1. Generally. Density is measured in two ways: gross density and net density (see Figure 14.1.101, Illustrative Density Calculation).
2. Gross Density. Gross density is calculated by dividing the number of proposed dwelling units by the base site area.
3. Net Density. Net density is calculated by dividing the number of dwelling units by the net buildable area of the parcel proposed for development.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

1. Generally. The unit of measurement for intensity is called floor area ratio (FAR).
2. Calculation.
   1. For individual lots, FAR is calculated by dividing the total floor area on the lot by the lot area.
   2. For parcels proposed for development, gross FAR is calculated by dividing the total floor area on the parcel proposed for development by the base site area (see Figure 14.1.102, Illustrative Floor Area Ratio Calculation).
3. Structured Parking Exception. The floor area of a parking structure is not included in the calculation of FAR.

Figure 14.1.102 Illustrative Floor Area Ratio Calculation

EXAMPLE The example below is 80,000 square feet of floor area, located on a parcel with a 12 acre base site area. Its FAR is: 80,000 square feet Floor Area DIVIDED BY 522,720 square feet of Base Site Area (12 acres TIMES 43,560 square feet per acre) EQUALS 0.153 FAR

Effective on: 8/31/2016

The measurement of gross floor area (GFA) shall be computed by applying the following criteria:

• Horizontal square footage is measured from the outside face of all exterior walls;
• Cellars; basements; penthouses; attics; covered or uncovered porches, terraces, or breezeways; balconies and decks; enclosed storage or mechanical areas; mezzanines; and similar structures shall be included as GFA wherever at least seven feet are provided between the finished floor and the ceiling;
• No deduction shall apply for horizontal areas void of actual floor space (e.g., elevator shafts and stairwells); and
• Protected upper floors of open atriums and foyers shall not be included.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

1. Buildings. Building height is calculated by measuring the vertical distance from the average finished grade along the front building line to:
   1. The highest peak or ridge line of the roof for pitched roof styles; or
   2. The top of the parapet for flat roof systems.
2. Other Structures. Structure height is calculated by measuring the vertical distance from the average finished grade around the base of the structure to the highest point on the structure. This measurement applies to:
   1. Structures without roofs (e.g., fences); and
   2. Amateur radio antennae, whether mounted on a roof, the ground, or another structure.
3. Specialized Structures and Building Appurtenances.
   1. Specialized structures and building appurtenances are not counted in the calculation of building height, provided that:
      1. They project not more than:
         1. Fifteen feet above the highest point on the building for buildings that are two stories in height or higher; or
         2. Seven feet above the highest point on the building for buildings that are less than two stories in height.
      2. They occupy not more than 10 percent of the total roof area of the building; and
      3. They are not used for human habitation, nonresidential, or industrial purposes, except as incidental to the operation of the building.
   2. For the purposes of this Subsection, "specialized structures and building appurtenances" means:
      1. Roof structures for the housing of elevators, stairways, tanks, or similar equipment required to operate and maintain the building;
      2. Architectural towers, steeples, flagpoles, ventilating fans, chimneys, smokestacks (except as provided in Subsection D., below); and
      3. Skylights, solar panels, and solar water heaters.
4. Smokestacks. Smokestacks shall be permitted to a height of 90 feet in the I-2 district. In other districts, they are subject to Subsection C., above.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

1. Generally. Landscape surface ratio is used to ensure that a certain percentage of a parcel proposed for development is landscaped.
2. Landscape Surface Ratio.
   1. Measurement. Landscape surface ratio ("LSR") is the area of designated landscaping and open space area on a nonresidential or mixed use parcel proposed for development divided by the area of the parcel proposed for development. LSR includes bufferyards, parking lot landscaping, foundation plantings, and natural resource protection areas.
   2. Relationship Between LSR and Other Requirements. If the combination of individual landscaping and open space requirements (e.g., protection of natural resources, provision of bufferyards, parking lot landscaping) requires less landscaped or open space area than the LSR, then the LSR applies, and more landscaping is required. If the application of other landscaping standards requires more landscaped area than the LSR, then the greater requirement applies.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot area is calculated as the area within the property lines of a lot (see Figure 14.1.106, Illustrative Lot Area Calculation). Lot area is used:

• To calculate lot coverage;
• To calculate floor area ratio; and
• To determine compliance with minimum lot area requirements, such as in the design of new subdivision.

Figure 14.1.106 Illustrative Lot Area Calculation
Example: The example at right is a rectangular lot. 65 ft. wide x 125 ft. deep = 8,125 sq. ft. lot area

Effective on: 8/31/2016

1. Lot Coverage. The measurements of lot coverage are as follows.
   1. Measurements for buildings and structures are taken on a horizontal plane at the main grade level of the principal building or structure and all accessory buildings or structures. All dimensions are measured between the exterior faces of walls.
   2. Measurements for driveways, walkways, parking lots, and other non-elevated structures (e.g., pools) are taken using the area delineated by the improved hard surface.
2. Lot Coverage Ratio. Lot coverage ratio is lot coverage divided by lot area (see Figure 14.1.107, Lot Coverage Ratio Illustration).

Figure 14.1.107 Lot Coverage Ratio Illustration

Effective on: 8/31/2016

1. Generally. Lot width is measured from one side lot line to the opposite side lot line at the front setback line (see Figure 14.1.108.01, Measurement of Lot Width; Standard Lots).

Figure 14.1.108.01 Measurement of Lot Width; Standard Lots

2. Corner Lots. Lot width is measured from the interior side lot line to the side street lot line along the front building line, minus the difference between the street yard setback and the side yard setback (see Figure 14.1.108.02, Measurement of Lot Width; Corner Lots).

Figure 14.1.108.02 Measurement of Lot Width; Corner Lots

3. Irregular Lots. Lot width is the distance from one side lot line to the opposite side lot line along the tangent of the curve representing the front building line (see Figure 14.1.108.03, Measurement of Lot Width; Irregular Lots). Generally, the front building line is the front setback line. However, if an alternative front building line has been established on the plat of a subdivision that is more distant than the front setback line from the front property line, then the lot width is measured at the alternative front building line.

Figure 14.1.108.03 Measurement of Lot Width; Irregular Lots

Effective on: 8/31/2016

1. Generally. Open space ratio (OSR) and Landscape Surface Ratio (LSR) are related concepts. OSR applies to residential development, and refers to commonly owned open space (open space that is not located on private lots). LSR applies to landscaped spaces in nonresidential and mixed use development. OSR and LSR are not necessarily a measure of "green" open space on a parcel proposed for development, as it may also refer to areas of open water. The following delineations further define what can or cannot be counted as open space or landscape surface.
   1. Allowable Areas. Bufferyard requirements, parking lot landscaping, floodplains, low impact stormwater management systems, passive recreation areas, and other requirements of this Code that require common areas to be landscaped or remain undeveloped shall count as open space or landscape surface area, and may, in the aggregate, require more open space than the OSR or LSR would require.
   2. Prohibited Areas.
      1. Open spaces that do not qualify for the calculation of OSR include any areas on private, buildable lots and any commonly-owned open space that is less than 320 contiguous square feet.
      2. Open spaces that do not qualify for the calculation of LSR include any area that less than 320 contiguous square feet and areas set aside for parking spaces that are intended for future development.
2. Calculation.
   1. Open Space Ratio. OSR is calculated by dividing the total amount of commonly-owned open space on the residential parcel proposed for development by the total area of the entire parcel proposed for development. See Figure 14.1.109A, Illustrative Measurement of Open Space Ratio (OSR).
   2. Landscape Surface Ratio. LSR is calculated by dividing the total amount of landscaped and open space area on a nonresidential parcel proposed for development by the entire area of the parcel proposed for development. See Figure 14.1.109B, Illustrative Measurement of Landscape Surface Ratio (LSR).

Figure 14.1.109A Illustrative Measurement of Open Space Ratio (OSR)
EXAMPLE 6 acres of Common Open Space DIVIDED BY 12 acre Area of Parcel Proposed for Development EQUALS 50% OSR
Total Area of Parcel Proposed for Development: 12 acres

Figure 14.1.109B  Illustrative Measurement of Landscape Surface Ratio (LSR)
EXAMPLE 5 acres of Landscape Surface Area DIVIDED BY 12 acre Area of Parcel Proposed for Development EQUALS 41.7% LSR
Total Area of Parcel Proposed for Development: 12 acres

Effective on: 8/31/2016

1. Standard Lots. Setbacks are measured from lot lines towards the center of the lot (see Figure 14.1.110.01, Setbacks on Standards Lots), as follows:
   1. Front setbacks (abbreviated "SF") are measured from the front lot line. The front lot line is the lot line that abuts the right-of-way from which the lot takes its address. For corner lots with standard curb radii, the front setback is not measured from the curved portion of the lot (however, a portion of this area is included in the required sight triangle).
   2. Rear setbacks (abbreviated "SR") are measured from the rear lot line. The rear lot line is the lot line that is opposite from the front lot line.
   3. Side setbacks (abbreviated "SL") are measured from side lot lines. Side lot lines are lot lines that intersect with front lot lines.
   4. Street side setbacks (abbreviated "SS") are measured from street side lot lines.

Figure 14.1.110.01 Setbacks on Standard Lots

2. Odd-Shaped Lots. Setbacks are measured from lot lines towards the center of the lot, as follows, and as depicted in Figure 14.1.110.02, Setbacks on Odd-Shaped Lots:
   1. Generally, setbacks are measured as set out in Subsection A., above.
   2. Where lot lines are curvilinear, setbacks shall be measured as offsets from the curvilinear lot line.
   3. Where there are multiple rear lot lines, the rear setback is measured as offsets from the multiple rear lot lines.
   4. Where there is no rear lot line, the rear setback shall be measured as a radial distance from the intersection of side lot lines at the rear of the lot.

Figure 14.1.110.02 Setbacks on Odd-Shaped Lots

Effective on: 8/31/2016

1. Signable Area.
   1. Wall Signs. A two-dimensional area on the facade of a building that describes the largest square, rectangle, or parallelogram which is free of architectural details.
   2. Window Signs. The area of glass within a window frame.
   3. Other Signs. The area of the face of a sign which is designed to be used for text and graphics (the signable area does not include the sign’s supporting frame or structure, if any, provided that such frame or structure is not designed to display text or graphics).
      1. The sign area for ground signs, monument signs, and architectural sign bands are calculated as the area enclosing the extreme limits of the copy only.
      2. In the case of individual letters mounted to a wall, only the total area of the letters themselves is included with the sign area.
      3. In the case of multi-prism indexing sign, sign area is calculated as the area within the perimeter enclosing the extreme limits of the sign face, regardless of the number of individual messages displayed on the sign.
2. Signable Area Ratio. Signable area ratio is the sign area divided by the signable area. It is expressed as a percentage.
3. Relationship Between Maximum Sign Area and Maximum Area Ratio. Where both a maximum sign area and a maximum signable area ratio are set out, the standards that results in the least sign area applies.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

1. Generally. The regulations of this Chapter shall be applied using the measurements set out in this Section.

2. Setbacks. All setbacks shall be measured from the property line to the nearest edge of the sign.

3. Sign Clearance. Sign clearance is the distance between the bottom of a sign face or structural element that is not affixed to the ground and the nearest point on the surface under it (see Figure 14.1.112A, Sign Clearance).

   1. Signs constructed of metal and illuminated by any means requiring internal wiring or electrically wired accessory fixtures attached to a metal sign shall maintain a free clearance to grade of nine feet. Accessory lighting fixtures attached to a nonmetal frame sign shall also maintain a clearance of nine feet to grade.

   2. No metal ground sign shall be located within eight feet vertically and four feet horizontally of electric wires or conductors in free air carrying more than 48 volts, whether or not such wires or conductors are insulated or otherwise protected.

Figure 14.1.112A Sign Clearance

4. Sign Height. For detached signs (temporary and permanent), sign height is:

   1. Where the natural grade of the ground where the sign is to be located is lower than the street centerline, the vertical distance to the top of the sign face or sign structure, whichever is higher, is measured from the average grade around the base of the sign (see Figure 14.1.112B, Measurement of Sign Height, Sign Base Lower than Street Centerline).

   2. Where the natural grade of the ground where the sign is to be located is higher than the street centerline, the vertical distance to the top of the sign face or sign structure, whichever is higher, is measured from the elevation of the centerline of the adjacent street.

Figure 14.1.112B Measurement of Sign Height, Sign Base Lower than Street Centerline

Effective on: 8/31/2016

1. Generally. The calculations required by the regulations of this Chapter shall be according to the methodologies of this Section.

2. Sign Area.

   1. Generally. Sign area is calculated by computing the entire area of the smallest square, circle, rectangle, or triangle that encompasses the outer limit of the sign face, including any open areas within the sign face or faces individually. The area excludes the structure upon which the sign is placed (unless the structure is an integral part of the display or used to differentiate it). When the signage consists of individual letters, comprising individual words on a building, the area is calculated by computing the smallest square, circle, rectangle, or triangle that will encompass each word, logo, or symbol. The open spaces between words or other individual components are not included in the calculation (see Figure 14.1.113A, Sign Area, Generally).

   2. Double-Faced Signs. For projecting, suspended, or other double-faced signs:

      1. Only one display face is measured if the sign faces are parallel or form an interior angle of less than 45 degrees, provided that the signs are mounted on the same structure. If the faces are of unequal area, then sign area is equal to the area of the larger face. On properties situated at the intersection of two streets (also, corner properties), a sign may have two sign faces with an interior angle of 90 degrees. The smallest of the two faces, or one face in the instance of both faces being of the same size, shall be counted in the computation of square footage as long as each sign face fronts public street right-of-way and both sign faces are mounted on the same structure (see Figure 14.1.113B, Double-Faced Sign).

      2. Both display faces are measured if:

         1. The interior angle is greater than 45 degrees and not on a corner property; or

         2. The sign faces are mounted on different structures.

   3. Signable Area. Signable area is calculated as follows:

      1. Wall Signs. A two-dimensional area on the facade of a building that describes the largest square, rectangle, or parallelogram which is free of protruding architectural details.

      2. Window Signs. The area of glass within a window frame.

      3. Other Signs. The area of the face of the sign which is designed to be used for text and graphics (the signable area does not include the sign's supporting frame or structure, if any, provided that such frame or structure is not designed to display text or graphics).

   4. Signable Area Ratio. Signable area ratio is the sign area divided by the signable area. It is expressed as a percentage.

   5. Relationship Between Maximum Sign Area and Maximum Signable Area Ratio. Where both a maximum sign area and a maximum signable area ratio are set out, the standard that results in the least sign area applies.

3. Changes in Existing Structures to Conform.

   1. Any existing advertising sign or structure shall not hereafter be altered, rebuilt, extended, enlarged, or relocated except in conformity with this Chapter.

   2. The changing of removable parts of any sign which is designed for change or replacement, or the repainting of display matter thereon, shall not be deemed an alteration subject to a permit.

