For the purpose of this ordinance, certain words and terms are defined as follows:

All words used in the present tense include the future; all words in the singular number include the plural and the plural the singular; the word "building" includes the word "structure"; the word "shall" is mandatory and the word "person" includes a firm, corporation or municipal corporation as well as a natural person. The word "map" shall mean the "Official Zoning Map of the City of South Bay." The term "commission" shall mean the Commission of the City of South Bay and the word "city" shall mean the City of South Bay, a municipal corporation of the State of Florida. The word "used" shall be deemed to include the words "arranged", "designed" or "intended to be used", and the word "occupied" shall be deemed to include the words "arranged", "designed" or intended to be occupied."

Abandoned sign: A sign is considered abandoned, if a business advertised on that sign is no longer licensed, no longer has a certificate of occupancy, or is no longer doing business at that location.

Accessory use: A use customarily incident and accessory to the principal use of land or building located on the same lot.

Accessory building: A structure erected on a lot to serve a purpose auxiliary to the prime purpose for which the lot is zoned.

Advertising sign: A sign directing attention to a business, commodity, service, or entertainment conducted, sold, or offered.

Advertising structure: Any structure erected for advertising purposes, with or without any advertisement display thereon, situated upon or attached to real property, upon which any poster, bill, printing, painting, device or other advertisement may be placed, posted, painted, tacked, nailed, or otherwise fastened, affixed, or displayed; provided, however, that said term shall not include buildings.

Banner: Any sign having the characters, letters, illustrations or ornamentations applied to cloth, paper, balloons or fabrics of any kind with only such material for a foundation.

Base building line: The base building line is a line measured at right angles running parallel to the centerline of a street from which front yard, corner side yard, and lot requirements are measured.

Billboards: Any frame work for signs advertising merchandise, services, or entertainment sold, produced, manufactured or furnished at a place other than the location of such structure. Said sign may be double faced.

Blank copy: Any paraphernalia including pennants, streamers, and banners that are intended solely to attract attention and which contain no letters or symbols.

Boardinghouse: A dwelling with not more than five (5) rental rooms, the occupants of which eat in a common dining room on the premises.

Building: A single structure which is permanently affixed to the land; and has one or more floors and a roof. A building may, for example, consist of a one-family residence; a series of townhouses; a row of apartments with individual entrances; or an apartment house; a single store or a row of stores (depending on location of lot lines). Carports and garages which are not an integral part of the main building will be considered accessory buildings as defined above.

Building, height of: The vertical distance from grade to the highest finished roof surface over habitable quarters in the case of flat roofs, or to a point at the average height of roofs having a pitch of more than one foot in four and one-half (4½) feet.

Building line: A line parallel to the front, side, or rear lot line drawn across the portion of the front, side, or rear wall of a building closest to the front, side, or rear lot line. The building line shall be considered extended across the full width or depth of a lot.

Building official: The officer or other person charged with the administration and enforcement of this ordinance or his duly authorized representative.

Bulletin board: A sign of permanent character, but with removable letters, words, or numerals, indicating the names or persons associated with, or events conducted upon, or products or services offered upon, the premises upon which such a sign is maintained.

Clinic: An establishment where patients, who are not lodged overnight, are admitted for examination and treatment by physicians or dentists.

Canopy sign, under: A sign supported by a canopy, hanging beneath the canopy and in all cases mounted perpendicular to the building.

Club: Buildings and facilities owned and operated by a corporation or association or persons for social or recreational purposes, but not operated primarily for profit but which may render a service as an accessory use which is customarily carried on as business.

Commercial building: A building used only for commercial use.

Contiguous: Lands are contiguous if they abut each other or if separated by streets, ways, easements, pipelines, power lines, conduits, or rights-of-way, are under ownership of the petitioner or a governmental agency or subdivision or public or private utility.

Directional sign: Any sign permanently or temporarily erected by or with approval of the city or any authorized governmental agency to denote the route to any city, town, village, historic place, shrine, or hospital; signs directing and regulating traffic; notices of any railroad bridge, ferry or other transportation or transmission company necessary for the direction or safety of the public; signs, notices, or symbols for the information of aviators as to locations, directions, and landings and conditions affecting safety in aviation; signs, notices, or symbols as to the time and place of civic meetings.

