For this purpose of this ordinance, the City of Montrose is hereby divided into the following districts:

1.

The boundaries of these districts are hereby established as shown on the zoning map, City of Montrose Zoning Ordinance, which accompanies this ordinance, and which map, with all notations, references and other information shown thereon, shall be as much a part of this ordinance as if fully described herein.

2.

The zoning map shall be kept on display in the city hall, and descriptions accompanying enacted amendments to the zoning map shall be displayed adjacent to the map until such time as the map is corrected. The zoning map shall be the final authority as to the current zoning status in the city.

Where uncertainty exists with respect to the boundaries of the various districts as shown on the zoning districts map, the following rules shall apply:

1.

Boundaries indicated as approximately following the centerlines of the streets, highways, or alleys, shall be construed to follow such centerlines.

2.

Boundaries indicated as approximately following platted lot lines shall be construed as following such lot lines.

3.

Boundaries indicated as approximately following corporate limits shall be construed as following corporate limits.

4.

Boundaries indicated as following railroad lines shall be construed to be the midway between the main tracks.

5.

Boundaries indicated as parallel to or extensions of features indicated in subsections 1 through 4 above shall be so construed. Distances not specifically indicated on the official zoning map shall be determined by the scale of the map.

6.

Where physical or natural features existing on the ground are at variance with those shown on the official zoning map, or in other circumstances not covered by subsections 1 through 5 above, the board of appeals shall interpret the district boundaries.

7.

Insofar as some or all of the various districts may be indicated on the zoning map by patterns which, for the sake of map clarity, do not cover public rights-of-way, it is intended that such district boundaries do extend to the center of any public right-of-way.

Whenever any street, alley or other public way within the City of Montrose shall be vacated, such street, alley or other public way or portion thereof shall automatically be classified in the same zoning district as the property to which it attaches.

Wherever any area is annexed to the City of Montrose, one of the following conditions will apply:

1.

Land that is zoned previous to annexation shall be classified as being in whichever district of this ordinance that most clearly conforms with the zoning. Such classification is to be recommended by the planning commission [now planning board—see Charter § 5-201] and the city council shall approve same by resolution.

2.

Land not zoned prior to annexation shall be automatically classified as an R-1 district until a zoning map for said area has been adopted. The planning commission [now planning board—see Charter § 5-201] shall recommend the appropriate zoning districts for such area within three months after annexation, and the city council shall approve some by resolution.

Sec. 3.6. Schedule of regulations [for height, bulk, density, and area by zoning district].The following regulations regarding lot sizes, yards, setbacks, building heights, and densities apply within the zoning districts as indicated, including the regulations contained in section 3.7, Footnotes. No building shall be erected, nor shall an existing building be altered, enlarged or rebuilt, nor shall any open spaces surrounding any building be encroached upon or reduced in any manner, except in conformity with the regulations hereby established for the district in which such building is located:

(Ord. No. 308, § 1, 5-13-1997; Ord. No. 320, § 1, 7-14-1998)

A.

In single-family residential, multiple-family residential, mobile home residential, commercial and industrial districts, the required front yard setbacks shall not be used for off-street parking and shall remain as open space unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward except for landscaping, plant materials, or vehicle access drives. All yards abutting public streets shall be considered as front yards for setback purposes.

B.

Minimum front yard setback is measured from the edge of the proposed right-of-way, based upon information and standards set forth by the City of Montrose.

C.

All yards abutting upon a public street shall be considered as front yard for setback purposes.

D.

Where a front yard of lesser depth than specified in the schedule of regulations exists in front of dwellings on more than 50 percent of the lots of record on one side of the street in any one block in a single-family residential district, the depth of front yard for any building thereafter erected or placed on any lot in such block need not be greater than the average depth of front yards of such existing building.

E.

The minimum land area required for each dwelling unit in the MFR district shall be in accordance with the following schedule:

F.

The minimum floor area per dwelling unit shall not include area of basements, breezeways, porches, or attached garages.

G.

The minimum required floor area per dwelling unit in the MFR district shall be:

H.

Each side yard shall be a minimum of ten feet and this space shall be increased beyond ten feet by two feet for each ten feet or part thereof by which said dwelling structure exceeds 40 feet in overall dimension along the adjoining lot line. Maximum building length shall not exceed 200 feet. In the multiple-family zoning district, there shall be maintained a minimum distance between adjacent buildings on the same lot equal to the height of the taller building.

I.

Mobile home park developments are subject to the minimum requirements and standards as established in the Mobile Home Commission Act, Public Act 419 of 1976 [see now MCL 559.101 et seq.], and any and all rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to Act 419, as may be amended.

J.

Off-street parking shall be permitted to occupy a portion of the required front yard provided that there shall be maintained a minimum unobstructed and landscaped setback of ten feet between the nearest point of the off-street parking area, exclusive of access driveway, and the nearest edge of the proposed right-of-way line.

K.

No side yards are required along the interior side lot lines of the district, or adjacent to other nonresidential use districts except as otherwise specified in the building code, provided that if walls of structures facing such interior side lot lines or districts contain windows or other openings, side yards of not less than ten feet shall be provided.

L.

Off-street parking shall be permitted in a required side yard setback provided that there shall be maintained a screening wall between the nearest point of the off-street parking area and the side lot line, when said property line abuts any residential district.

M.

A privacy fence six feet in height must be placed on all property lines abutting a residential district.

N.

