Patio dwellings are a type of housing permitting individual home ownership while offering greater privacy to the individual resident and more useable open space. To provide easements for maintenance, to assure privacy and usable open space and to protect adjoining properties from stormwater runoff, the following standards for patio dwellings are established.

(Prior code § 150-208)

A.

Minimum lot standards shall be as follows:

 * NOTE: Side yard for patio lots adjoining other land:

 a. Where a lot is proposed to be used for a patio dwelling but adjoins another parcel of land under different ownership, zero lot lines are not permitted on the common lot line between the adjoining parcel and the proposed patio dwelling lot. Where a lot is proposed to be used for a patio dwelling but adjoins a vacant parcel of land under the same ownership, a twenty-foot-wide easement shall be required on the adjoining parcel along the zero lot line.

 b. Easement for Maintenance.

 1. A five-foot-wide easement for the purpose of maintenance of the patio dwelling and accessory buildings shall be reserved on the lot adjoining the zero lot line. The easement is to be parallel to and contiguous with the zero lot line.

 2. For ease of maintenance, as well as privacy, no windows or other openings may be permitted on the exterior wall of a patio dwelling abutting a zero lot line in accordance with the building code.

B.

Subdivision Plat Requirements. A subdivision plat showing all lots, easement(s) (public and/or private) and perpetual maintenance responsibility regarding roof eaves and rain gutters and downspouts shall be submitted for review and approval by the Planning Commission. The plat shall be prepared in accordance with the requirements and procedures set forth in the Subdivision Regulations. Prior to issuance of a building permit, the plat shall be filed in the Land Records Office of Wicomico County.

C.

Accessory Structures. Accessory structures shall be confined to the rear yard and shall not exceed twenty (20) feet in height. Minimum setbacks are as follows:

D.

Building Height. Building height shall not exceed the maximum height regulations set forth for the district in which patio dwellings are to be situated.

E.

Parking Requirements. Two off-street parking spaces shall be provided for each patio dwelling unit in accordance with off-street parking requirements for single-family detached dwellings.

(Ord. 1599 § 12 (part), 1995; prior code § 15-209)