Zoneomics Logo
search icon

Ranlo City Zoning Code

IN GENERAL

§ 154.001 SHORT TITLE.

   This chapter shall be known as and cited as “The Zoning Ordinance of the Town of Ranlo, North Carolina, and its perimeter”.
(Prior Code, § 9-4001) (Ord. passed 4-27-1970)
Statutory reference:
   Authority to adopt zoning ordinances, see G.S. §§ 160D-702 et seq.

§ 154.002 PURPOSE.

   The zoning regulations and districts as set forth in this chapter have been made in accordance with a comprehensive plan. These zoning regulations and districts are designed to avoid congestion of the streets, secure safety from fire, panic, and other dangers, and promote the public health, safety, and general welfare. They are further intended to provide adequate light and air, prevent the overcrowding of land, avoid undue congestion of population, and facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, parks, and other public and quality of life requirements. They have been made with reasonable consideration, among other things, to the character of each district and its peculiar suitability for particular uses, and with a view to conserving the value of buildings and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the town and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
(Prior Code, § 9-4001) (Ord. passed 6- -2006)

§ 154.003 DEFINITIONS.

   (A)   Interpretation. All words used in the present tense shall include the future tense; all words in the singular number shall include the plural number and all words in the plural number shall include the singular number unless the natural construction of the wording indicates otherwise; the words USED FOR shall include the meaning DESIGNED FOR; the word STRUCTURE shall include the word BUILDING; the word LOT shall include the words PLOT and TRACT; and the word SHALL is mandatory.
   (B)   Definitions. For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
      ALLEY. A public thoroughfare, other than a street, which affords a secondary means of access to an abutting property and which has a right-of-way of not less than 20 feet and not more than 40 feet in width.
      APARTMENT. A dwelling unit in a multiple dwelling intended for use as a single family residence.
      BASEMENT. An underground or partly underground story. A BASEMENT shall be counted as a story for the purposes of height measurement if the vertical distance between its ceiling and the average level of the adjoining ground is more than five feet.
      BOARDING OR ROOMING HOUSE. Dwelling unit not occupied by owner of premises where rooms are rented or meals served for compensation.
      BUILDING. Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls and intended for the shelter, housing, or enclosure of persons, animals, or chattels.
      BUILDING, ACCESSORY. A subordinate building, the use of which is incidental to that of a principal building on the same lot.
      BUILDING, PRINCIPAL. A building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is located. In a residential district, any structure containing a dwelling unit shall be deemed to be the PRINCIPAL BUILDING on the lot on which it is located.
      CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. An authorization issued by the Board of Commissioners for a conditional use permit and which may be subject to any specific restrictions or conditions on its size, location, construction, hours of operation, character of use, and other fair and reasonable conditions as specified by such approval body that are mutually approved by said approval body and the applicant.
      DWELLING, MULTIPLE. A building or portion thereof used or designed for two or more dwelling units.
      DWELLING UNIT. A house or other structure or a portion of any building or structure designed, arranged, or used for living quarters for one or more persons living as a single housekeeping unit, with cooking facilities, but not including units in hotels, trailers, or other structures designed for transient residence.
      FAMILY CARE HOME. A home with support and supervisory personnel that provides room and board, personal care and habilitation services in a family environment for not more than six resident handicapped persons, six unwed mothers and their neonates, or six battered persons with their children.
      FRONTAGE. All the property abutting on one side of a street between two intersecting streets measured along the street line.
      GARAGE, PRIVATE. A building or space used as an accessory to or a part of the main building permitted in any residence zone which provides for the storage of motor vehicles and in which no business, occupation, or service for profit is in any way conducted.
      GARAGE, PUBLIC. Any building or premises, except those described as a private or storage garage, used for the storage or for equipping, repairing, hiring or selling of motor vehicles for remuneration.
      GARAGE, STORAGE. Any building or premises, other than a private or public garage, used exclusively for the parking or storage of motor vehicles.
