means land which can be enjoyed by people. This could include landscaped or hardscaped plazas, paseos and promenades, fountains and sitting areas meant to provide an open park-like atmosphere. Also natural areas, landscaped buffers, landscaped retention basins if designed in accordance with specific open space standards, playgrounds, golf courses, bicycle trails (but not bike lanes), pedestrian trails (not residential sidewalks), trailheads and parks.

“Outbuilding” means a secondary building usually located toward the rear of the same lot as a principal building such as a garage, carport, or workshop and may include an accessory unit.

“Outdoor display case” means a sign consisting of a lockable metal or wood framed cabinet with a transparent window or windows, mounted onto a building wall or freestanding support. It allows the contents, such as menus or maps, to be maintained and kept current.

“Outdoor entertainment or outdoor activities” includes any type of live entertainment or recreational activity taking place in a location visible to public view and not within an enclosed building.

“Outside display” means the placement of goods, equipment, merchandise or exhibits at a location visible to the public view, other than within a building.

“Outside storage” means the storage of goods, equipment or materials outside of a building for any purpose other than outside display.

“Overlay district” means a zoning district that modifies the regulations of base districts for a specific purpose.

“Owner” means the person indicated on the records of the Pinal County Assessor, or other official body, as the owner of record of the property in question.

“Parcel of land” means a contiguous quantity of land, owned by or recorded as the property of a person.

“Parking lots” or “parking buildings” means readily accessible areas within structures or surface parking areas, exclusive of aisles, driveways, ramps and columns, maintained exclusively for the parking of vehicles, not including areas for the parking or storage of commercial vehicles.

“Park strip” means the section of the public frontage accommodating street trees and other landscape, public infrastructure, and public furniture.

“Parks” means a public/private tract of land that contains a mix of active and passive recreation facilities including for example but not limited to tot lots, defined and improved playfields and/or sport court areas, and/or other recreational components, and picnic/seating/shade areas that are landscaped/hardscaped in a pleasing manner.

“Passage” means a pedestrian connector, open or roofed, that passes between buildings to provide shortcuts through long blocks and connect rear parking areas to frontages.

“Path” means a pedestrian way traversing a greenway or rural area, with landscape matching the contiguous open space, ideally connecting directly with the urban sidewalk network.

“Paver” means a masonry block of various material and/or size.

“Pedestrian-oriented use” means a land use intended to encourage walking customers and which, generally, does not limit the number of customers by required appointments or otherwise excluding the general public.

“Pedestrian way” means a public walk dedicated entirely through a block from street to street and/or providing access to a school, park, recreation area, trail system, or shopping area.

“Permit” means any administrative use permit, conditional use permit, development review permit, final development review permit, temporary use permit, zoning permit, license, certificate, approval, or other entitlement for development and/or use of property as required by any public agency.

“Permitted use” means any use allowed in a zoning district and subject to any restrictions applicable to that zoning district.

“Permittee” means the person who applied for a permit pursuant to this article and in whose name such permit was issued by the city pursuant to this article.

“Person” means any individual, firm, copartnership, joint venture, association, social club, fraternal organization, corporation, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, syndicate, this and any other city, county, municipality, district, or other political subdivision, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.

“Phasing plan” means a schedule of development required by MCC Title 17, Subdivisions, if a project is to be developed in phases.

“Planned area development (PAD)” is a term used in MCC Title 17, Subdivisions, that means a development with a minimum of 30 but less than 320 acres total, all of which must be contiguous, in which flexibility can be sought in the zoning standards, in order to encourage cluster development or more creativity and sustainable design, thereby providing usable open spaces within and about the development and enhancing the residential character of the city. Planned area developments shall be subject to planning commission review and recommendation and city council approval.

“Planning and zoning commission” means the planning and zoning commission of the city of Maricopa.

“Planter” means a three-foot-deep recessed soil bed provided for the planting of street trees and kept open to air and water flow through landscaping or permeable pavers.

“Planting technique” means the prescribed method for planting street trees, either in a continuous planter or tree pit.

“Plasma center” means any facility used in the collection, storage, or distribution of liquid blood plasma.

“Plat” means a map that provides for changes in land use or ownership. See MCC Title 17, Subdivisions, for additional definitions related to specific types of plats (e.g., preliminary plat, final plat, recorded plat and reversionary plat).

