Words in this title used in the present tense include the future; the plural includes the singular; the words "must," "shall" and "will" indicate a mandatory requirement while the word "may" indicates that discretion may be used; and the words "used" or "occupied" are considered to be followed by the words "or intended, arranged, or designed to be used or occupied."

Unless the context indicates otherwise, the following terms, used in this title, have the following meanings:

Abutting means touching at a point or line.

Accessory Dwelling Unit means an additional Dwelling Unit subordinate and incidental to the main residential use.

Accessory Structure means a Structure on the same Lot, which is incidental and subordinate to the principal Structure. An Accessory Structure shall be permitted on an adjoining Lot if both Lots are under same ownership.

Accessory Use means a Use on the same Lot, which is incidental and subordinate to the principal use.

Assisted Care Home means a home which provides personal care, room, and board to more than one (1) but not more than six (6) adults not related by blood or marriage to the operator in a family setting. Also included is any place or institution, which operates or maintains facilities for providing convalescent or long-term care, or both.

Automotive Impound Yards means outdoor secured storage for temporary placement of vehicles.

Berm means an earthen mound designed to provide visual interest, Screen undesirable views, provide separation between Uses, and/or decrease noise.

Bikeway means a designated multiUse path for pedestrians and bicycles, or a designated lane within street Rights-of-Way established for use by bicycles.

Buffer means a combination of physical space and vertical elements, such as plants, Berms, fences, or walls. The purpose of a Buffer is to separate incompatible land Uses from each other.

Building Height means the vertical distance measured from the average elevation of the proposed finished Grade at the front of the building to the highest point of the roof for flat roofs, to the deck line of Mansard roofs, and to the top of building walls for gable, and hip and gambrel roofs.

Building Line means the edge or side of a building nearest a Lot line. The line facing the front Lot line is the front Building Line.

Commercial Coach means a factory built prefabricated assembly designed for commercial occupancy and has been issued a Commercial Coach certificate of approval by the State of Idaho. Such unit has wheels attached for transportation, which may be removed on Site when connected to the required utilities and may be set on a foundation approved by the Idaho "Manufactured Home Installation Standards Manual."

Commission means the Post Falls city planning and zoning Commission.

Community Development Division means a division of the City of Post Falls public services department consisting of the planning division, engineering division, and the building division.

Comprehensive Plan means the long-range plan used as a guide for the physical, economic, and social development of Post Falls as adopted by the Post Falls city council.

Condominium has the same meaning as that provided by Idaho Code section 55-101B and generally means an estate consisting of individual ownership of units together with common ownership of the underlying land and other common areas. Condominiums may be of residential or nonresidential nature, both newly constructed or conversions of existing construction, and including multi-unit Structure or single unit Structures.

Condominium Plan means a plat of the ground in a Condominium project along with the legal description of individual ownership(s) within the project.

Cottage Home means any detached residential Structure with a total living area, excluding any attached garage, of less than one thousand four hundred (1,400) square feet and at least eight hundred (800) square feet. The ground floor must be no larger than one thousand two hundred (1,200) square feet.

Council means the city Council of Post Falls.

Daycare means the provision of supplemental care and supervision for nonrelated children or adults on a regular basis less than twenty-four (24) hours per day. This term is not intended to include babysitting services of a casual, nonrecurring nature. "Home Daycare" is providing care and supervision to no more than five (5) children or adults at one time. Children of the provider, under the age of thirteen (13), shall be considered needing care and included in the child limit.

Deciduous means a plant with foliage that is shed annually.

Demonstrable Adverse Impact. For the purpose of the zoning review criteria contained in Section 18.20.100, a Demonstrable Adverse Impact is a provable or verifiable negative impact created by the change in zoning classification impacting the ability of a public agency to provide services within the city beyond those created by the current zoning classification.

Density means a unit of measurement used to calculate the number of Dwelling Units per acre of land.

Density, Gross means the number of Dwelling Units per acre of total land to be developed, including public Right-of-Way.

Density, Net means the number of Dwelling Units per acre of land when the acreage involved includes only the land devoted to residential Uses, excluding public Right-of-Way.

District Overlay means additional standards and/or guidelines attached to a defined area within a zoning district by ordinance. Overlays are intended to establish and promote design identity and character for those areas designated as an architectural overlay, and to protect and enhance those areas that are declared Green Space overlay.

