Shelton City Zoning Code

means parcels which share a common property line with each other or face across an alley, but does not include parcels which face across streets.

means a building structure or facility such as a garage, woodshed, utility building, carport, enclosed outdoor living areas, heating plant, or storage bin, customarily incidental to and located upon the same lot, tract, or in the same area occupied by the main building.

means one which is subordinated to the principal use of a building on the lot serving a purpose customarily incidental to the principal use of the building.

means parcels which are next to each other. This includes properties which share a common property line or face across a right-of-way, including streets, alleys, or easements.

means the tilling of the soil, horticulture, viticulture, livestock farming, poultry raising, dairying and other animal husbandry, shellfish or fish farming, including the raising, harvesting and processing of clams and oysters, and including all uses customarily incidental thereto, but not including slaughterhouses, fertilizer works, bone yards or plants for the reduction of animal matter.

means a public right-of-way not over thirty feet wide which affords, generally, a secondary means of access to abutting lots, which connects to public rights-of-way at both ends, and is not intended for general use.

means a change in the wording or substance of the text of this title.

means a building or portion thereof used or intended to be used as separate dwelling units for four or more families or householders living independently of each other.

means multifamily housing of the elderly and/or disabled, with independent living units, and in which accessory services including but not limited to occasional nursing care, chore services, meal services, or housekeeping assistance are offered to residents for a fee.

includes fixing, incidental body or fender work, painting and upholstering, adjusting lights, brakes, supplying and installing replacement parts of passenger vehicles and trucks.

is a story of a building with a floor level which is a minimum of two feet below the average grade or of the primary facade of the building.

means two to six bedrooms let for transient housing. Facilities with more than six bedrooms for rent are considered hotel/motels and are regulated as commercial uses. Such inns must be located within a residence occupied and operated by the owner.

means any structure built or used for the support, shelter, or enclosure of any persons, animals, goods, equipment, or property of any kind.

means a line established by this title to govern the placement of building with respect to streets and alleys.

means places or offices where business services are performed and includes such uses as real estates sales and development, financial and insurance services, and public and semipublic utility offices.

means a building or portion of a building containing offices and facilities for providing medical, dental or psychiatric services for outpatients only.

means any use of land for such uses as bowling alleys, billiard parlors, arcades and theaters.

means land, improvements to land, structures (including design, permitting, and construction), infrastructure improvements, and equipment whose valuation exceeds twenty thousand dollars and has an expected useful life of at least eight years.

means dwelling units of any type or density that are funded, developed, and managed as an extension of church function, and remaining under the management of the church for a period of at least five years.

means a structure transportable in one or more sections that is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used for commercial purposes with a permanent foundation when connected to the required outlets and may include plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein. A commercial coach may not be used as a dwelling.

means that portion of a lot which is (1) eight feet or more in width, (2) unoccupied by principal or accessory buildings, (3) unobstructed by other than recreational facilities, and (4) available for the use of other tenants or landowners which reside on the lot subsequent to development. Such open space may be dedicated to the city if the city elects to accept such space.

means the generalized coordinated land use policy statement of the governing body of the city that is adopted pursuant to RCW.36.70A.

means a building and premises in which two or more sick, injured, or infirm ambulatory persons are housed or intended to be housed for special attention and compensation. Also, “care facilities” or “nursing homes.”

means an open, uncovered and unoccupied space within an allotted property line surrounded on at least two sides by one or more buildings.

means the total coverage of an individual lot, parcel or tract by all buildings, excluding eave overhangs of up to twenty-four inches as measured from all exterior walls, posts, columns and supports.

means the total coverage of a lot proposed for development by all buildings, structures, decks, and other installed hard or impervious surfaces. In a planned unit development as allowed under the provisions of Chapter 20.32, development coverage may be calculated over the entire PUD as opposed to individual lots, except that critical areas as defined in Title 21 shall be excluded from the development coverage calculation.