“Plaza” means a civic space type designed for civic purposes and commercial activities in the more urban subdistricts, generally paved, spatially defined by buildings, and internal to or part of a block.

“Pocket park” means a civic space type of limited size available for unstructured recreation and may be designed as a playground; normally located internal to a block.

“Porch and fence” means a facade is set back from the frontage line with an encroaching porch appended. The porch should be within a conversational distance of the sidewalk while a fence at the frontage line maintains the demarcation of the yard.

“Preexisting” means in existence prior to the effective date of this revised code.

“Preliminary meeting” means an initial meeting between developer and municipal representatives that affords developer the opportunity to present their proposals informally and discuss the project and address any items of controversy or requirements before the preliminary plat is submitted.

“Preliminary review” means an administrative mechanism that is intended to acquaint a prospective applicant or applicant’s representative(s) with the requirements of this code, the general plan and other relevant city policies and regulations.

“Primary frontage” means the private frontage designed to bear the address and principal entrance(s) of a building.

“Principal building” means the main building on a lot.

“Principal entrance” means the main point(s) of access for pedestrians into a building or unit within a building.

“Principal use” means a use that fulfills a primary or predominant function of an establishment, institution, household, or other entity and occupies at least 70 percent of the gross floor area.

“Private access way” means a private way of access dedicated as a tract to one or more lots or air spaces, which is owned and maintained by an individual or group of individuals and has been improved in accordance with city standards and plans approved by the city engineer.

“Private frontage” means the first lot layer and the facade of a building.

“Private street” means real property recorded as improved roadway for pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic, constructed and maintained by private parties.

“Project” means any proposal for a new or changed use or for new construction, alteration, or enlargement of any structure that is subject to the provisions of this code.

“Public frontage” means the area between the edge of the vehicular lanes of a thoroughfare and the frontage line of private lots and civic spaces.

“Public furniture” means items provided by the city of Maricopa for public use.

“Public lighting” means a type of public infrastructure necessary for the illumination of public frontages and thoroughfare intersections.

“Public street” means real property dedicated for, and recorded as, public right-of-way for pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic, having a minimum width of 30 feet, and more typically having a minimum width of 50 feet. The term shall not include public right-of-way designated for limited access freeways or public alleys.

“Qualified applicant” means the property owner, the owner’s agent, or any person, corporation, partnership or other legal entity that has a legal or equitable title to land that is the subject of a development proposal or is the holder of an option or contract to purchase such land or otherwise has an enforceable proprietary interest in such land.

“Rear lane” means a vehicular way located to the rear of lots providing access to service areas, parking and outbuildings and containing utility easements. Rear lanes may be lightly paved to driveway standards. The streetscape consists of gravel or landscaped edges, has no raised curb, and is drained by percolation.

“Reasonable accommodation” means any deviation requested and/or granted from the strict application of the city’s zoning and land use laws, rules, policies, practices and/or procedures.

“Recorder” means the recorder of Pinal County.

“Recreational vehicle (RV)” means a vehicle-type unit which is one of the following:

“Redevelopment area plan” means the city of Maricopa redevelopment district area plan adopted by the city council. This plan applies to the Old Town area, also known as the Heritage District.

“Regulating plan” means a map or set of maps showing the subdistricts, thoroughfares, and block lengths subject to regulation under the Maricopa Station Overlay District.

“Renovation, exterior facade” means a resurfacing of an existing building frontage so that the facade and signs are integrated into one unit.

“Responsible party” means a person charged with a civil violation of this code.

“Review authority” means the body responsible for making decisions on zoning and related applications.

“Right-of-way” means any public or private access way required for ingress or egress, including any area required for public use pursuant to any official plan; rights-of-way may consist of fee title dedications or easements.

“Road” means an open way used for the passage of vehicles, and includes alleys, streets and highways.

“Roadway easement” means a recorded conveyance to the public over a described area for roadway-related uses.

“Roof area” means that portion of a lot or parcel covered by the roof structure of all buildings, excluding the eaves and overhangs, but including covered porches, patios and carports.

“Room, habitable” means a room in a building commonly used for sleeping, living, cooking or dining purposes, excluding closets, pantries, bath or toilet rooms, service rooms, connecting corridors, laundries, unfinished attics, foyers, storage space, cellars, utility rooms, and similar spaces.

