The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Accent lighting means any lighting used as a decorative or design element, or to highlight architectural features, fascia, landscaping, flags, art, or other objects for architectural or landscape purposes.

Accessory means a use, building, structure, part of a building, or part of a structure which is clearly subordinate to, and the use of which is incidental to, that of the principal building, structure, or use on the same parcel. If a building otherwise qualified as an accessory building is attached to the principal building by a common wall or roof, such building shall be considered a part of the principal building. Accessory buildings include, but are not limited to, barns, sheds, guest houses without cooking facilities, and private garages. Where Accessory Dwelling Unit ("ADU") is specifically allowed as a listed use in a zoning district, "accessory" shall also include an ADU, as further defined herein. Accessory uses include customary home occupations, the keeping of pets, off-street parking and loading facilities. Live entertainment, when offered in conjunction with an otherwise unrelated legal commercial use, will be considered an accessory use when it constitutes no more than ten percent of the gross monthly revenue of the establishment. Uses accessory to apartment houses include prepackaged food and toiletries stores, subject to the provisions of NCC 36-515.

Accessory dwelling unit or ADU means a dwelling unit that is:

(a) attached to the principal dwelling by a common wall or roof; or

(b) detached from a principal dwelling unit on the same parcel (notwithstanding other language within this chapter, where an ADU is detached, it must be located no further forward that the rear 25% of the principal structure's depth).

AND

(c) is clearly subordinate to the principal dwelling unit in size, including height; and

(d) is not manufactured or mobile home; and

(e) is located on a legal conforming or legal nonconforming parcel (the burden to establish legal non-conforming status is on the parcel owner or applicant);

(f) complies the development standards of the applicable zoning district in which it is located (unless legal non-conforming status is otherwise established); and

(g) may be utilized only within the A-1, A-2, RE, R-1, and R-1-A Zoning Districts.

Adult entertainment uses.

1. Adult amusement or entertainment means amusement or entertainment which is distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on acts or material depicting, describing or relating to sexual conduct or specified anatomical areas, as defined herein, including, but not limited to, topless or bottomless dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators or similar entertainment.
2. Adult bookstore means an establishment having as a significant portion of its stock in trade books, film, magazines, and other periodicals which are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on depicting or describing sexual conduct or specified anatomical areas.
3. Adult mini motion picture theater means an enclosed building with a capacity of less than 50 persons used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on depicting or describing sexual conduct or specified anatomical areas.
4. Adult motel means a motel wherein material is presented, as part of the motel services, via closed circuit television or otherwise, which is distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on depicting or describing sexual conduct or specified anatomical areas.
5. Adult motion picture arcade means any place at which slug-operated or electronically, electrically- or mechanically-controlled, still or motion picture machines, projectors or other image-producing devices are maintained to show images to five or fewer persons per machine at any one time, and where the images so displayed are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on depicting or describing sexual conduct or specified anatomical areas.
6. Adult motion picture theater means an enclosed building with a capacity of 50 or more persons used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis or depicting or describing sexual conduct or specified anatomical areas.
7. Massage parlor means any place where for any form of consideration or gratuity, massage, alcohol rub, administration of fomentations, electric or magnetic treatments, or any other treatment or manipulation of the human body occurs as part of or in connection with sexual conduct or where any person providing such treatment, manipulation or service related thereto exposes specified anatomical areas.
8. Sexual encounter center means any building or structure which contains or is used for commercial entertainment where the patron directly or indirectly is charged a fee to engage in personal contact with or to allow personal contact by, employees, devices, or equipment or by personnel provided by the establishment which appeals to the prurient interest of the patron, to include, but not to be limited to bath houses, massage parlors, and related or similar activities.

Alley means a minor right-of-way dedicated to public use, which gives a secondary means of vehicular access to the back or side of properties otherwise abutting a street, and which may be used for public utility purposes.

Apartment house means a single detached dwelling designed for and occupied exclusively by three or more families living independently of each other as separate housekeeping units, including apartment houses, apartment hotels and flats, but not including auto or trailer courts or camps, hotels, or resort-type hotels.

Bar means an establishment whose primary activity, measured by dollar volume of sales, involves the sale and the on-premises consumption of intoxicating or non-intoxicating beer, mixed beverages, wine, or other liquor, and where food service, if any, is a secondary activity.

Basement means a story having part but not more than one-half its height below grade. A basement is counted as a story for the purpose of height regulations, if subdivided and used for business or dwelling purposes by others than a janitor employed on the premises.