4. Permit Fees. Upon the approval of the application by the City Manager or Building Inspector of the City, a permit shall be issued upon payment of the following fees:

   1. Freestanding signs, a fee of $120.00.

   2. Wall or other nonfreestanding signs, a fee of $60.00.

Figure 14.1.113B Double-Faced Sign

Effective on: 8/31/2016

In those districts where gross sign area is allocated based on lineal street frontage and the tract or parcel is adjacent to more than one street, the lineal street frontage shall be computed as follows:

• For those tracts or parcels located on major streets as designated in the Comprehensive Plan, the lineal street frontage shall be the distance of that property line abutting the major street.
• For those tracts or parcels not located on a major street, the lineal street frontage shall be one-half the sum of the entire street frontage.
• For those tracts or parcels located on an intersection of two major streets, the lineal street frontage shall be one-half the sum of the entire street frontage.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

1. Generally. For purposes of interpreting this Code, the following rules of construction apply:
   1. The particular controls the general.
   2. Words used in the present tense include the future, words in the singular include the plural, and words of one gender include all other genders, unless the context clearly indicates the contrary.
   3. The word "shall" is mandatory.
   4. The word "may" is permissive.
2. Defined Words and Phrases. Words and phrases which are defined in Division 14.1.300, Definitions, are those having a special meaning relative to the purposes of this Code. All words, terms and phrases not otherwise defined herein shall be given their usual and customary meanings, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning was intended.
3. Abbreviations and Acronyms. Set out in Table 14.1.201, Meaning of Acronyms and Abbreviations, are the meaning of the acronyms and abbreviations used in this Code. The Zoning Administrator is authorized to update this table without further action by the City Commission when amendments to the text include new acronyms.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

1. Generally. For purposes of interpretation, the following rules apply regarding internal cross-references, external hyperlinks, section titles, and illustrations.
2. Internal Cross-References. If a cross-reference is set out within this Code, the cross-reference refers to another part of this Code unless a separate document is specifically included in the cross-reference.
3. External Hyperlinks.
   1. Statutory and United States Code References.
      1. References to the Kansas Statutes Annotated or United States Code shall be interpreted to mean the most current version of the referenced Section at the time the reference is applied. If a referenced Section is repealed and replaced by another Section of the Kansas Statutes Annotated or United States Code with comparable subject matter, the replacement Section shall control. If a referenced Section is repealed and not replaced, the repealed Section shall control if it is within the statutory authority of the City to effectuate such result, or the application shall be held (and not considered officially filed) for up to 12 weeks for the City to revise this Code to resolve the reference and establish an appropriate rule or policy.
      2. Where referenced Sections are the source of authority for the promulgation of administrative rules, references to the Kansas Statutes Annotated or United States Code shall be interpreted to include the phrases "and rules promulgated thereunder."
   2. Disclaimer Regarding Hyperlinks. Hyperlinks to the Kansas Statutes Annotated or other external documents within the online version of this Code are provided for the convenience of the user. The Kansas Statutes Annotated and other referenced documents stand in their own right and are not a part of this Code unless specifically incorporated by reference (e.g., the official "zoning map") or by application of Subsection C.1., above. Broken and misdirected hyperlinks may occur as a result of typographical or administrative error or changes in the location of the referenced documents, and shall have no force with respect to the interpretation of this Code.
   3. Authorization to Maintain Hyperlinks. The Zoning Administrator is authorized, without further action by the City Commission, to:
      1. Add, remove, and maintain hyperlinks to external materials; and
      2. Add, remove, and maintain hyperlinks among related Sections and definitions, whether the related Sections and definitions are set out within the adopted text or provided as annotations for ease of access and reference (however, annotations shall be clearly marked as such).
4. Section Titles. In case of difference of meaning or implication between the regulatory provisions and the section titles for each Chapter, Article, Division, Section, or Subsection, the text of the regulatory provisions shall control.
5. Illustrations. The illustrations are intended to provide visual guidance regarding how particular standards are to be applied, and are not intended as standards in their own right.
   1. Conflicts. Where there is a conflict between the text, caption, or graphic in an illustration and the text of the regulatory provisions, the text of the regulatory provisions shall control.
   2. Authorization to Create, Delete, and Modify Illustrations. To facilitate the application and understanding of the provisions of this Code, the Zoning Administrator is authorized to create, delete, and modify the illustrations herein, and to provide or delete references within the text, without an official amendment to the regulatory provisions of this Code.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Abandonment means that a use, structure, or sign is no longer being used, occupied, or otherwise operated either because the owner or operator affirmatively intends to discontinue use, occupancy, or operation, or because the use, occupancy, or operation is discontinued for a period of time specified in this Code, after which it is not allowed to be resumed.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Abutting means two lots sharing the same or common property lines, including lots separated by an alley (see Figure Illustrative Example of Abutting).

Illustrative Example of Abutting

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Access means a vehicular connection to a public or private street or alley from a lot or parcel.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Access Easement means a private easement for vehicular access across one lot or parcel to another (e.g., a driveway across a lot to access another lot). Cross-access easements are reciprocal arrangements that provide for the free flow of vehicles across the property line of abutting lots (e.g., a driveway connection between abutting shopping centers).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Accessory Building means a subordinate building which serves a function customarily as incidental to that of the principal building. Customary accessory buildings include garages, carports, and small storage sheds.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Accessory Dwelling Unit ("ADU") means a secondary dwelling unit which is located in a separate accessory building on the same lot as the principal dwelling unit. The ADU provides a complete, independent living space with facilities for cooking, eating, sanitation, and sleeping (see Section 10.2.102, Accessory Dwelling Units).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Accessory Structure means a structure which is on the same parcel of property as a principal use or building the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal use or building (e.g., gazebos and carports).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Accessory Use means a subordinate use which serves an incidental function to that of the principal use of the premises. Customary accessory uses include tennis courts, swimming pools, air conditioners, barbecue ovens, and fireplaces, etc.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Addition means any construction that adds or enlarges the size of an existing building. Additions also include any extension or increase in floor area or height of a building or structure (e.g., a porch, a carport, or a new room).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Adjacent means an area that has a common property line with, or that is separated from a parcel proposed for development by public right-of-way.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Agriculture, General means land (with and without farm residences and ranches) which is primarily used for the commercial production of field crops for food, fiber, or energy; orchards; viniculture; horticulture; dairying; pasturage; aquaculture, and truck farming. The term also includes the raising or breeding of livestock, cattle, horses, poultry, where there is no more than one animal equivalent unit per acre, and the keeping of bees. The term includes the necessary accessory uses for storing the products and inputs needed to produce them. The phrase does not include community garden or the phrase "nursery/greenhouse, retail".

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Agricultural Use means the growing or raising of horticultural and agricultural crops, hay, poultry and livestock, and livestock, poultry and dairy products for commercial purposes. Farm residences are to be used as single-family dwellings.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Airport means any area of land or water designed and set aside for the landing and take-off of aircraft and utilized, or to be utilized, in the interest of the public for such purposes. The term does not include "helistop".

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Alcohol Beverage Sales means the retail sale of beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverages for off-premise consumption.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Alteration means, as applied to a building or structure, a change or rearrangement in the structural parts of an existing building or structure. Enlargement, whether by extending a side, increasing in height, or the moving from one location or position to another shall be considered as an alteration.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Animal Grooming Facility means an establishment where domestic animals are bathed, clipped, or combed for the purpose of enhancing their appearance or health, and for which a fee is charged, but not including overnight boarding of animals.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Animal Boarding and Veterinarian Services, Large Animal means an animal hospital or clinic that provides services for horses and other livestock, and which may board animals in the course of treatment. The phrase "animal boarding and veterinarian services, large animal" does not include "animal boarding and veterinarian services, small animal."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Animal Boarding and Veterinarian Services, Small Animal means veterinary clinics, hospitals, or other facilities that provide care and boarding of small domestic animals. The phrase "animal boarding and veterinarian, small animal" does not include "animal boarding and veterinarian services, large animal."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Animal Breeding means an establishment which possesses 11 or more adult intact female animals and is engaged in the business of breeding those animals for direct or indirect sale or for exchange in return for consideration and which sells or exchanges, or offers to sell or exchange, not fewer than 20 animals in a calendar year. The term "animal breeding" does not apply to City animal shelters.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Animal Feeding Operations means an agricultural operation where animals are kept and raised in confined situations. They congregate animals, feed, manure and urine, dead animals, and production operations on a small land area. The feed is brought to the animals rather than the animals grazing or otherwise seeking feed in pastures, fields, or on rangeland. The term "animal feeding operations" includes open feedlots.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Antenna means any exterior transmitting or receiving device mounted on a tower, building, or structure and used in communications that radiate or capture electromagnetic waves, digital signals, analog signals, radio frequencies (excluding radar signals), wireless telecommunications signals, or other communication signals. Different types of antennae may be subject to different requirements pursuant to this Code.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Apartment means a multi-family building type that is comprised of three or more dwelling units, each having an entrance to a hallway, stairway, or balcony in common with at least one other dwelling unit.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Applicant means any person or entity applying for development approval pursuant to this Code.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Approach Surface means a surface longitudinally centered on the extended runway centerline, extending outward and upward from the end of the primary surface and at the same slope as the approach zone height limitation slope set out in Section 2.1.303, Airport Height Limitations. The perimeter of the approach surface coincides with the perimeter of the approach zone.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Approval means a final action by the applicable development review body, granting a right for the applicant to proceed with whichever action that was approved as part of the development approval.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Appurtenant Structure means a structure that is on the same parcel of property as the principal structure to be insured and the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Architect means an individual registered by the state to practice the profession of architecture.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Area of Shallow Flooding means a designated AO or AH zone on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with a one percent or greater annual chance of flooding to an average depth of one to three feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Area of Special Flood Hazard means the land in a floodplain within a community subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Asphalt or Concrete Batching Plant means a temporary light manufacturing facility used for the production of asphalt or concrete, or asphalt or concrete products, used in building or construction of a specific site or project, and includes facilities for the administration and management of the business, the stockpiling of bulk materials used in the production process or of finished products manufactured on the premises and the storage and maintenance of required equipment, but does not include the retail sale of finished asphalt or concrete products.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Assisted Living Facility means an establishment that:

1. Furnishes, in one or more facilities, food and shelter to four or more persons who are unrelated to the proprietor of the establishment;
2. Provides:
   1. Personal care services; or
   2. Administration of medication by a person licensed or otherwise authorized in this state to administer the medication; and
3. May provide assistance with or supervision of the administration of medication.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Auto-Urban refers to a type of community character within the urban class, along with urban core and urban. An auto-urban character is not as dense as an urban or urban core, but is more dense than a suburban area. Auto-urban relates to the moderately dense areas, (e.g., commercial areas along corridors and most General Residential (G-R) districts) where there are lower floor area ratios, building height to street width ratios, and impervious cover along with a moderate landscape surface ratio. Auto-Urban areas are most readily identified as those where the automobile is a dominant part of the character, meaning driveway and streets in residential areas and expansive surface parking lots in commercial and industrial areas. In auto-urban areas, commonly the impervious cover is greater than the amount of building coverage. These areas include moderate lot sizes and setbacks.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Base Flood Elevation means the flood having a one percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Basement means any area of the structure having its floor subgrade (below ground level) on all sides.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Best Management Practices (BMPs) means a defined set of activities, prohibitions, pollution prevention and educational practices, maintenance procedures, and other management practices designed to prevent or reduce the discharge of pollutants directly or indirectly into stormwater, receiving waters, or stormwater conveyance systems. BMPs also include treatment practices, operating procedures, and practices to control site runoff, spillage and leaks, sludge and water disposal, and drainage from raw materials storage.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Block means a piece or parcel of land entirely surrounded by public highway, streets, streams, railroad right-of-way or parks, etc., or a combination thereof.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Board of Zoning Appeals means an appointed board, which has been created by the City Commission, and which has the statutory authority to hear and determine appeals, exceptions, and variances to this Code.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Bonds means revenue or general obligation bonds or notes heretofore or hereafter issued to finance the costs of improvements.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Buffer means open spaces, landscaped areas, fences, walls, berms, or any combination thereof, which are used to physically and visually separate one use or property from an abutting property in order to mitigate the impacts of noise, light, or other nuisance.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Bufferyard means a designated strip of land upon which a buffer is installed. Bufferyards may be required between land uses, along district boundaries, along parking lot boundaries, and along street and railroad rights-of-way.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Building means a structure that has a roof and walls, and which is intended to shelter people, animals, property, or business activity, and includes any structure used or intended to be used for supporting or sheltering a use or occupancy. The term "building" shall be construed as if it were followed by the words "or part or parts thereof and all equipment therein."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Building Code means any code for construction of buildings and structures as adopted from time to time by the City of Hays, Kansas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Building Coverage means the footprint of all buildings (area within exterior walls) on a parcel or lot divided by the total area of the parcel or lot.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Building Envelope means the area formed by the front, side, and rear building restriction or setback lines of a lot within which the principal buildings must be located.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Building Height means the vertical dimension measured from the average elevation of the finished lot grade at the front of the building to the highest point of ceiling of the top story in the case of a flat roof; to the deck line of a mansard roof; and to the average height between the plate and the ridge of a gable, hip, or gambrel roof.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Building Lines means a line that runs along the wall plane of a building, extending from lot line to lot line. The building line is not necessarily the same as the setback line (see Figure B-1, Building Lines).

Figure B-1 Building Lines

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Building Permit means a permit issued by the Chief Building Official who permits construction on a structure.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Campground means and includes any piece, parcel, tract, or plot of ground which provides space for transient occupancy and is used or intended to be used for the parking of one or more camping trailers, tents, or similar recreational vehicles. Under no circumstances shall any one camper occupy a campground for a period exceeding 15 consecutive days. The term "campground" does not include sales lots on which unoccupied camping trailers or recreational vehicles, whether new or used, are parked for the purpose of storage, inspection, or sale.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Cemetery means land dedicated to the burial of the dead, including crematoriums, mausoleums, necessary sales, and maintenance facilities. The term "cemetery" shall include "mortuaries."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Certificate of Occupancy means an official certificate issued by the Chief Building Official that sets forth that a building, structure, or use legally complies with this Code and the applicable building codes, and that the building, structure, or use may be used for the purposes stated therein.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Channel means a watercourse of perceptible extent, either natural or improved, which periodically or continuously contains moving water or which forms a connecting link between two bodies of water.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Chief Building Official is the building official for the City of Hays, Kansas, which is the Zoning Administrator.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Child-Care Facility, Family Day Care Home means a premises maintained for the purpose of providing children with food or lodging, or both, away from such children's home(s), for less than 24 hours a day with a maximum of six children less than 16 years of age and a maximum of three children less than 18 months of age which is licensed by the state under the provisions of K.S.A. §65-501. A home with children who are related by blood, marriage, or legal adoption shall not be considered "Child-Care Facility, Family Day Care Home."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Child-Care Facility, Group Day Care Home means the premises on which care is provided for a maximum of 12 children under 16 years of age, with a limited number of children under five years of age in accordance with K.A.R. 28-4-114 (f).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Child-Care Facility, Youth Residential means any home, foster home, or structure which provides 24-hour-a-day care for children and which is licensed pursuant to K.S.A. Chapter 65, Article 5, as amended from time to time.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

City means the City of Hays, Ellis County, Kansas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

City Commission means the City Commission for Hays, Ellis County, Kansas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

City Engineer means the person assigned by the Director of Public Works to complete technical tasks associated with City matters.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

City Stormwater Superintendent means the City employee responsible for implementing, administering, and enforcing the provisions of Article 9.2, Stormwater Management.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Clearing means the destruction and removal of vegetation by manual, mechanical, or chemical methods.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Clinic means a facility providing medical, psychiatric, or surgical service for sick or injured persons exclusively on an outpatient basis, including diagnostic services, treatment, training, administration, and services to outpatients, employees, or visitors. The term clinic includes immediate care facilities, where urgent care treatment is the dominant form of care provided at the facility, but does not include hospital, freestanding emergency medical care facility, or state-designated trauma center.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

College/University/Vocational School means a community college, college, university, vocational/technical school, trade school, language school, business school, training center, beauty school, culinary school, and comparable advanced or continuing education facilities. The phrase "college/university/vocational school" does not include music schools, fitness centers, sports instruction, swimming instruction, or martial arts instruction.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Commercial Amusement, Indoor means uses that provide commercial amusement indoors, including, but not limited to:

1. Bowling alleys and pool rooms;
2. Movie theaters and live theaters;
3. Indoor skating rinks (ice or roller);
4. Indoor velodromes;
5. Video arcades; and
6. Local area network computer gaming centers (not including "Internet cafes/sweepstakes").

The phrase "commercial amusement, indoor" does not mean "sexually-oriented businesses."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Commercial Amusement, Outdoor means uses that provide commercial amusement outdoors, including, but not limited to:

1. Amusement or water parks;
2. Batting cages;
3. Fairgrounds;
4. Miniature golf establishments;
5. Golf driving ranges; and
6. Stadiums/arenas/drive-in theaters.

The phrase "commercial amusement, outdoor" does not mean "sexually-oriented businesses."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Commercial Outdoor Sales Event means the periodic outdoor sales of merchandise on-site by occupants of a commercial lot or parcel. This includes the erection of temporary structures (e.g., tent, shelter, etc.) and/or connections to any utilities (e.g., electric, water, etc.)