“Rowhouse” means a single- or multi-unit building that shares a party wall with another of the same type and a facade along 100 percent of the frontage line.

“Screening” means a wall, fence, hedge, informal planting, or berm provided for the purpose of buffering a building or activity from neighboring areas or from the street.

“Section” means a section of this zoning code, unless some other code or statute is mentioned.

“Semi-permanent structure” means equipment, or any dining area, including, but not limited to, tables, chairs, booths, bar stools, benches, and standup counters.

“Service provider” means any authorized provider of wireless communications services.

“Setback” means the area between a property line and a building or structure which must be kept clear or open and clear of certain structures.

“Shared parking” means accounting for parking spaces that are available to more than one function.

“Shopfront” means a commercial store entrance aligned close to the frontage line with the entrance on sidewalk. It is commonly equipped with a cantilevered shed roof or an awning.

“Sidewalk” means a paved, surfaced, or leveled area, paralleling a street and used as a pedestrian walkway.

“Sign” means any letters, figure, symbol, emblem, logo, object, or display or any combination thereof, designed or used to identify, attract attention to, advertise, or communicate information.

Sign-Related Terms.

“Sight visibility triangle” means the area of visibility on a street corner to allow for safe operations of vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists in the proximity of intersecting streets, rail lines, sidewalks, and bicycle paths.

“Single-family residential design guidelines” means the city of Maricopa single-family residential design guidelines adopted by the city council.

“Single household” means any number of related, or up to five unrelated, persons living as the functional equivalent of a traditional family, whose members are an interactive group of persons jointly occupying a single dwelling unit, including the joint use of and responsibility for common area, and sharing household activities and responsibilities (e.g., meals, chores, household maintenance, expenses, etc.) and where, if the unit is rented, all adult residents have chosen to jointly occupy the entire premises of the dwelling unit, under a single written lease with joint use and responsibility for the premises of the dwelling unit rather than the landlord or property manager.

“Site plan review” means a process exercised under the prior zoning code, which provided a review and approval procedure for all nonsingle-family residential construction or development proposals.

“Square” means a civic space designed for unstructured recreation and civic purposes, circumscribed by thoroughfares, spatially defined by building frontages, and consisting of paths and/or sidewalks, lawn and trees, formally disposed.

“Stand” means a structure for the display and sale of products with no space for customers within the structure itself.

“Stealth facility” means any commercial wireless communications facility that is designed to blend into the surrounding environment by means of screening, concealment, or camouflage. The antenna and supporting antenna equipment are either not readily visible beyond the property on which they are located, or, if visible, appear to be part of the existing landscape or environment rather than identifiable as a wireless communications facility.

“Story” means the portion of a building included between the upper surface of any floor and the upper surface of the floor next above, except that the topmost story shall be that portion of a building included between the upper surface of the topmost floor and the roof above. “Story” includes a basement, but not a cellar.

“Stoop” means a private frontage wherein the facade is aligned close to the frontage line with the first story elevated from the sidewalk for privacy, with an exterior stair and landing at the entrance.

“Street” means a public or private right-of-way, other than a highway or alley, whose function is to carry vehicular traffic and/or provide vehicular access to abutting property.

Street-Related Terms. “Street, arterial” provides a high level of mobility for city-wide through traffic movement. They are typically spaced at one-mile or greater intervals, have limited access, and no on-street parking. The locations of arterial streets are designated in the Maricopa general plan.

“Structural alteration” means any change of the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders, floor joists, ceiling joists, or roof rafters.

“Structure” means anything constructed or erected which requires a fixed location on the ground, or is attached to something having a fixed location on the ground.

“Subdistrict” means one of several areas on the zoning map regulated as part of the Heritage Overlay District. Subdistricts are administratively similar to the land use zones in conventional codes, except that in addition to the usual building use, density, height, and setback requirements, other elements of the intended habitat are integrated, including those of the private lot and building and public frontage.

“Subdivider” (see also “Developer”) means a person, firm, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, syndicate, trust, or other legal entity that files the application and initiates proceedings for a subdivision in accordance with the provisions of MCC Title 17, Subdivisions, and statutes of the state of Arizona, except that an individual serving as agent for such legal entity is not a developer; and said developer need not be the owner of the property as defined by this code. The city council may itself prepare or have prepared a plat for the subdivision of land under municipal ownership.