Bed and breakfast establishment, Type I, means a use, often referred to as a bed and breakfast homestay, which is clearly subordinate to the principal use and appearance of the structure as a residence, containing no more than four guest rooms, (none with individual cooking facilities) in which the owner operator (the conditional use permit holder), provides lodging which includes meal service to transient guests for compensation.

Bed and breakfast establishment, Type II, means a residential use, often referred to as a bed and breakfast inn, containing no more than eight guest rooms (none with individual cooking facilities) in which the owner operator (the conditional use permit holder) provides lodging which includes meal service to transient guests for compensation.

Bedroom means an enclosed space within a dwelling unit that is not a garage, foyer, kitchen, bathroom, dining area or living room, that has at least seventy square feet of floor area. Dens, studies or other rooms which are capable of being used for sleeping quarters that contain a closet, or to which a closet could be added, shall also be considered a bedroom.

Boarding house means a residential building, other than a hotel, where, for compensation and by prearrangement for definite periods, on a monthly or longer basis, rooms and meals are provided to more than two persons who are not members of the resident manager's family.

Building means a manmade structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place.

1. Building area means the total ground area covered by an enclosed building plus the total area of all covered open spaces at ground level, measured from the faces of exterior walls, at the mean grade level of each building.
2. Building height means the vertical distance from the average line of the highest and lowest points of that portion of the lot covered by the building to the highest point of coping of a flat roof, or the deckline of a mansard roof, or to the average height of the highest gable of a pitch or hip roof.
3. Building, main, means a building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is situated. In any residential districts, any dwelling shall be deemed to be a main building on the lot on which it is situated.
4. Building site means a single parcel of land in one ownership, occupied or intended to be occupied by a building or structure.

Canopy means a multi-sided overhead structure, cantilevered or supported by columns, but not enclosed by walls.

Car space means open space area (covered and uncovered) used for car traffic and maneuvering and car parking. It includes the paved trafficways and parking areas of all streets within the land area.

Childcare center means any place, home or institution which receives more than seven children under 18 years of age, who are not of common parentage, for care apart from their parents, legal guardians or custodians, when such care is received for regular periods of time for compensation; provided, however, the term "childcare center" shall not include those public and private schools organized, operated or approved under State law and regulated by the State Department of Education, those where custody of the children has been fixed by a court of competent jurisdiction, those where children are related by blood or marriage within the third degree of the custodial person, or to those public or private institutions caring for children while the parents, legal guardians or custodians are attending services, meetings, classes, or otherwise engaging in that institution's activities, to the extent such care and custody does not exceed four hours at any one time.

Church, temple, means a building, together with its accessory buildings and uses, where persons regularly assemble for religious worship, and which building, together with its accessory buildings and uses, is maintained and controlled by a religious body organized to sustain public worship.

Commercial communications tower means a structure composed of a single spire erected and maintained by a public service corporation that supports antennas and necessary attachments, including, but not limited to, microwave antennas used as part of a cellular mobile telephone communication system, and an accessory building not to exceed 400 square feet used to house equipment necessary for the operation of the cellular communication monopole and related facilities.

Commercial land use means any public or private use allowed within the CO, C-1, C-2, C-3, CR, or TC zoning districts of the City.

Comprehensive Plan means the comprehensive plan of the City of Norman, Oklahoma, which is currently the AIM (Area & Infrastructure Masterplan) Norman Comprehensive Plan adopted June 24, 2025. This Comprehensive Plan is comprised of seven distinct approved plans, or master plans, identified and defined as follows:

1. Land Use Plan means the AIM Norman Comprehensive Land Use Plan adopted June 24, 2025;
2. Transportation Plan means the 2025 Comprehensive Transportation Plan Update adopted June 24, 2025, which updated “Moving Forward,” the 2014 City of Norman Comprehensive Transportation Plan previously in effect;
3. Wastewater Master Plan means the Wastewater Utility Master Plan adopted June 24, 2025;
4. Water Utility Master Plan means the Water Utility Master Plan adopted June 24, 2025;
5. Parks Master Plan means the Parks, Recreation & Culture Master Plan adopted June 24, 2025;
6. Housing Plan means the Housing Strategy Plan adopted June 24, 2025; and
7. Stormwater Master Plan means the Stormwater Master Plan Update adopted June 24, 2025, and which updated the 2009 Storm Water Master Plan previously in effect.
   

Cooking facilities means an installed oven and/or countertop cooking surface.

Crematorium means a facility for the incineration of corpses, human or animal, to ashes. The term "crematorium" does not include any establishment where incinerators are used to dispose of toxic, hazardous, infectious, or narcotic materials.