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Commercial Retail, Heavy means retail and/or service activities that have regular outside service or outside storage areas, larger than average enclosed floor areas devoted to commercial use, or partially enclosed structures, as listed below:

1. Permanent retail operations that are located outside of enclosed buildings, except nurseries;
2. Home centers;
3. Lumber and other building materials;
4. Lawn, garden equipment, and related supply stores;
5. Warehouse clubs and super stores;
6. Recreational equipment rental where the equipment is stored outside;
7. Heavy truck or recreational vehicle leasing or sales; and
8. Industrial or construction equipment leasing or sales.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Common Open Space means an area of land or water or combination of the two which is planned for passive and active recreation, but does not include areas utilized for streets, alleys, driveways or private roads, off-street parking lots, or loading areas. However, the area of recreational activities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, shuffleboard courts, etc., may be included as "common open space."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Comprehensive Plan means the currently adopted Comprehensive Plan for the City and its extraterritorial jurisdiction area.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Condominium means a set of legal interests in real property consisting of:

1. An undivided interest in common in real property, in an interest or interests in real property, or in any combination thereof, together with
2. A separate interest in real property, in an interest or interests in real property, or any combination thereof.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Conical Surface means a surface extending outward and upward from the periphery of the horizontal surface at a slope of 20 to one for a horizontal distance of 4,000 feet.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Construction means the erection of a new building or structure, or the installation of infrastructure, on a parcel proposed for development.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Contaminated means containing substances regarded under state or federal law as being pollutants.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Contiguous means land that abuts other land or lands that are separated only by streets, alleys, pipelines, electric power lines, conduits, or rights-of-way, owned in fee or less than fee by third parties.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Grass, Cool Season means a grass species that possesses a C3 photosynthetic pathway and favors the cooler weather of spring and autumn, typically going dormant in hot, dry periods without supplemental irrigation. Most cool season grasses perform better in partial to full shade conditions. Common species of cool season grasses grown in the Hays area include varieties of Kentucky Bluegrass, fine fescues, tall fescues, sheep fescues, creeping bentgrasses and ryegrasses. For the purpose of this Code, native cool season grasses grown in a turf, such as western wheatgrass, will not be considered cool season grass and can be planted up to the allowable limits of warm season grasses.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Costs of Capital Improvement means costs incurred in providing capital improvements to the stormwater management system or any portion thereof including, without limitation, alteration, enlargement, extension, improvement, construction, reconstruction, and development of the stormwater management system; professional services and studies connected thereto; principal and interest on bonds heretofore or hereafter issued, including payment of delinquencies of principal and interest due on bonds that are otherwise payable from special assessments; studies related to the operation of the system; costs of the stormwater management service fee study, performed to establish stormwater management service fees for the stormwater utility and to determine other start up costs of the stormwater utility; costs related to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit study, application, negotiation and implementation, as mandated by federal and state laws and regulations; acquisition of real and personal property by purchase, lease, donation, condemnation or otherwise, for the stormwater management system or for its protection; and costs necessary for the operation of the system or the utility.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Cottage means a small single-family detached dwelling unit with ground level gross floor area of less than 1,000 square feet which is intended for small lots in specified zoning districts.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

County means Ellis County, Kansas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions means a restriction on the use or development of land, or which requires affirmative actions to be performed (e.g., the payment of dues to a property owners' association, maintenance of common open space, etc.), that is set out in a recorded agreement, and that runs with the land (e.g., it is binding upon subsequent owners of the property).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Crematory means an establishment where certified apparatus is used in cremating human remains.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Culvert means a closed conduit used for the passage of stormwater under an embankment such as a street, railroad, or levee.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Cut-off Fixture means an outdoor lighting fixture, or luminaire, with shields, reflectors, or panels that direct and cut off the light at an angle that is less than 90 degrees.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Debt Service means an amount equal to the sum of (i) all interest payable on bonds during a fiscal year, and (ii) any principal installments payable on the bonds during such fiscal year.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Density means the number of dwelling units permitted per net acre of land.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Department, where not used in reference to a specific department (e.g., "Utilities Department"), means the Planning, Inspection, Enforcement Division (PIE) of the Public Works Department (or title as amended).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Detention means a stormwater management technique of which the primary function is to control the peak rate of surface water runoff by utilizing temporary storage and a controlled rate of release. This may include, but not be limited to, the use of reservoirs, rooftops, parking areas, holding tanks, in-pipe storage, and in-channel storage.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Developed Property means real property, other than undisturbed property; provided that, property devoted to agricultural use, upon which no impervious area is located, shall not constitute developed property for purposes of this article.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Developer means any person, firm, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, association, or corporation who participates as owner, promoter, developer, or agent in the planning, platting, or development of a subdivision or development.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Development means:

1. Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate including but not limited to:
   1. Construction, reconstruction, or placement of a structure or any addition to a structure;
   2. Installing a manufactured home on a site, preparing a site for a manufactured home or installing recreational vehicle on a site for more than 180 days;
   3. Installing utilities, erection of walls and fences, construction of roads, or similar projects;
   4. Construction of flood control structures such as levees, dikes, dams, channel improvements, etc.;
   5. Mining, dredging, filling, grading, excavation, or drilling operations;
   6. Construction and/or reconstruction of bridges or culverts;
   7. Storage of materials; or
   8. Any other activity that might change the direction, height, or velocity of flood or surface waters.
2. Development does not include activities such as the maintenance of existing structures and facilities such as painting, re-roofing, resurfacing roads, gardening, plowing, and similar agricultural practices that do not involve filling, grading, excavation, or the construction of permanent structures.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Development Approval means any written authorization from a governmental entity that authorizes the commencement of development.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Diameter at Breast Height means the tree diameter measured at 4.5 feet above the ground.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Discharge means the release, addition, or introduction of any substance directly or indirectly into the municipal stormwater drainage system.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Drinking Establishment means a building or premises which may be open to the general public where alcoholic liquor by the individual drink is sold, as defined by K.S.A. §41-2601, provided such building or premises is in compliance with applicable federal, state, and municipal laws.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Drive-In/Drive Through Facility means a facility used by an approved use to provide service to customers in vehicles who either:

1. Drive up to a window or station; or
2. Drive through to the building for purchases.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Driveway means a private accessway, primarily for vehicles, leading from a street to a parking or loading area.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Dry Bottom Basin means a natural or artificial stormwater storage area which is designed and maintained for temporary containment of stormwater runoff and is not designed to retain water.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Duplex means a single-family attached building which contains two dwelling units; each of which is totally separated from the other by:

1. An unpierced wall extending from foundation to roof ("side-by-side" duplex); or
2. A ceiling/floor that extends from exterior wall, pierced only by a stairway that is not inside of either dwelling unit ("over-under" duplex).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Dwelling means a building or portion of a building, not including manufactured homes, which is designed and used exclusively for residential purposes.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Dwelling, Multiple means a residential building having accommodations for and occupied exclusively by more than two families, independently.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Dwelling, Single-Family means a residential building having accommodations for and occupied exclusively by one family. A single-family dwelling includes a group home and a residential-design manufactured home, as defined by this Code.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Dwelling, Two-Family means a residential building having accommodations for and occupied exclusively by two families.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Dwelling Unit means one or more rooms physically arranged so as to create an independent housekeeping establishment for occupancy by one family, with separate facilities for all of the following: sanitation, living, sleeping, cooking, and eating.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Easement means any portion of a parcel subject to an agreement between a private property owner and another party which grants the other party the right to make limited use of that portion of the property, whether on, over, or under the property, for a specified purpose.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Easement, Conservation means a nonpossessory interest in land that restricts the manner in which the land may be developed in an effort to conserve natural resources for future use.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Edge of Stream Bank means a line formed by the outer boundary of the stream as delineated by the bankfull or channel-forming flow caused by the two-year rainfall event.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Effective Date means the date that this Code (Ord. No. 194-12) first became effective; or as since amended; or as as new regulations were added.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Elevated Building means for insurance purposes, a non-basement building which has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground by foundation walls, shear walls, posts, piers, pilings, or columns.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Enclosed Conveyance System means a system for conveying stormwater runoff consisting of inlets, manholes, and storm sewers.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Encroachment means

1. A building or structure, or part thereof, that is located:
   1. In an easement which does not allow for the building or structure; or
   2. Between a lot line and the nearest required setback line for the building or structure; or
2. A part of a building or structure that crosses a lot line:
   1. Into another lot under separate ownership; or
   2. Onto a right-of-way.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Engineer shall mean a registered professional engineer registered in the State of Kansas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Ephemeral Stream means a stream that flows only in direct response to effective precipitation (e.g., during and immediately following a major storm). Ephemeral streams do not intercept groundwater flow and therefore have not base flow. Instead, ephemeral streams usually contribute to groundwater seepage through their porous channel beds.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) means a unit of measure, established by the City Commission, that is equal to the average impervious area per dwelling unit, as calculated by dividing the total estimated impervious area of all residential developed property by the total dwelling units of said property located thereon within the City's limits.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Equivalent Residential Unit Rate or ERU Rate means a stormwater management service fee, established by the City Commission, charged for each ERU.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Erosion means the process by which the ground surface is worn away by the action of the wind, water, ice, gravity, or artificial means, and/or land disturbance.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Event Facility means a facility that may temporarily hold a large number of persons that attend a special use such as a conference, ceremony, exhibit, etc. (e.g., banquet hall or lodge). Meals may or may not be served or made available in such facilities.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Exception means a use, which because of its potential impacts, may be permitted in a given zoning district (as specified in Division 2.2.200, Permitted, Limited, Exception, Temporary, and Prohibited Uses), only after public hearing review and issuance of an exception permit. Exceptions are subject to specific standards (see Division 2.2.300, Compatibility Standards for Limited Uses and Exceptions), which are intended to improve compatibility for abutting properties and the community as a whole.

(Ord. No. 4012, § 1, 7-14-2022)

Effective on: 7/14/2022

Exception Permit means a written permit issued by the Zoning Administrator with the written authorization of the Board of Zoning Appeals. This exception permit provides permission under special conditions to make certain exception uses of land in certain zoning districts as stipulated in each zoning district.

(Ord. No. 4012, § 1, 7-14-2022)

Effective on: 7/14/2022

Exempt Property means public right-of-way, public streets, public alleys, and public sidewalks and/or easements upon which the stormwater management system is constructed and/or located, or as defined by the Stormwater Superintendent.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Existing Manufactured Home Park or Subdivision means a manufactured home park or subdivision for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed before the effective date of this Code.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Expansion to an Existing Manufactured Home Park or Subdivision means the preparation of additional sites by the construction of facilities for servicing the lots on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Fabrication means producing from raw or semi-finished materials instead of being assembled from ready-make components or parts.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Façade means an elevation of a building that faces a street or that includes a principal public entrance.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Family means one or more persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption, living together as a single housekeeping unit; or a group of not more than four unrelated persons living together as a single housekeeping unit; plus, in either case, usual domestic servants. A family shall under no circumstances be construed as a boardinghouse, fraternity or sorority house, club, lodging house, hotel, or motel.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Farmers' Market means the seasonal selling or offering for sale at retail of home-grown vegetables or produce, occurring in a pre-designated area, where the vendors are generally individuals who have raised the vegetables or produce or have taken the same on consignment for retail sale.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Farming Equipment Sales and Service means establishments selling or repairing agricultural machinery, equipment, and supplies for use in soil preparation and maintenance, the planting and harvesting of crops, and other operations and processes pertaining to farming and ranching.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Farm Stand means a stand where agricultural products or commodities raised on the premises are for sale.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Filling means any act by which soil, rock, organic material or any other material is deposited, placed, pushed, pulled, or transported and includes the conditions that result from that act.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Fiscal Year means a 12-month period commencing on the first day of January of any year.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Five-Year Storm means a rainstorm having a 20 percent chance of occurrence in any given year.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Flood or Flooding means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from:

1. The overflow of inland waters;
2. The unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; and
3. The collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly caused by an unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied by a severe storm, or by an unanticipated force of nature, such as flash flood, or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in Subsection A., above.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Flood Boundary or Floodway Map (FBFM) means an official map of a community on which the Floodplain Administrator has delineated both special flood hazard areas and the designated regulatory floodway.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Flood Elevation Determination means a determination by the Floodplain Administrator of the water surface elevations of the base flood, that is, the flood level that has a one percent or greater chance of occurrence in any given year.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Flood Elevation Study means an examination, evaluation, and determination of flood hazards and if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Flood Fringe means the area outside the floodway encroachment lines, but still subject to inundation by the regulatory flood.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Flood Hazard Boundary Map (BHBM) means an official map of a community, issued by the Floodplain Administrator, where the boundaries of the flood areas having special flood hazards have been designated as (unnumbered or numbered) A zones.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Flood Hazard Map means the document adopted by the governing body showing the limits of the floodplain, the floodway, streets, stream channel, and other geographic features.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) means an official map of a community, on which the Floodplain Administrator has delineated both the special flood hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the community.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Flood Insurance Study (FIS) means an examination, evaluation, and determination of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Floodplain means the floodway and floodway fringe as identified by the Federal Insurance Administration, or such other designation of the floodplain as is subsequently adopted by the City, and representing the regulated 100-year water surface and corresponding elevations.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Floodplain Management means the operation of an overall program of corrective and preventive measures for reducing flood damage, including but not limited to emergency preparedness plans, flood control works, and floodplain management regulations.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Floodplain Management Violation means the failure of a structure or other development to be fully compliant with the community’s floodplain management regulations. A structure or other development without the elevation certificate, other certifications, or other evidence of compliance required by this UDC is presumed to be in violation until such time as that documentation is provided.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Floodproofing means any combination of structural and nonstructural additions, changes, or adjustments to structures that reduce or eliminate flood damage to real estate or improved real property, water and sanitary facilities, or structures and their contents.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Floodway or Regulatory Floodway means the channel of a river or other watercourse and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved in order to discharge the base flood without cumulatively increasing the water surface elevation more than one foot.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Floodway Encroachment Lines means the lines marking the limits of floodways on federal, state, and local floodplain maps.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Floor Area Ratio (FAR) means a measure of the allowable size of floor area on a lot compared to the size of the lot. FAR gives developers flexibility in deciding whether to construct a low building covering most of the lot or a tall building covering only a small part of the lot, as long as the total allowable floor area coverage is not exceeded.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Food Truck Service means a large vehicle equipped with facilities for cooking and selling food.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Foot-candle means the unit of illuminance equal to one lumen per square foot.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Fraternal Organization means a group of people formally organized for a common interest (e.g., culture, religion, or public service), with regular meetings and formal written membership requirements.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Freeboard means a factor of safety expressed as the difference in elevation between the top of a retention/detention basin dam or channel bank and the design surface water elevation resulting from the storm for which the basin's required storage volume or channel's flow was determined.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Fuel Storage means any tank located above the ground to store fuel oil.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Funeral Chapel means a building used for human funeral services.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Funeral Home means a building that is used principally for:

1. Human funeral services;
2. Embalming and the performance of other services used in the preparation of the dead for burial;
3. The performance of autopsies and other tests or surgical procedures on human remains; and/or
4. Cremation of human remains.

In addition to the above functions, funeral homes may also store caskets, funeral urns, hearses, and other vehicles used in funeral processions.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Golf Course means a tract of land that is designed for the game of golf, including tees, fairways, greens, and hazards. Such use may also include a clubhouse, pro shop, golf equipment rental, and incidental food vending.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Government or Public Institution means public safety (e.g., police and fire stations) and service uses (e.g., government buildings, which may include areas of public assembly), and associated uses (e.g., utilities and infrastructure).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Grading means the excavating, filling (including hydraulic fill), or stockpiling of earth materials, or any combination thereof, generally for the purposes of preparing land for development.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Grass, Cool Season means a grass species that possesses a C3 photosynthetic pathway and favors the cooler weather of spring and autumn, typically going dormant in hot, dry periods without supplemental irrigation. Most cool season grasses perform better in partial to full shade conditions. Common species of cool season grasses grown in the Hays area include varieties of Kentucky Bluegrass, fine fescues, tall fescues, sheep fescues, creeping bentgrasses and ryegrasses. For the purpose of this Code, native cool season grasses grown in a turf, such as western wheatgrass, will not be considered cool season grass and can be planted up to the allowable limits of warm season grasses.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Grocery Store means a retail store that is over 15,000 square feet in size and that sells primarily household foodstuffs for offsite consumption, including the sale of fresh produce, meats, poultry, fish, deli products, dairy products, canned foods, dry foods, beverages, baked foods and/or prepared foods. Other household supplies or other products shall be secondary to the primary purpose of food sales. The definition of "grocery store" does not include "superstores".