“Subdivision” means improved or unimproved land or lands divided for the purpose of financing, sale, lease, or conveyance, whether immediate or future, into four or more lots, tracts or parcels of land; or, if a new street is involved, any such property which is divided into two or more lots, tracts or parcels of land or, any such property, the boundaries of which have been fixed by a recorded plat, which is divided into two or more parts. “Subdivision” also includes any condominium, cooperative, community apartment, townhouse, patio home, or similar project containing four or more parcels, in which an undivided interest in the land is coupled with the right of exclusive occupancy of any unit located thereon.

“Subdivision” does not include the following:

“Swimming pool” means a contained body of water used for bathing or swimming purposes either above or below ground level with the container being 18 or more inches in depth at any point, and/or wider than eight feet at any point measured on the long axis.

“Technical advisory committee” means the committee created under this code to act in an advisory capacity to the planning and zoning commission regarding all development applications and applications for subdivision plats and improvements.

“Technical review” means the detailed review of proposed preliminary plats, by the technical advisory committee, for compliance with city codes, ordinances, standards, or conditions of approval by the commission or city council. Other utilities and public agencies are invited to review the plat as it relates to their conditions of service or need.

Telecommunications-Related Terms.

“Terminal” means any facility designed or intended to be used for the receiving or discharging of passengers or cargo and providing for the temporary or permanent storage of the conveyance vehicle. Terminals include train terminals, airports, bus terminals, freight terminals, harbor terminals, or any combination of the above commonly referred to as multipurpose terminals.

“Terminated vista” means a location at the axial conclusion of a thoroughfare. A building located at a terminated vista designated should be designed in response to its unique position at a visual termination point.

“Theater” means an enclosed building used for public assembly and/or entertainment, including sports events, theatrical performances, concerts and recitals, circuses, stock shows and conventions. “Theater” includes auditoriums.

“Townhouse” means a building on its own separate lot containing one dwelling unit that occupies space from the ground to the roof, and is attached to one or more other townhouse dwelling units by at least one common wall. “Townhouse” shall also mean patio home.

“Transect” means a cross-section of the environment showing a range of different habitats. The transect of human habitat types used in this code is divided into four transect zones. These zones describe the physical form and character of a place, according to the density and intensity of its land use and urbanism.

“Transparent or nonopaque” means any surface, screen, window, wall, or other structural element through which objects can be clearly seen by the human eye.

“Transverse” means a type of pavement marking consisting of two parallel lines set perpendicular to the public frontage extending across the entire width of the vehicular lanes of a thoroughfare to demarcate a pedestrian crosswalk.

“Triplex” means a building with three side-by-side units on a lot with a shared wall of the building.

“USC&GS” means the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.

“USACOE” means the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

“Use” means and includes construction, establishment, maintenance, alteration, moving onto, enlargement and occupation. Wherever this title prohibits the “use” of any premises for any purposes, such premises and any building, structure or improvement on such premises shall not be used, occupied, altered or improved for such purpose, and no building, structure or improvement on such premises shall be erected, constructed, established, maintained, allowed to remain, altered, moved onto or enlarged which is designed, arranged or intended to be occupied or used for such purpose.

“Use, abandoned” means a use that has ceased or a structure that has been vacated for a time period as specified in this code. Abandonment does not include temporary or short-term interruptions to a use or occupancy of a structure during periods of remodeling, maintaining, or otherwise improving or rearranging a facility.

“Use permit” means a discretionary permit, such as an “administrative use permit” or “conditional use permit,” which may be granted by the appropriate city of Maricopa approval authority to provide for the accommodation of land uses with special site or design requirements, operating characteristics, or potential adverse effects on surroundings, which are not permitted as of right but which may be approved upon completion of a review process and, where necessary, the imposition of special conditions of approval by the permit granting authority.

“Utility services” means service to the public of water, sewer, gas, electricity, telephone and cable television. The foregoing shall be deemed to include facilities and appurtenances to the above uses but shall not include public utility treatment and generating plants or offices.

“Valance” means the portion of an awning that hangs perpendicular to the sidewalk.