Cut-off fixture means a luminaire light distribution is designated as cut-off when the intensity per 1,000 lamp lumens does not numerically exceed 25 (2.5 percent) at an angle of 90 percent above nadir (horizontal), and 100 (ten percent) at an angle 80 percent above nadir. This applies to all lateral angles around the luminaire.

Dance hall. See Nightclub.

District means any sections of the City for which regulations governing the use of buildings and premises or the height and area of buildings are uniform.

Driveway, regularly constructed, for determining parking spaces allowed on driveways in front and side yards, means parking spaces provided on a regularly constructed driveway must be immediately adjacent to the driving lane and parallel to the direction of traffic flow. Parking spaces oriented at any angle to the direction of traffic flow shall not be considered to be provided on the driveway.

Dwelling means any building or portion thereof which is designed for use for residential purposes.

1. Dwelling, multiple, means a building designed for occupancy by three or more families living independently of each other, exclusive of auto or trailer courts or camps, hotels or resort type hotels.
2. Dwelling, single-family, means a building designed to be occupied by one family. (See NCC 36-101.)
3. Dwelling, two-family, means a building designed to be occupied by not more than two families.
4. Dwelling unit means any room or group of rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single habitable unit with facilities (including cooking facilities, as defined herein) which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating. In quasi-unit quarters, accommodations for every three persons shall be counted as a dwelling unit.

Family means a single family comprised of one of the following:

1. An individual, or two or more persons related by blood, marriage, or legal adoption living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit, including foster children, domestic servants, and not more than two roomers;
2. Three unrelated persons living together in a quasi-unit quarter; or
3. A group home as defined by 60 O.S. § 862.

Family day care home means a structure used as a residence in which the resident receives seven or fewer children under the age of 18 years (including the caregiver's own resident preschool children under the age of five) for part-time care apart from their parents, legal guardians or custodians, when such care is received for regular periods of time for compensation.

Floor area (for computing floor area ratio, livability space ratio, open space ratio, and recreation space ratio) means the total area, in square feet, of floor space within the outside dimensions of a building, including each floor level, halls, lobbies, stairways, elevator shafts, basements, covered exterior balconies, and covered open space not eligible for inclusion in covered open space, but not including any garage or carport.

Floor area (for computing off-street parking area loading requirements) means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a building measured from the exterior faces of the walls or from the center line of the walls separating two buildings, but not including:

1. Attic or basement space providing headroom of less than seven feet unless such space is used for human habitation or for retailing purposes in the case of a commercial use;
2. Uncovered steps, fire escapes, and open porches;
3. Required accessory off-street parking and loading spaces, enclosed or open.

Floor area ratio, in the RM-6 district and with respect to the large lot option in the RO district, means the floor area on the lot divided by the land area. In all other cases, the floor area on the lot divided by the lot area.

1. Floor area ratio, residential, means residential floor area on the lot divided by land area or lot area, as provided in the definition of the term "floor area ratio."
2. Floor area, residential, means floor area used for residential purposes, but not including area for common use of all occupants (in multifamily dwellings) or for commercial or other nonresidential purposes, such as garages or carports.

Footcandle means and is equal to the amount of light generated by one candle shining on a surface one foot away. Footcandles can be measured both horizontally and vertically by a footcandle meter or light meter. Minimum Property Standards for Multifamily Housing, Federal Housing Administration, Appendix B, November 1963, shall be used as a guide to the interpretation of this term. (Where the requirements in this definition differ from those set forth in the Minimum Property Standards, this definition shall apply.)

Full cut-off fixture means a luminaire light distribution where zero candela occurs at an angle of 90 percent above nadir (horizontal), and all greater angles from nadir. Additionally, the candela per 1,000 lamp lumens does not numerically exceed 100 (ten percent) at an angle 80 percent above nadir. This applies to all lateral angles around the luminaire.

Garage means a permanently roofed structure completely enclosed that is used primarily for automobile shelter and storage.

Garage apartment means a single dwelling unit co-located within a building where motor vehicles are normally and regularly stored and having a roof or wall in common. For the purposes of this Chapter, garage apartments shall be defined and treated separately as a use, distinct from Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), and shall be allowed in districts only as specifically listed and referenced.

Glare means the sensation produced by luminance directed or reflected within the visual field that is sufficiently greater than the luminance to which the eyes are adapted which causes annoyance, discomfort, or loss in visual performance and visibility to a reasonable person.

Ground area means the horizontal area of the ground covered by any structure.

Guest house means a type of accessory dwelling unit which is subordinate to the principal residence on the same lot in the same manner as other ADUs.

Hardscape means the sum total on an individual lot of the impervious, semi-impervious and landscaped areas required by this chapter, less any area devoted to buildings or structures, but does not include unimproved areas of the lot.