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Gross Floor Area (GFA) is the sum of the total horizontal areas of every floor of every building on a lot, computed by applying the following criteria:

1. The horizontal square footage is measured from the outside face of all exterior walls;
2. Penthouses, attics, covered or uncovered porches, balconies and decks, enclosed storage or mechanical areas, mezzanines, and similar structures shall be included as GFA wherever at least seven feet are provided between the finished floor and the ceiling; and
3. No deduction shall apply for horizontal areas void of actual floor space (e.g., elevator shafts and stairwells). The protected upper floors of open atriums and foyers shall not be included.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Ground Cover means landscape materials, or living low-growing plants other than agricultural crops and turf grass, installed in such a manner so as to form a continuous cover over the ground surface.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Group Day Care Center means an establishment other than a public or parochial school, which provides day care, play groups, nursery schools, or education for seven or more unrelated children, ages three years or more. Group day care centers shall meet all requirements of the State Board of Health, Maternal Child Care Division.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Group Home means any dwelling occupied by not more than 10 persons, including eight or fewer persons with a disability who need not be related by blood or marriage and not to exceed two staff residents who need not be related by blood or marriage to each other or to the residents of the home, which dwelling is licensed by a regulatory agency of the state.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Habitable Dwelling Unit means a dwelling unit intended for and suitable for human habitation.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Hazardous Waste means any substance, material, or waste identified or listed as a hazardous waste by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to 40 CFR Part 261.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Heavy Retail means retail and/or service activities that have regular outside service or outside storage areas, exceptionally large floor areas, or partially enclosed structures, as listed below:

1. Permanent retail operations that are located outside of enclosed buildings, except nurseries;
2. Home centers;
3. Lumber and other building materials;
4. Lawn, garden equipment, and related supplies stores;
5. Warehouse clubs and super stores; and
6. Manufactured home sales.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Heavy Truck or Recreational Vehicle Sales, Service, and Repair means trucks, including truck tractors, and similar vehicles with two or more rear axles, and recreational vehicles that sell and perform services. The inventory is stored for any length of time on-site. The phrase does not include auto body (e.g., collision repair), paint or upholstery services.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Helistop means an area of land or water or a structural surface which is used for the landing and takeoff of helicopters, and any appurtenant areas which are used for fueling, maintenance, repairs, storage, buildings, and other heliport facilities.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Highest Adjacent Grade means the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Historic Structure means a structure that is:

1. Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places (a listing maintained by the Department of Interior) or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;
2. Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary to qualify as a registered historic district;
3. Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved by the Secretary of Interior; or
4. Individually listed on a local inventory or historic places in communities with historic preservation programs that have been certified either:
   1. By an approved state program as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or;
   2. Directly by the Secretary of the Interior in states without approved programs.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Home Occupations means a lawful business, occupation, or activity conducted for financial gain from within a dwelling unit.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Horizontal Surface means a horizontal plan 150 feet above the established airport elevation, the perimeter of which coincides with the perimeter of the horizontal zone.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Horse Riding Stables and Academies means a building in which horses are sheltered. It may be an accessory use to a residential use or another use to a freestanding principal use. The term "horse riding stables" includes private use.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Hospital means any facility providing medical, psychiatric, dependency, or surgical service for sick or injured persons primarily on an inpatient basis, including emergency treatment, diagnostic services, training, administration, and services to patients, employees, or visitors. The term “hospital” does not mean alcoholism or drug rehabilitation facilities, nor does it mean medical offices where patients are generally seen by appointment.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Hotel/Motel means a building or portion of a building, or a group of buildings, used as a transient abiding place which may or may not serve meals and whether such establishments are designated as a hotel, inn, automobile court, motel, motor inn, motor lodge, motor court, tourist cabin, tourist court, or other similar designation.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Household Hazardous Waste means any substance, material, or waste identified or listed as a household hazardous waste pursuant to K.A.R. 28-29-23b.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Illicit Connections means either of the following:

1. Any drain or conveyance, whether on the surface or subsurface, that allows an illicit discharge to enter the municipal stormwater drainage system either directly or indirectly; or
2. Any drain or conveyance connected from a commercial or industrial land use to the municipal stormwater drainage system, either directly or indirectly, and which has not been documented in any approved plans, maps or equivalent records, or which has not otherwise been approved by the City Stormwater Superintendent.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Illicit Discharge means any occurrence prohibited under the provisions set out in Section 9.2.305, Drainage Permits and Prohibited Acts.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Impervious Area means the total number of square feet of hard surface area on a given property that either prevents or retards the entry of water into the soil matrix, or causes water to run off the surface in greater quantities or at an increased rate of flow, than it would enter under natural conditions as undisturbed property. "Impervious area" includes but is not limited to, roofs, roof extensions, driveways, pavement and athletic courts.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Impervious Surfaces means an area that do not allow significant amounts of water to infiltrate into the ground. Examples of impervious surfaces are blacktop and concrete.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Improved Hard Surface means any street, driveway, alley, or parking lot surface paved with asphalt, concrete, brick pavers, or other approved uniform, hard material so as to provide a durable and dust-free surface for vehicular traffic.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Improvement means street work and utilities that are to be installed or agreed to be installed by the subdivider on the land to be used for public or private use of the lot owners in the subdivision and local neighborhood traffic and drainage needs, as a condition precedent to the approval and acceptance of the final map or filing of the record of the survey map thereof.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Inlet means an opening into a storm sewer system for the entrance of runoff.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Inner Zone means the area extending from a stream centerline or from the edge of bank for a specified width to protect the immediate streamside area for which construction and land disturbance is commonly prohibited.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Institution means a building occupied by a nonprofit corporation or a nonprofit establishment for public use.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Intermittent Stream means a stream of mixed character, behaving as a perennial stream at certain times of the year and an ephemeral stream at other times. Depending on seasonal conditions these streams may feed to and from the groundwater.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Iridescent Color means a property of certain surfaces that appear to change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Land Disturbing Activity means clearing, grading, excavating, filling, dumping, grubbing, stripping, or other alteration of the earth’s surface where natural or human made ground cover is destroyed and which may result in, or contribute to, erosion and sediment pollution.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Landfill means an area of land or an excavation in which wastes are placed for permanent disposal. For the purposes of this Code, the word "Landfill" does not include clean debris, e.g., dirt, trees, rocks, etc.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Landscape Area means that portion of a lot or parcel proposed for development which is required to contain landscape materials such as grass, ground covers, shrubs, vines, hedges, trees, and berms. Impervious surfaces are not counted as landscaped areas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Landscape Material means such living materials as trees, shrubs, ground cover/vines, turf grasses, and nonliving materials such as rocks, pebbles, sand, bark, brick pavers, earthen mounds (excluding pavement), and/or items of a decorative or embellishment nature such as fountains, pools, walls, fencing, sculptures, etc.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Landscape Surface Area means the surface area of land not covered by any buildings, storage areas, or impervious surfaces. These areas shall be maintained as lawn, formally or informally landscaped areas, or natural areas, and may be left undisturbed.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Landscape Surface Ratio (LSR) means the ratio of landscaped area to a unit of land area. Minimum LSRs for nonresidential and mixed use development are set out in Section 3.1.301, Nonresidential and Mixed Use Development Standards. LSR is calculated as provided in Section 14.1.109, Open Space Ratio (OSR) and Landscape Surface Ratio (LSR).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Landscaping means the finishing and adornment of unpaved yard areas. Materials and treatment generally include naturally growing elements such as grass, trees, shrubs, and flowers. This treatment may also include the use of logs, rocks, fountains, water features, and contouring of the earth.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Land Surveyor means a registered land surveyor in the State of Kansas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lessee means any person(s) who leases all or a portion of a premises on a periodic basis.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Level of Service (LOS) means an indicator of the extent or degree of service provided by, or proposed to be provided by, a public facility based on and related to the operational characteristics of the facility. Level of service shall indicate the capacity per unit of demand for each public facility.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Library means a public, nonprofit facility in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials such as but not limited to books, manuscripts, computers, recordings, or films are kept for use by or loaning to patrons of the facility, but are not normally offered for sale. Such use may also offer periodic sale of surplus books.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Light Fixture, IES Type III means a fixture with bilateral symmetric distributions typically used at or near the edge of an illuminate area.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Light Fixture/Luminaire means the physical unit that holds a lamp and that may include parts to redirect the light produced by the lamp.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Light Industry means:

1. Industrial and wholesale uses that are relatively small in scale that have limited outside storage and limited environmental impacts or risks, as follows:
   1. The use is conducted in buildings that have:
      1. A ground floor area of less than 80,000 square feet; or
      2. Outside storage that occupies less than 15,000 square feet; or
      3. A height of less than 45 feet; and
   2. The use is one of the following:
      1. Assembly of products, instruments, electronics, office and computing machines, and fixtures from pre-manufactured components;
      2. Auto or marine body, paint, or upholstery services;
      3. Building, development, and general contracting;
      4. Communications facilities, except wireless telecommunications facilities;
      5. Food production other than restaurants and micro-breweries;
      6. Furniture making or refinishing;
      7. Manufacture of textiles and apparel;
      8. Printing and publishing, except copy centers;
      9. Special trade contractors, excluding outside storage of any equipment that is more than 12 feet in height; and
      10. Wholesale trade, durable and non-durable, except farm products and combustible or hazardous materials; and
   3. Uses that have involve outside storage of heavy vehicles, and limited environmental impacts or risks, as follows:
      1. Truck rental or heavy equipment rental;
      2. Truck, recreational vehicle, and manufactured home sales; and
      3. Transportation services; and
   4. Heavy industrial uses that are small in scale and involve limited environmental impacts or risks, including:
      1. High-tech heavy industry that meets the following criteria:
         1. The use occupies less than 20,000 square feet; and
         2. Receives and ships via parcel courier service, not semi-trailers;
      2. Any heavy industrial use that meets the following criteria:
         1. The use occupies less than 20,000 square feet of a masonry building;
         2. The use has no outside storage or processing; and
         3. Receives and ships via parcel courier service, not semi-trailers; and
      3. Mini-warehouses with outside storage; and
      4. Regional utility substations or distribution stations that are located on sites that are at least two acres in area.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Limited Use means a use that is allowed in a zoning district, which is granted administratively subject to special standards that mitigate its impact on the environment or other uses in the district or that prevent a concentration of the use in a particular area. In some cases, the special standards may prohibit the use from being developed on every property in a district.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Live-Work Unit means a dwelling unit that provides space that is designed for one or more commercial or office uses that are allowed in the zoning district. Access between the dwelling unit and the commercial or office space is provided within the unit or from an exterior stairwell.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lodges means a building(s) in which members of a community or association may gather for social, educational, or cultural activities.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot means an undivided tract or parcel of land having lot frontage on a public street or an approved open space and which is, or in the future may be, offered for sale, conveyance, transfer or improvement, which is designated as a district and separate tract, and which is identified by a tract or lot number or symbol in a duly approved subdivision plat which has been properly filed of record.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot Area means the area of a lot taken at its perimeter exclusive of any portion within a public or private street right-of-way.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot Averaging means the design of individual adjoining lots within a residential subdivision in which the average lot equals the minimum prescribed area for the zoning district.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot, Corner means a lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot Coverage means the ratio of gross floor area of all buildings and structures and all areas that are associated with driveways and parking lots on a lot to the total lot area, expressed as a percentage.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot, Depth is the length of a line connecting the midpoints of the front and rear lot lines.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot, Double Frontage means a lot having a lot frontage on two non-intersecting streets, as distinguished from a corner lot.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot Frontage means the length of the property abutting on one side of a street measured along the dividing line between the property and the street.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot, Interior is a lot other than a corner lot.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot, Irregular is any lot not having equal front and rear lot lines or equal side lot lines; a lot, the opposite lot lines of which vary in dimension and the corners of which have an angle of either more or less than 90 degrees.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot Line means the boundary line of a lot.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot, Through means a lot that has a common property line with two street rights-of-way, but not a corner lot.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot Width is that distance measured along a line connecting two side lot lines along the front building line.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lot of Record means a lot which is part of a subdivision, the plat of which has been recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds or a lot described by metes and bounds, the description of which has been recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds prior to the adoption of the ordinance.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Lowest Floor means the lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area, including basement. An unfinished or flood-resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access, or storage, in an area other than a basement area, is not considered a building's lowest floor, provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable floodproofing design requirements of this Code.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Low Impact Development (LID) means a comprehensive land planning and engineering design approach with the goal of maintaining, as a minimum, the pre-development hydrologic regime on the site without solely using traditional storm drainage conveyance systems (e.g., detention/retention basins) to satisfy drainage and flood mitigation requirements. LID integrates small-scale measures scattered throughout the development site, including such things as constructed green spaces, native landscaping, and a variety of innovative bioretention (e.g., bioswales) and infiltration techniques to capture and manage stormwater on-site. LID reduces peak runoff by allowing rainwater to soak into the ground, evaporate into the air, or collect in storage receptacles for irrigation and other beneficial uses. In areas with slow drainage or infiltration, LID captures the first flush before excess stormwater is diverted into traditional storm conveyance systems.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Manufactured Home means a structure which is subject to the federal act and which is transportable in one or more sections which, in the traveling mode, is 8 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 and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling, with or without permanent foundation, when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems contained therein, and such term shall include any structure which meets all the requirements of this subsection except the size requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files with the United States department of housing and urban development a certification required by the secretary of housing and urban development and complies with the standards established under the federal act, except that such term shall not include any self-propelled recreational vehicle (see also K.S.A. 58-4202).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Manufactured Home Park means any area, piece, parcel, tract, or plot of ground equipped as required for support of manufactured homes and used or intended to be used by one or more occupied manufactured homes, but under no circumstances shall the manufactured home spaces be sold or offered for sale individually. The term "manufactured home park" does not include sales lots on which unoccupied homes, whether new or used, are parked for the purposes of storage inspection or sale.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Manufactured Home Park, New means a manufactured home park (or subdivision) for which the construction of facilities for servicing the lot on which the manufactured homes are to be affixed (including, at a minimum, the installation of utilities, the construction of streets, and either final site grading or the pouring of concrete pads) is completed on or after the effective date of the floodplain management regulations adopted by the City.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Manufactured Home Sales and Services means a business engaged in the sales or rental and service of manufactured homes.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Manufactured Home Space means a plot of ground within a manufactured home park which can accommodate one manufactured home and which provides the necessary utility services for water, sewage, and electricity.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Manufactured Home Subdivision means any area, parcel, tract, or plot of ground used or intended to be used for the purpose of selling lots for occupancy by a manufactured home.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Manufacturing means the mechanical or chemical transformation of materials or substances into new products, including the assembling of component parts, the manufacturing of products, and the blending of materials, such as lubricating oils, plastics, resins, or liquors.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Map Amendment means an amendment to the Official Zoning Map that involves a change of one or more district boundaries, generally with the intent of changing the zoning classification of specific property that is owned or controlled by the applicant for the map amendment.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Mausoleum means a building containing above-ground tombs.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Mean Sea Level means for purposes of the National Insurance Program (NFIP), the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 or other datum, to which base flood elevations shown on a community's Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) are referenced.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Medical Lab means a facility offering diagnostic or pathological testing and analysis of blood, blood fluids, pathological specimens, DNA sampling and analysis, and any other diagnostic test generally recognized in the health care industry.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Medical Office means office space used for the examination and/or treatment of patients on an outpatient basis (with no overnight stays by patients), generally by appointment, by such professionals as:

1. Medical doctors (e.g., physicians, pediatricians, obstetricians, gynecologists, radiologists, geriatricians, general and specialist surgeons, podiatrists, opthamologists, anesthesiologists, etc.) and nurses;
2. Dentists, endodontists, orthodontists, and periodontists;
3. Optometrists;
4. Midwives;
5. Physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists;
6. Chiropractors, licensed massage therapists, and acupuncturists;
7. Nutritionists and homeopaths;
8. Psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, and marriage and family therapists;
9. Physiatrists, physiotherapists, orthotists, prosthetists, recreational therapists, audiologists, respiratory therapists, rehabilitation counselors, prosthetic technicians, and personal care assistants; and
10. Other comparable health care professionals.