Double faced sign: A sign with two (2) faces which are usually parallel and back-to-back.

Dwelling: Any building or structure designed exclusively for residential occupancy. It shall be deemed and construed to include both the main portion of such structure and all projections therefrom, such as windows, bays, exterior chimneys, covered porches, or porticoes, including any garages or carports incorporated within or forming a part thereof, but shall not include the eaves of such structures, nor any open patio, nor any uncovered porch, stoop or steps. A dwelling may be designed and built for the use of one family, or multiple family occupancy, but it does not include a hotel, club, motel, boarding or lodging house, or automobile, house trailer, or any recreational vehicle whether such trailer or vehicle is mobile or located in a stationary fashion on blocks or other foundation.

Dwelling unit: One or more rooms in a residential building or residential portion of a building, which are arranged, designed, used or intended for family purposes and which include lawful cooking space and lawful sanitary facilities reserved for the use of the single family occupants thereof.

Development or to develop: A "development" includes the construction of any new building or other structures on a lot, the relocation of any existing building on another lot, or the use of a tract of land for any new uses. To "develop" is to create a development.

Day care center, nursery: A center or establishment including kindergarten or pre-school facility, which provides daytime care or instruction for four (4) or more children eleven (11) years of age or under and operated on a regular basis.

Encroachment: Any protrusion of a vehicle outside of a parking space, display area or accessway into the landscaped area. There shall be no encroachment over or into any landscaped area. Wheel stops and/or curbs shall be placed at least two (2) feet from the edge of such landscaped area. Where a wheel stop or curb is utilized, the paved area between the curb and the end of the parking space may be omitted, providing it is landscaped in addition to the required landscaping as provided herein.

Engineer: A person registered as a Professional Engineer in the State of Florida.

Electrical sign: See illuminated sign.

Entrance gates: An identification structure located along the main access to a city approved subdivision or development. The only advertising on the structure shall be the subdivision or development name.

Family: Either a single person occupying a dwelling unit and maintaining a household, including not more than one "boarder, roomer, or lodger" as herein described or two (2) or more persons related by blood, marriage and maintaining a common household, including not more than one such boarder, roomer, or lodger; or not more than four (4) unrelated persons occupying a dwelling, living together and maintaining a non-profit housekeeping unit as distinguished from a group occupying a boarding or lodging house, hotel, club or similar dwelling for group use. A common household shall be deemed to exist if all members thereof have access to all parts of the dwelling.

Filling station: Defined to be the operation of any business involved in servicing motor vehicles on the premises, in the sale of gasoline, oil, or other petroleum products for consumption or use by motor vehicles and the sale of tires, accessories, batteries and services to motor vehicles, usually sold in automobile service stations, gasoline and oil filling stations.

Fixed projecting sign: Projecting sign shall include any sign which is attached to a building and extends beyond the wall of the building to which it is attached.

Flat or wall sign: Any sign erected parallel to the face or on the outside wall of any building, and supported throughout its length by the wall of the building.

Floor area: The sum of the gross areas of the several floors of a building or buildings, measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the center lines of walls separating two (2) buildings. In particular, floor area includes: elevator shafts or stairwells at each floor; floor space in penthouses; attic space (whether or not a floor has been laid) providing structural headroom of eight (8) feet or more; floor space in interior balconies or mezzanines; any other floor space used for dwelling purposes, no matter where located within a building, when not specifically excluded; floor space in accessory buildings, except for floor space used for accessory off-street parking; floor space used for accessory off-street loading berths in excess of two hundred (200) percent of the amount required by the applicable district regulations; floor space in open or roofed terraces, exterior balconies, breezeways or porches, if more than 50 percent of the perimeter of such terrace, balcony, breezeway, or porch is enclosed, and provided that a parapet not higher than three (3) feet, eight (8) inches, or a railing not less than 50 percent open and not higher than four (4) feet, six (6) inches, shall not constitute an enclosure; any other floor space not specifically excluded. However, the floor area of a building shall not include: basement space, except that basement space used for retailing shall be included for the purpose of calculating requirements for accessory off-street parking spaces and accessory off-street loading berths: elevator or stair bulkheads, accessory water tanks, or cooling towers; uncovered steps, attic space (whether or not a floor actually has been laid) providing structural headroom of less than eight (8) feet; floor space used for mechanical equipment; the lowest story (whether a basement or otherwise) of a residential building, provided that: such building contains not more than two stories above such story, and such story is used as a furnace room, utility room, auxiliary recreation room, or for other purposes for which basements are customarily used, and such story has at least one-half its height below the level of the ground on at least one side of such building, or such story contains a garage.