      HEIGHT OF BUILDING. The vertical distance from the average elevation of the finished grade along the front of the building, or from the established sidewalk or street grade, whichever is highest, to the highest point of the building. In computing the height of a building, the height of a basement, if below the grade from which the height is measured, shall not be included.
      HOME BUSINESS or CUSTOMARY HOME OCCUPATION. An occupation or profession which is conducted entirely on and within the property of the homeowner.
      HOTEL. A building or other structure kept, used, maintained, advertised as, or held out to the public to be a place where sleeping accommodations are supplied for pay to transients or permanent guests or tenants having or not having one or more dining rooms, restaurants, or cafes where meals or lunches are served to the transients or permanent guests, sleeping accommodations, restaurants, or cafes as existing being conducted in the same building in connection therewith.
      LOT. A parcel of land in single ownership occupied or intended for occupancy by a building together with its accessory buildings; including the open space required under this chapter. For the purpose of this chapter the word LOT shall be taken to mean any number of contiguous lots or portions thereof, upon which one or more main structures for a single use are to be erected.
      LOT, CORNER. A lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection.
      LOT, DEPTH. The distance measured in the mean direction of the side lines of the lot from the midpoint of the front lot line to the midpoint of the opposite main rear line of the lot.
      LOT, FRONT. The portion of a lot abutting the street right-of-way.
      LOT, INTERIOR. A lot other than a corner lot.
      LOT, THROUGH. An interior lot having frontage on two streets.
      LOT, WIDTH. The horizontal distance between the side lot lines at the front building line measured parallel with the front lot line.
      LOT OF RECORD. A lot being a part of a recorded subdivision or being described by metes and bounds in a deed recorded in the Gaston County Registry.
      MOBILE HOME, MULTI-SECTIONAL.
            (a)   CLASS A. Manufactured housing which complies with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Mobile Home Construction Standards and which meet appearance criteria and certified by the Inspection Superintendent. (See § 154.120(D).)
            (b)   CLASS B. Manufactured housing which complies with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Mobile Home Construction Standards, but which do not meet the appearance criteria, as certified by the Inspection Superintendent. (See § 154.120(D).)
            (c)   CLASS C. Manufactured housing which does not meet state and federal design and construction standards.
      MOTEL. A series of attached, semi-attached, or detached apartments containing bedroom, bathroom, and closet space and permitting approved cooking facilities, with each apartment having individual entrances leading directly from the outside of the building.
      NONCONFORMING BUILDING OR STRUCTURE. A building or structure lawfully constructed prior to the passage of this chapter, or an amendment thereto, which does not conform to the dimensional requirements or other requirements except use for the zone in which it is located.
      SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM (SES). The components and subsystems required to convert solar energy into electric or thermal energy suitable for use. The area of the SYSTEM includes all the land inside the perimeter of the system, which extends to any fencing. The term applies, but is not limited to, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, solar thermal systems, and solar hot water systems. A SYSTEM fits into one of three system types: Level 1 SES, Level 2 SES, and Level 3 SES.
      NONCONFORMING USE. A lawful use of land, building, or structure existing at the time of the passage of this chapter, or an amendment thereto, which does not conform to the use regulations for the zone in which it is located.
      PARKING SPACE. The standing storage space for one automobile plus the necessary driveway access space. The standing storage space shall not be less than nine feet by 20 feet unless the parking is done by employee attendants.
      SIGN. Any form of publicity visible from a public street or highway directing attention to an individual activity, business, service, commodity, or product and conveyed by means of words, figures, numerals, lettering, emblems, devices, designs, trademarks or trade names, or other pictorial matter designed to convey information concerning the same and displayed by means of bills, panels, posters, paints, or other devices erected on an open framework, or attached or otherwise applied to posts, stakes, poles, trees, buildings, or other structures or supports.
            (a)   ADVERTISING SIGN. A sign which directs attention to a business, commodity, activity, service, or product not necessarily conducted, sold, or offered upon the premises where the sign is located or to which it is attached.