The phrase "medical office" includes medical labs to the extent necessary to carry out diagnostic services for the medical office's patients. The phrase "medical office" does not include the phrase "clinic."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Meeting Hall means a building that is designed for public gatherings or meetings.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Mitigation means a negotiated action involving the avoidance, minimization, or compensation for possible adverse impacts.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Mixed Use means development in which a combination of residential and nonresidential uses (e.g., residential-over-retail), or several classifications of nonresidential uses (e.g., office and retail), are located on the same parcel proposed for development.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Mixed Use Lofts means apartments not housed on the ground/bottom floor of a building.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Mobile Home means a structure which is not subject to the federal act and which is transportable in one or more sections which, in the traveling mode, is 8 body feet or more in width and 36 body feet or more in length and is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling, with or without a permanent foundation, when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems contained therein. A mobile home is not a manufactured home as defined by this Code (see also K.S.A. 58-4202).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Model Home/On-Site Residential Sales Office means a permanent, residential dwelling structure used as a show home and/or residential sales office to conduct business for the construction of homes within that particular subdivision, and of which as least 50 percent of said subdivision must be under the ownership of the model home owner; and further provided the model home may only exist for a period not to exceed three years from the date of issuance of the certificate of occupancy, or upon the sale of 75 percent of the lots within the subdivision, whichever comes first.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Modular Home means a structure which is:

1. Transportable in one or more sections;
2. Designed to be used as a dwelling on a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems contained therein; and
3. Certified by its manufacturer as being constructed in accordance with a nationally recognized building code (see also K.S.A. 58-4202).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Mortuary means an establishment providing services such as preparing the human dead for burial or cremation and arranging and managing funerals, and may include limited caretaker facilities and a chapel. The term "mortuary" does not include "cemetery."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Multi-Family means buildings that contain three or more dwelling units that:

1. Are accessed by from interior elevators or hallways, or from individual exterior entrances (e.g., an apartment complex);
2. Are separated by interior walls and/or floors; and
3. Are intended to be rented, leased, or owned as a condominium by a family.

The term multi-family does not include boarding houses, dormitories, fraternities, sororities, single-family attached, or overnight accommodations (e.g., hotels and motels).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Municipal Stormwater Drainage System means the system of conveyances (including sidewalks, roads, streets, curbs, gutters, ditches, designated drainage easements, inlets, drains, catch basins, pipes, tunnels, culverts, channels, creeks, rivers, streams, retention/detention basins, and ponds) owned, operated, or otherwise utilized by the City for collecting or conveying stormwater and stormwater drainage, and that is not intended for the collection or conveyance of sewage.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Museum means an institution devoted to the procurement, care, study, and display of objects of lasting interest or value.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Native Grasses means species of perennial grass other than those designated as noxious weeds by the state.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

New Construction means:

1. For the purpose of determining flood insurance rates, structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of an initial FIRM or after December 31, 1974, whichever is later, and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
2. For floodplain management purposes, "new construction" means structures for which the "start of construction" commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.
3. For all other purposes, "new construction" means construction in a location where no buildings or structures existed at the time a permit is sought pursuant to this Code, except where such construction is a modification or expansion of an existing building or structure into an additional land area.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

NPDES Stormwater Discharge Permit means an NPDES stormwater discharge permit issued by the EPA, or issued by a state under authority delegated pursuant to 33 USC § 1342(b), which permit authorizes and regulates discharges into surface waters of the United States, whether the permit is applicable on an individual, group, or general area-wide basis.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Nonconforming Building or Structure means a building, structure or parts thereof lawfully existing at the time this Code or a subsequent amendment became effective which does not conform to the dimensional requirements of the district in which it is located (see Section 12.1.202, Classification of Nonconformities).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Nonconforming Landscape Areas means any landscape areas, legally established prior to the adoption of this Code, which does not fully comply with the standards of this Code (see Section 12.1.202, Classification of Nonconformities).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Nonconforming Lot means an unimproved lot which is part of a recorded subdivision or a parcel of land, the deed to which was recorded prior to the original adoption of the ordinance from which this chapter was derived, and neither such lot nor parcel complies with the lot width or area requirements for any permitted use in the zoning district in which it is located (see Section 12.1.202, Classification of Nonconformities).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Nonconforming Parking Lot means any parking lot, including the minimum number and design of parking spaces and parking aisles, legally established prior to the adoption of this Code, which does not fully comply with the standards of this Code (see Section 12.1.202, Classification of Nonconformities).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Nonconforming Sign means any sign, legally established prior to the adoption of this Code, which does not fully comply with the standards of this Code (see Section 12.1.202, Classification of Nonconformities).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Nonconforming Use means an existing use of land or use of a building or structure lawfully existing at the time this or a subsequent amendment to this became effective which does not conform to the use requirements of the zoning district in which it is located (see Section 12.1.202, Classification of Nonconformities).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Nonconformities, Generally occur when, on the effective date of this Code, or amendment thereto, or under previous versions of the regulations now part of this Code, an existing lot, building, structure, landscape area, parking lot, sign, or use of an existing lot, building, or structure does not conform to one or more of the regulations currently applicable to the zoning district in which the lot, building, structure, landscape area, parking lot, sign, or use is located (see Section 12.1.202, Classification of Nonconformities).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Non-Profit Institution is an organization that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Nonresidential means any use, building, or structure (or portion of a building or structure) occupied or intended to be occupied, in whole or in part, for a use other than a dwelling unit, home, residing place, or permanent living space or sleeping space for one or more human beings.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Non-Stealth, Freestanding Wireless Telecommunications Facilities ("WTF") are lattice towers, monopole towers, guyed towers, or other freestanding facilities that do not meet the definition for stealth freestanding communications facilities and consist of the equipment and structures involved in receiving telecommunications or radio signals from a mobile radio communications source and transmitting those signals to a central switching computer which connects the mobile unit with the land-based telephone lines, and also means a broadcast tower.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Nursery/Greenhouse, Retail means an enterprise that conducts the sale of plants grown off of the premises. The terms also include, as an accessory use, the sale of a limited selection of items (e.g., soil, planters, pruners, mulch, lawn or patio furniture, garden accessories, etc., but not power equipment) that are directly related to the care and maintenance of landscapes. The term "nursery / greenhouse, retail" does not include the cultivation of trees (or other vegetation normally associated with landscaping) where the principal use is growing nursery stock for sale at off-site retail businesses, as this is more appropriately classified as agriculture.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Nursery/Greenhouse, Wholesale means an enterprise that conducts the sale of plants grown on the premises. The terms also include, as an accessory use, the sale of a limited selection of items (e.g., soil, planters, pruners, mulch, lawn or patio furniture, garden accessories, etc., but not power equipment) that are directly related to the care and maintenance of landscapes.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Nursing or Convalescent Home means an institution or agency licensed by the state for the reception, board, care, or treatment of three or more unrelated individuals, but not including facilities for the care and treatment of mental illness, alcoholism, or narcotics addition.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Office, General means uses in which professional, business, information processing, or financial services are provided. The term includes such uses as:

1. Accounting, auditing, and bookkeeping;
2. Administration of businesses (e.g., corporate headquarters);
3. Advertising and graphic design;
4. Architectural, engineering, geo-technical, urban planning, and surveying services;
5. Attorneys and court reporters;
6. Banks, mortgage companies, and financial services;
7. Call centers;
8. Computer programming;
9. Counseling services;
10. Data processing and word processing services;
11. Detective agencies;
12. Government offices;
13. Insurance;
14. Interior design;
15. Real estate sales;
16. Research and development that does not include on-site manufacturing;
17. Retail catalog, internet, and telephone order processing, but not warehousing; and
18. Virtual office services.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Official Zoning Map means the map showing the location and boundaries of the zoning districts established by this Code. This map is entitled, the "Official Zoning Map of the City of Hays, Kansas."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Oil/Gas Operations means the drilling, extraction, and transportation of subterranean fossil gas and petroleum, and necessary attendant uses and structures, but excluding refining, processing, or manufacturing thereof.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

100-Year Storm means a rainstorm having a one percent chance of occurrence in any given year.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Opacity means the measurement of the screening effectiveness of a bufferyard or fence, expressed as the percent of view across the bufferyard or fence that may be blocked to a height of 35 feet, based on the spacing of fence slats or expected volume of landscape material at a variety of heights that is likely to result from a given planting program.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Opaque means not able to be seen through; not transparent.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Open Conveyance System means a system for conveying stormwater runoff consisting of natural and/or improved open channels with intermittent culverts or bridges crossing streets, railroads, or other surfaced areas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Open Space means an area of land or water or combination thereof planned for passive or active recreation, but does not include areas utilized for streets, alleys, driveways or private roads, off-street parking lots, or loading areas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Open Space Ratio (OSR) means the proportion of a development required to be set aside and preserved as open space. Minimum OSRs for residential development are set out in Section 3.1.201, Standards of New Neighborhoods. OSR is calculated as provided in Section 14.1.109, Open Space Ratio (OSR) and Landscape Surface Ratio (LSR).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Operating Budget means the annual stormwater utility operating budget adopted by the City for the succeeding fiscal year.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Operations and Maintenance means, without limitation, the current expenses, paid or secured, for operation, maintenance and repair and minor replacement of the system, as calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices, and includes, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, insurance premiums, administrative expenses including professional services, equipment costs, labor costs, and the cost of materials and supplies used for current operations.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Outdoor Recreation means uses that provide active or passive outdoor recreation opportunities for the public or for residents of a subdivision or development. The phrase "outdoor recreation" includes but is not limited to:

1. Jogging, cycling, tot-lots, fitness trails, playing fields, playgrounds, outdoor swimming pools, and tennis courts;
2. Arboretums, wildlife sanctuaries, forests, and other natural areas which may be used for walking or hiking; or
3. Other passive recreation-oriented areas, including picnic areas and community garden plots.

The phrase "outdoor recreation" does not include "commercial amusement, outdoor".

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Outdoor Storage means the storage of materials or equipment used in production or other course of business for a period of more than 24 consecutive hours outside of an enclosed building or structure (t-structures, lean-to type structures, or roofed-over, fenced-in areas are not enclosed buildings). The intent of the definition is to include items that are comparable to any of the following:

1. Personal or business property or supplies, except passenger vehicles and light trucks stored in driveways, carports, or parking lots that are intended for overnight parking;
2. Business inventory for sale or lease, except nursery plants;
3. Raw materials or industrial inputs for processing;
4. Appliances, machinery, vehicles, or other items to be repaired;
5. Fuel stored in above-ground tanks;
6. Construction materials and construction equipment;
7. Landscape maintenance equipment; or
8. Recyclable materials.

The phrase "outdoor storage" is not intended to include "outdoor display of merchandise," nor does it include "junk yards".

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Owner/Operator means the person who owns the property, or a person who lives or operates on (through rent, lease, or for free), or in some other way manages or works on the property (including any employees or outside contractors who are engaged to work on or from the property).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Parcel Proposed for Development means any legally described parcel of land which is designated by the owner or developer as land to be used or developed as a single unit, or which has been developed as a unit as determined by the Zoning Administrator.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Parking Aisle means the area of a parking lot or parking structure which provides for vehicular access to off-street parking stalls. The phrase "parking aisles" does not include the word "driveway" or the phrase "access point."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Parking Lot means an area of land that is designated for parking spaces for automobiles and light trucks, the related parking aisles, the landscaped areas that are surrounded by the parking lot's paved areas, and the landscaped areas at the corners of the paved areas insofar as their inclusion in the parking lot area gives it a regular shape. The phrase "parking lot" does not include driveways on individual residential lots, nor does it include individual garages or carports. Parking lots that are principal uses of property are not related to a specific land use on the same parcel.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Parking, Stand-Alone means parking lots or parking structures that are not provided as required parking for a specific use, and where a fee for use is typically charged. The phrase "parking, stand-alone" also includes facilities that provide both parking for a specific use and regular fee parking for people not connected to the use. The phrase includes small structures intended to shield attendants from the weather.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Parking Row means a row of parking spaces that are parallel to each other and take access to a parking aisle or street. Parking rows may exist as singular rows, or may be located back-to-back to each other providing access to different, but parallel parking aisles.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Parking, Shared means parking lots or spaces which is shared by tenants, visitors, and the general public.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Parking Space means an area of land designated for the parking of motor vehicles, and connected to a street, parking aisle, or other accessway.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Parking Structure means a structure that is composed of one or more levels that are used exclusively for parking spaces for motor vehicles. A parking structure may be totally below grade (underground parking structure); or partially or totally above grade (above-ground parking structure); and may be separate from or integrated into a building that is used for other purposes. Parking structures include parking lifts. Parking structures that are principal uses of property are not related to a specific land use on the same parcel.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Parking Structure, Stand Alone means a structure that is composed of one or more levels that are used exclusively for parking spaces for motor vehicles. A parking structure may be totally below grade (underground parking structure); or partially or totally above grade (above-ground parking structure); and separate from a building. Parking structures include parking lifts. Parking structures that are principal uses of property are not related to a specific land use on the same parcel.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Pawn Shop means an establishment that is engaged in the business of:

1. Lending money on the security of pledged goods; or
2. Purchasing goods on condition that the goods may be redeemed or repurchased by the seller for a fixed price within a fixed period.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Peak Rate of Runoff means the maximum rate of runoff for a given return frequency storm.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Permanent Foundation means permanent masonry, concrete, or a footing or foundation to which a manufactured home, modular home, building, or structure may be affixed.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Permit means a development approval consisting of one or more documents issued by the City allowing a person to begin an activity provided for in this Code or other codes, ordinances, and regulatory provisions administered by the City. A permit allows only the work or development specified in the permit.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Permitted Use means a use that is allowed by right in a zoning district after the issuance of a permit (in most cases), provided such use is authorized as a permitted use by this Code and the Zoning Administrator determines compliance with all applicable provisions of other applicable ordinances and regulations.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Personal Services means establishments providing services to individuals as a primary use. Examples of personal uses include:

1. Barber shops;
2. Hair/beauty salons;
3. Day spas;
4. Nail salons; and
5. Tanning salons.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Pervious means a surface that allows rainfall to infiltrate into the ground.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Pervious Cover means the area of land on a parcel proposed for development that allows significant amounts of water to infiltrate into the ground. Pervious areas predominantly consist of vegetated areas and do not include impervious surfaces such as buildings, patios, sidewalks, parking lots, and streets, etc.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Petroleum Refining means oil-related industrial activities involving the processing or manufacture of substances such as: asphalt and tar paving mixtures; asphalt and other saturated felts (including shingles); fuels; lubricating oils and greases; paving blocks made of asphalt, creosoted wood, and other compositions of asphalt and tar with other materials; and roofing cements and coatings.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Place of Public Assembly means a building in which people assemble for civic, educational, religious, or cultural purposes. This use includes facilities used for the following:

