For purposes of this ordinance, the following terms shall have the following definitions and meanings:

Abandonment: A cessation of operation or reduction in the effective radiated power of an antenna by seventy-five (75) percent for six (6) months or more.

Accent: An area covering no more than ten (10) percent of a building's surface area visible to the public.

Accessory Building or Structure: A subordinate building or structure located on the same lot with the principal structure or building, occupied by or devoted to an accessory use. Where an accessory building is attached to the principal building in a substantial manner, as by a wall or roof, such accessory building shall be considered part of the main building. Accessory structures include, but are not limited to, swimming pools, tennis and basketball courts, other outdoor residential recreational facilities, and other open type structures like gazebos.

Accessory Storage Building: Permitted accessory storage buildings include open or closed type buildings, including private garages, and are designed and used for storage or parking of vehicles and storage of materials incidental to the use of the principal structure, or are designed and used for allowable uses incidental to the principal structure.

Accessory Use: An accessory use is a use that:

(a)

Is subordinate in area, extent and purpose to, and serves a principal structure and use;

(b)

Is customarily found as incidental to such principal structure or use;

(c)

Contributes to the comfort, convenience or necessity of those occupying, working at or being served by such principal structure or use;

(d)

Is, except as otherwise expressly authorized by the provisions of this Code, located on the same zoning lot as such principal structure or use; and

(e)

Is under the same ownership and control as the principal structure or use.

Acre: An acre is a measure of area equal to forty-three thousand five hundred sixty (43,560) square feet.

Adjacent/Adjoining: The condition of being near to or close to but not necessarily having a common dividing line. Two (2) properties which are separated by only a street or alley shall be considered as adjacent or adjoining one another

Alley: A public or private right-of-way designed to serve as a secondary means of access to the side or rear of those properties whose principal frontage is on a street.

Allowable Variance: Variations from the regulations of the zoning ordinance which meet the standards established in Article 2 but not including any variance for a use change. (Note: A use change may, when appropriate, be obtained with a rezoning amendment, not a variation.)

Alteration: Any act or process which changes one (1) or more of the "exterior architectural features" of a structure designated for preservation or neighborhood conservation.

Alternative Compliance: A process by which the Zoning Administrator reviews a landscape plan to determine whether such plan meets the performance standards and intent of Article 16 (Landscaping). This process is an alternative to the point system that the Site Plan Review Board would typically use to evaluate a landscape plan.

Alternative Tower Structure: Structures such as man-made trees (when required), clock towers, bell steeples, light poles and similar alterative-design mounting structures that camouflage or conceal the presence of antennas or towers.

Ambient Noise Level: The all-encompassing noise level associated with a given environment, being a composite of sounds from all sources, excluding any alleged offensive noise. In this context, the ambient noise level constitutes the normal or existing level of environmental noise at a given location.

Ambulatory Care Center: An establishment where patients are admitted for surgical treatment on an out-patient basis with related diagnostic and laboratory facilities.

Amortization: The process by which, upon official notification by the Zoning Administrator of a nonconforming status, nonconforming uses and structures must be discontinued or made to conform to requirements of the ordinance at the end of a specified period of time.

Amplitude: The maximum displacement of the earth from the normal rest position. Displacement is usually reported as inches per mils.

Antenna: Any exterior apparatus designed for telephonic, radio communications through the sending and/or receiving of electromagnetic waves.

Antenna Array: An antenna array is one (1) or more rods, panels, discs or similar devices used for the transmission or reception of radio frequency signals which may include onmidirectional antennas (rods), directional antennas (panels) and parabolic antennas (discs) up to one (1) meter, The antenna array does not include the support structure.

ANSI: American National Standards Institute, Inc. or its successor bodies.

Arch: a typically curved structural member spanning an opening and serving as a support

Architectural Element: Part of a building's fabric, structures and associated services, such as a window.

Architectural Feature: A prominent or significant part or element of a building, structure, or site.

Architectural Style: The characteristic form and detail, as of buildings of a particular historic period.

Architectural Treatment: The character of a building's design including architectural elements, features and style.

ATM: Automatic Teller Machine; automatic financial transaction machine.

Attached Wireless Communication Facility (Attached WCF): An antenna array that is attached to an existing building or structure (attachment structure), which shall include but not be limited to utility poles, signs and water towers, with any accompanying pole or device (attachment device) which attaches the antenna array to the existing building or structure and associated connection cables, and an equipment facility which may be located either inside or outside of the attachment structure.

Attachment Device: Any device, which is used to attach an attached WCF to an existing building or structure.

Attachment Structure: An existing building or structure to which a WCF is attached.

Auto Impound Facility: A facility which provides temporary outdoor storage for Class I vehicles which are to be claimed by titleholders or their agents. No vehicle shall be stored at said facility for more than forty-five (45) days and must remain mechanically operable and licensed at all times.

Automobile Laundry: See Car Wash.

Automobile Service Station: Any premises used for the retail sale of fuel, lubricants, tires, batteries and accessories, including installation and minor repairs customarily incidental to these items. It shall not make such repairs as: (a) spray painting; (b) body, drive train, suspension system, or frame repairs; (c) major engine overhaul or radiator repairs requiring the removal thereof; (d) recapping of tires.

A-Weighted Sound Level: In decibels, a frequency-weighted sound pressure level, determined by the use of the metering characteristics and A-weighted network specified in ANSI S1.4-1971 "Specifications for Sound Level Meters" and the latest revision thereof.

Awning: A structure made of cloth, metal, or other material, whether or not retractable, that projects from the wall of a building not supported by the ground.

Banner: A temporary sign, constructed of lightweight plastic, canvas, fabric, or other temporary material, with or without a structural frame, usually square or rectangular in shape, and intended for a limited period of display.

Bargeboard: A highly ornamented or pierced board placed on the incline of the gable.

Basement: A story partly underground and having at least one-half (½) of its height above the average level of the adjoining ground. A basement shall be counted as a story if subdivided and used for a dwelling or business (see also: Cellar).

Bed and breakfast establishment: An operator-occupied residence providing accommodations for a charge to the public with no more than five (5) guest rooms for rent, in operation for more than ten (10) nights in a twelve-month period. Breakfast may be provided to the guests only. Bed and breakfast establishments shall not include motels, hotels, boarding houses, rooming houses, or food service establishments.

Berm: A mound of earth with a maximum slope of 3:1, a minimum slope of 4:1, and a minimum height of three (3) feet. Berms shall be planted with grass and/or other landscaping material.

Billboard: See Off-Premise Sign.

Block Face: That portion of a block or tract of land facing the same side of a single street and lying between the closest intersecting streets.

Board: The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) of Peoria.

Boarding House: A house at which persons are boarded, including provision of a bedroom and in some instances a meal or meals for a given fee.

Bracket: Projecting support placed under eaves or other overhangs.

Brieses Soleil: A projecting sun shade outside the windows of a building or extending over the entire surface of a building's facade.

Broadleaf Evergreen: Any plant with leaves similar in appearance to the leaves of deciduous plants but persist all year.

Buffering Areas: Areas reserved for the purpose of creating open space at the perimeter of a parcel to be developed. In the reserved areas no improvements are permitted except for the purpose of direct vehicular access to the site and landscaping and/or screening. Vehicular access ways shall not be computed as part of the required buffering area.

Buildable Area: The total area of the parcel minus the area within the required perimeter yards.

Building: Any permanently anchored structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy. When a building is divided into separate parts by unpierced walls, each part shall be deemed a separate building.

Building, Height Of: The vertical distance measured, in the case of flat roofs, from the curb level to the level of the highest point of the roof beams adjacent to the street wall, and in the case of pitched roofs, from the curb level to the mean height level of the gable. Where no roof beams exist or where there are structures wholly or partly above the roof, the height shall be measured from the curb level to the level of the highest point of the building. For buildings set back from the street line, the height of the building may be measured from the average elevation of the finished grade along the front of the building.

Building Official: Director of Inspection Services of the City of Peoria as appointed by the City Manager.

Building Orientation: The location of structures on a zoning lot in the plan view.

Building, Temporary: A building not designed to be permanently located in the place where it is, or where it is intended to be placed or affixed.

Build-to Line: An alignment establishing a certain distance from the right-of-way centerline to a line along which the building shall be built.

Business District: An urban downtown district B1 that has design features and a diversity of uses not found in the commercial and office districts. Such uses include government buildings, cultural facilities, hotels, apartments, retail shops and ancillary uses.

Canopy: A structure made of cloth, metal or other material which projects from the wall of a building and is supported above the ground by poles, posts, columns, beams, girders or other frame work attached to the ground.

Car Wash (Automobile Laundry): A building containing facilities for washing more than one (1) automobile at any one (1) time, using production line methods with a chain conveyor, blower, steam cleaning device, or other mechanical devices; or providing space, water, equipment, or soap for the complete or partial hand-washing of such automobiles, whether by operator or by customer.

Cellar: A story having more than one-half (½) of its height below the average level of the adjoining ground. A cellar shall not be counted as a story.