Home occupation means an accessory use of a dwelling unit, conducted entirely within the dwelling unit, carried on by one or more persons, all of whom reside within the dwelling unit, and where no other persons are employed other than maintenance and domestic help. Home occupations may only be carried out by persons residing in the dwelling unit. Letting, leasing, renting or similar arrangement with non-residents for part or whole of the dwelling, or any fixture therein, is expressly prohibited with home occupation operations. The use is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling for residential purposes and does not change the character thereof. There shall be no sale or display of merchandise nor outside storage of any kind. (See NCC 36-564.)

Hotel means a building or group of buildings under one ownership containing six or more sleeping rooms occupied, intended or designed to be occupied as the more or less temporary abiding place of persons who are lodged with or without meals for compensation, but not including an auto or trailer court or camp, sanitariums, hospital, asylum, orphanage, or building where persons are housed under restraint.

Impoundment yard means a facility used for the temporary storage of abandoned or disabled vehicles which have been transported by a wrecker service having a State and City Impoundment Yard license. Such a facility shall not be operated as a junk yard, where vehicles are dismantled or parts sold.

Industrial land use means any public or private use allowed within the M-1, I-1, or I-2 zoning districts of the City.

Institution means a building occupied by a nonprofit corporation or nonprofit establishment for public use. Minimum Property Standards for Multifamily Housing, Federal Housing Administration, Appendix B, November 1963, shall be used as a guide to the interpretation of this term. (Where the requirements in this definition differ from those set forth in the Minimum Property Standards, this definition shall apply.)

Institutional, high impact, means a public, quasi-public or private residential facility for individuals who are in need of special care, supervision, treatment, punishment or rehabilitation and must be maintained in a secured environment. Residents may be assigned to such a facility by a court and may occupy the facility on a temporary or permanent basis. Typical uses include half-way houses for substance abuse patients, criminal pre-release centers, prisons, jails, and hospitals for mentally ill individuals.

Institutional land use means any public or private use allowed within the O-1 district of the City, or a public, quasi-public, religious, fraternal, or institutional use authorized as a special use within another zoning district.

Land area means (for determining livability space ratio, open space ratio) the area of the lot plus one-half of any beneficial open space plus one-half of any abutting street or alley right-of-way up to a maximum of 50 feet in an RM-6, Medium Density Apartment District, and up to a maximum of 60 feet in an RO, Residence-Office District.

Light spillover means light generated on one property that shines onto adjacent lots or the public right-of-way in excess of the standards established by NCC 36-549.

Livability space means open space minus open car space minus one-half of the ground area of any carports.

Livability space ratio means the minimum area (in square feet) of livability space which shall be provided for each square foot of residential floor area.

Live entertainment venue means an establishment where a major component of the business includes live or electronically amplified music, dancing, or other entertainment, and which may impose an admission charge or cover charge to observe that entertainment. Nightclubs, bars, and dance halls are typical uses within this category. This category shall not include, in any manner, any adult entertainment establishment.

Lot means any plot of land occupied or intended to be occupied by one building, or a group of buildings, and its accessory buildings and uses, including such open spaces as required by this chapter and other laws or ordinances, and having its principal frontage on a street.

1. Lot area means the total horizontal area included within lot lines.
2. Lot, corner, means a lot of which at least two adjacent sides abut for their full lengths on a street, provided that the interior angle at the intersection of such two sides is less than 135 degrees.
3. Lot depth means the average distance from the street line of the lot to its rear line, measured in the general direction of the side lines of the lot.
4. Lot, double frontage, means a lot having a frontage on two non-intersection streets, as distinguished from a corner lot.
5. Lot frontage means that dimension of a lot or portion of a lot abutting on a street, except the side dimension of a corner lot.
6. Lot interior means a lot other than a corner lot.
7. Lot lines means the lines bounding a lot as defined herein.

Lounge. See Bar.

Lumen means a unit of measurement of light equal to one footcandle falling on one square foot of area.

Luminaire means the complete lighting system, including the lamp, reflector (mirror), refractor (lens), ballast, and the fixture.

Luminous tube means a glass tube filled with a gas or gas mixture (including neon, argon, mercury or other gasses), usually of small diameter (ten to 15 millimeters), caused to emit light by the passage of an electric current, and commonly bent into various forms for use as decoration or signs. A luminous tube does not include common fluorescent tubes or compact fluorescent lamps.