            (b)   AREA OF SIGN. The area that is measured by the smallest square, rectangle, triangle, circle, or combination thereof, which will encompass the entire advertising copy area, excluding architectural trim and structural embellishments. In computing the AREA, only one side of a double-faced sign structure shall be considered.
            (c)   BULLETIN BOARD. A sign used to announce meetings or programs of a church, school, auditorium, library, museum, community recreation center, or similar noncommercial place of public assembly.
            (d)   BUSINESS SIGN. A sign which directs attention to a business, profession, commodity, service, or entertainment sold or offered upon the premises where the sign is located or to which it is attached.
            (e)   GROUND SIGN. A sign supported by a pole, uprights, or braces on the ground.
            (f)   IDENTIFICATION SIGN. A sign used to identify only: the name of the individual, family, organization or enterprise occupying the premises; the profession of the occupant; or the name of the building on which the sign is displayed.
            (g)   ILLUMINATED SIGN.
               1.   A lighted sign shall mean one which is illuminated only by light cast upon it from a concealed light source.
               2.   A luminous sign shall mean one which is illuminated by any type of light source.
            (h)   POLE SIGN. A type of ground sign affixed or erected upon a pole or poles most commonly associated with gasoline service stations.
      STORY. The portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it; or if there be no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it.
      STORY, HALF. A story under a gable, hip, or gambrel roof, the wall plates of which on at least two opposite exterior walls are not more than two feet above the floor of the story.
      STREET. A public thoroughfare or road which has been dedicated to public use and accepted for maintenance by the town or the State Highway Commission or which has been improved to the standards necessary for acceptance by the town or the State Highway Commission, whichever may be appropriate.
      STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS. Any change, except for repair or re-placement, in the supporting members of a building such as bearing walls, columns, beams, or girders.
      STRUCTURE. Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires location on the land, or attachment to something having a permanent location on the land.
      TOURIST HOME. Any dwelling occupied by the owner or operator in which rooms are rented to transients.
      TRAILER. Any vehicle, mobile home, house car, or any portable or movable vehicle so designed that it is or may be mounted on wheels, skids, rollers, or blocks, either self-propelled or propelled by any other means, which is used or designed to be used for residential living, sleeping, commercial, or utility purposes, but not including those vehicles designed primarily for the transportation of goods, nor those vehicles used solely as camping trailers having a length of less than 25 feet.
      TRAILER CAMP. Any park, trailer park, trailer court, court, camp, site, lot, parcel, or tract of land designed, maintained, or intended for the purpose of supplying a location or accommodation for any trailer, and shall include all buildings used or intended for use as part of the equipment thereof, whether a charge is made for the use of the trailer camp and its facilities or not. TRAILER CAMP shall not include trailer sales lots on which unoccupied trailers are parked for purposes of inspection or sale.
      TRANSPORTATION TERMINAL. Abase of operations for a common carrier, including freight and passenger stations, docks, loading ramps, yards, storage sheds, management offices, equipment, and maintenance facilities.
      USES, PERMITTED. Functions for which property may be utilized, including incidental applications not provided for in that zone and not inconsistent with the primary use.
      YARD. An open space on the same lot with the principal building, open, unoccupied, and unobstructed by buildings or structures from ground upward, except where encroachments and accessory buildings are expressly permitted.
      YARD, FRONT. An open, unoccupied space on the same lot with a principal building extending the full width of the lot and situated between the street and the front line of the building projected to the side lines of the lot.
      YARD, REAR. A open, unoccupied space on the same lot with a principal building, extending the full width of the lot, and situated between the rear line of the lot and the rear line of the building projected to the side lines of the lot.
      YARD, SIDE. An open, unoccupied space on the same lot with the principal building, situated between the building and the side line of the lot, and extending from the rear line of the front yard to the front line of the rear yard.
(Prior Code, § 9-4002) (Ord. passed 7-24-1970; Ord. passed - -; Ord. passed - -; Ord. passed 4-9-1998; Ord. passed 5-15-2007; Ord. passed 7-10-2014; Ord. passed 1-8-2015)