Certificate of Appropriateness for Alteration: A certificate from the Site Plan Review Board authorizing plans for construction, reconstruction, alteration, the moving, rehabilitation or demolition of a building or structure which is located within any Neighborhood Conservation District Overlay.

Certificate of Appropriateness for Special Exception: A certificate from the Zoning Commission authorizing the use of a building or structure within any Neighborhood Conservation District Overlay, originally constructed for use as a single dwelling unit, for an allowable special exception use as a two-family dwelling unit, three (3) family dwelling unit, day care center, or family care facility pursuant to the Standards and Criteria for Certificates of Appropriateness (Section 14.1.i.).

Certificate of Occupancy (CO): Official certification from the Building Official that a premise conforms to provisions of the City codes, including the Zoning Ordinance and building code and may be used or occupied. Such a certificate is granted after new construction or alteration of premises is completed.

Child Care Center: Any child care facility receiving more than eight (8) children for fewer than twenty-four (24) hours per day unattended by parent or legal guardian. A child care center shall constitute the primary use of a structure and may not be housed in an accessory structure. This use is considered a commercial operation in which nonfamily employees are allowed.

Child Care Home: A child care home is a facility located in a single family residence which receives not more than eight (8) children for fewer than twenty-four (24) hours per day unattended by parent or legal guardian. The maximum of eight (8) children includes the family's natural or adopted children under the age of sixteen (16) and those children who are in the home under full-time care. Activities may include educational training; however, nonfamily employees shall not be allowed.

City: The City of Peoria, Illinois.

Clinic, Out-Patient: An establishment where patients are admitted for study or treatment on an out-patient basis by two (2) or more licensed physicians or dentists and their professional associates practicing medicine or dentistry together.

Club or Lodge, Private: A nonprofit association of persons, who are bona fide, dues-paying members, which owns, hires or leases a building, or portion thereof. The use of such premises shall be restricted to members and their guests. The affairs and management of such "private clubs and lodges" are conducted by a board of directors, executive committee, or similar body chosen by the members. It shall be permissible to serve food, meals, and beverages on such premises.

Clustering: Clustering permits the siting of structures which may be independent of existing lot lines on a parcel of land which is based on a plan.

Collocation Site Sharing: The use of a common WCF or common-site by two (2) or more wireless license holders or by one (1) wireless license holder for more than one (1) type of communications technology and/or placement of a WCF on a structure owned or operated by a utility or other public entity.

Column: A supporting pillar, especially one (1) consisting of a usually round shaft, a capital, and a base.

Commercial Sign District: An area of the city located in zoning districts C1 and C2, and any associated overlay districts according to the Official Zoning Map of the City of Peoria.

Commission: The Zoning Commission (ZC) as established in the Peoria Zoning Ordinance.

Congregate Housing: Institutional housing consisting of apartments, rooms, medical service facilities, and dining services for residents who require such housing because of age or medical condition.

Construction: On-site erection, fabrication, installation, alteration, demolition or removal of any structure, facility, or addition thereto, including all related activities, but not restricted to, clearing of land, earth moving, blasting and landscaping.

Convalescent, Nursing or Rest Home: An establishment for the care of the aged or infirm, or a place of rest for those suffering bodily disorders. Such home does not contain equipment for surgical care or for the treatment of disease or injury.

Convenience Cash Business: Includes title loan businesses and payday loan businesses as defined by this ordinance.

Cornice: An ornamental topping that crowns the structure it is on.

Council: The City Council of Peoria.

Courtyard: An open, unoccupied space, other than a yard, on the same lot with a building or group of buildings, which is bounded on two (2) or more sides by such building or buildings.

Critical Traffic Management Area: Area identified by the Site Plan Review Board and shown on the Official Zoning Map after approval by the City Council in the manner provided for amending this Zoning Ordinance as set forth in Section 2.13 [2.14]. In an area so designated, any allowable use or use authorized by the Zoning Administrator shall be required to submit a traffic impact analysis and may be required to pay for improvements in the area to alleviate the expected increase in traffic associated with the development. (See Commercial Districts, Article 9.)

Curb Level: The street curb height at the midpoint of a lot line. Where no curb exists, the elevation of the crown of the street at the midpoint of the lot line shall be deemed to be the curb level.

Day Care Center: A child or adult group care facility receiving more than eight (8) persons for fewer than twenty-four (24) hours per day unattended by parent of [or] legal guardian. A day care center shall constitute the primary use of a structure and may not be housed [as] an accessory structure. This use is considered a commercial operation in which non-family employees are allowed.

Daytime Hours: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., local time.

dB(A): Sound level in decibels determined by the A-weighting of a sound level meter.

Decibel (dB): A unit of measure, on a logarithmic scale to the base ten (10), of the ratio of the magnitude of a particular sound pressure to a standard reference pressure, which, for purposes of this regulation, shall be twenty (20) micronewtons per square meter (µN/m²).

Deciduous Shrub: A lower story plant that generally will not attain a mature height of more than twenty-five (25) feet and usually has a dense branching pattern which is close to the ground level. Such plants shed their leaves and are dormant during winter. Any similar plan that will not attain a mature height of more than one (1) foot will not be regarded as a shrub.

Demolition: Any act or process which destroys in part or in whole a structure.

Density Bonuses: The granting of the allowance of additional density in a development in exchange for the provision by the developer of other desirable amenities from a public perspective, e.g., public open spaces, plazas, art, landscaping, etc.

Director: The Director of the Department of Planning and Zoning of the City of Peoria, or his/her designee.

District: Any specifically described area of the City as indicated by the Official Zoning Map of the City of Peoria to which these regulations apply and shown on a official map maintained by the Zoning Administrator.

District, Overlay: An overlay district is a second set of regulations applied to any part or all of a zoning district (as defined for the term District) or any number of districts. The overlay district regulations may relax or further restrict the number or types of uses allowed as well as the way permitted activities operate within the overlay district boundaries. Such districts are mapped on the City's Official Zoning Map.

District, Underlying: An underlying district is the term referring to a zoning district (as defined for the term District) when it is affected by an overlay district.

Donor Plaque: a sign located on a scoreboard denoting the entity that provided the purchase funding for the scoreboard. This definition includes, but not limited to: Donor Sign.

Dormitory: A building or part of a building which is owned, managed, leased or operated, directly or indirectly, by an institution and containing a room or rooms forming one (1) or more habitable units which are used for or intended to be used by students of the institution for living and sleeping, but not necessarily for cooking or eating purposes.

Drive-In (Drive-Through) Restaurant: A restaurant which is laid out and equipped to serve food and beverage to patrons in automobiles.

Driveway: A hard-surfaced pathway for motor vehicles from a street or alley to an area or a structure used for service purposes or access to the structure only.

Driveway extension: A hard-surfaced pathway for motor vehicles which is contiguous to an approved driveway, is designed with the least amount of hard-surfaced material as determined by the zoning administrator, and is utilized to lead to a legal parking space(s).

Dwelling: A building, or portion thereof, designed or used exclusively for residential occupancy, including single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings or multiple-family dwellings, but not including hotels or motels.

Dwelling, Modular Unit: A factory-fabricated transportable building designed to be used by itself or to be incorporated with similar units at a building site into a modular structure that will be a finished building in a fixed location on a permanent foundation.

Dwelling Unit: One (1) or more rooms including a kitchen or kitchenette, located within a residence providing complete living facilities for one (1) family or containing facilities and equipment for living, sleeping, cooking and eating.

Entryway: A place of entrance.

Equipment Facility: Any structure used to contain ancillary equipment for a WCF, which includes cabinets, shelters, and other similar structures.

Evergreen: Plants which continuously retain leaves or needles over the four (4) seasons of the year.

Evergreen Shrub: A lower story plant that generally will not attain a mature height or more than twenty-five (25) feet and usually has a dense branching pattern which is close to the bound level. Such plants retain their foliage throughout the year. Any similar plant that will not attain a mature height of more than one (1) foot will not be regarded as a shrub.

Evergreen Tree: A tree that retains it's foliage throughout the year generally develops a pyramidal shape and grows to a mature height and spread that is greater than any pyramidal shaped evergreen shrubs such as upright Junipers and upright Arborvitae.

Exterior Architectural Appearance: Includes the architectural character, general composition, and general arrangement of the exterior of a structure, including the kind, color, and texture of the building material and the type and character of all windows, doors, light fixtures, signs and appurtenant elements, visible from public streets and thoroughfares.

External Illumination: Illumination of a sign which is effected by a source of light which is not contained within the sign itself.

FAA: The Federal Aviation Administration.

Facade: That portion of any exterior elevation on the building extending from grade to top of the parapet, wall or eaves and the entire width of the building elevation.

Family: A "family" consists of one (1) or more persons each related to the other by blood, marriage, or adoption (including foster children), together with such relatives of the respective spouses who are living with the family in a single dwelling and maintaining a common household. A family so related includes any domestic servants and not more than one (1) gratuitous guest residing with said family.