Marijuana definitions. Those definitions set forth in applicable Oklahoma law and regulation concerning medical marijuana, shall be incorporated and applicable within this chapter. Further, zoning uses shall be compatible with those licenses issued in Chapter 13 of the Norman Municipal Code. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

1. Marijuana concentrate, subject to State law definitions, also generally means a product created by the extraction of constituent parts, including cannabinoids, terpenes and other biomolecules, from marijuana plants, and may include, but is not limited to, kief, hash, rosin, tinctures, oils, shatter, pull and snap, wax, budder/badder, crumble, distillate, and crystalline, and may result from extraction processes.
2. Marijuana establishment means those establishments listed in NCC 20-109(s), and including medical marijuana businesses, as defined by applicable State law and regulation.
3. Medical marijuana storage facility means a facility where medical marijuana is being stored only, as permitted by applicable State law and regulation, and which facility is at a location for which any other marijuana establishment license has not already been obtained, and is not open to the general public. Those with a state transporter license that seek to maintain stand-alone facilities for the storage of medical marijuana products transported shall be considered a medical marijuana storage facility for the purposes of this article.
4. Tier I medical marijuana processor, prior to November 1, 2021, referred to a facility located in the City defined and regulated by Oklahoma State law as a medical marijuana processor, and which engaged in only the following activities: the preparation (from medical marijuana grown off-site), including necessary grinding, of "prerolled" marijuana cigarettes, "joints" or "blunts" for sale on-site. On or after November 1, 2021, any applicant proposing a use that meets the definition of "Tier I medical marijuana processor" including on-site sales shall be considered and treated as a medical marijuana dispensary use, and Tier I medical marijuana processor licenses shall cease being issued pursuant to Chapter 13 of this Code on November 1, 2021. Nothing in this Code affects State law license categories for medical marijuana establishments. Local zoning and licensing applicants may be required to seek multiple state licenses in order to comply with State law.
5. Tier II medical marijuana processor means a facility defined and regulated by Oklahoma State law as a medical marijuana processor, and which engages in Tier I medical marijuana processor activities and/or the following activities: the use of marijuana concentrates (created off-site in compliance with State law and regulation), to make derivative infused products for sale on-site. Tier II medical marijuana processing does not include extraction processes of any kind. Examples of Tier II medical marijuana processing are the cooking, baking or preparation of medical marijuana edible products, or the addition of marijuana concentrate to products pre-manufactured off-site, such as lotions or soaps. Nothing in this Code affects State law license categories for medical marijuana establishments. Local zoning and licensing applicants may be required to seek multiple state licenses in order to comply with State law. Medical marijuana processors classified as a "hazardous medical marijuana processor" according to State law shall not be allowed as Tier II medical marijuana processors.
6. Tier III medical marijuana processor means a facility defined and regulated by Oklahoma State law as a medical marijuana processor, and which engages in any type(s) of medical marijuana processing, including all allowed extraction processes, except that on-site sales are not permitted. Nothing in this Code affects State law license categories for medical marijuana establishments. Medical marijuana processors classified as "nonhazardous medical marijuana processor" or "hazardous medical marijuana processor" according to State law are allowed as Tier III medical marijuana processors.

Maximum extent practicable means under the circumstances, reasonable efforts have been undertaken to comply with the regulations or requirement, the costs of compliance clearly outweigh the potential benefits to the public or would unreasonably burden the proposed project or development, and reasonable steps have been undertaken to minimize any potential harm or adverse impact resulting from noncompliance.

Mini-warehouse means a building or group of buildings in a controlled-access and enclosed compound that contains varying sizes of individual, compartmentalized, and controlled-access stalls or lockers for the dead storage of customers' goods or wares. A mini-warehouse provides storage space for the general public.

Mixed building means a building designed for or containing both residential and nonresidential uses.

Mobile home means a single-family dwelling of unitary or sectional construction, which is designed for transportation on streets and highways on its own self-contained chassis and which is towed to its destination on its own wheels or on flatbed or other trailers, both highway and rail, and which arrives at the site where it is to be occupied as a dwelling complete and ready for occupancy, except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations, location on jacks or permanent foundations, connection to utilities, and similar operations.

Mobile home, freestanding, means any mobile home not located in a mobile home park or a mobile home subdivision.