Duplex House (DPX) means a multi-family house having separate Dwelling Units for two families with two separate entrances on a single Lot or consolidated Lots within a single tax parcel, other than where a second Dwelling Unit is permitted as an Accessory Use.

Dwelling means any building that contains one or more units used, intended, or designed to be built, used, rented, leased, let, or hired out to be occupied, or that are occupied for living purposes.

Dwelling Unit (D.U.) means a single unit providing complete independent living facilities for one or more persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation.

Evergreen means a plant with foliage that persists and remains green year round.

Farming means an activity involving the manipulation of the land for profit or personal use. This usually involves the seeding, cultivating, and harvesting of a crop.

Floodplain means the relatively flat area or lowland adjoining the channel of a river, stream, lake, or other body of water which has been or may be covered by water of a flood of 100-year frequency.

Floor Area means the area of an enclosed floor measured from the interior faces of exterior walls.

Frontage Improvements means urban roadway improvements consisting of curbing, sidewalk, utilities, street lighting, storm drainage facilities, street Trees,Landscaping, irrigation, and paving, developed to current design and construction standards.

Front Loaded means a residence where both the front door and the garage door are accessed via the Principal Frontage.

Grade means the finished ground level adjoining the building at all exterior walls.

Green Roof means a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems.

Green Space means a planned Open Space following guidelines established by the community that has determined cultural, ecological, and recreational values for such space. Green Space may include parks, trail systems, natural areas, ecological preserves, etc.

Gross Floor Area means the sum of the Floor Area less basements, attic space providing structural headroom of less than five (5) feet, and unenclosed steps, porches, terraces and balconies.

Hearing Examiner means a professionally trained or licensed Staff planner, attorney, engineer, or architect appointed by the city Council to carry out duties authorized by Idaho Code section 67-6520, or its successor, pursuant to procedures required or allowed by this title.

Home Occupation means an occupation conducted within a Dwelling Unit or residential accessory buildings.

Industrial, Heavy means processing, assembling, storing, testing and similar industrial Uses which are generally major operations and extensive in character, requiring larger Sites, open storage and service areas, ready access to regional transportation and normally generate some nuisances such as smoke, noise, vibration, dust, and glare.

Industrial, Light means industrial Uses which have less detrimental effect upon surrounding properties by a reduction or elimination of nuisances such as smoke, noise, vibration, dust, glare, air pollution, and water pollution, and less demand upon public services such as electricity, gas, sewers, and streets.

International Building Code (IBC) is a model building code developed by the International Code Council (ICC). It has been adopted for use as a base code standard by most jurisdictions in the United States. The IBC addresses both health and safety concerns for buildings based upon prescriptive and performance related requirements. The IBC is fully compatible with all other published ICC codes. The code provisions are intended to protect public health and safety while avoiding both unnecessary costs and preferential treatment of specific materials or methods of construction.

Junkyard means a place where junk, waste, discarded or salvaged materials are bought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled, packed, disassembled, or handled. The term "Junkyard" shall not be construed to include the above described Uses if conducted entirely within an enclosed building; or recycling collection centers, pawnshops and establishments for the sale, purchase, or storage of used furniture and household equipment; used cars in operable condition; used or salvaged machinery in operable condition; or the processing of used, discarded, or salvaged materials as a minor part of manufacturing operations.

Landscaping means a aesthetically pleasing space using ground cover, Shrubs, Trees, building materials, or a combination thereof.

Lot means a parcel of land established by a subdivision plat filed pursuant to Idaho law.

Lot Coverage means that percentage of the total Lot area covered by buildings.

Lot Frontage means that portion of the Lot adjacent to street Rights-of-Way. For determining Yard requirements on Corner Lots and Through Lots, all sides of a Lot adjacent to streets must be considered frontage and Yards must be provided as indicated under the definition of "Yard" in this section.

Lot of Record means a parcel of land that is part of a subdivision or a parcel of land described by metes and bounds, the description of which has been so recorded. In some instances tax numbers describe parcels solely and may not be Lots of metes and bounds.

Lot Types means terminology used in this title with reference to Corner Lots, Interior Lots and Through Lots is as follows:

Corner Lot means a Lot located at the intersection of two (2) or more streets.