means wetlands, aquifer recharge areas, frequently flooded areas, geologically hazardous areas, and fish and wildlife habitat areas.

means those requirements for each land use district to encourage, protect and preserve the health, safety and general welfare of the area, through standards which include yards, height, bulk lot area, lot coverage and occupancy limitations.

means the number of dwelling units per gross acre of development site. Gross density shall be based upon the area of the entire site, including, but not limited to, public and private roads, required storm detention ponds, wetlands, tidelands, creeks, streams and other critical areas defined in Title 21.

means the number of dwelling units per acre excluding all public and private roads, required storm detention ponds, wetlands, tidelands, creeks, streams and other critical areas defined in Title 21, but including all alleys, common areas, and critical area buffers.

means criteria governing building size, architectural design, landscaping, etc. For example, may be used in historic or residential districts to preserve aesthetic attributes.

means a section or sections of the city within which the standards governing the use of buildings and premises are uniform.

means a single structure containing two dwelling units, either side by side or above one another.

means two or more detached dwelling structures located on the same lot.

means a family combination with house-keeping and cooking facilities. Hotel, motel, room and boarding units shall not be considered as dwelling units.

means a detached building designed exclusively for the permanent occupancy of one family and containing one dwelling unit, including mobile/manufactured housing.

means those facilities that are typically difficult to site, such as airports, state educational facilities, state or regional transportation facilities, solid waste handling facilities, state and local correctional facilities, and inpatient health care facilities, including substance abuse facilities, mental health facilities, and group homes.

means any dangerous waste which:

means a person living alone, or two or more persons related by blood, marriage or adoption customarily living together as a single housekeeping unit and using common cooking facilities, as distinguished from a group occupying a hotel, club, board or lodging house. It also means a group of persons unrelated by blood, marriage or adoption living together as a single housekeeping unit, but such group shall, for purposes of this title, be considered one family for each five persons in the group.

means the ratio of usable floor area of a structure to the total area of the lot or land area occupied by such a structure.

means an accessory building or part of a main building intended primarily for the storage of motor vehicles as an accessory use, and when the storage place does not exceed that for the following number of vehicles:

means a structure or portion thereof other than a private or community garage used for the storage, sale, hire, or repair of self-propelled vehicles or trailers.

means a business intended for the sale of automobile fuels, and may include the sale of convenience items and minor automotive supplies, but does not include the provision of services for automobiles.

means street development in which streets are generally interconnected and tend to meet at right angles.

means the total usable area including accessory space dedicated to such things as streets, easements, and uses not of character with the principal uses, but within a unit of area being measured.

means the total square feet of floor space in a building measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls, including but not limited to elevator shafts, stairwells, and hallways and all other floor space in a building. Commercial uses which customarily are not confined to a building and which in significant part occur in the open air on a lot or site, which may or may not contain a building, shall have a gross floor area equal to the total of the square feet of floor space in the building, if any, and of the square feet of land comprising that area of the lot or site where the commercial use occurs in the open air. Such uses shall include, but not be limited to, gasoline service stations, drive-in restaurants, drive-in theaters, new and used car businesses having outdoor car lots, and pitch-and-putt golf establishments and other similar uses.

means any home, place or institution for the care for compensation of three or more persons who are physically or mentally handicapped or who receive outpatient supervision from a mental institution during a period of social adjustment, and others considered disabled under the Fair Housing Act.

means an accessory, detached dwelling without any kitchen facilities designed for and used to house transient visitors or nonpaying guests of the occupants of the main building.

means any liquid, solid, gas, sludge, including any material, substance, product, commodity, or waste, regardless of quantity, that exhibits any of the characteristics or criteria of hazardous waste.

means any discarded, useless, unwanted, or abandoned substances including but not limited to certain pesticides, or any residues or containers of such substances which are disposed of in such quantity or concentration as to pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health, wildlife, or the environment because such wastes or constituents or combinations or such wastes:

means the vertical distance measured from the level of the average grade of the building site to the highest point of the roof beams in the case of flat roofs, to the deck line of mansard roofs, or to the center height between eaves and ridges for gable, hip or gambrel roofs.