Mobile home, Type 1, means a freestanding mobile home (as defined herein) that also meets the following criteria:

1. Was manufactured on or after June 15, 1976, and which bears a seal certifying that it is built in compliance with the Federal Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Code.
2. Has more than 950 square feet of occupiable space in a double section, double wide, or larger multi-section unit, or a single-wide unit at least 14 feet in width.
3. Is set into an excavated area, is placed on a permanent foundation, with all foundations, footings and crawl spaces constructed in accordance with the building code.
4. Utilizes a permanent perimeter enclosure between the floor joists of the house and the excavated underfloor grade (except for required openings).
5. Is anchored to the foundation and/or the ground in accordance with the building code.
6. Has wheels, axles and hitch mechanism removed.
7. Has utilities connected in accordance with the building code and the manufacturer's specifications.
8. Has one or more of the following siding materials: stone, brick, wood, stucco, or vinyl lap siding.
9. Has one of the following roofing materials: Asbestos shingles, fiberglass shingles, shake shingles, asphalt shingles, or tile materials.
10. Has a pitched roof. The pitch of the roof shall be in accordance with the design specifications of the type of the roofing material used.

Mobile home, Type 2, means a freestanding mobile home (as defined herein) that also meets the following criteria:

1. Was manufactured on or after June 15, 1976, and which bears a seal certifying that it is built in compliance with the Federal Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Code.
2. Has more than 320 square feet of occupiable space.
3. Utilizes foundation siding/skirting in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications.
4. Is anchored to the foundation and/or the ground in accordance with the building code.
5. Has utilities connected in accordance with the building code and the manufacturer's specifications.
6. Has wheels and axles removed.
7. Has one or more of the following siding materials: stone, brick, wood, stucco, or vinyl lap siding.

Mobile home park means a unified development of mobile home spaces arranged on a single tract of land.

Mobile home subdivision means a unified development of mobile home lots which have been designed for the purpose of individual ownership.

Model home means a structure that is designed and built as a residence, with at least part of the dwelling in temporary use as a sales office and showcase or prototypical example of the kind of dwelling that its builder will construct within that subdivision. The dwelling may be used as a sales office for a period of not more than four years, subject to an annually renewable permit that is administratively issued. For the purposes of this chapter, a model home does not include a home owned and occupied as a personal residence but has been offered for sale and is simply being shown as an open house.

Multifamily land use means any public or private use allowed within the R-3, RM-2, RM-4, RM-6, or RO zoning districts of the City.

Night club means an establishment which regularly provides facilities for dancing and/or live entertainment, either alone or in conjunction with a restaurant or bar.

Nonconforming use means any lawful use of land, building or structure existing at the time of adoption of the zoning map, which does not conform with the regulations of the district in which it is situated.

Nonresidential use means a use which is not a residential use or accessory to a residential use.

Nursery (plant) means any land used to raise trees, shrubs, flowers, or other plants for sale or for transplanting. The term "nursery (plant)" also refers to a business which sells nursery stock and related garden supplies.

Open space (for determining livability space ratio, open space ratio and recreation space ratio) means total horizontal area of all uncovered open space, plus one-half the total horizontal area of all eligible covered open space, excluding eaves of buildings.

Open space, beneficial, means any public park, public playground, or other similar public open space which abuts a lot proposed for residential development and which is beneficial to the residential use of such lot. In determining the land area of a residential lot, such space may be counted up to one-half its depth, but not to exceed 50 feet in the case of a lot in the RM-6 district or 60 feet in the case of a lot in the RO district.

Open space, covered, means exterior space which is open on its sides to weather, but not open above to the sky and weather.

Open space, covered, eligible, means the horizontal area of any covered open space, to the extent to which it is not more than twice the sum of the clear, open, and unobstructed portions of the open and partially open sides of the covered open space.

Open space, covered, ineligible, means any covered open space other than eligible covered open space.

Open space ratio means the minimum area (square feet) of open space which shall be provided for each square foot of residential floor area.

Open space, uncovered, means land area minus building area plus usable roof area.

Parking space means a permanently surfaced area, enclosed or unenclosed, sufficient in size to store one automobile together with a permanently surfaced driveway connecting the parking space with a street or alley and permitting ingress or egress of an automobile.

Personal service salon or establishment means a facility at which personal services are provided including: hair, nail and skin care services; cosmetology and makeup; massage; tanning; tattooing; and piercing.

Planned unit development means a land development project comprehensively planned as an entity utilizing a site development plan which permits flexibility in building siting, mixtures of all types of attached and detached housing, usable open spaces, and the preservation of significant natural features.

Principal use means the predominant or main use to which a property is or may be devoted and to which all other uses on the premises are accessory.

Private school means a school offering general education courses the same as ordinarily given in public schools and having no rooms regularly used for housing and sleeping.

Quasi-unit quarters means any building where the principal use involves the provision of two or more lodging units for non-transient occupancy which does not qualify as a dwelling unit such as is found in rooming houses and boarding houses, college dormitories, fraternity and sorority houses, monasteries and convents, and military barracks. For the purposes of computing intensity of use requirements, three unrelated individuals shall be considered the equivalent of a family.