1. Event Facilities;
2. Fraternal Organizations;
3. Meeting Halls; and
4. Places of Worship.

The phrase "place of public assembly" does not include the phrase "commercial amusement, indoor" or "school, private" or "school, public."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Place of Worship means a facility where persons regularly assemble for religious purposes and related social events.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Planned Cluster means a type of residential neighborhood in which single-family detached and single-family attached dwelling units are concentrated on a portion of the parcel proposed for development, in order to allow the remaining land to be used for recreation, open space, or preservation of sensitive land areas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Planned Development means a land development project comprehensively planned as an entity via a unified site plan which permits flexibility in building siting, mixtures of building types (could be mixed housing types for residential-only developments, or mixed residential and nonresidential buildings for mixed use development), and land uses, usable open spaces, and the preservation of significant natural features.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Planning Commission means the Planning Commission for the City of Hays, Ellis County, Kansas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Plat, Final means a plan or map prepared in accordance with the provisions of this Code and those of any other applicable local and/or state regulation, which plat is prepared to be placed on record in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Ellis County.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Plat, Preliminary means a map made for the purpose of showing the design of a proposed subdivision and the existing conditions in and around it. This map need not be based on accurate or detailed, final survey of the property.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Pollutant means any substance or material which contaminates or adversely alters the physical, chemical, or biological properties of water, including changes in the temperature, taste, odor, turbidity, or color of water. Pollutant includes, but is not limited to the following: dredged spoil; spoil waste; incinerator residue; animal waste; trash, refuse and garbage; sewage and sewage sludge; chemical waste; biological materials; radioactive materials; wrecked or discarded objects and equipment; rock, sand and soil; yard waste; hazardous waste and household hazardous waste; oil and petroleum products or waste; paints, varnishes and solvents; automotive fluids; nonhazardous liquid and solid wastes and yard wastes; pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers; fecal coliform and pathogens; dissolved and particulate metals; and wastes and residues which result from the construction or demolition of any building or structure.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Portable Storage Unit means an enclosed storage container that may be used to transport goods, but may then also be stationary on a single site for any period of time before or after transport. The term includes, but is not limited to:

1. A truck container, with or without the chassis attached to it;
2. A moving van;
3. A portable on demand (POD) moving container;
4. A pre-assembled storage structure; or
5. A shipping container.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Power Generation, Small-Scale (Renewable/Noncombustible) means facilities that generate electricity from renewable noncombustible sources (e.g., wind, water, geothermal, or solar, but not alcohol or biodiesel) and deliver it to the power grid as either base load or peak load, also known as a "power plant" or "peaker power plant;" that are scaled to serve more than one building, but are not utility scale. The capacity rating of small scale power generation does not exceed two megawatts.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Power Generation, Utility-Scale means utility scale power plants that generate electricity using fossil fuels or renewable fuels, such as biomass, biodiesel, alcohol, wind, water, geothermal, or solar, and delivers it to the power grid as either base load or peak load. Also known as a "power plant" or "peaker power plant."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Primary Surface means a surface longitudinally centered on a runway. When the runway has a specially prepared hard surface, the primary surface extends 200 feet beyond each end of that runway. The width of the primary surface is set out in Section 2.1.302, Airport Hazard Zones. The elevation of any point on the primary surface is the same as the elevation of the nearest point on the runway centerline.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Principal Building means a building in which the principal use of a lot or parcel is conducted.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Principal Structure means, if there is no principal building, the structure in which the principal use of a lot or parcel is located, or the largest structure on a lot or parcel. Fences and garden walls are not principal structures.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Principal Use means the main use to which a parcel, lot, or premise (e.g., a leased space in a shopping center) is put.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Principally Above Ground means that at least 51 percent of the actual cash value of the structure, less land value, is above ground.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Private Club means a building or premises which is only accessible to persons who are bona fide members paying annual dues. It shall be permissible to serve food, meals, alcoholic beverages, and provide entertainment for members and their guests; provided that such food, meals, alcoholic beverages, or entertainment are in compliance with the applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Private Horse Stable means an accessory building, structure, or premises designed, intended, or used for the keeping of horses for the exclusive use of occupants of a dwelling located on the same lot.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Private Restrictions means easements or covenants, conditions, and/or restrictions on property which are enforceable between private parties.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Prohibited Use means a use that is not allowed in a specified zoning district and in some cases the entire City.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Property Lines. See Lot Line.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Property Owners' Association means an incorporated nonprofit organization operating under recorded land agreements through which:

1. Each lot, unit, or home or business owner in a planned or cluster subdivision (or other described land area) is automatically a member;
2. Each lot, unit, or homeowner or business owner is automatically subject to a charge for a proportionate share of the expense of the organization's activities (e.g., maintaining open space, common open space, or other commonly owned property such as entrance monuments, common parking lots, and landscape areas); and
3. The charge, if unpaid, becomes a lien against the property.

​Property owners' associations may also be called such things as "community associations," "condominium associations," "homeowner associations," "neighborhood associations," etc.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Protected Tree means:

1. Individual Trees. Any tree of at least eight-inches in diameter at breast height (DBH) measured at four and one-half feet above the ground (or if the tree splits below four and one-half feet, then the trunk is measured at its most narrow point beneath the split) which is on the approved plant list or established for at least five years and not on the prohibited plant list.
2. Required Trees. Any tree that is shown on an approved landscape plan that is necessary to:
   1. Meet the planting requirements of this Code; or
   2. Meet a condition of approval of the development to which the landscape plan applies.
3. Exceptions. Trees which meet the above criteria are not considered protected trees if they are:
   1. Overmature;
   2. Diseased;
   3. Poor in form; or
   4. Leaning heavily over buildings.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Public Improvement means any on-site or off-site roadways, water lines, sewer lines, storm water facilities, flood control improvements, open space, landscaping, street lighting, street furniture, traffic control devices, sidewalks and paths, trails, transportation improvements, parking areas and similar infrastructure and related improvements to be constructed and dedicated for public use, or otherwise providing a public benefit and made available for public use by easement, license, or other form of agreement.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Public Institution means public service, institutional, utility, and assembly uses (e.g., governmental and school buildings and facilities, utility stations, semi-public places of assembly, etc.).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Public Special Event means any planned special event or gathering held on private property, regardless of whether a fee is charged, which invites the general public to an identifiable place and at a specified time and is likely to generate visitors sufficient in quantity to obstruct, delay, or interfere with the safe and orderly movement of pedestrian or vehicular traffic. Public special events could include outdoor gatherings; auctions; art sales; outdoor festivals or concerts; auctions; carnivals; circuses; outdoor meetings; special athletic activities (e.g., running races), and special entertainment at commercial properties, etc. The term "public special events" does not include "parades".

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Public Utilities mean utility substations or transmission and local distribution facilities, including electric, gas, telephone, water, wastewater, and stormwater. Whether a substation or transmission facility, the transmission lines shall either be in road rights-of-way, adjacent to the rights-of-way, or in easements or separate rights-of-way 20 feet or less in width.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Public Works, Director means the individual appointed by the City Manager as the Director of Public Works or his/her duly authorized designee.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Radio and Television Studio means commercial and public communications uses including radio and television broadcasting and receiving stations and studios, with facilities entirely within buildings.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Railroad Yard means an area of land, a portion of which is covered by a system of tracks, which provides for the making up of trains by one or more railroads or private industry concerns. Necessary functions of a railroad yard include but are not limited to the classifying, switching, storing, assembling, distributing, consolidating, moving, repairing, weighing, or transferring of cars, trains, engines, locomotives, and rolling stock.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Recreation/Personal Fitness, Indoor means uses that provide active indoor recreation opportunities, on a subscription or membership basis, on a per-unit of time basis, or free of charge, for the public or for residents of a subdivision or development. The phrase "recreation / personal fitness, indoor" includes but is not limited to:

1. Subdivision, neighborhood, or community recreation centers or athletic clubs;
2. Gymnasiums;
3. Indoor swimming pools; or
4. Indoor tennis, basketball, racquetball, handball or other play courts.

The phrase "recreation/personal fitness, indoor" does not include the phrase "commercial amusement, indoor" nor does it include indoor playgrounds that are accessory to restaurants. The phrase "recreation/personal fitness, indoor" is subsumed by the phrases "amusement or water park" when such facilities include indoor recreation activities.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Recreation/Personal Fitness, Outdoor means uses that provide active or passive outdoor recreation opportunities, on a subscription or membership basis, on a per-unit of time basis, or free of charge, for the public or for residents of a subdivision or development. The phrase "recreation/personal fitness, outdoor" includes but is not limited to:

1. Jogging, cycling, tot-lots, fitness trails, playing fields, playgrounds, outdoor swimming pools, and tennis courts;
2. Arboretums, wildlife sanctuaries, forests, and other natural areas which may be used for walking or hiking; or
3. Other passive recreation-oriented areas, including picnic areas and community garden plots.

The phrase "recreation/personal fitness, outdoor" does not include outdoor shooting ranges.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Recreational Vehicle (RV) means a vehicular-type unit built on or for use on a chassis and designed primarily as living quarters for recreational, camping, vacation or travel use and which has its own motive power or is mounted on or drawn by another vehicle, and which has a body width not exceeding eight feet and a body length not exceeding 40 feet; but such term shall not include a unit which has no electrical system which operates above 12 volts and has no provisions for plumbing, heating and any other component or feature for which a standard is set out in K.ansas Statutes Annotated. The term "recreational vehicle" shall include but not be limited to a motor home, truck camper, travel trailer and camping trailer; provided, however, a recreational vehicle shall not include a boat, or a manufactured, mobile, or modular home (see also K.S.A. 75-1212).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Recreational Vehicle (RV) Park means a unified development of recreational vehicle spaces, community facilities, and permitted permanent buildings which are combined to support two or more recreational vehicles used as living or sleeping quarters by the day, week, or month, whether a charge is or is not made.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Recreational Vehicle (RV) Space means a specific part of a lot or area in an RV park that has been reserved for the placement of one recreational vehicle.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Recycling Collection Facility means a facility designed to collect, sort and package, or prepare for shipment, consumer recyclable materials such as paper, glass, aluminum, ferrous metal cans, and materials of like substance. Not to include salvage/scrap processing yards, reclamation or remanufacturing processes, etc. or operation involving or containing hazardous material substances.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Redevelopment means any of the following:

1. The complete demolition of a principal building, followed by the construction of a new building; or
2. The destruction of a principal building to an extent that is equal to or greater than 50 percent of its assessed value, followed by reconstruction and repurposing of the building for a type of use for which the original building was not designed; or
3. Expansion of a principal building by more than 50 percent of its floor area.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Release means to dump, spill, leak, pump, pour, emit, empty, inject, leach, dispose, add, or otherwise introduce any substance, directly or indirectly, or intentionally or unintentionally, into the municipal stormwater drainage system.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Researching and Testing Laboratories means a structure or group of structures used primarily for applied and developmental research, where product testing is an integral part of the operation and goods or products may be manufactured as necessary for testing, evaluation, and test marketing.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Residential means any use, building or structure (or portion of a building or structure) that is used for premises that contain habitable rooms for non-transient occupancy, designed primarily for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating. Residential uses are typically contained within single-family detached, single-family attached, and multi-family dwelling units. The term "residential" does not mean "overnight accommodations."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Restaurant means a public eating establishment at which the principal use is the preparation and serving of food.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Restaurant, Drive-In or Drive-Through means an establishment whose primary purpose is the sale, dispensing or serving of food, refreshments, or beverages in automobiles, including those establishments where customers may serve themselves, except that this shall not be construed to include what is commonly called a cafeteria.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Restoration means the act of improving, enhancing, and reestablishing a once viable and now degraded stream segment to a state in which its stability, functions, and values approach its natural state.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Retail Sales and Services means the sale of goods and/or services directly to a consumer that are not specifically defined elsewhere in this Code, and which do not include regular outside storage or sales. The phrase includes uses that are comparable to the following:

1. Art and craft supply stores;
2. Bicycle sales;
3. Book and stationary stores;
4. Branch banking and check cashing;
5. Candy and ice cream stores;
6. Clothing, clothing accessory, and jewelry stores;
7. Computer and small appliance repair;
8. Copy centers, parcel service drop-off locations, and mailbox services;
9. Electronics and appliance stores;
10. Fix-it shops (including radio, television, and small appliances);
11. Florist, card, and gift shops;
12. Food and beverage stores (not grocery stores);
13. Furniture and home furnishings stores;
14. General merchandise stores;
15. Hardware stores, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, lighting stores;
16. Health and personal care stores;
17. Hobby, stamp, and coin shops;
18. Laundromat, retail dry cleaning, tailoring, shoe repair, furrier, millinery, custom dressmaking, and clothes restoration;
19. Leather goods and luggage stores;
20. Lock and key shops;
21. Miscellaneous store retailers;
22. Music, dance, martial arts, yoga, and other similar instruction;
23. News stands;
24. Paint and wallpaper stores;
25. Pet stores (not including animal boarding and veterinarian services, small animal and animal boarding and veterinarian services, large animal);
26. Photography shops;
27. Second-hand stores;
28. Shoe repair and shoe shine shops;
29. Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores;
30. Tattoo parlors; and
31. Tutoring.

"Retail sales and services" that include a drive-in or drive-through facility are limited to those areas where a drive-in, drive-through is a permitted use.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Retention means a stormwater management technique of which the primary function is to hold water for a considerable length of time and then release it by evaporation, plant transpiration, and/or infiltration into the ground.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Revenues means all rates, fees, assessments, rentals, charges, or other income received by the stormwater utility in connection with the management and operation of the stormwater management system, including amounts received from the investment or deposit of monies in any fund or account, as calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Rezoning means an amendment to the official zoning map.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Right-of-Way means an area of land not on a lot that is dedicated for public or private use to accommodate a transportation system. In no case shall a right-of-way be construed to mean an easement.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Roof, Flat means a roof that has no pitch, or is inclined by no more than one-half inch per foot (see Figure Flat Roof, below).

Figure Flat Roof

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Roof, Mansard means any roof that has an angle greater than 45 degrees and which derives part of its support from the building wall and is attached to but not necessarily a part of a low slope roof and which extends along the full length of a side building wall of three-quarters of the length of a side building wall. For the purposes of this Code, a low slope roof shall mean any roof with a pitch less than three inches rise per 12 inches horizontal.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Roof, Pitched means a shed, gabled, or hipped roof having a slope or pitch of at least one-foot rise for each four feet of horizontal distance in the direction of the slope or pitch of the roof.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Runoff means water resulting from precipitation which is not absorbed by the soil, evaporated into the atmosphere, or entrapped by ground surface depressions and vegetation, and which flows over the ground surface.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Runway means a defined area on an airport prepared for landing and taking off of aircraft along its length.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Satellite Dish means a dish-shaped type of antenna that is designed to receive communications via satellite relay.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Schools, Private means parochial or nonprofit school (irrespective of accreditation by the state board of education) that which regularly offers education at the elementary or secondary level and attendance at which satisfies the compulsory school attendance laws of this state.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Schools, Public means a school operated by a unified school district organized under the laws of the state. It also includes charter schools which must be accredited by the state board of education.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Seasonal Sales means the temporary outdoor sale of merchandise from private property that permit either temporary seasonal retail sales or outdoor display or sale of goods related to a holiday event (e.g., sale of holiday trees or Fourth of July fireworks, etc.), particular seasonal activity (e.g., sale of pumpkins in the Fall), or other similar merchandise or other articles of arts and crafts related to the seasonal sales activity.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sediment means soil and rock material transported, carried, or deposited by water.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Setback means a minimum distance that is required from a lot line to a building, structure, or sign, as the context requires.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Showrooms means a stand alone and retail showroom establishment engaged in the retail sales of larger-scale new merchandise including appliances and indoor or outdoor furniture.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Shrubs means any self-supporting, woody plant of a species, which normally grows to an overall height of less than 15 feet in the region.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sidewalk means a pedestrian way that extends along, parallel to, and within the right-of-way of a public or private street or an abutting easement.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sidewalk Sale means a temporary, special outdoor sale conducted on public or private sidewalks immediately adjacent and contiguous to commercial establishments; provided, the merchandise being sold is consistent with the merchandise of the adjacent and contiguous business.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sidewalk Setback means the setback between the sidewalk and the curb.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sight Distance Triangle means the triangular area formed by a diagonal line connecting two points located on intersecting street right-of-way lines, or a right-of-way line and the curb or edge of a driveway (see Section 6.2.207, Sight Triangle Requirements).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign means a billboard or other device which displays or includes any letter, work, model, banner, flag, pennant, insignia, propeller, balloon, device or representation used as, or which is in the nature of an advertisement or announcement or which directs attention to an object, product, place, activity, person, institution, organization or business; but the terms shall not include display of official notice nor flag, pennant, emblem, or insignia of any nation or group of nation or of any state or political unit.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, A-Frame means a stationary outdoor sign with two faces attached at one surface on each face to form a triangle with one side parallel to the grade.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Animated means an electronic message sign depicting action, motion, light, or color changes through electrical or mechanical means. Although technologically similar to flashing signs, the animated sign emphasizes graphics and artistic display and may include video displays.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Area means the entire area within a single continuous perimeter enclosing the extreme limits of the sign, exclusive of the base on which it is mounted or from which it is suspended. For signs designated as double faced signs where both faces cannot be viewed from any one point at the same time and with both faces parallel, and the distance between the faces does not exceed two feet, then only one face of the sign shall be considered in determining the gross surface area. On lots where more than one sign is located, the total gross area of all the signs shall not exceed the maximum gross area permitted by this Code.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Attached means any sign supported by uprights, braces, or other devices, or painted on, or otherwise attached to any building.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Awning or Canopy means a projecting sign attached to, hung from, or painted on a canopy or covered structure which extends beyond the building line or property line.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Billboard means a sign which directs the attention of the public to any goods, merchandise, property, business, service, entertainment, amusement, or point-of-view conducted or produced which is brought or sold, furnished, offered or dealt elsewhere than on premises where such sign is located or to which it is affixed.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Business means an outdoor sign which lists, directs, and identifies to a business or to occupants to a profession conducted within a retail centers, industrial centers, office complexes, institutional campuses, or to products, services, or entertainment sold or offered upon the premises where such sign is located or to which it is affixed.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Carried means a sign that is hand-carried by an individual.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Construction means a temporary sign accessory to the design and construction of a structure, complex, or project only during the construction period and only on the premises on which the construction is taking place.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Directional/Information means any attached or detached on-premise sign giving directions, instructions, or facility information, (e.g., entrance or exit signs, one-way, location of parking, etc.). 