means any use customarily carried on within a dwelling by the inhabitants thereof which use is incidental to the residential use.

means a building in which lodging is provided and offered to the public for compensation and which is open to transient guests.

means sites within developed areas in the city of Shelton that have been by passed and can now be “filled in” with dwellings or other uses.

means a place where waste, discarded or salvaged materials are bought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled, cleaned, packed, disassembled or handled, including auto wrecking yards, house wrecking yards, used lumber yards, and yards for use of salvaged house wrecking and structural steel materials and equipment.

means any premises on which four or more dogs or cats, which are five months old or older, are kept or trained.

means an indicator of the extent or degree of service provided by, or proposed to be provided by, a facility based on and related to the operational characteristics of the facility. LOS means an established minimum capacity of capital facilities that must be provided per unit of demand or other appropriate measures of need.

means a parcel of land used or capable of being used under the regulations of this title, including both the building site an all required yards and other open spaces.

means that portion of a lot that is occupied by the principal building and its accessory building, expressed as a percentage of the total lot area. It shall include all projections except eaves.

means the first line crossed gaining access to a lot from a public right-of-way or from a private road easement line, extending the entire frontage along said right-of-way or easement. On a corner lot, the front lot line is the narrower of the two frontages.

means the lot line most opposite and distant from the front lot line. On an irregularly shaped lot, the rear lot line shall be determined by the community and economic development director.

means all lot lines other than front and rear lot lines.

means the horizontal distance between side lot lines measured at the minimum front yard setback line.

means the horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.

means the converting of raw unfinished materials or products, or any or either of them into an article or articles or substance of a different character or for use for a different character or for use as a different purpose.

expresses an option.

means a residential unit, less than five years old, on one or more chassis for towing to the point of use and designed to be used with a foundation as a dwelling unit on a year-round basis, which bears an insignia issued by a state or federal regulatory agency indicating that the mobile/manufactured home complies with all applicable construction standards of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments definition of “manufactured home,” and which complies with all the standards of Chapter 18.06 of the Shelton Municipal Code. A commercial coach, recreational vehicle, or motor home is not a mobile/manufactured home. The term “manufactured home” shall hereinafter be used to refer to mobile/manufactured homes.

means any property used for the accommodation of inhabited mobile homes.

means a building containing separate dwelling units arranged to be occupied by more than three families living independently of one another.

means the total usable area exclusive of space dedicated to such things as streets, easements, and use out of character with the principal uses.

means a use or activity involving a building or land occupying or in existence at the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter or at the time of any amendments thereto which does not conform to the standards of the zoning district in which located.

means facilities used to treat, process, or store hazardous wastes from generators on properties other than those on which the facilities are located, or to store or process hazardous substances not used or sold as part of an approved or permitted use for that site.

means a permanently surfaced area for the parking of a motor vehicle.

means a wall built to serve each of two separate but adjacent dwelling units.

means commercial, residential, and recreational development that is designed to be easily accessible to foot traffic; for example, buildings may be sited close to the sidewalk, while parking is secondary.

means a development process through which a parcel of land may be developed as a single entity or in stages according to an improved master plan. This type of development may provide for clustering of residences and/or a mixture of housing types.

means any use which is not specifically enumerated or interpreted as allowable in that district.

means a combination of materials constructed or added to a building or structure that extends into the yards, but is not part of the bearing members, roof or enclosure, and not essential to the creation of usable space.

means areas used for parks, recreation areas, greenbelts/natural buffers, scenic or natural amenities, or unique geological features or resources that are available for general public enjoyment.

means a vehicular type unit primarily designed for recreational camping, travel or seasonable use which has its own motive power or is mounted on or towed by another vehicle. The basic entities are: travel trailer, folding camping trailer, park trailer, truck camper, motor home, and multiuse vehicles.