§ 154.004 ZONING AFFECTS EVERY BUILDING AND USE.

   Except as hereinafter provided:
   (A)   No building or land shall be used or occupied and no building or part thereof shall be erected, moved, or altered except in conformity with the regulations herein for the zone in which it is located; and
   (B)   No building shall be erected or altered so as to exceed the height limits, to accommodate or house a greater number of families, to occupy a greater percentage of the lot area, or to have narrower or smaller rear yards, front yards, or side yards than are required or specified in the regulations herein for the zone in which it is located.
(Prior Code, § 9-4003) (Ord. passed 4-27-1970)

§ 154.005 ONLY ONE PRINCIPAL BUILDING ON ANY LOT.

   Every building hereafter erected or structurally altered shall be located on a lot, as herein defined, and in no case shall there be more than one principal building and its customary accessory buildings on a lot.
(Prior Code, § 9-4004) (Ord. passed 4-27-1970) Penalty, see § 154.999

§ 154.006 REDUCTION OF LOT SIZE PROHIBITED; EVERY LOT SHALL ABUT A PUBLIC STREET OR ALLEY.

   (A)   No lot shall be reduced in size so that lot area, lot width, yard requirements, lot area per dwelling unit, or other requirements of this chapter are not maintained.
   (B)   No dwelling shall be erected on a lot which does not abut a public street or alley for a distance of at least 40 feet.
(Prior Code, § 9-4005) (Ord. passed 4-27-1970)

§ 154.007 LOTS OF RECORD OF INSUFFICIENT SIZE.

   (A)   In anyone in which residences are permitted, where a lot has an area or width of less than the required area or width and was a lot of record at the time of the adoption of this chapter, the lot may be occupied by a single-family dwelling, provided that the minimum front and side yard requirements for the zone in which it is located are met.
   (B)   In office and institutional zones, where a lot has an area or width of less than the required area or width and was a lot of record at the time of the adoption of this chapter, the lot may be occupied by any permitted use, provided all other requirements of the zone are met.
(Prior Code, § 9-4006) (Ord. passed 4-27-1970)

§ 154.008 SUPPLEMENTARY YARD REGULATIONS.

   The following provisions shall be considered supplementary to or modifications of all other yard requirements set forth in this chapter.
   (A)   Yards and other buildings. No part of a yard or other space required about any building for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this chapter shall be included as a part of a yard or other open space similarly required for another building.
   (B)   Front yards. In residential and in office and institutional zones where lots comprising 25% or more of the frontage on the same street and within the same block and zone district are developed with buildings having an average front yard with a variation in depth of not more than eight feet, no building hereafter erected or structurally altered shall project beyond the average front yard so established; provided, this section shall not be so construed as to require a front yard depth of more than 45 feet; provided, further, that no front yard depth need exceed the average provided for the two adjoining buildings, one on either side thereof, if the two adjoining buildings are less than 200 feet apart.
   (C)   Side yards on corner lots. In residential zones the minimum width of the side yard along an intersecting street shall be one-half the required front yard; accessory buildings in the rear yard shall also comply with this requirement.
   (D)   Building appurtenances in required yards.
      (1)   Cornices, eaves, steps, gutters, bay windows less than ten feet wide, fire escapes, fire balconies, fire towers, and similar features may project not more than two and one-half feet into any required yard.
      (2)   Subject to the provisions of § 154.013, necessary retaining walls, fences less than four feet high, and fences less than six feet high when located in a rear yard, shall be exempt from the yard requirements of this chapter.
            (a)   No fence more than four feet in height shall be permitted in a front yard. On a corner lot, no fence more than four feet in height shall be located within any yard required along a street line by any other provision of this chapter.
            (b)   The height of any fence located within a yard abutting a street line shall be measured from the sidewalk; and if there be no sidewalk or curb, from the center line of the street. All other fence heights shall be measured from natural grade.
      (3)   Terraces, steps, and uncovered porches which are not in any part more than four feet above the ground floor level and not within two and one-half feet of any party lot line shall be exempt from the yard requirements of this chapter.
   (E)   Yards and building setback lines. Where any required yard abuts a street upon which an official building setback line has been established by the town, the building setback line shall be considered the property line for the purpose of measuring the depth of required yards.
(Prior Code, § 9-4007) (Ord. passed 4-27-1970) Penalty, see § 154.999

§ 154.009 EXCEPTIONS TO HEIGHT LIMITS.

   (A)   Penthouses or roof structures for the housing of elevators, stairways, tanks, ventilating fans, or similar equipment required to operate and maintain the building, skylights, towers, steeples, flagpoles, chimneys, wireless masts, water tanks, silos, or similar structures may be erected above the height limits herein specified, but no penthouse or roof structure or any space above the height limit shall be allowed for the purpose of providing additional floor space for residential use.
   (B)   A parapet wall or cornice may extend not more than five feet above the height limit.
(Prior Code, § 9-4008) (Ord. passed 4-27-1970) Penalty, see § 154.999

§ 154.010 LOCATION OF ACCESSORY BUILDINGS ON RESIDENTIAL LOTS.