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Double-Faced means any sign with copy on two sign faces that are back to back, facing in opposite directions.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Election means any temporary, portable sign announcing or supporting candidates or issues in connection with any national, state, or local election.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Electronic Message means a variable message sign that utilizes computer-generated messages or some other electronic means of changing copy. These signs include displays using incandescent lamps, LEDs, LCDs, or a flipper matrix, and may also enable changes to be made to messages from locations other than at the sign.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign Face means the area or display surface used for the message on a sign.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Flashing or Moving means any illuminated sign on which the artificial light is not constant in intensity and color at times. For the purpose of this Code, any revolving, rotating, moving or animated, signs with moving lights, or signs which create the illusion of movement, shall be considered as a "Flashing Sign."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Freestanding means any sign which is permanently affixed in or upon the ground, supported by one or more structural members on a sign structure, with air space between the ground and the sign face.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Hanging means a sign which  is suspended over a sidewalk, street, or other public right-of-way.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Height means the height measured from the ground elevation at the base of a sign to the highest element of the sign.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Illuminated means a sign designed to give forth artificial light or designed to reflect light derived from any source.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Integral means a sign that is cut into any masonry surface on the wall of a building or when constructed of bronze or other incombustible materials mounted on the wall of a building.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Interim means a temporary business advertising sign intended to provide signage in an interim period during which permanent signage is being fabricated, repaired, and/or prepared for installation or erection.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Marquee means a permanent roof-like structure constructed of rigid materials that is supported by and extending from the facade of a building and which is designed to include (manual or electronic) changeable copy.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Monument (Ground) means a freestanding sign which is separate from buildings and the entire bottom of which is in contact with or in close proximity to the ground.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Off-Premises means any sign normally used for promoting an interest other than that of a business, individual, products, or service available on the premises where the sign is located.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Off-Premise Advertising means any sign or advertising device which directs attention to a business, profession, product, service, activity, or entertainment that is not conducted, sold, or offered on the premises upon which the sign is located. An off-premises advertising sign includes "billboards."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, On-Premises means any sign used for promoting a business, individual, product, or service available on the premises where the sign is located.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Pole means any sign placed upon, or supported by, the ground independently of the princpal building or structure on the property where the bottom edge of the sign six feet or more above the ground level.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Political and Noncommercial means any sign designed for the purpose of supporting or opposing a candidate, proposition, or other measure at an election or for any other noncommercial expression not related to the advertisement of any product or service or the identification of any business.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Portable means any sign or advertising device that is not permanently embedded in the ground or affixed to a building or other structure, including any sign that rests upon the ground, a frame, a building, or other structure or item. By its construction or nature, a portable sign may be or is intended to be freely moved from one location to another. When on a trailer, the removal of the wheels or undercarriage does not place the sign in another category, neither does the anchoring of the sign by means of concrete blocks, sandbags, or other types of temporary anchors. Portable signs include, but are not limited to, trailer signs (with or without wheels), hot air or gas filled balloons or other inflatable objects, signs mounted for advertising purposes on a vehicle that is parked and visible from street right-of-way (except signs identifying the related business when the vehicle is being used in the normal, day-to-day operations of that business), and sidewalk or curb signs. A portable sign shall not be interpreted to prohibit any lettering, advertising, or identification permitted to be mounted on or painted on and incidental to the primary use of a vehicle as a delivery, service, or transportation vehicle. Further, a portable sign shall not be interpreted to prohibit advertising on buses or taxis. Portable signs include:

1. Election signs mean any temporary, portable sign in connection with any national, state, or local election; and

2. Sandwich board sign means a portable, non-illuminated sign consisting of two sign faces hinged at the top and separated at the bottom so that it is self-standing, which is for the purpose of directing attention to a business, commodity, service, or entertainment offered within a building on the site upon which the sign is located. Sandwich board signs are also referred to as A-frame signs.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Projecting means a sign that is wholly or partly dependent upon a building for support and which projects more than 12 inches from such building.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Real Estate means a sign pertaining to the sale or lease of a lot or tract of land on which the sign is located, or to the sale or lease of one or more structures, or a portion thereof on which the sign is located.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Residential Name Plate means a sign permitted for the sole purpose of identifying the inhabitant residing therein, the house name, or identifying the address of the house.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Roof means a sign totally supported on the roof of a structure.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Snipe means any temporary sign or poster that is tacked, nailed, posted, pasted, glued, or otherwise attached of affixed to a tree, fence, pole, stakes, fence, or other object. A snipe sign is an illegal sign.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign Structure means the supports, uprights, bracing, or framework of any building or structure exhibiting a sign.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Subdivision Entrance means a detached or wall sign identifying a recognized subdivision, condominium complex, or residential development and denoting its entrance or exit.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Temporary means a sign intended to be of a transitory or temporary nature. Portable signs or any sign not permanently embedded in the ground, or not permanently affixed to a building or sign structure that is permanently embedded in the ground, are considered temporary signs.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Sign, Wall means a sign fastened to a wall of a building or structure in such a manner that the wall becomes merely the supporting structure or forms the background surface, and which does not project more than 12 inches from such building.

(Ord. No. 4012, § 1, 7-14-2022)

Effective on: 7/14/2022

Sign, Window means any sign, poster, or other similar material affixed on commercial properties or that is painted directly on a window, affixed to the inside of a window, or hung within 12 inches of a window promoting any message, including but not limited to, grand openings and special events (commercial and non-commercial).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Significant Alterations to Existing Development means development on improved real estate that is altered or changed in such a manner that one or more of the following is applicable:

1. The alteration results in the construction of a building, structure or addition that increases the gross square footage of the existing development by more than 30 percent; provided that separate incremental developments below the 30 percent amount shall not be used to avoid the requirements of this Code if, in the aggregate, the developments over a period of 18 months would meet those requirements.
2. The estimated construction costs of the alterations exceed 50 percent of the most recent appraised fair market value of the existing property as determined by the county appraiser; provided that separate incremental developments below the 50-percent amount shall not be used to avoid the requirements of this Code if in the aggregate the development over the period of 18 months would meet those requirements.
3. The alteration results in the construction of a new, permanent, irrigation system.
4. The alteration results in changes to an existing permanent irrigation system that have the effect of connecting an existing irrigation system to the city's water system.
5. The alteration increases the permanently irrigated area of an existing property by more than 400 square feet.
6. The alteration results in the replacement of existing vegetation or parts of existing vegetation in any proportion which requires additional supplemental irrigation once established.
7. The alteration results in the replacement of permanent irrigation system components responsible for irrigating greater than 50 percent of an existing irrigated area on a property.

Significant alterations to existing development do not include the following:

1. The replacement of permanent irrigation system components responsible for irrigation of 50 percent or less of an existing irrigation system, so long as the vegetation type does not change to vegetation requiring additional supplemental irrigation, once established.
2. The replacement and/or movement of sprinkler heads without the expansion of existing irrigation, so long as vegetation type does not change to vegetation requiring additional supplemental irrigation, once established.
3. Irrigation systems connected to privately owned wells under non-domestic water rights in good standing with the State of Kansas.
4. Irrigation systems used to serve public properties.
5. Irrigation systems constructed, altered or repaired in connection with an audit or rebate program.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Single-Family Attached means dwelling units located in a single building where each unit is constructed on an individual lot or land that is designated as a limited common element in a declaration of condominium; and contains:

1. Two but not more than six dwelling units that are designed so that individual units have individual ground-floor access and are separated from each other by unpierced common walls from foundation to roof (e.g., side-by-side duplexes, triplexes, and townhouses); or
2. Two dwelling units that are designed so that individual units:
   1. May or may not have individual exterior doors, but provide no direct access between the first floor and second floor unit (access may be through a common interior foyer that provides access to both units or through separate exterior doors); and
   2. Are separated from each other by a floor (e.g., over-under duplexes).

The phrase single-family attached does not include multi-family.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Single-Family Detached means dwelling units that are:

1. Located in individual buildings that are constructed on:
   1. Individual lots; or
   2. Land that is designated as a limited common element in declaration of condominium;
2. Separated from each other by outside walls; and
3. Intended for the use of a single housekeeping unit.

The phrase "single-family detached" does not include "duplexes", "triplexes", or "townhouses".

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Site means the entire lot or series of adjoining lots on which a use is or will locate and that is otherwise subject to the provisions of this Code.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Site Plan means a plan showing proposed improvements for a parcel proposed for development. It may be required as part of an application for a rezoning, exception permit, or variance. More detailed development plans are required for all nonresidential and mixed use development (i.e., commercial site and building plan review). It does not mean a plat, or a site plan that is normally required for building permits or sign permits.

(Ord. No. 4012, § 1, 7-14-2022)

Effective on: 7/14/2022

Slaughterhouse means a facility for the slaughtering and processing of animals and the refining of their byproducts.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Slopes means the inclined surface of a fill, excavation, or natural terrain expressed as a ratio of horizontal distance to vertical distance over a measured inclined surface.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Solar Arrays (also known as photovoltaic systems) convert sunlight into electricity which are used to generate renewable energy. Solar arrays can be mounted on the ground as its own individual structure, or as an accessory structure on a building or other structure (e.g., water tower).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Special Hazard Area means an area having special flood hazards and shown on the FHBM, FIRM, or FBFM as zones (unnumbered or numbered) A, AO, AE, or AH.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Standard Neighborhood means a non-agricultural residential subdivision or condominium development where the entire parcel proposed for development consists of a single housing type (e.g., single-family detached, single-family attached, manufactured homes, and/or multi-family housing) as allowed per zoning district. Standard neighborhoods are not planned developments.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Start of Construction means:

1. For floodplain management purposes, includes substantial improvement and means:
   1. The date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition placement, or other improvement was within 180 days of the permit date.
   2. The actual start means either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of a manufactured home on a permanent foundation.
   3. Permanent construction does not include the land disturbing activity needed to prepare the land for development (e.g., clearing, grading and filling); nor does it include the installation of streets, sidewalks, and/or walkways; nor does it include excavation for basement, footings, piers or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the principal structure.
   4. For a substantial improvement, the actual start of construction means the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.
2. For other purposes, that a building permit or other written permit required to be issued by the City has been issued, and authorized work has commenced under such permit. This is recognizable upon an inspection of the property and which work is of a nature and character that reflects a good faith intention to continue the construction until completion, such as the clearing of rights-of-way, rough-grading of the roadway, the installation of a drainage system or stormwater management facilities, and the placement and active maintenance of erosion and sediment control measures. Control of weeds and cutting of vegetation, without more, do not qualify as "start of construction."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

State means the State of Kansas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

State Coordinating Agency means the Division of Water Resources, Kansas Department of Agriculture, or other office designated by the governor of the state or by state statute at the request of the Floodplain Administrator to assist in the implementation of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in the state.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Stealth Wireless Telecommunication Facility (WTF) means the same as the definition for Wireless Telecommunication Facility, Freestanding Stealth.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Storage, Flammable Materials and Substances means the storage of those gases, liquids, and solids that will ignite and continue to burn in air if exposed to a source of ignition.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Storage, Self means a building or group of buildings that are used for the storage of personal property or records, where individual owners or tenants control individual storage spaces.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Storage Yard means outdoor storage of operable equipment and building or infrastructure construction materials for off-site projects. The phrase "storage yard" does not include outdoor storage areas that are associated with an on-site heavy industry.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Storm Sewer means a closed conduit for transporting stormwater runoff that has been collected by inlets.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Stormwater means any surface flow, runoff or drainage consisting entirely of water from any form of natural precipitation, and resulting from such precipitation.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Stormwater Superintendent means the person appointed by the City Manager to manage and oversee the stormwater management provisions of this Code.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Stormwater Management means the mitigation of the hydrologic impacts of lost natural runoff storage by the use of conventional storm conveyance systems or low impact development.