A family may also be composed of not to exceed three (3) persons not so related, provided that such unrelated persons live in a single dwelling and maintain a common household and a single housekeeping unit. A family so constituted shall not be permitted to include a gratuitous guest; nor shall a relative by blood, marriage or adoption of any one (1) of the three (3) unrelated persons be permitted to reside as part of a family so constituted. The three (3) unrelated persons may not include a domestic servant as an additional person.

Family Care Facility: A nonmedical facility for the housing of no more than eight (8) unrelated persons (inclusive of residential staff), who, due to advanced age, handicap, impairment due to chronic illness, or status as a minor who is unable to live with parents or guardians, require assistance and/or supervision, and who reside together in a family-type environment as a single housekeeping unit. Excluded from the definition of family care facilities are homes in which residents are criminal offenders or former criminal offenders. Excluded from this definition are persons whose disability arises from current use or addiction to a controlled substance as this term is used in the United States Code and Illinois Statutes.

Fascia: A plain horizontal band along the roofline of a building.

Faster Meter Response: The dynamic characteristics specified as "FAST" in ANSI S1.4-1971 "Specifications for Sound Level Meters" and the latest revision thereof.

FCC: The Federal Communications Commission.

Fence: A barrier attached to the ground consisting of vertical or horizontal supports and cross members which separated [separate] lot lines or yards.

Filling Station: See Automobile Service Station.

Financial Institution with Drive-Up: A drive-up is an on-site teller-attended facility in which business is conducted from a customer's vehicle.

Finding of Fact: Information obtained with respect to a matter or a statement or a writing made by any person or entity required to make a "finding" under the terms of this ordinance.

Floor Area Ratio: Floor area ratio is the relationship between the amount of gross floor area to the total amount of land area on a parcel of land. For example, a floor area ratio of .33 means that for every three (3) square feet of land one (1) square foot of gross floor area will be permitted. Thus, a thirty thousand (30,000) square foot parcel would permit the development of ten thousand ten thousand (10,000) square feet of gross floor area.

Fraternity: A student organization formed chiefly for social purposes, having secret rites and a name consisting of Greek letters. The organization's headquarters may or may not include room and board facilities.

Freestanding Sign: Any sign supported by structures or supports that are placed on, or anchored in, the ground and that are independent from any building or other structure.

Frieze: The plain or decorative band or board located just below the storefront cornice.

Frontage: All property on one (1) side of a street or place between two (2) intersecting streets or places which cross or terminate at the other [end], measured along the line of the street; or, if the street or place has a dead end, then all of the property abutting on one (1) side between an intersecting street and the dead end of the street or place.

Garage, Private: An accessory storage building or portion of the principal structure used only for the storage of motor driven vehicles which are the property of and for the private use of the occupants of the lot on which the private garage is located. If the occupants of the lot have fewer vehicles than the storage spaces contained in said garage, the unrequired spaces may be used by, or rented to others. Not more than one (1) of the vehicles may be a commercial vehicle of not more than three-quarter (¾) ton capacity.

Garage, Public: Any premises, except those described as a private or storage garage, used for the storage or care of self-propelled vehicles, or where any such vehicles are equipped for operation, repaired or kept for remuneration, hire or sale.

Garage, Storage: Any premises, except those defined as a private or public garage, used exclusively for the storage of self-propelled vehicles.

GLA: Gross leasable area, the amount of leasable square footage contained within a shopping center.

Goods: All things that are movable at the time of identification to a contract for sale. The term includes future goods, specially manufactured goods, the unborn young of animals, and growing crops. The term does not include information, the money in which the price is to be paid, investment securities, the subject matter of foreign exchange transactions, or choses in action.

Grand Opening: An event or occasion marking the opening of a new business in a non-residential zoning district. A grand opening must occur at or near the beginning of an operation and can only occur once during the lifetime of the operation.

Green Approach: Design in which the impact of a development on the environment will be minimal over the lifetime of that development. Green buildings incorporate principles of energy and resource efficiency.

Gross Floor Area: The total square feet of a building under roof exclusive of the following: (a) atriums, (b) open wells, and (c) basement storage space used in common.

Groundcover: Any evergreen or broadleaf evergreen plant that does not attain a mature height of more than one (1) foot. Such plants shall be characterized by a growth habit in which the plant spreads across the ground to connect with other similar plants forming a continuous vegetative cover on the ground. Sod and seed shall also be considered as qualifying groundcover.

Ground Lights: Ground-level lights for the purpose of illuminating signs.

Group Care Facility: A residential facility which is the same as a Family Care Facility except that it may house nine (9) to fifteen (15) persons.

Group and/or Row Houses: A group or row of three (3) or more, but not more than eight (8), attached single-family dwelling units extending from the basement to the roof facing upon a street or place as herein defined.

Guest room: A sleeping room intended to serve no more than two (2) transient guests per night.

Habitable Elevation: The height of the highest space in any existing or future building which is designed for use as a residence or working area of persons.

Halfway House: A facility primarily designed for the residence of persons on parole or mandatory supervised release.

Handicap: Physical or mental impairment which limits one (1) or more of a person's life activities; or a record of having such impairment; or being regarded as having such impairment. However, the definition of handicap does not include the current use of or addiction to a controlled substance.

Harmony: A quality which produces an aesthetically pleasing whole as in arrangement of varied architectural and landscape elements.

Height: When referring to a tower or other structure, height is the distance measured from ground level to the highest point of the tower or other structure, excluding the antenna.

Home Occupations: Certain uses permitted in residences pursuant to Article 4 of this ordinance.

Hotel: A building occupied as the more or less temporary abiding place of individuals, who are lodged with or without meals, and in which there are more than fifteen (15) sleeping rooms usually occupied separately.

Hypermarket: A large-scale (minimum of roughly one hundred thousand (100,000) square feet) self-service retail store selling food, drugs, household merchandise, clothing and a variety of other retail goods. The store may, in some cases, include limited medical services such as a dentist's office.

Intact [Impact]: An earth borne vibration generally produced by two (2) or more objects striking each other so as to cause separate and distinct pulses.

Impervious Lot Coverage: The percentage of a lot's area covered by any building or structure or any impermeable surface other than water bodies.

Impound Lots: A facility, which provides temporary outdoor storage for, class I vehicles which are to be claimed by the titleholders or their agent. No vehicle shall be stored at said facility for more than forty-five (45) days and must remain mechanically operable and licensed at all times.

Improvements: Any building, structure, parking facility, fence, gate, wall, work of art, underground utility service or other object constituting a physical betterment of real property, or any part of such betterment.

Impulsive Sound: Either a single pressure peak or a single burst (multiple pressure peaks) for a duration less than one (1) second.

Industrial District: Any one (1) or all of the I1, I2, or I3 districts.

Industrial Sign District: Those parts of the city which are located in zoning base districts I1, I2, or I3 and any associate overlay districts, according to the Official Zoning Map.

Ingress and Egress: The principal vehicular access into and out of the proposed development.

Institutional Sign District: Those parts of the city which are located in the zoning base district N1 according to the Official Zoning Map or uses which are of an institutional nature are designated as Institutional Sign Districts. Examples of institutional uses are hospitals, universities and colleges and their related facilities.

Intensity: The level of activity associated with an individual use or group of uses. Measure of intensity reflects the type of activity, the area required for the exercise of the activity, the traffic generation as indicated in the Institute of Traffic Engineering Handbook on Trip Generation and its updates, the number of patrons in a given time frame, the service requirements for logistical purposes and associated environmental impacts.

Interested Person: Any person who holds an interest in real estate which is the subject of a zoning decision, and anyone who owns property within two hundred fifty (250) feet of such real estate. Service of notice to interested persons may be made by mail or personal service on the last assessee of record.

Intermediate Tree: A deciduous plant characterized by a height and/or spread that is generally smaller than that of a shade tree under natural growing conditions. Such plants will shed their leaves and are dormant during winter. Intermediate trees may have either a single trunk or multiple trunks.

Internal Illumination: Illumination of a sign which is effected by a source of light which is contained within the sign itself. Any sign in which light becomes visible by shining through a translucent surface shall be considered a sign in which internal illumination is used.

Item of Information: For purposes of calculating permitted information on a sign, an "Item of Information" refers to a single word, number or symbol.

Laboratory, Medical: A building or portion thereof, in which medical scientific research, investigation, testing or experimentation is conducted on a regular basis.

Landscaped Area: An area where trees, shrubs, flowers, lawn or other plantings are provided.

Light Standard Sign: A temporary sign, constructed of lightweight plastic, canvas, fabric, or other temporary material, with rigid framework on a minimum of two (2) sides of the sign, usually square or rectangular in shape, mounted on a light standard with a minimum clearance of eight (8) feet above grade, and intended for a limited period of display.