means a tract of land that is occupied or designed for occupancy by two or more recreational vehicles (RVs) for transient dwelling purposes in accordance with this title, provided that at no time shall guest RVs be occupied for any longer than three weeks in any sixty day period on the premises; provided further that landowners using their land for personal gatherings shall not be considered an RV park, as long as the gathering lasts no longer than five days and that no health problems, litter problems, etc., develop.

means land in which the state, a county, or a municipality owns the fee simple title, or has an easement dedicated, for a transportation or utility use.

means a building wherein furnished rooms, without cooking facilities, are rented for compensation to three or more nontransient persons not included in the family unit of the owner or tenant of the premises.

means a facility used for disposing of wastes from recreational vehicle holding tanks.

means a dwelling unit in addition to the main dwelling unit on a property, usually part of the main house or an accessory building. Also may be called a “mother-in-law” apartment or “guest cottage.”

means a retail establishment for the sale on the premises of motor vehicle fuel and other petroleum products and automobile accessories, and for the washing, lubrication, and minor repair of automotive vehicles.

is used to express what is mandatory or an absolute determination. “Shall” denotes that the course or method of action is mandatory or backed by local determination.

is used to express duty, obligation, necessity, propriety, or expediency. “Should” establishes a course or method of action but does not require that course or method absolutely.

means that 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 such floor and the ceiling next above it. First story means any floor not over four-and-one-half feet above the established grade, or if set back, above average ground level at front line of building.

means a space under a sloping roof which has the line of intersection of roof decking and wall face not more than four feet above the top floor level.

means a public way forty feet or more in right-of-way width which affords a primary means of access to property.

means an attached single-family dwelling in which the owner bears title to the interior and exterior structure, but shares ownership of the land on which the structure is located. As opposed to condominium development, in which the title extends only to the interior structure of the home.

means temporary housing let for a period not to exceed two weeks.

means a single structure containing three dwelling units, each of which has direct access to the outside or to a common hallway, which accesses the outside.

means an activity or purpose for which land or premises or a building thereon is designed, arranged, or intended or for which it is occupied or maintained, let or leased.

means a public service or quasipublic service operated to provide the necessary functions for the whole community.

means a modification of the regulations of this title when authorized by the hearings examiner after finding that the literal application of the provisions of this title would cause undue and unnecessary hardship in view of certain facts and conditions applying to a specific parcel of property.

means a place operated by a licensed veterinarian for the care, treatment and temporary housing of household pets.

means the area surrounding a use in which such use produces a discernible influence by aesthetic appearance, traffic, noise, glare, smoke or similar influences.

means the land unoccupied or unobstructed, from the ground upward, except for such encroachments as may be permitted by this title, surrounding a building site.

means retail sale of personal property labeled as such, or any retail sale of personal property conducted in or near a residence under cover, partially under cover, or completely outside of any building, in the open. The term shall include garage sales, patio sales, rummage sales or other similar sales which are advertised for the public to attend.

means land unoccupied or unobstructed, other than a court, on the same lot with the building, between the front building line (exclusive of steps) and the front property line.

means land unoccupied or unobstructed between side lot lines and measured horizontally and at right angles from the rear lot line to the nearest point of the buildings.

means land unoccupied or unobstructed on the same lot with the building between the wall line of the building and the side line of the lot.

means the permissibility of placing one side of a detached single-family dwelling unit immediately along one side of the lot without any required setback distance.

means the regulation of the use of lands or the manner of construction related thereto in the interest of achieving the public interest as determined in the city comprehensive plan. Such regulations shall also govern those public and quasipublic land use and buildings which provide for proprietary type service for the community’s benefit.

means a parcel of land abutting a district boundary where the district boundary is not a street upon which more restrictive or less restrictive standards are affixed as city policy. The width of such parcel shall be the width of the lot as platted, but not to exceed one hundred feet in any instance.