Flag Lot means Lots or parcels with less frontage on a public or private street than is required. The panhandle, or "pole" portion of such Lot, is an access corridor to Lots or parcels located behind Lots or parcels with normally required Street Frontage.

Interior Lot means a Lot with frontage on one street.

Irregular Lot means a nonrectangular Lot which may present numerous property lines that could be considered front, side, or rear Lot lines.

Through Lot means a Lot other than a Corner Lot with frontage on more than one street. Through Lots Abutting two (2) streets may be referred to as double frontage Lots.

Lot Width means the width of a Lot measured at the required front Setback Line.

Manufactured Home means a factory-built assembly designed for residential occupancy. Such housing is built on a permanent chassis and has wheels attached for transportation, which are removed on Site when connected to the required utilities and set on a foundation approved by the Idaho "Manufactured Home Installation Standards Manual." Such housing is manufactured on or after June 15, 1976 and is certified as meeting the manufactured housing construction safety standards of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Mobile Home means a factory built residential Structure transportable in one or more sections, which is manufactured prior to June 15, 1976, and which is built on a permanent chassis, and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation.

Mobile Home Park means any Site or tract of land under single ownership, upon which two (2) or more Mobile Homes and/or Manufactured Homes are set.

Modular Structure means a factory built prefabricated assembly designed for residential or commercial occupancy where all prefabricated construction and all materials conform to the requirements of the International Building Code and has been issued a certificate of approval. Such housing does not contain a permanent chassis frame and must be mounted on a permanent foundation or a building component and is transported to the Site by flatbed trailer.

Nonconforming Use means a building, Structure or Use of land, which does not conform to the regulations of the district in which it is situated.

Offset Face means the face of a Structure that is recessed from the Principal Face. Reference the diagram regarding Townhome performance standards within section 18.24.030 of this title for a visual representation.

Open Space means an area, substantially undeveloped, which may or may not be open to the public. Open Space may include, along with the natural environmental features, active and passive recreation areas and necessary utilities and support infrastructure and facilities. Active recreation areas provide space for scheduled, organized activities such as baseball fields and soccer fields, or that have highly developed facilities, such as skate parks or Swimming Pools. Passive recreation areas are those that have a lower level of development, preserve natural habitat, or provide space for unorganized play such as playgrounds, trails and basketball and tennis courts.

Ornamental Tree means a Tree planted primarily for its ornamental value (flower, color, texture), or for screening purposes; tends to be smaller at maturity than a shade Tree.

Other Multi-Family (Other MF) means three (3) or more attached or detached Dwelling Units on a single tax parcel.

Parking Area means areas designated for vehicle parking purposes including surfaces designed as parking stalls, loading areas, drives within the property line, and maneuvering areas.

Parking Cluster means a common Parking Area consisting of no more than six (6) stalls meeting ADA accessibility requirements.

Performance Guarantee means a bond, surety, cash, or an irrevocable letter of credit provided to the city by a developer in an amount set by ordinance for guaranteeing the completion of physical improvements according to plans and specifications within a time prescribed.

Permit means written authorization to perform work or establish a land Use under this title.

Planned Unit Development means a development process, provided for by ordinance that allows for flexibility in the application of regulations and standards for consideration provided by a developer.

Principal Face means the closest structural plane of a building that is usually on the front of a building and faces the Principal Frontage.

Principal Frontage means the front of a Lot that is to bear the address and principal entrance to the building.

Principal Plane means the plane created by more than one Principal Face along the same line of sight and parallel to the Principal Frontage (see diagram in subsection 18.24.030.C of this title).

Public Service Facility means a building or facility that is used to provide utility type services for the community.

Public Uses means buildings and/or land areas established for and open for Use by the public.

Rear Loaded means a residence where the garage access is located on the opposite side of the Lot from the Principal Frontage.

Right(s)-of-Way means the land subject to the right of the public to pass through. Usually on which a street, alley, or thoroughfare is built, or privately owned land upon which railroad tracks are located.

Screen means method of reducing the impact of noise and unsightly visual intrusions with less offensive elements, such as plants, Berms, fences, walls, or any appropriate combination thereof. Screens are commonly used to reduce the visual impact of trash enclosures, utility Structures, or any unsightly elements. Screens may also reduce the visual impact of traffic, parking Lots, and incompatible land Uses.