Local Sign Regulations: Signs governed by "Local Sign Regulations" will be allowed by special permit only; a shopping center or any association of merchants doing business within a specific area of the city, a university or hospital having a multi-building campus, or an industrial/business park or office park may establish regulations for such shopping center, campus or an office or industrial/business park area. Such regulations shall be submitted to the Site Plan Review Board for review and forwarded to the Zoning Commission for a public hearing. Such local sign regulations, to the extent that they are approved by the Zoning Commission, shall be observed by the persons affected in lieu of compliance with the Zoning Ordinance.

Lodging House: See Boarding House.

Lot: A single parcel of land which is legally described and recorded as such, or which is one (1) or two (2) or more numbered lots or parts of such lots legally described and recorded as a part of a recorded subdivision plat. A lot is one (1) or two (2) or more contiguous lots or parts of lots of record comprising the tract of land which is designated by the owner at the time of application for a building or sign permit as the site to be used, developed or built upon as a unit. Therefore, a lot may or may not coincide with a single lot of record.

Lot Access: The vehicular access to a zoning lot. This access must have the same zoning designation as the use occupying the zoning lot.

Lot Area or Size: The total area included within the lot lines of a lot.

Lot Coverage: The ratio between the ground floor area of all buildings or structures on a lot and the total area of the lot.

Lot Frontage: The length of the front lot line of a lot.

Lot Lines: The lines bounding a lot as defined herein.

Lot of Record: A lot which is a part of a subdivision, the map of which has been recorded in the Office of the County Recorder of Deeds of Peoria County.

Lot Types: The terminology used in this ordinance with reference to lot types is as follows:

(a)

Corner Lot—A lot located at the intersection of two (2) or more streets.

(b)

Interior Lot—A lot other than a corner lot with only one (1) frontage on a street other than an alley.

(c)

Through Lot—A lot other than a corner lot with frontage on more than one (1) street other than alley. Through lots with frontage on two (2) streets require that front yards shall be provided on both streets, provided however, if the lot is comparatively level, the number of dwelling units that may be constructed facing either street shall be computed by using one-half (½) of the total area of the lot; if the lot has a substantial change in elevation, the area of the level portion shall determine how many dwelling units may be constructed fronting on the street adjoining the level portion of the lot.

(d)

Zoning Lot—A single unified tract of land located within a single block which at the time of filing for a building permit, is designated by its owner or developer as a tract to be used, developed or built upon as a unit under single or unified ownership or control. Such lot shall have frontage on a street; shall be of at least sufficient size to meet minimum zoning requirements for use, coverage and area; shall provide such yards and other open spaces as herein required; and may consist of: (1) A single lot of record; (2) A portion of a lot of record; (3) A combination of complete lots of record; (4) A parcel of land described by a metes and bounds description; provided that in no case of division or combination shall any residual lot or parcel be created which does not meet the requirements of this ordinance. In the case of Institutional Districts, a zoning lot shall be construed to mean the entire contiguous parcel whether or not separated by streets, alleys, or other rights-of-way.

Luminaire: A complete lighting system, including a lamp or lamps and a fixture.

Major Ground Sign/Permitted Use: See Ground Sign.

Major Ground Sign/Special Use: See Ground Sign.

Marquee: A structure made of cloth, metal or other material over the main entrance of the building only, other than a canopy or awning, which projects from the wall of a building and is either supported solely by the building to which it is attached, or which may or may not be supported by frame work supported by the ground.

Master Signage Plan: A plat plan for a zoning lot identifying existing and proposed signage regulated by this ordinance.

Mechanical Equipment: Equipment that is typically associated with the normal operations of a building and that may generate noise, vibration, or other effects that may inhibit the enjoyable use of adjacent properties. Such equipment would include but not be limited to air conditioning units, heating units, refrigeration units, and ventilation fans.

Medical Center: An institution providing health service and medical or surgical care on an in-patient or out-patient basis to persons suffering from illness, disease, injury, deformity, or other abnormal physical or mental conditions and including, as an integral part of the institution, related facilities such as laboratories or training facilities.

Mobile Home: A single family residential unit with all of the following characteristics: (a) designed for long-term occupancy, and containing sleeping accommodations, a flush toilet, a tub or shower bath and kitchen facilities with plumbing and electrical connections provided for attachments to outside systems; (b) designed to be transported after fabrication on its own wheels or on a flat bed or other trailer or detachable wheels; (c) arriving at the site where it is to be occupied as a dwelling complete, conventionally designed to include major appliances, and ready for occupancy except for minor and incidental unpacking and assembly operations, location on foundation supports, connection to utilities and the like; (d) designed for removal to and installation or erection on other sites.

Mobile Home Park or Court: A parcel of land which has been approved for the placement of fifty (50) or more mobile homes. The term "mobile home park" shall not include sales lots on which unoccupied mobile homes, whether new or used, are parked for the purpose of inspection and sale.

Module: The size of some one (1) part taken as a unit of measure by which the proportions of an architectural composition are regulated

Motel: A building or group of buildings, whether detached or in connected units, used as individual sleeping or dwelling units designed primarily for transient automobile travelers and providing for accessory off-street parking facilities. The term "motel" includes but is not limited to buildings designated as auto courts, tourist courts, motor hotels, motor lodges, and similar terms.

Moulding: A decorative wood or stone contour or band, used in exterior and interior architectural elements.

Municipality: Municipality shall mean the City of Peoria.

Mural: Painting, or other art work applied to or made integral with a wall surface and does not contain a business name or logo.

Neon Tube Illumination: Illumination effected by a light source consisting of a neon tube which is bent to form letters, symbols, or other shapes.

Nighttime Hours: 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., local time.

No Build Zone: That portion of a development where no structure shall be erected or permitted to extend.

Noise Pollution: A level of noise which subjects those in close proximity to such decibel levels that impair their health, general welfare and enjoyment of their property for its intended use.

Nonconforming Building or Structure: A building or structure which complied with the applicable laws when established, but does not conform to the provisions of this Ordinance.

Nonconforming Use: See Use, Nonconforming.

Obligations: Obligations means bonds, loans, debentures, notes, special certificates or other evidence of indebtedness issued by the municipality to finance a redevelopment project or a portion thereof, or to refund outstanding obligations.

Octave Band Sound Pressure Level: The sound pressure level for the sound being measured contained within the specified octave band. The reference pressure is twenty (20) micronewtons per square meter.

Office Court: A group of four (4) or more offices with separate entrances sharing a common off-street plaza or parking area.

Office Sign District: Those parts of the City which are located in zoning base districts O1 or O2 and any associated overlay districts, according to the Official Zoning Map.

Official Development Plan: A site plan and accompanying text which sets forth the approved development and uses, setback regulations, landscaping regulations, parking regulations, and signage requirements which apply within an institutional district, or a portion thereof.

Off-Premise Sign: An off-premise sign is a free-standing sign that advertises goods, products, services or facilities, or directs persons to a location different from where the sign is installed.

Off-Premise Sign Extension: An embellishment added to an off-premise sign to enhance a specific advertising message. An extension may increase the area of a sign face by no more than twenty (20) percent, may extend no more than five (5) feet above the topmost edge of the sign face and three (3) feet from any side, and shall remain installed only for the duration of the advertising message in question. Although extensions may incorporate lighting incidental to the advertising message, all lighting upon any sign face must still adhere to the total allowable illumination of seventy-five (75) foot candles.

Off-Premise Sign, Multiple Message: An off-premise sign which displays a series of advertisements via copy change, regardless of technology used, within the area of one sign face.

Off-Street Loading and Unloading Space: An open hard-surface[d] area of land, other than a street, driveway, or public way, the principal use of which is for standing, loading and unloading of motor trucks, tractors and trailers, to avoid undue interference with the public use of streets and alleys. Such space shall not be less than twelve (12) feet in width, thirty (30) feet in length for short berths and fifty (50) feet in length for long berths and fifteen (15) feet in height, exclusive of access aisles and maneuvering space.

Off-Street Parking Schedule: General off-street parking requirements, as delineated in Article 15 of the Zoning Ordinance; the schedule indicates the number of parking spaces required per use.

On-Premise Sign: An on-premise sign is a sign located in nonresidential districts that identifies or advertises a business, person, activity, goods, product or service located in the zoning lot where the sign is installed and maintained.

Open Air Cafe/Beer Gardens: Any outdoor eating or drinking area directly adjacent to and subordinate in area to the establishment it serves. The seating area must be contained with a fence or other suitable material which defines the seating areas and sets that area apart from the surrounding property. The total square footage of the seating area must be included in the total parking calculations for the site. In calculating the square footage, the area bounded by the fence and adjacent buildings shall be used. Any addition of an open air cafe or beer garden to an existing establishment should be evaluated as an expansion of use and is subject to approval by the Site Plan Review Board.

Open Space: That area within the boundaries of a lot that is intended to provide light and air, and is designed for either scenic or recreational purposes. Open space shall, in general, be available for entry and use by the residents or occupants of the development, but may include a limited proportion of space so located and treated as to enhance the amenity of the development by providing landscaping features, screening for the benefit of the occupants or those in neighboring areas, or a general appearance of openness.