1. For water quantity control, a system of vegetative, structural, and other measures that may control the volume and rate of stormwater runoff which may be caused by land disturbing activities or activities upon the land; and
2. For water quality control, a system of vegetative, structural, and other measures that control adverse effects on water quality that may be caused by land disturbing activities or activities upon the land.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Stormwater Management System, Sewer System or System means storm sewers which exist at the time the ordinance codified in the stormwater management provisions of this Code is adopted or that are hereafter established, and all appurtenances necessary in maintaining and operating the same, including, but not limited to, pumping stations; enclosed storm sewers; outfall sewers; surface drains; street, curb and alley improvements associated with storm or surface water improvements; natural and manmade wetlands; channels; ditches; rivers; streams; wet and dry-bottom basins; and other flood control facilities and works for the collection, transportation, conveyance, pumping, treatment, controlling, managing, and disposing storm or surface water or pollutants originating from or carried by storm or surface water.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Stormwater Management User Fee means a fee authorized by this Code, as set out in a resolution or an ordinance adopted or amended by the City Commission, established to pay operations and maintenance, costs of capital improvements, debt service associated with the stormwater management system, and other costs included in the operating budget.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Stormwater Utility means the utility created by this Code to operate, maintain, and improve the stormwater management system and for all other purposes, as set forth in this Code.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Story means the portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the next floor above it; if there is no floor above it, the space between such floor and the next ceiling above it. A half story is a story under a sloped roof, the wall heights of which on at least two opposite, exterior walls are less than four feet.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Stream means a body of running water moving over the earth's surface in a channel or bed, such as a creek, rivulet, or river that flows at least part of the year, including perennial and intermittent streams. Streams are dynamic in nature and their structure is maintained through build-up and loss of sediment.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Stream Corridor means an area surrounding an identified stream segment, including adjacent floodplains and lands with slope greater than 15 percent. The stream corridor is a protective zone for the adjacent stream segment. Inner and outer zones are located on each side of the stream segment. Together, these zones and the stream segment compose the stream corridor.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Street means a public right-of-way which provides primary vehicular access to abutting land, whether designated as a street, highway, thoroughfare, parkway, throughway, avenue, lane, boulevard, road, place, drive or however otherwise designated.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Street, Alley means a public or private minor way which are used primarily as a secondary means of access to the back or the side of properties otherwise abutting on a street, the right-of-way of which is 20 feet or less in width.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Street, Arterial means a thoroughfare designated as a freeway, expressway, major arterial or minor arterial in the most recently adopted City thoroughfare plan. The primary function of an arterial is to carry traffic through the City, and (an arterial) is designed for as high a speed as possible, to carry as much traffic as possible.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Street, Collector means a street that primarily carries traffic from local or residential streets to major thoroughfares and highways, including the principal entrance streets for circulation to schools, parks and other community facilities within such a development, and also including all streets which carry traffic through or abutting to nonresidential areas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Street, Cul-de-Sac means a street having one end open to traffic and being permanently terminated by a vehicular turn-around.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Street Line means a dividing line between a lot, tract, or parcel of land and the contiguous street.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Street, Local means a street which provides direct access to abutting land and local traffic movement whether in residential or nonresidential areas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Street, Marginal Access means a local street, parallel and adjacent to an arterial street, but separated from it by a long strip, which provides access to abutting properties and control of intersections with the major street.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Street, Private means any street right-of-way that is not dedicated to public use, and which is maintained by a private entity, such as a property owners' association.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Street, Public means any street right-of-way that is publicly owned by deed, right-of-way dedication, prescription, or any other conveyance, and maintained by a federal, state, or local unit of government.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Structure means anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires permanent location on the ground (e.g., a shed), above the ground (e.g., a tree house), or below the ground (e.g., a pool), or attached to something having a permanent location on the ground including but not limited to fences, trash enclosures, signs, kiosks, or similar uses. A "structure" may sometimes be subsumed by the phrase "building."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Subdivider means any person or any agent thereof dividing or proposing to divide land so as to constitute a subdivision as that term is defined herein. In any event, the term "subdivider" shall be restricted to include only the owner, equitable owner, or authorized agent of such owner or equitable owner, of land to be subdivided.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Subdivision means the division of a tract of land into two or more lots or parcels for the purpose of transfer of ownership or building development, or, if a new street is involved, any division of a parcel of land. The term "subdivision" includes "resubdivision" and shall include any further subdivision of a lot or parcel of land previously subdivided, for sale, or other purposes, which varies from the latest approved subdivision of the lot or parcel of land.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Substantial Damage means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Substantial Improvement means any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the structure before "start of construction" of the improvement. This phrase includes structures which have incurred "substantial damage," regardless of the actual repair work performed. The phrase does not, however, include either:

1. Any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions; or
2. Any alteration of a "historic structure," provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a "historic structure."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Substation means a set of equipment that reduces the high voltage of electrical power transmission to that suitable for supply to consumers.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Suburban refers to a type of community character that is not as dense as urban areas but is more dense than the rural areas where there are lower floor area ratios and building heights, moderate building height to street width ratios, and lower impervious cover along with a moderate landscape surface ratio. Suburban areas are most readily identified as those with larger, wider lots with greater setbacks, wider street sections, and where the auto is parked in a driveway or surface parking lot. In lieu or larger lots, suburban areas may also be smaller lots clustered around common open space, which has a comparable gross density but a higher net density.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Temporary Construction Building means a stick-built or modular building that is used as an administrative office for construction related activities occurring on the same lot under an active building permit.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Temporary Construction Dumpster means a large trash or recycling receptacle located on private property (e.g., outside the public right-of-way) which is used to collect construction debris and other development related materials for transport off-site.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Temporary Construction Yard means a temporary fenced enclosure used for the storage and maintenance of contractor supplies and operational equipment used for and located on the same lot of an active building permit or within one-half mile of the construction for which the construction relates.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Ten-Year Storm means a rainstorm having a 10 percent chance of occurrence in any given year.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Text Amendment means changes to the text of the and includes changes that supplement, modify, or repeal any of its present or future provisions of this Code. Changes to the zoning maps are excluded (see "Map Amendment").

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Thoroughfare Plan means the proposed transportation corridor connections set out on Map 5.1, Hays Development Concept, of the City's adopted Comprehensive Plan, which may be amended from time to time. The purpose of the thoroughfare plan is to ensure that adequate rights-of-way are preserved with a general alignment and sufficient width to allow for orderly and efficient expansion, improvement, and connectivity of the arterial and collector street network.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Townhouse means a single-family attached building which contains four to six dwelling units arranged in a linear form, each of which is totally separated from the other by an unpierced wall extending from foundation to roof and has totally exposed front and rear walls that are used for individual unit access, light, and ventilation. There are three types of townhouses (based on design) for the purposes of these Regulatons, to which different requirements may apply:

1. Standard townhouses, which are generally two- or three-story buildings;
2. Weak link townhouses, which have a one-story and a two-story component in each unit, and are typically wider than standard townhomes; and
3. Roof deck townhouses, which provide a useable outdoor space on the roof of each unit.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Transitional Surfaces means surfaces that extend outward at 90 degree angles to the runway centerline and the runway centerline extends at a slope of 20 feet horizontally for each one-foot vertically from the sides of the primary and approach surfaces to where they intersect the horizontal and conical surfaces. Transitional surfaces for those portions of the precision approach surfaces, which project through and beyond the limits of the conical surface, extend a distance of 5,000 feet measured horizontally from the edge of the approach surface and at 90 degree angles to the extended runway centerline.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Transportation Stop means a curbside place where passengers board or alight transit, that may or may not include a small shelter usually having three walls and a roof designed to provide for the protection and convenience of passengers.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Transportation Terminal means premises used for loading or unloading of trucks and trains upon which storage of cargo is incidental to the primary function of freight shipment or shipment point and which is designed to accommodate the simultaneous loading or unloading of five or more trucks and/or two trains.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Tree means a woody plant that can be classified into one of the following classifications:

1. Large Tree;
2. Small Tree; or
3. Evergreen Tree.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Tree Caliper means the diameter of a tree measured four feet above finished grade.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Tree Dripline means the outermost edge of a tree's canopy. When depicted on a map or plan, the dripline of a tree will generally appear as an irregularly-shaped circle that follows the contour of the tree's branches as seen from overhead.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Tree, Evergreen means a broad leaf evergreen tree or cone-bearing evergreen tree that, at maturity, typically has a height of greater than 35 feet. For the purposes of this Code, evergreen trees that typically have a height of 12 to 35 feet at maturity are considered small trees, and evergreens that typically have a height of less than 12 feet at maturity are considered shrubs.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Tree, Large means a tree with a canopy that, at maturity, would occupy the upper level of a forest in a natural ecological situation. These trees are commonly called shade trees. They typically reach heights of more than 50 feet at maturity.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Tree, Protected means any tree not classified as “not protected,” and meeting the following criteria:

1. Six inch diameter or larger trees measured 4.5 feet above natural grade.
2. Four inch diameter or larger for small maturing trees measured 4.5 feet above natural grade.
3. Four inch for multi-trunk trees, calculated by measuring the largest trunk and one half the diameter of the sum of all other trunks.
4. Historical tree: Any tree recognized as historically significant by a bona fide local, state, or national organization is considered a protected tree.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Tree Protected Zone means a specifically defined area totally encompassing a tree within which work activities are strictly controlled. When depicted on a map or plan, the outermost edge of the protected zone will generally appear as an irregularly­ shaped circle that follows the contour of the dripline. In no case shall the protected zone be less than eight feet from the trunk of a tree.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Tree Removal means the physical removal of a tree or causing the death of a tree through damaging, poisoning, or other direct or indirect action.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Tree, Small means a tree with a canopy that would occupy the intermediate level of a forest in a natural ecological situation. They are also found as dominant species in old field succession. These trees are commonly called ornamental trees. Small trees are deciduous trees that typically reach heights of 12 to 44 feet at maturity, and evergreen trees that typically reach heights of 12 to 35 feet at maturity.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Tree Survey means an on-the-ground survey drawing containing the location of the trees, their circumference, type (species) and protected zone limits.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Triplex means a single-family attached building which contains three dwelling units arranged in a linear form, each of which is totally separated from the other by an unpierced wall extending from foundation to roof and has totally exposed front and rear walls that are used for individual unit access, light, and ventilation.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Truckload Sale means the temporary sale of merchandise outdoors from the back or bed of a truck or trailer by persons who are not employed by the owners or managers of the lot or parcel on which the sale occurs, or tenants of buildings on the lot or parcel on which the sale occurs.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Turf Grass means a species of perennial grass grown as permanent lawns or for landscape purposes as distinguished from those species grown for agricultural or commercial seed purposes.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Undisturbed Property means real property that has not been altered from its natural condition in a manner that disturbed or altered the topography or soils on the property to the degree that the entry of water into the soil matrix is prevented or retarded.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Urban refers to a class of community character that includes three distinct types: urban core, urban, and auto-urban. An urban character relates to the most dense areas, (e.g., downtown) where there are high floor area ratios, building height to street width ratios, and impervious cover along with a low landscape surface ratio. Urban areas are most readily identified as those with smaller, narrower lots with minimal or no setbacks, urban, walkable street sections, and where the auto is parked either on the street, in the rear yard, or in structured parking.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Use means any activity occurring on a lot or parcel for which land or a building or a structure is arranged, designed, or intended, or for which land or a building or a structure is or may be occupied. This includes both principal uses and accessory uses.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Variance means a development approval that provides relief from the standards of this Code (see Section 11.2.410, Variances).

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Vegetation Requiring Additional Supplemental Irrigation Once Established refers to the removal of existing vegetation when that vegetation is replaced with vegetation types with greater water needs than the existing vegetation. Appropriate horticultural and turf literature will be referenced to determine specific cases, but in general, the following are common examples: replacement of warm season grass species with cool season grass species and replacement of a WaterSmart landscape with a cool season grass species.

(Ord. No. 4012, § 1, 7-14-2022)

Effective on: 7/14/2022

Vehicle Gas and Fueling Station means a gasoline service station or fuel stations (e.g., hydrogen, compressed natural gas, or liquefied petroleum gas) for alternative fuel vehicles, which may include a convenience store as an accessory use.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Vehicle Repairs and Service, Heavy means the general repair, rebuilding, or reconditioning of engines, motor vehicles, or trailers, including body work, framework, welding, and major painting service.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Vehicle Sales, Rental, and Service means uses that sell, rent, and perform service on automobiles, light trucks, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, etc., where the inventory is stored for any length of time on-site. The phrase does not include auto body (e.g., collision repair), paint or upholstery services.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Vehicle Wash means any area or business using self-service, in-bay automatic, or conveyor equipment for cleaning and washing motor vehicles, whether as a part of another business operation (e.g., as an accessory use to an automobile fueling or charging station, or automobile sales, rental, and service), or as a stand-alone operation, of any type, on a commercial basis. The phrase "vehicle wash" includes fleet and municipal in-bay automatic and conveyor vehicle wash facilities.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Vehicle Wrecking and Salvage Yard; Junkyard means:

1. Vehicle Wrecking and Salvage Yard. Vehicle wrecking and salvage yard means an outdoor place where a person stores three or more vehicles for the purpose of dismantling or wrecking the vehicles to remove parts for sale or for use in automotive repair or rebuilding.
2. Junkyard. Junkyard means a place where a business that owns junk, and is operated to store, buy, or sell junk, keeps all or part of the junk outdoors until the business disposes of the junk.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Warehousing and Distribution means a facility where goods are received from heavy trucks and then stored for subsequent delivery to off-site wholesalers, retailers, or consumers.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Warm Season Grass means a grass species which possesses a C4 photosynthetic pathway and favors warmer weather of summer. These grasses typically stay dormant until adequate warmth has reached the soil and air and again go dormant when cold temperatures arrive in autumn. Most warm season grasses perform best in areas with little or no shade. Perennial varieties will typically enter dormancy during drought. Most warm season grasses used for turf in the Hays area require significantly lower amounts of supplemental irrigation to maintain vigor. Common species of warm season grasses grown in the Hays area include varieties of buffalo grass, Bermuda grass and blue grama grass. Zoysia grass varieties are now being grown near Hays and may become more common locally.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Wastewater means any water or other liquid, other than uncontaminated stormwater, discharged from a facility.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Watercourse means a stream channel (perennial, intermittent, mapped, or unmapped) with banks and a bed within which water regularly flows.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

WaterSmart Landscaping means a method of landscaping which requires little to no supplemental irrigation once the vegetation is established. Plants used in WaterSmart landscaping must be well adapted to the extremes of the local climate, particularly drought, high solar radiation, wind gusts and low winter temperatures. WaterSmart landscaping may be constructed with many types of groundcover, including 100 percent ground coverage with living plants or individual and group plantings surrounded by mulches and the incorporation of decorative rocks and gravel. Weed barriers must be made of water-permeable material. WaterSmart landscaping includes traditional hardscapes such as sidewalks, decks, driveways and patios only if they incorporate vegetation.

(Ord. No. 4012, § 1, 7-14-2022)

Effective on: 7/14/2022

Water Surface Elevation means the height, in relation to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) of 1929 (or other datum where specified) of floods of various magnitudes and frequencies in the floodplain riverine areas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Wholesale Services means an establishment that is primarily engaged in selling and/or distributing merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional, or professional business users; or to other wholesalers. The term "wholesale services" does not include wholesale membership clubs that offer memberships to the general public.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Wildlife Hazard means a potential for a damaging aircraft collision with wildlife on or near an airport.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS) means an electrical generating facility comprised of one or more wind turbines and accessory facilities that operate by converting the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. The energy may be used on-site or distributed into the electrical grid. WECS include but are not limited to:

1. Power lines;
2. Transformers;
3. Substations; and
4. Meteorological towers that operate by converting

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Wind Turbine means a wind energy conversion device that produces electricity; typically three blades rotating about a horizontal axis and positioned up-wind of the supporting tower.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Wireless Telecommunications Facilities (WTF), Attached means facilities that are affixed to an existing structure (including buildings, water tanks, and communications towers) and consist of the equipment and structures involved in receiving telecommunications or radio signals from a mobile radio communications source and transmitting those signals to a central switching computer which connects the mobile unit with the land-based telephone lines, and also means a broadcast tower.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Wireless Telecommunications Facilities (WTF), Freestanding Non-Stealth are lattice towers, monopole towers, guyed towers, or other freestanding facilities that do not meet the definition for "WTF, freestanding stealth" and consist of the equipment and structures involved in receiving telecommunications or radio signals from a mobile radio communications source and transmitting those signals to a central switching computer which connects the mobile unit with the land-based telephone lines, and also means a broadcast tower.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Wireless Telecommunications Facilities (WTF), Freestanding Stealth are facilities that have been designed to be architecturally compatible with the surrounding area. They camouflage or conceal the presence of the tower and the antennas that are mounted on it; and include, but are not limited to: artificial rocks and trees, freestanding clock towers and bell steeples, light poles, flagpoles, and artistic structures); and consist of the equipment and structures involved in receiving telecommunications or radio signals from a mobile radio communications source and transmitting those signals to a central switching computer which connects the mobile unit with the land-based telephone lines, and also means a broadcast tower.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Yard means a space on the same lot with a principal building, open, unoccupied, and unobstructed by buildings or structures from the ground upward.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Yard, Front means a yard extending across the full width of the lot, the depth of which is the least distance between the street right-of-way and the building setback line.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Yard, Interior means an open space area between the interior side lot line and the required interior side building setback line, extending between the front building setback line and the rear building setback line.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Yard, Rear means a yard extending across the full width of the lot, the depth of which is the least distance between the rear lot line and the rear setback line.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Yard, Side means a yard extending from the front yard, or front lot line where no front yard is required, to the rear yard.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Yard, Side Street means a yard extending from the front setback line to the rear lot line, located between the side street lot line and the side street setback line.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Zoning Administrator is the Superintendent of the Planning, Inspection, Enforcement Division (PIE) of the Public Works Department in the City of Hays, Ellis County, Kansas.

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Zoning District means a designation shown on the official "zoning map" as being in a district enumerated in Article 2.1, Zoning Districts, in which a specific set of zoning standards apply. The phrase may refer to the standards or an area so mapped. The phrase includes "zoning classification" or "zoning designation."

Effective on: 8/31/2016

Zoning Map means the map showing the location and boundaries of the zoning districts established by this Code. This map is entitled, the "Official Zoning Map of Hays, Kansas."

Effective on: 8/31/2016