Secondary Frontage means on Corner Lots, the Lot Frontage that is not the Principal Frontage.

Setback Line means a line established by this title, generally parallel with and measured from the Lot line, defining the limits within which a building or Structure may be located.

Shade Tree means usually a Deciduous Tree planted primarily for its high crown of foliage or overhead canopy.

Shrub means a woody plant, smaller than a Tree, consisting of several small stems from the ground or small branches near the ground; may be Deciduous or Evergreen.

Side Loaded means a residence where the garage door is perpendicular to the Principal Frontage.

Single-Family Home (SF) means a building containing a single Dwelling Unit.

Special Use Permit means a Use permitted within a district, other than a principally permitted Use allowed by right, requiring approval of the planning and zoning Commission and a Permit.

Staff means a city employee having knowledge in the principles and practices of planning and zoning.

Street Screen means a freestanding wall often with vegetation built along the Street Frontage or coplanar (lying or occurring in the same plane) with the facade. It may mask a parking Lot from the thoroughfare, provide privacy to a Side Yard, and/or create more privacy and accentuate positive elements of public or private spaces.

Structure means anything constructed or erected, which requires location on the ground or attachment to something having a fixed location on the ground. Among other things, Structure may include any type of building, wall, fence, or sign.

Swimming Pool means any manufactured or constructed equipment or improvement designed to contain water for swimming, wading, immersion, or therapeutic purposes for a person or persons.

Tiny Home means any detached residential structure (pre-manufactured or stick built) with a total living area, excluding any attached garage, of less than eight hundred (800) square feet.

Townhome (TH) means multiple residences (three (3) or more) connected by common walls. Within each common wall is a platted Lot line that segregates each unit. Ownership includes a defined plat of land associated with the Structure.

Tree means a large, woody plant having one or several self-supporting stems or trunks and numerous branches. May be classified as Deciduous or Evergreen.

Twin Home (TWH) means a two-unit Structure that has a common wall shared between the two (2) units. Within the common wall is a platted Lot line that segregates the two (2) units. Each unit has its own legal platted Lot but shares a common wall.

Urban Forester means the person employed by the City of Post Falls to manage public Trees and their associated regulations or their designee.

Urban Service Area means a defined area, not always coincidental with the municipal corporate boundaries, within which the city plans for basic urban services for the near future.

Use means a specific purpose for which land or a building is designed, arranged, and intended, or the actual utilization of land or Structure.

Variance means as defined within Idaho Code section 67-6516 or its successor.

Xeriscape means the practice of designing Landscaping, or gardening, that utilizes water-conserving techniques (such as drought-tolerant plants, mulch, or efficient irrigation) to reduce or eliminate the need for irrigation. Xeriscaped landscapes should need little to no water beyond what the natural climate provides.

Yard means any open area on a Lot or parcel unoccupied and unobstructed by Structures from the ground up, except for allowed accessory buildings, or such projections as are expressly permitted in these regulations.

Yard, Front means a Yard extending along the full width of a front Lot line between side Lot lines and from the front Lot line to the front Building Line in depth.

Yard, Rear means a Yard extending across the full width of the Lot and lying between the rear Lot line and the nearest line of the building. Rear Yard depth shall be measured at right angles to the rear line of the Lot. In the case of an Irregular, triangular, or other shaped Lot, the setback may be measured off a line ten (10) feet in length within the Lot parallel to and at a maximum distance from the front Lot line.

Yard, Side means a Yard lying between the side line of the Lot and the nearest line of the building and extending from the Front Yard to the Rear Yard, or in the absence of either of such front or Rear Yards, to the front or rear Lot lines. Side Yard width shall be measured at right angles to the property line.

Yard, Street Side means a Front Yard on a Corner Lot that is not situated between the predominant front Building Line and the property line.

Zero Lot Line means a Lot line with no setback.

Zoning Administrator means the Planning Manager or their designee or as otherwise designated by the mayor or city administrator to administer all or part this title.

(Ord. 1478 § 1, 2023; Ord. 1477 § 1, 2023; Ord. 1433 § 1, 2021; Ord. No. 1513, § 1, 2024)