Open space may include, but need not be limited to lawns, decorative planting, walkways, active and passive recreation areas, children's playgrounds, fountains, swimming pools, wooded areas, water bodies and those areas where landscaping and screening are required by the provisions of Article 16. Open space shall not include driveways, parking lots, or other vehicular surfaces, any area occupied by a building, nor areas so located or so small as to have no substantial value for the purposes stated in this definition.

Operable Shutters: Shutters capable of being closed over the window opening.

Operable Windows: Windows capable of being opened and closed.

Operator: The owner of the bed and breakfast establishment who is required by this Ordinance to reside in the bed and breakfast establishment.

Outpatient Treatment Facility: A licensed treatment facility for alcoholism and other drug dependency without a residential component.

Overlay District: See District, Overlay.

Overnight Facility: A building accessory to medical facilities, in which rooms or suites are reserved to provide sleeping accommodations for temporary guests.

Owner: Any agent, firm, corporation or person who, alone, jointly or severally with others, has a legal or equitable interest in the property.

Parcel: A parcel is the assembly of property to form a contiguous land area for development under a unified plan.

Park: An open space with natural vegetation and landscaping; may include recreational facilities.

Park—Active recreation: An open space, which is owned either publicly or privately, with natural vegetation and landscaping. Active recreation includes activities often requiring equipment and taking place at prescribed places, sites or fields and that have the potential for greater nuisance to adjacent properties due to noise, light, glare, or odor. Examples include, but are not limited to, swimming pools, playing fields, basketball courts, playground equipment, and outdoor grilling.

Park—Passive recreation: An open space, which is owned either publicly or privately, with natural vegetation and landscaping. Passive recreation includes outdoor leisure activities that have a low potential for nuisance to adjacent property owners. Examples include, but are not limited to, bike/walk trails, gazebos, and landscape features. Activities such as swimming pools, playing fields, basketball courts, playground equipment, park shelters, and outdoor grilling are prohibited.

Parking Area/Lot: An open, striped, hard-surface[d] area of land, other than a street, driveway, or public way, the principal use of which is for the storage (parking) of passenger automobiles or commercial vehicles under two-ton capacity by the public, whether for compensation or not, or as an accommodation to clients or customers. (See City Engineering Design Standards.)

Parking Area/Lot, Private: An open, striped, hard-surface[d] area of land, other than a street, driveway, or public way, designed, arranged and made available for the storage of private passenger automobiles only, of occupants of the building or buildings for which the parking area is developed and is accessory.

Parking Area/Lot, Public: An open, striped, hard-surface[d] area of land, other than a street, driveway, or public way, intended to be used for the storage of passenger automobiles or commercial vehicles under two-ton capacity, and available to the public, whether for compensation, free or as an accommodation to clients or customers.

Parking Space/Lot: Striped, hard surfaced space within a parking area or a building of not less than one hundred fifty-seven and one-quarter (157.25) square feet (eight and one-half (8½) feet by eighteen and one-half (18½) feet, and a vertical clearance of at least seven (7) feet), exclusive of access drives, aisles, ramps, columns, or office and work area, for the storage of one-passenger automobiles or commercial vehicles under two-ton capacity.

Parkway Trees: Trees which are planted in the public right-of-way.

Party Wall: A wall which is common to but divides contiguous buildings.

Payday Loan: Any transaction conducted via any medium whatsoever, including but not limited to, paper, facsimile, internet, or telephone, in which:

(1)

A lender accepts one (1) or more checks dated on the date written and agrees to hold them for a period of days before deposit or presentment, or accepts one (1) or more checks dated subsequent to the date written and agrees to hold them for deposit; or

(2)

A lender accepts one (1) or more authorizations to debit a consumer's bank account; or

(3)

A lender accepts an interest in a consumer's wages, including, but not limited to, a wage assignment.

Payday Loan Business(es): Any person or entity, including any affiliate or subsidiary of a lender or licensee, that offers or makes a payday loan, buys a whole or partial interest in a payday loan, arrange a payday loan for a third party, or acts as an agent for a third party in making a payday loan, regardless of whether approval, acceptance, or ratification by the third party is necessary to create a legal obligation for the third party, and includes any other person or entity engaged in a transaction that is in substance a disguised payday loan. This definition includes, but is not limited to, all entities required to be licensed through the State of Illinois Payday Loan Act, 815 ILCS Section 122/3-3. This definition also specifically includes any person, firm, association, corporation or partnership engaged in making any installment loan(s), other than those which have substantially equal monthly payments of principal and interest, which are fully amortized and which do not contain balloon or interest-only payments. This definition does not include: state or national banks, trust companies, savings & loan banks, the United States Postal Service, Postal Telegraph Company, or Western Union Telegraph Company, credit union, or any person, firm, association, corporation or partnership engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property at retail who, in the course of such business and only as an incident thereto, receives checks, drafts, money, or receives or issues a contractual agreement to receive money or evidence of money on an installment basis in exchange for tangible goods sold or rented on the premises, with or without using such tangible goods as collateral or as a possessible item upon default.

Pedestrian Corridor: A continuous, unobstructed, reasonably direct route that is intended and suitable for pedestrian use. Pedestrian corridors include but are not limited to sidewalks, walkways, accessways, stairways, and pedestrian bridges.

Pedestrian Sign: A sign intended primarily for viewing by pedestrian traffic, displayed as a wall sign, window sign or window display.

Performance Standard: A criterion established to control noise, odor, smoke, toxic or noxious matter, vibration, fire and explosive hazards, and glare or heat generated by, or inherent in uses of land or buildings.

Person: An individual, partnership, corporation, joint stock association, or joint venture, and includes any trustee, estate, receiver, assignee or personal representative.

Pier: An upright structure of masonry to serve as a principal support, whether isolated or part of a wall.

Pilaster: an upright architectural member that is structurally a pier but architecturally treated as a column and that usually projects a third of its width or less from the wall

Place: An open unoccupied space other than a street or alley, permanently reserved as the principal means of access to abutting property.

Planned Unit Development: A planned unit development is a parcel of land or contiguous parcels of land of a size sufficient to create its own environment, controlled by a single landowner or by a group of landowners in common agreement as to control, to be developed as a single entity, the environment of which is compatible with adjacent parcels, and the intent of the zoning district or districts in which it is located. The developer or developers of a planned unit development may be granted relief from specific land-use regulations and design standards and may be awarded certain premiums in return for assurances of an overall quality of development, including any specific features which will be of exceptional benefit to the community as a whole.

Plaza: A public open space at ground level wholly or partly enclosed by a building or buildings. It is continuously accessible to the public and has openings to the sky.

Portable Storage Device: A reusable cargo container of a rigid construction and rectangular configuration; fitted with devices permitting its ready handling; so designed to be readily filled and emptied; intended to contain one (1) or more articles of cargo or commodities for transportation by one (1) or more transport modes. The term includes completely enclosed units, open top units, fractional height units and other variations fitting into the container system. This definition shall include but not be limited to the following: Portable On Demand Storage Units, Intermodal Storage Containers.

Portable Storage Device Facility: An open air facility for the storage of portable storage devices.

Portico: A roofed entrance porch, often supported by columns or pillars.

Practitioner: A person licensed by the State of Illinois to practice medicine or other healing arts.

Precode: Uses established prior to April 1, 1931.

Preferred Frequencies: Those frequencies in Hertz preferred for acoustical measurements which, for the purposes of this regulation, consist of the following set of values: 20, 25, 31.5, 40, 50, 63, 80, 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 315, 400, 500, 630, 800, 1000, 1250, 1600, 2000, 2500, 3150, 4000, 5000, 6300, 8000, 10,000, 12,500.

Premises: A distinct portion of real estate, land or lands with or without buildings or structures. It may or may not have the same meaning as "lot," "building" or "structure."

Principal Structure: A structure or, where the context so indicates, a group of structures in or on which is conducted the principal use of the zoning lot on which such structure is located.

Principal Use: The main use of land or structures, as distinguished from a secondary accessory use.

Projecting Sign: A sign other than a wall sign which projects from and is supported by a wall of the building or structure.

Prominent Discrete Tone: Sound, having a one-third (1/3) octave band sound pressure level which when measured in a one-third (1/3) octave band at the preferred frequencies, exceeds the arithmetic average of the sound pressure levels of the two (2) adjacent one-third (1/3) octave bands on either side of such one-third (1/3) octave band by:

(a)

Five (5) dB for such one-third (1/3) octave band with a center frequency from five hundred (500) Hertz to ten thousand (10,000) Hertz, inclusive. Provided, such one-third (1/3) octave band sound pressure level exceeds the sound pressure level of each adjacent one-third (1/3) octave band; or

(b)

Eight (8) dB for such one-third octave band with a center frequency from one hundred sixty (160) Hertz to four hundred (400) Hertz, inclusive. Provided, such one-third (1/3) octave band sound pressure level exceeds the sound pressure level of each adjacent one-third (1/3) octave band; or

(c)

Fifteen (15) dB for such one-third (1/3) octave band with a center frequency from two hundred fifteen (215) Hertz to one hundred twenty-five (125) Hertz, inclusive. Provided, such one-third (1/3) octave band sound pressure level exceeds the sound pressure level of each adjacent one-third (1/3) octave band.