Recreation space means that part of livability space which provides one or more major open spaces for recreational purposes in a residential development. If recreation space required for a residential development is 10,000 square feet or more, no space shall be countable unless it is at least 50 feet wide and at least 10,000 square feet in area. If total recreation space required for a residential development is less than 10,000 square feet, such space shall be provided as a single space at least 40 feet wide and at least 2,000 square feet in area. In either case, if the recreation space is usable roof area, the least dimension may be reduced to 30 feet. Permanent public recreation areas abutting the lot and available for use by the residents thereof shall be countable as recreation space in meeting the requirements of this chapter. Recreation space shall be appropriately developed for active or passive recreational use by the residents of the lot.

Recreation space ratio means the recreation space divided by residential floor area.

Recreational camp means a building or a group of buildings with accessory recreational facilities operated on a non-profit basis and designed for the purpose of the temporary congregation of people for seminars, retreats, or educational sessions.

Residential district means an R-E, R-1, R-1-15, R-1-10, R-2, R-3, RM-2, RM-4, RM-6, or RO district.

Residential use means a dwelling, apartment house, apartment hotel, garage apartment, roominghouse, fraternity house, sorority house, convalescent home, rest home, or nursing home.

Restaurant means a facility which derives more than 35 percent of its total revenue from the sale of food, excluding alcoholic beverages, as well as other secondary sources of income, such as admissions, cover charges, or amusements.

Roof area, usable, means the total roof area of residential buildings, garages, and accessory buildings which has been suitably improved as residential open space for use of occupants, including roof areas used for car storage.

Rooming unit means a room rented as sleeping and living quarters, but without kitchen facilities and with or without an individual bathroom. In a suite of rooms without kitchen facilities, each room which provides sleeping accommodations shall be counted as one rooming unit for the purpose of this chapter.

Rooming house means a residential building other than a hotel, where for compensation and on a monthly or longer basis, rooms are provided to more than two persons who are not members of the resident manager's family.

Searchlight means a lighting installation designed to project a high-intensity beam of approximately parallel rays of light that is typically used to sweep the sky for promotional purposes.

Semi cut-off fixture means a luminaire light distribution is designated as semi cut-off when the intensity per 1,000 lamp lumens does not numerically exceed 50 (five percent) at an angle of 90 percent above nadir (horizontal), and 200 (20 percent) at an angle 80 percent above nadir. This applies to all lateral angles around the luminaire.

Sexual conduct means and includes the following:

1. The fondling or other touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, or female breasts;
2. Ultimate sex acts, normal or perverted, actual or simulated, including intercourse, oral copulation, sodomy;
3. Masturbation; and
4. Excretory functions as part of or in connection with any of the activities set forth in subsections (a) through (c) of this definition.

No part of this chapter will be deemed to disenfranchise any member of the healing arts licensed by the State to perform manipulation of body parts as part of their profession or counseling of said persons by licensed practitioners.

Shielded light fixture means a light fixture with cutoff optics to generally prevent light from going upward. Any structural part of the light fixture which provides this cutoff angle must be permanently affixed.

Shopping center means one or more commercial buildings which are planned, developed, owned, or managed as a unit, which provide shared facilities, including parking. Although typically utilized for retail sales of goods and merchandise, offices, theaters, and food service tenants are authorized uses. Food service establishments are those which exclusively provide for on-premises consumption of prepared food.

Short-term rentals means the rental of an entire dwelling, or any portion thereof, for a period of not more than 30 days, where the owner is engaged in a contract for the rental of that specific dwelling, or any portion thereof. An annual short-term rental license may be issued to eligible applicants by the City Clerk. A short-term rental license is a privilege, not a right, and may be denied, suspended, revoked or not renewed. (See NCC 20-XXVII.)

Sign, advertising (or structure) means any cloth, card, paper, metal, painted, glass, wooden, plastic, plaster, stone or other sign, device or structure of any character whatsoever, including statuary, placed for outdoor advertising purposes on the ground or on any tree, wall, bush, rock, post, fence, building or structure. The term "placed" includes erecting, constructing, posting, painting, printing, tacking, nailing, gluing, sticking, carving or otherwise fastening, affixing or making visible in any manner whatsoever. The area of an advertising structure other than a sign shall be determined as the area of the largest cross-section of such structure. Neither directional, warning nor other signs posted by public officials in the course of their public duties shall be construed as advertising signs for the purpose of this definition.

Single-family dwelling means a building designed to be occupied by one family.