All storage shall be in the rear yard and shall be completely screened with an obscuring wall or fence, not less than six feet high, or with a chain-link type fence and a greenbelt planting so as to obscure all view from any adjacent residential, commercial district or from a public street.

O.

A lot depth to lot width ratio of 4:1 shall be the maximum permitted for the single-family residential districts.

(Ord. No. 320, § 2, 7-14-1998)

Lot size averaging may be permitted if the planning commission [now planning board—see Charter § 5-201] determines that it will provide a better relationship of lots to the topography, vegetation or other natural or manmade features. In the case where lot size averaging is permitted:

1.

The number of lots shall not exceed the number allowed for the zoning district in which the development is located.

2.

Reduction of lot area or width below the minimum required for the zoning district may be permitted by the planning commission [now planning board—see Charter § 5-201] for not more than one-third of the total number of lots in the development.

3.

No lot shall have an area or width greater than 20 percent below that area or width required in the schedule of regulations.

4.

All computations showing lot area and the average resulting through this technique shall be provided by the applicant and indicated on the print of the preliminary plat.

The intent of this section is to permit the development of single-family residential patterns which, through design innovation, will introduce flexibility so as to provide for a more appropriate development in situations where the normal subdivision approach would otherwise be restrictive owing to the presence of environmentally sensitive lands on the site or the configuration of the site.

1.

In approving an area for the cluster housing option, the planning commission [now planning board—see Charter § 5-201] shall find at least one of the following to exist:

a.

The parcel to be developed has frontage on a major or secondary street and is generally parallel to said street and is of shallow depth as measured from the street.

b.

The parcel has frontage on a major or secondary street and is of a narrow width as measured along the street which makes platting difficult.

c.

The parcel is shaped in such a way that it contains acute angles which would make a normal subdivision difficult to achieve and has frontage on a major or secondary street.

d.

A substantial part of the parcel's perimeter is bordered by a major street which would result in a substantial proportion of the lots of the development abutting the major street.

e.

The parcel contains a floodplain or poor soil conditions which result in a substantial portion of the total area of the parcel being unbuildable. Soil test borings, floodplain maps or other documented evidence must be submitted to the planning commission [now planning board—see Charter § 5-201] in order to substantiate the parcel's qualification for cluster development.

f.

The parcel contains natural assets which could be preserved through the use of cluster development. Such assets may include natural stands of large trees, land which serves as a natural habitat for wildlife, unusual topographic features, or other natural assets which, in the opinion of the planning commission [now planning board—see Charter § 5-201], should be preserved. Requests for qualification under these conditions must be supported by documented evidence which indicates that the natural assets would qualify the parcel under this option.

2.

In areas meeting the above criteria, the minimum yard setbacks, heights, and minimum lot sizes per unit as required by the schedule of regulations may be waived and the attaching of dwelling units may be accomplished subject to the following:

a.

The minimum floor area for all units constructed under this option shall be at least equal to the minimum floor area requirements for the single-family residential district in which the cluster is to be constructed.

b.

The attaching of single-family dwelling units, one to another, may be permitted when said homes are attached by means of one or more of the following:

(1)

Through a common party wall which does not have over 50 percent of its area in common with an abutting dwelling wall.

(2)

By means of an architectural wall detail which does not form interior room space.

(3)

Through a common party wall in only the garage portion of an abutting structure.

c.

The maximum number of units attached in the above described manner shall not exceed four.

d.

In a single-family cluster housing development, the dwelling unit density shall be no greater than if the gross land area were to be developed in the minimum square foot lot areas as required for each single-family district under the schedule of regulations.

3.

Yard requirements shall be provided as follows:

a.

Spacing between any grouping of four or less one-family units and another grouping of such structures shall be equal to at least 20 feet, measured between the nearest point of the two groupings. A grouping may include a single, freestanding unit.

b.

All such groupings shall be situated as to have one side of the building abutting onto a common open space.

c.

Any side of a building adjacent to a private service drive or private land shall not be nearer to said drive or lane than 20 feet.

d.

Any side of a building adjacent to a public right-of-way shall not be nearer to said public rights-of-way than 30 feet.

e.

This nature of development, when abutting a front yard of an existing recorded subdivision which is not a part of the site plan submitted under this section, shall cause all dwelling units facing such subdivision to relate through its front or entrance facade and shall treat said side of the grouping as a front yard.

f.

No building shall be located closer than 30 feet to the outer perimeter (property line) of the site.

4.

The maximum height of buildings shall be 35 feet.

5.

In reviewing the plans and approving the application of this section to a particular site, the planning commission [now planning board—see Charter § 5-201] shall require the following.

a.

A landscaped berm, at least five feet high, shall be provided along the entire property line abutting the major street. This berm may be included within a required side or rear yard.

b.

The planning commission [now planning board—see Charter § 5-201] shall find that the slopes on said berms are gentle enough so as not to erode when planted in grass; and they shall review the design of the berm as it relates to street intersections, finding that the horizontal view of oncoming traffic is not obscured.

6.

In submitting a proposed layout under this section, the sponsor of the development shall include, along with the site plan, typical building elevations and floor plans, topography drawn at two-foot contour intervals, main floor grade elevations relative to the existing topography, all computation relative to acreage and density, details relative to the proposed berm, and any other details which will assist in reviewing the proposed plan.

7.

Site plans submitted under this option shall be accompanied by information regarding the following.

a.

The proposed manner of holding title to open land.

b.

The proposed method of regulating the use of open land.

c.

The proposed method of maintenance of property and financing.