Proprietary Interest: Private ownership of a given plot of land.

Public Property: Site or property owned or controlled by the City of Peoria, Peoria County, Peoria Park District, School District 150 and Greater Peoria Sanitary District.

Quasi-Public Uses: Land or building uses that combine a public and private function, such as museums and parks.

Recovery Home: Alcohol and drug free housing authorized by an intervention license issued by the Illinois Department of Human Services, whose rules, peer-led groups, staff activities and/or other structured operations are directed toward maintenance of sobriety for persons in early recovery from substance abuse or who recently have completed substance abuse treatment services or who may still be receiving such treatment services at another licensed facility.

Recreational Vehicle: Every vehicle designed for temporary living quarters, or recreation such as but not limited to, boats, campers, snowmobiles, jet skis, and motor homes.

Rehab Facilities: A building or portion thereof where a group of persons are admitted for periods of more than one (1) day for the primary purpose of taking a program of physical rehabilitation.

Replacement Cost: The cost to build a structure which has been destroyed or partially destroyed with a new structure which conforms to modern building standards and which is otherwise substantially similar to the structure which was destroyed or partially destroyed. Calculation of the replacement cost shall be based on the most current Building Valuation Data Report as published in the most current copy of BOCA—The Building Official and Code Administration Magazine.

Residential Antenna: A ground or building mounted receive only radio, HAM radio, television or satellite dish antenna (one meter or less in diameter) for the sole use of the residents occupying a residential parcel on which the antenna or satellite dish is located.

Residential Cluster Development: A development which allows various dwelling unit types including single-family detached, single-family attached and stacked units, a flexibility of dwelling unit placement which encourages the preservation of natural open space.

Residential District or Zone: Any one (1) or all of the A1, RE, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, or R8 districts.

Residential District Special Use Sign: A freestanding or wall sign located on a property that has been granted a special use in a residential district by the City Council. A residential district special use sign cannot exceed a maximum of twenty (20) square feet nor, for a free-standing sign, have a maximum height of [more than] five (5) feet.

Residential Sign District: Those parts of the city which are located in zoning base districts A1, RE, R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, and any associated overlay districts according to the Official Zoning Map are designated as Residential Sign Districts.

Residential Treatment Facility: A licensed inpatient treatment facility for alcoholism and other drug dependency, sub-acute inpatient treatment, clinically managed or medically monitored detoxification, and residential extended care authorized by a license.

Restaurant, Standard: Any restaurant facility where the consumption of food, frozen desserts, or beverages within a motor vehicle parked upon the premises, or at other facilities outside of the restaurant building is posted as being prohibited and such prohibition is strictly enforced by the restaurateur.

Retaining Wall: A wall designed to resist the lateral displacement of soil or other material. Retaining walls are limited to (3) three feet in height measured from the base of the wall to the top of the wall. The wall top must follow an established grade and cannot protrude above the established grade.

Right-of-way: An area of land not on a lot that is dedicated for public or private use to accommodate a transportation system and necessary public utility infrastructure (including but not limited to water lines, sewer lines, power lines, and gas lines.)

Roof Line: This shall mean either the edge of the roof or the top of the parapet, whichever forms the top line of the building silhouette and, where a building has several roof levels, this roof or parapet shall be the one belonging to that portion of the building on whose wall the sign is located.

Roof Sign: A sign erected or maintained in whole or in part upon, above, or over the roof line of a building.

Rooming House: Any building in which three (3) or more persons either individually or as families are housed or lodged for compensation with or without meals. A boarding house or furnished room house shall be deemed a "rooming house."

Satellite Antenna, Private: Any accessory structure capable of receiving, for the sole benefit of the principal use, radio or television signals from a transmitter or a transmitter relay located in planetary orbit. This definition includes but is not limited to, satellite receivers, satellite dish antennas, direct broadcast systems (DBSs), and television reception only systems (TVROS).

Satellite Dish Antenna: A device or instrument, designed for television or other electronic communications signal broadcast or relayed from an earth satellite. It may be a solid, open mesh, or bar-configured structure, typically eight (8) to twelve (12) feet in diameter, in the shape of a shallow dish or parabola.

Schools for the Arts: An institution for the teaching of children or adults including dance, art, martial arts, music, photographic studio or classroom and other similar facilities.

Scoreboard: a sign accessory to an athletic playing field and/or its associated fences and walls, used to report scores to viewers of the events.

Service Organization Sign: A sign which identifies a service organization which regularly functions within the City such as the Rotary Club, the Kiwanis Club and the like.

Setback: The minimum distance maintained between a street right-of-way and the nearest supporting member of any structure on the lot.

Shade Tree: A deciduous plant which generally creates a tall and wide overhead canopy under natural growing conditions. Shade trees will usually have a single trunk. Such plants will shed their leaves and are dormant during winter.

Shopping Center: A unified group of commercial establishments sharing a common building or buildings, off-street plaza, site access, signage, and/or parking area to which such commercial establishments are oriented on a site of a minimum of three (3) acres.

Short Form Complaint: Standard form "ticket" citation or summons form adopted by the Zoning Administrator which conforms to the rules of the Illinois Supreme Court.

Shrub: A woody plant with several low branching stems instead of a single trunk.

Sight Triangle: The imaginary triangular area formed at a street corner by projecting the curblines of the two (2) intersecting streets to where the two (2) projected lines would cross. From that intersecting point one (1) measures twenty-five (25) feet back along both curbs and then the two (2) end points are then connected. Within this imaginary triangle, no visual obstructions taller than three (3) feet are allowed.

Sign: Any device, display or structure, other than a building or landscaping, which is readily visible from public property and is used primarily for visual communication for the purpose of, or having the effect of, bringing the subject matter depicted on the device, display or structures, to the attention of persons off the premises on which the sign is displayed. The foregoing definition includes (but is not limited to) any and all reading matter, letters, numerals, pictorial representations, emblems, trademarks, flags, banners, streamers, pennants, inscriptions, and patterns.

Sign Area: The area of sign face (which is also the sign area of a wall sign or other sign with only one (1) face) shall be computed by means of the smallest square, circle, rectangle, triangle, or combination thereof that will encompass the extreme limits of the writing, representation, emblem, or other display, together with any material or color forming an integral part of the background of the display or used to differentiate the sign from the backdrop or structure against which it is placed, but not including any supporting framework, bracing, or decorative fence or wall when such fence or wall otherwise meets zoning ordinance regulations and is clearly incidental to the display itself.

The sign area for a sign with more than one (1) face shall be computed by adding together the area of all sign faces visible from any one (1) point. When two (2) identical sign faces are placed back to back, so that both faces cannot be viewed from any point at the same time, and when such sign faces are part of the same sign structure and are not more than forty-two (42) inches apart, the sign area shall be computed by the measurement of one (1) of the faces. The sign area for V-type signs having an interior angle between faces of not more than forty-five (45) degrees shall be computed by the measurement of one (1) of the faces. The sign area for V-type signs having an interior angle between faces of more than forty-five (45) degrees shall be computed by the measurement of each of the faces totaled together.

Sign, Automatic Changing or Electronic Message Sign or Center: An electronically activated changeable sign whose variable message capability can be electronically programmed.

Sign, Can: A sign that contains all the text and/or logo symbols within a single enclosed cabinet and may or may not be illuminated.

Sign, Flashing Sign: Any sign which contains an intermittent or flashing light source, or which includes the illusion of intermittent or flashing light by means of animation or an externally mounted intermittent light source.

Sign Height: The height of a sign shall be computed as the distance from the base of the sign at normal grade to the top of the highest attached component of the sign. Normal grade shall be construed to be the lower of (1) existing grade prior to construction or (2) the newly established grade after construction, exclusive of any filling, berming, mounding, or excavating solely for the purpose of locating the sign. In cases in which the normal grade cannot reasonably be determined, sign height shall be computed on the assumption that the elevation of the normal grade at the base of the sign is equal to the elevation of the nearest point of the crown of a public street or the grade of the land at the principal entrance to the principal structure on the zoning lot, whichever is lower.

Sign, Historic: Any sign which is significant because it is part of a structure, or site which is important because of its historic significance, or which is itself significant because it is important, famous, or decisive in history.

Sign, Inflatable: means any sign inflated or supported by winds, air or pneumatic noncombustible pressure anchored to the ground on a temporary basis, used as a means of directing attention to a business for the purpose of a grand opening.

Sign, Monument: A freestanding sign where the base of the sign structure is affixed to the ground.

Sign, Pole: A freestanding sign that is affixed, attached, or erected on a pole that is not itself an integral part of or attached to a building or structure. See also: Freestanding Sign

Single-Family Attached Structure: A group of two (2) or more dwelling units attached by a wall, which is one (1) or more stories in height, with each dwelling unit accessible by its own separate exterior entrance at grade level.

Single-Family Detached Structure: A freestanding single-family dwelling unit.