   (A)   On any residential lot, accessory buildings shall not be located in any required front or side yard, shall not cover more than 30% of any required rear yard, shall be at least five feet from all lot lines, and shall be at least five feet from any other building on the same lot.
   (B)   When the rear line of any residential lot adjoins a residential zone, no part of any accessory building which is built within 25 feet of the common lot line shall be nearer a side street lot line than the depth of the minimum yard required along the street for a dwelling on the adjoining lot.
(Prior Code, § 9-4009) (Ord. passed 4-27-1970)

§ 154.011 GROUP HOUSING PROJECTS.

   In the case of group housing projects to be constructed on a plot of ground of at least two acres not subdivided and where the existing or contemplated street and lot layout make it impractical to apply the requirements of this chapter to the individual building units in the housing projects, the application of the terms of this chapter may be adjusted by the Board of Adjustment in a manner that will be in harmony with the character of the neighborhood, and will ensure substantially the same character of occupancy and intensity of land use no higher and a standard of open space no lower than that permitted by this chapter in the zone in which the proposed project is to be located. However, in no case shall the Board of Adjustment authorize a use not permitted in the zone in which the project is to be located, or a smaller lot area per family than the minimum required in the zone, or a greater height, or a larger coverage than the maximum permitted under this chapter in the zones. The Board of Adjustment shall not act in such a case unless and until a recommendation has been requested and received from the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(Prior Code, § 9-4010) (Ord. passed 4-27-1970; Ord. passed - -)

§ 154.012 MAJOR STREET REQUIREMENTS.

   (A)   On any lot located in a zoning district having yard requirements, adjacent to a major street as shown on the zoning map of the town, required front or side yards shall be measured from a street line parallel to and 42 feet from the center line of the right-of-way of the major street.
   (B)   On any lot located in a zoning district having no yard requirements, adjacent to a major street as shown on the zoning map of the town, buildings shall be located behind a street line parallel to and 42 feet from the center line of the right-of-way of the major street.
   (C)   In the event that the right-of-way of the major street is greater than 84 feet in width, the yard measurements prescribed in division (A) above and the building setback prescribed in division (B) above will be made from the right-of-way line of the street rather than from the street lines indicated in divisions (A) and (B) above.
(Prior Code, § 9-4011) (Ord. passed 4-27-1970)

§ 154.013 OBSTRUCTIONS TO VISION AT STREET INTERSECTION.

   (A)   On corner lots in residential or office and institutional zones, there shall be no obstruction to vision, except for natural grade, between a height of two feet and a height of ten feet measured above the average elevation of the existing surfaces of the intersecting streets at their center lines within the area formed by joining points on the property lines measured as follows.
      (1)   On property lines abutting streets 50 feet or less in right-of-way width, the points on the property lines shall be 25 feet from the lot corner.
      (2)   On property lines abutting streets more than 50 feet in right-of-way width, the points in the property lines shall be 40 feet from the lot corner.
   (B)   The requirements of this section shall not be deemed to prohibit any necessary retaining wall.
(Prior Code, § 9-4012) (Ord. passed 4-27-1970)

§ 154.014 SITE PLAN.

   (A)   As an initial step in applying for the issuance of a building permit for the construction, alteration, or expansion of any structure in any zone excluding the R-15, R-12, and R-10 Zones, a site plan shall be submitted which shall include the following: grading; engineering design; construction size, height, shape and location of building; location and design of parking areas; pedestrian and vehicular circulation on site; and plans for collecting and depositing storm water and natural or artificial water courses.
   (B)   (1)   The site plan must be approved by the Public Works Director of the town and by the Inspections Superintendent before a building permit is issued; however, if the site plan is disapproved, the applicant may appeal such decision to the Planning and Zoning Commission and then to the Board.
      (2)   The structure must be constructed, altered, or expanded in accordance with the site plan before a certificate of occupancy is issued by the Inspections Superintendent.
(Prior Code, § 9-4013) (Ord. passed 4-27-1970)