Soffit means the underside of an architectural feature, such as a beam, arch, ceiling, vault, cornice, or roof overhang.

Specified anatomical areas means and includes the following:

1. Human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, and female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola.
2. Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid State, even if completely and opaquely covered.

Storage warehouse means a building or group of buildings used for the storage of goods and wares by commercial clients and business organizations and not open to the general public.

Story means the portion of a building, other than a basement, included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it, or if there be no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it.

Story, half, means a space under a sloping roof which has the line of intersection of roof decking and wall face not more than five feet above the top floor level, and in which space not more than two-thirds of the floor area is finished off for use. A half-story containing independent apartment or living quarters shall be counted as a full story.

Street means any public or private right-of-way, highway, road, land, square, court, or way set aside as a permanent right-of-way for street purposes, 30 feet or more in width if it existed at the time of the enactment of this chapter, and any public or private way 50 feet or more in width if created after the enactment of this chapter.

1. Street, half, means any street platted 25 feet or more in width, where at the time of the approval of the plat, it is the intent of the Board of Commissioners that said street dedication shall constitute only a part of the total street easement width.
2. Street, intersecting, means any street which joins another street at an angle, whether or not it crosses the other.

Structural alterations means any change in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams, or girders, or any substantial change in the roof or in the exterior walls.

Structure means any object constructed in or on the ground, except an inground swimming pool. The term "structure" includes buildings, decks, fences, towers, flag poles, signs, and other similar objects. The term "structure" does not include paved areas or vegetative landscaping materials.

Tavern. See Bar.

Tourist court means an area containing one or more structures designed or intended to be used as temporary living facilities of one or more families and intended primarily for automobile transients or providing spaces where two or more tents or auto trailers can be parked.

Trade school means a school offering specialized training or vocational skill.

Trailer court means land or property which is used or intended to be used or rented for occupancy by two or more trailers or movable dwellings, rooms, or sleeping quarters of any kind.

Travel trailer, motor home, means a vehicular, portable structure built on a chassis which may or may not be self-propelled, and which is designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational and vacation use.

Travel trailer park means a unified development which is designed primarily for transient service where travel trailers are parked or situated, and which is used for the purpose of supplying to the public a parking space for such vehicles for only short durations of stay.

Two-family dwelling means a building designed to be occupied by not more than two families.

Veterinary clinic/hospital means a facility for the medical or surgical treatment of diseases and injuries of domestic animals.

Wall-mounted lighting means any light fixture attached to the building wall excluding accent lighting, canopy lighting, or exempt lights.

Wall sconce means a decorative or architectural building mounted luminaire installed to add to the design quality of the building improvements for the purpose of highlighting features of the building or property, but that also may serve the purpose of lighting the areas around it.

Yard means an open space at grade between a building and the adjoining lot lines, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground upward. In measuring a yard for the purpose of determining the width of the side yard, the depth of a front yard or the depth of a rear yard, the least horizontal distance between the lot line and the main building shall be used.

1. Yard, front, means a yard extending across the front of a lot between the side yard lines and being the minimum horizontal distance between the street line and the main building or any projection thereof, other than steps.
2. Yard, rear, means a yard extending across the rear of a lot measured between lot lines and being the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the rear of the main building or any projections other than steps, unenclosed balconies or unenclosed porches. On corner lots the rear yard shall be considered as parallel to the street upon which the lot has its least dimension. On both corner lots and interior lots the rear yard shall in all cases be at the opposite end of the lot from the front yard.
3. Yard, side, means a yard between the building and the side line of the lot and extending from the front lot line to the rear lot line and being the minimum horizontal distance between a side lot line and the side of the main building or any projections other than steps.

(Ord. No. O-9495-28; Ord. No. O-9596-19, 12-12-1995; Ord. No. O-9697-6, 8-27-1996; Ord. No. O-9798-8, 9-23-1997; Ord. No. O-9798-25, 12-9-1997; Ord. No. O-0102-51, 6-25-2002; Ord. No. O-0405-24, 11-16-2004; Ord. No. O-0405-19, 11-23-2004; Ord. No. O-0708-36, 4-22-2008; Ord. No. O-0809-42, 5-26-2009; Ord. No. O-1011-44, 6-21-2011; Ord. No. O-1213-17, 11-27-2012; Ord. No. O-1213-38; Ord. No. O-1314-15, 4-22-2014; Ord. No. O-1718-47, 7-26-2018; Ord. No. O-1718-51, 8-23-2018; Ord. No. O-1819-17, 12-11-2018; Ord. No. O-1920-4, 8-29-2019; Ord. No. O-1920-39, 4-23-2020; Ord. No. 1961)