“Variance” means a discretionary mechanism for relief from certain dimensional and performance standards in this code where the strict application will deprive the property owner of privileges enjoyed by similar properties because of the subject property’s unique and special conditions. The hearing officer has the power to grant variances to the extent necessary to overcome such practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship as may be established in accordance with the provisions of this code.

“Vehicle, inoperative” means any motor vehicle that cannot be operated lawfully on a public street or highway for any reason other than the lack of current vehicle registration, or that cannot be moved under its own power.

“View fencing (view fence)” means fencing that is constructed in such a manner as to achieve 80 percent overall openness.

“Visible” means capable of being seen (whether or not legible) by a person of normal height and visual acuity walking or driving on a public road.

“Waiver of claim for diminution in value” means an administrative mechanism requiring applicants to submit a waiver of claims for diminution in value pursuant to the A.R.S. §§ 12-1131 through 12-1138.

“Walkway” means the section of the public frontage dedicated exclusively to pedestrian activity.

“Wall” means any exterior surface of a building or any part thereof, including windows.

“Warehousing” means a business in which goods or merchandise are stored as a principal activity, including shipping or distribution activities.

“Waste transfer facility” means a facility that operates as a materials recovery, recycling and solid waste transfer operation providing solid waste recycling and transfer services for other local jurisdictions and public agencies that are not located within the city of Maricopa. The facility sorts and removes recyclable materials (including paper, metal, wood, inert materials such as soils and concrete, green waste, glass, aluminum and cardboard) through separation and sorting technologies to divert these materials from the waste stream otherwise destined for landfill.

“Watercourse” means any lake, river, stream, creek, wash, arroyo, or other body of water or channel having banks and bed through which waters flow at least periodically.

“Wheel stop” means a physical barrier sufficient in size to prevent the movement of automobiles or other vehicles over or past such barrier.

“Wireless communications facility” means personal wireless service facilities including but not limited to facilities that transmit and/or receive electromagnetic signals for cellular radio telephone service, personal communications services, enhanced specialized mobile services, paging systems, and related technologies. Such facilities include antennas, microwave dishes, parabolic antennas, and all other types of equipment used in the transmission or reception of such signals; telecommunication towers or similar structures supporting said equipment; associated equipment cabinets and/or buildings; and all other accessory development used for the provision of personal wireless services. These facilities do not include radio and television broadcast towers and government-operated public safety networks.

“Workforce housing” means the base price of the housing is affordable, according to the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, for either homeownership or rental, and that it is occupied, reserved, or marketed for occupancy by households with a gross income that is greater than 50 percent but does not exceed 80 percent of the median gross household income for households of the same size within the city of Maricopa, as determined by the latest U.S. Census information.

“Yard, front” means a yard extending across the full width of the lot or parcel of land. On corner lots, the front yard shall be located across the narrower frontage of the lot.

“Yard, rear” means a yard extending across the full width of the lot or parcel of land.

“Yard, side corner” means a yard bounded by an alley, highway or street, extending from the required front yard, or the highway line on which the property fronts where no front yard is required, to the required rear yard or to the rear lot line where no rear yard is required.

“Yard, side interior” means a yard extending from the required front yard, or the highway line on which the property fronts where no front yard is required, to the required rear yard or to the rear lot line where no rear yard is required on other than a corner side yard.

“Yield street” means a thoroughfare that has two-way traffic but only one effective travel lane because of parked cars, necessitating slow movement and driver negotiation.

“Zone” means a district classification established by the zoning code of the city of Maricopa that limits or permits various and specific uses.

“Zoning administrator” means the zoning administrator for the city of Maricopa or their representative.

“Zoning clearance” means the approval by the zoning administrator of a plan that is in conformance with the zoning code of the city of Maricopa.

“Zoning code” means this title (MCC Title 18).

“Zoning map” means an official map adopted by the city council depicting zoned land within the city and depicting how the zoning regulations for base districts and overlay districts apply throughout the city. [Ord. 23-35 § 2; Res. 23-18; Ord. 23-22 § 2; Res. 21-09; Ord. 21-05 § 2; Res. 20-37; Ord. 20-15 § 1; Res. 18-20; Ord. 18-05 § 2; Res. 14-36 § 602.02; Ord. 14-12 § 1.]