Single Family District Multiple Dwelling Unit Structure: A structure, located in a single family zoning district, which has the physical arrangement and continuous use of multiple dwelling units prior to January 1, 1963 subject to conditions that 1) the number of units not increase from the number established prior to January 1, 1963, 2) the average size for dwelling units be 1,100 square feet and the minimum size of the structure be three thousand (3,000) square feet, 3) the provision of two (2) off street parking spaces per dwellings unit, 4) the structure maintains its original architectural character and is not enlarged, and 5) the property be located in the Local Historic District.

Single Room Occupancy: A residential property that includes multiple single room dwelling units. Each unit is for occupancy by primarily one (1) individual but not more than two (2) individuals. The unit need not, but may contain food preparation or sanitary facilities, or both. Units are not for lease by the general public but for certain qualified individuals. The property may or may not have on or off site supportive services as a condition of residency.

Site Hardware: Includes but is not limited to street furniture, lighting standards, mailboxes, control boxes, newspaper boxes, roadway signs, and fire hydrants.

Site Plan Review Board: An administrative body reflecting representation from the departments of Planning, Zoning Administration, Public Works, Traffic Engineering, Police, Fire, and Inspections.

Small Wind Energy Conversion Systems (SWECS): An end-user wind energy conversion system consisting of a wind turbine, a tower, and associated controls or conversion electronics, which has a rated capacity of not more than 100 kilowatts (kW) and which is intended to primarily reduce on-site consumption of utility power.

Sorority: A student organization formed chiefly for social purposes, having secret rites and a name consisting of Greek letters. The organization's headquarters may or may not include room and board facilities.

Sound: An oscillation in pressure in air.

Sound Pressure Level: In decibels, twenty (20) times the logarithm to the base ten (10) of the ratio of the magnitude of a particular sound pressure to the standard reference pressure. The standard reference pressure is twenty (20) micronewtons per square meter.

SPRB: The Site Plan Review Board of the City of Peoria. (See Site Plan Review Board.)

Stacked Unit Structure: A group of two (2) or more dwelling units attached through the ceiling or floor and physically located on top of [one] another.

Storefront: Street-facing facade area below the floor plane of the second floor.

Story: That portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it, [or, if there is no floor above it,] then the space between such floor and the ceiling next above it.

Story, Half: A story under a gable, hip or gambrel roof, the wall plates of which at least two (2) opposite exterior walls are not more than two (2) feet above the floor of such story.

Streamer: A temporary sign, constructed of lightweight plastic, canvas, fabric, or other temporary material, designed to move in the wind, attached to a pole or standard or wall mounted, usually an elongated rectangle, and intended for a limited period of display.

Street: A thoroughfare which affords the principal means of access to abutting property.

Street Hardware: Objects other than buildings, structures, and plantings, located in streets and public ways and outside of buildings. Examples are lamp posts, utility poles, traffic lights, traffic signs, benches, litter containers, planting containers, letter boxes, fire hydrants.

Street Tree: Trees strategically planted—usually in parkway strips, medians, or along streets—to enhance the visual quality of a street.

Streetscape: The scene as may be observed along a public street or way composed of natural and man-made components, including buildings, paving, planting, street hardware, and miscellaneous structures.

String Pennants: A temporary sign, constructed of lightweight plastic, canvas, fabric, or other temporary material, suspended from a rope, wire, or string, in a series, designed to move in the wind, and intended for a limited period of display.

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

Structure: Anything constructed or erected with a fixed location on the ground, or attached to something having a fixed location on the ground. Among other things, structures include buildings, walls, swimming pools, and signs, but shall not include fences.

Supermarket: A self-serve retail market selling foods and a limited selection of household merchandise.

Support Structure: A structure designed and constructed specifically to support an Antenna Array, and may include a monopole, self supporting (lattice) tower, guy-wire-support tower and other similar structures. Any device (Attachment Device) which is used to attach an Attached WCF to an existing building or structure (Attachment Structure) shall be excluded from the definition of and regulations applicable to support structures.

Telecommunication Service Provider: Every corporation, company, association, joint stock company, firm, partnership, limited liability company, other entity and individual which provides wireless communication service directly or indirectly.

Telephone and Internet Switching Equipment Shelter: Any structure used to contain equipment for Telephone/Internet Switching or any communication equipment linked by a network of cables including but not limited to fiber optic cables. Such structures may include cabinets, buildings, and other similar structures. Telephone and Internet Switching Equipment Shelters do not include wireless communications antennas and towers equipment shelters.

Temporary Use: A use established for a fixed period of time with the intent to discontinue such use upon the expiration of such time; and does not involve the construction or alteration of any permanent structure.

Temporary Wireless Communication Facility (Temporary WCF): A WCF to be placed in use for ninety (90) or fewer days.

Terrace: A raised level space or platform of earth, supported on one (1) or more sides by a wall or bank of vegetative ground cover, and used either for cultivation or for a promenade. Terracing is used in a stair-step fashion on steep slopes to prevent erosion and provide additional space for plantings or outdoor activity areas. A terrace wall may not exceed three (3) feet in height measured from the base of the wall to the top of the wall. The wall top must follow an established grade and cannot protrude above the established grade.

Thoroughfare: A major street passing through a busy business and/or commercial area and identified as a thoroughfare on the Official Thoroughfare Plan of the City of Peoria. A thoroughfare is characterized by lots whose rear yards abut a residential district.

Title Loan: A loan wherein, at commencement, a borrower provides to the lender, as security for the loan, physical possession of the obligor's title to a motor vehicle, a boat, or any other personal property but does not create a purchase money security interest pursuant to 810 ILCS Section 5/9-103.

Title Loan Business(es): Any person or entity, including any affiliate or subsidiary of a lender or licensee, that as its primary business offers or makes a title loan, buys a whole or partial interest in a title loan, arrange a title loan for a third party, or acts as an agent for a third party in making a title loan, regardless of whether approval, acceptance, or ratification by the third party is necessary to create a legal obligation for the third party and/or who holds itself out to the public as a title loan establishment. This definition does not include: state or national banks, trust companies, savings & loan banks, the United States Postal Service, Postal Telegraph Company, or Western Union Telegraph Company, or credit unions.

Tower: Any structure that is designed and constructed primarily for the purpose of supporting antennas including self-supporting lattice towers, guy towers, or monopole towers. The term includes radio transmission towers, microwave towers, common-carrier towers, cellular and PCS telephone antenna towers, alternative tower structures, and the like.

Tower Compound Buffer (TCB): A landscaped, ten (10) feet wide strip that provides compatibility between a tower site and a residential parcel or structures. TCB may include area(s) within the required property line setback area.

Townhouse: A group or row of three (3) or more, but not more than six (6) attached single-family dwelling units extending from the basement to the roof and facing upon a street or place as herein defined.

Traffic Impact Analysis: A study and analysis of how a given use, plan or development, will affect traffic flows (vehicular and pedestrian) in the surrounding area. Analysis shall include, but not be limited to, the amount of vehicles generated to and from the site, additional traffic volumes on surrounding roadway network, traffic capacity calculations, pedestrian safety, and truck delivery/maneuvering areas. Analysis is to be made generally for the P.M. peak hour unless otherwise designated by the City Traffic Engineer. The end product of analysis will be to specify which, if any, roadway improvements and/or traffic control improvements are required.

Trailer: Every vehicle without motive power in operation designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed that no part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle.

Transitional Buffer Yard: A landscaped yard which provides increased compatibility between incompatible land uses. See Section 16.3.c.

Transitional Lot: A specified lot or lots, adjoining a specified lot, or lots, in another district. The "transitional" identification is used when special transitional regulations are applied to deal with possible conflicts of uses at district boundaries. Transitional buffer yards may be imposed at these locations to act as a buffer between uses.

Transom: A window above an opening such as a door or window built on a horizontal crossbar; often hinged on the top to swing open for ventilation.

Tree: A woody perennial plant typically attaining an overall height of fifteen (15) feet or more, usually with a main stem or trunk (or multi-stem clump) which develops many branches, usually at some height above the ground.

Tree, Intermediate: A tree with an unmaintained average mature height of less than thirty (30) feet.

Tree Lawn: That section of the public right-of-way located between the street curb and the public sidewalk.

Travelway: That section of the public right-of-way devoted to the movement of vehicles and/or pedestrians.

Trellise: A frame of latticework used as a screen or as a support for climbing plants

Upper Facade: Above the storefront. Displays the structure's essential architectural style.

Under Canopy Sign: A sign suspended beneath a canopy, ceiling, roof, or marquee. The lower edge of the under canopy sign shall be a minimum of nine (9) feet above the surface of the ground.

The sign size shall be limited to a maximum eighteen (18) inches of depth, and the sign length shall be no longer than seventy-five (75) percent of the depth of the canopy, ceiling, roof, or marquee to which the sign is attached.

Underlying District: See District, Underlying.

Use, change of: The replacement of an existing use on any portion of a parcel, by a new use, or a change in the nature of an existing use, but does not include a change of ownership, tenancy, or management associated with a use in which the previous nature of the use remains substantially unchanged. A change in use from a vacant structure to an occupied structure shall be considered a change of use, unless the use is a resumption of a prior use. For the purposes of this section, the prior use includes the last legally established use of the vacant structure provided that the vacancy has not occurred for a period of more than 12 consecutive months.

Use, Illegal: Any use of land, building, or structure which did not conform to applicable laws when constructed or initiated, and does not conform to the provisions of this Ordinance.

Use, Nonconforming: Any use of land, building, or structures which complied with applicable laws when established but does not conform to the provisions of this Ordinance.

Use, Permitted: Any building, structure, or use which complies with the applicable regulation of the ordinance governing permitted uses in the zoning districts in which such building, structure or use is located.

Use, Primary: The main use of the land, building or structure as distinguished from a subordinate or accessory use.

Use, Special: Any building, structure or use which on or after the effective date of this ordinance complies with the applicable regulations governing special uses in the zoning districts in which such building, structure, or use is located.

Utility Structures: Any above-ground structure that has as its primary function to assist as a support device or to directly receive or transmit materials, signals, currents, or information to or from a utility that provides an essential public service such as but not limited to electric, gas telephone, or cable television.

Valance: A drapery hung along the edge of an awning sign.

Variation: A relaxation of the terms of the ordinance with respect to a specific zoning lot or group of lots where such variation is consistent with the standards set forth in Article 2.

Variation, Major: All variations authorized by this ordinance which are not minor variations shall be considered major variations. Any variation request of transitional buffer yard requirements shall be considered a major variation.

Variation, Minor: Minor variations are variations from height, yard (with the exception of transitional buffer yard requirements), bulk, lot area, and fence height provisions of this ordinance that are less than twenty (20) percent of the required standard. (For example, a variation from a required twenty-foot yard setback in an amount of less than four (4) feet is a minor variation, while a variation from a required twenty-foot setback in an amount of four (4) feet or more is not a minor variation.)

Vehicle: Every device, in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon, except devices moved by human power.

Visitor: Any individual present at the site of the home occupation or commercial reasons related to the home occupation other than actual residents of the dwelling unit, governmental officials and employees. The term shall include clients, patrons, pupils, suppliers, sales persons, delivery persons, etc.

Voluntary Abandonment of Nonconforming Use: Any cessation or interruption of a legal nonconforming use which is not necessitated by litigation, or a dispute over the right to possession of property. Any such interruption shall be considered voluntary unless the parties make a good faith effort to promptly resolve the dispute or terminate the litigation. However, any structure originally designed and intended for multiple dwelling units may have its use continued provided the original structure has not been altered to diminish the original number of dwelling units and the owner can show evidence of continuous use. Additional units cannot be added to the original design.

Wall Sign: A sign affixed directly to or painted on an exterior wall and confined within the limits of any building and which projects from the surface it is affixed to not more than fifteen (15) inches. Wall signs include, but are not limited to, paintings or other art work applied to or made integral with an exterior wall surface and contains name or logo.

Warehouse: A structure, part thereof, or area used principally for the storage of goods and merchandise.

Window: An opening in the wall of a building that is made of transparent material.

Window, Clerestory: Windows located above storefront windows in commercial-type buildings.

Window Display: One (1) or more signs in a display window which are incorporated with a display or merchandise or relating to services offered but which are not affixed to any window.

Window, Ribbon: Any opening in a wall or roof which functions or appears to function to admit light to a building or structure and extends for the entire facade length.

Window Sign: A sign which is affixed to, or in contact with the glass surface of a window or the glass surface of a door, and is visible from the public street.

Wireless Communications: Any personal wireless services as defined in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which includes FCC licensed commercial wireless telecommunications services including cellular, Personal Communication Services (PCS), specialized mobile radio (SNM), enhanced specialized mobile radio (ESMR), paging, wireless data service and similar services that currently exist.

Wireless Communication Facility (WCF): Any unstaffed facility for the transmission and/or reception of wireless and fiber optics transmitted telecommunications services, usually consisting of one (1) or more of the following: an antenna array, connection cables, an equipment facility, and a support structure to achieve the necessary elevation.

Work of Art: An object other than a sign which is valued primarily for its decorative or illustrative qualities.

Yard: An existing or required open space on the same lot with a principal building, and lying along the adjoining lot lines, open, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided herein. In measuring a yard for the purpose of determining the width of a side yard, the depth of the front yard or the depth of the rear yard, the mean horizontal distance between the lot line and the principal building shall be used.

(a)

Yard, Front—The minimum horizontal distance between the property line and any buildings, or any projection thereof, other than the projection of the usual steps or entrance way and extending for the full width of the lot.

(b)

Yard, Corner Side—The minimum yard required on corner lots between any building and the property line adjacent to the street upon which the principal building does not front. This yard may be observed only when only when other lots with frontage on this side of the street in the same block do not have, nor have the ability to have, a principal building fronting this street.

(c)

Yard, Rear—A space, unoccupied, except by a building of [or] accessory use as herein provided extending for the full width of the lot between the area lot line and the extreme rear line of the principal building. On corner lots, the rear yards shall be considered as parallel to the street upon which the principal structure faces. On interior lots, the rear yard shall in all cases be at the opposite end of the lot from the front yard.

(d)

Yard, Side—A yard between any building and the side line of the lot and extending from the front lot line to the rear lot line.

ZBA: The Zoning Board of Appeals of Peoria.

Zoning Administrator: The Director of Planning and Zoning for the City of Peoria or his/her designee(s); he/she shall exercise the authority and perform the duties of Zoning Administrator as defined in Article 2 of this Ordinance.

Zoning Certificate: Refers to either a Zoning Compliance Certificate or Zoning Exception Certificate.

Zoning Compliance Certificate: A certificate issued by the Zoning Administrator certifying that a proposed or existing lot, proposed or existing structures thereon, and proposed or existing use complies with the requirements of this Ordinance.

Zoning Exception Certificate: A Zoning Exception Certificate may be issued by the Zoning Administrator for any zoning lot which has a nonconforming use or structure which may be maintained because relief has been granted from any of the provisions of this Code due to one (1) or more of the following:

(a)

Its establishment as a lawful, nonconforming building;

(b)

Its establishment as a lawful special use;

(c)

The granting of a variation by the Zoning Board of Appeals or the City Council; or

(d)

Court action.

Zoning Map: A delineation of the boundaries of areas or divisions of the City for the purpose of regulating, limiting and determining the height and bulk of buildings, the intensity of the use of lot area, the areas of open spaces about the surrounding buildings for the purpose of classifying, regulating and restricting the location of trades and industries, and buildings designed for specified industrial, business and residential uses, and which map is attested to and is on file in the office of the City Clerk.

(Ord. No. 13294, § 1, 10-15-91; Ord. No. 13296, § 1, 11-5-91; Ord. No. 13346, § 1, 2-18-92; Ord. No. 13412, § 1, 6-16-92; Ord. No. 13432, § 2, 7-21-92; Ord. No. 13486, § 1, 11-17-92; Ord. No. 13505, § 1, 12-15-92; Ord. No. 13601, § 1, 7-20-93; Ord. No. 13670, §§ 3, 4, 1-18-94; Ord. No. 13721, § 1, 3-29-94; Ord. No. 13766, § 1, 6-21-94; Ord. No. 13829, § 1, 10-18-94; Ord. No. 13836, § 1, 11-1-94; Ord. No. 13925, § 1, 4-25-95; Ord. No. 13966, § 1, 7-25-95; Ord. No. 13996, § 1, 9-26-95; Ord. No. 13998, § 1, 10-3-95; Ord. No. 14133, § 1, 7-2-96; Ord. No. 14170, § 1, 9-17-96; Ord. No. 14361, § 1, 8-19-97; Ord. No. 14682, § 1, 2-16-99; Ord. No. 14658, § 1, 1-19-99; Ord. No. 15416, § 1, 12-17-02; Ord. No. 15573, § 1, 1-20-04; Ord. No. 15749, § 1, 2-15-05; Ord. No. 15756, § 1, 3-15-05; Ord. No. 15779, § 1, 5-24-05; Ord. No. 15853, § 1, 11-15-05; Ord. No. 15882, § 1, 2-7-06; Ord. No. 15916, § 1, 4-18-06; Ord. No. 16062, § 1, 1-9-07; Ord. No. 16365, § 1, 11-25-08; Ord. No. 16522, § 1, 1-26-10; Ord. No. 16526, § 1, 1-26-10; Ord. No. 16546, § 1, 3-23-10; Ord. No. 16571, § 1, 6-8-10; Ord. No. 16574, § 1, 6-22-10; Ord. No. 16589, § 1, 7-27-10; Ord. No. 16605, § 1, 9-14-10; Ord. No. 16608, § 1, 9-28-10; Ord. No. 16618, § 1, 10-26-10; Ord. No. 16653, § 1, 1-25-11; Ord. No. 16692, § 1, 4-12-11)