Free standing sign: A detached sign which shall include any signs supported by uprights or braces placed upon or in or supported by the ground and not attached to any building.

Grade: The crown of the public street or road at its highest elevation abutting the property. In the event such grade elevation is below plus eight (8) feet Mean Sea Level - U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey datum, the building height shall be measured from plus eight (8) feet M.S.L. - U.S.C. and G.S. datum. The grade, as identified hereby is defined as zero datum for a lot.

Ground sign: See free standing sign.

Home occupation nameplate or sign: A sign not more than one square foot in area.

Hotel: Any building containing principally sleeping rooms in which transient guests are lodged with or without meals, with no provision made for cooking in any individual room or suite. Such building would structurally and for purposes of safety, be obliged to conform to the laws of the state regulating hotels.

Identification sign: A sign, other than a bulletin board sign, or nameplate sign, indicating the name of the primary use, the name or address of a building, or the name of the management thereof.

Illuminated sign: A sign in which a source of light is used in order to make the message readable and shall include internally and externally lighted signs.

Instructional sign: A sign conveying instructions with respect to the premises on which it is maintained such as the entrance or exit of a parking area, a "no trespassing" sign, a danger sign, and similar signs.

Landscaping: Any of the following or combination thereof: materials such as, but not limited to grass, ground covers, shrubs, vines, hedges, trees or palms, and other material such as rocks, pebbles, sand, walls or fences, and decorative paving materials approved by the city.

Landscape screen or barrier: Such screen shall be planted and maintained to form a continuous screen of plant material within a maximum of three (3) years after time of planting. The screen or barrier may be either sheared or natural, symmetrical or asymmetrical and shall be at least four (4) feet in height but not higher than twenty (20) feet. Walls or fences used as landscape screens or barriers shall be constructed in accordance with the requirements of the City of South Bay Building Code and landscaped in accordance with the requirements set forth herein.

Lot: A parcel of land occupied or to be occupied by one main building or buildings and their accessory buildings with such open and parking spaces as may be required by provisions of this ordinance, and having their principal frontage upon a public or private street. In R-1A and R-1 there may be one main building and its accessory buildings per lot.

Lot area: The total horizontal area included within lot lines.

Lot of record: A part of the land subdivision, the map of which has been recorded in the office of the Clerk of the Court of Palm Beach County, Florida.

Lot, corner: Either a lot bounded entirely by streets, or a lot which adjoins the point of intersection of two (2) or more streets.

Lot coverage: That portion of a lot which, when viewed directly from above, would be covered by a building or any part of a building, exclusive of its eaves, and any portion of such building covered by a roof which qualified as open space, or any terrace, balcony, breezeway, or porch or portion thereof not included in the floor area of a building shall be included in lot coverage. For example, a lot containing ten thousand (10,000) square feet has principal and accessory buildings planned or existing whose area is twenty-five hundred (2,500) square feet; thus the lot coverage is twenty-five (25) percent.

Lot depth: The horizontal length of a straight line drawn from the midpoint of the front property line of the lot to the midpoint of the rear property line of the lot.

Lot frontage: The frontage of a lot is defined as the shortest property line adjacent to a public street. The frontage of a lot is also the front property line.

Lot, interior: Any lot neither a corner lot nor a through lot.

Lot line: A boundary of a lot.

Lot line, rear: That lot line which is opposite and most distant from the lot frontage.

Lot line, interior: Any lot line which is not a front lot line or a rear lot line.

Lot, through (double frontage): Any lot, not a corner lot, having a frontage of two (2) non-intersecting streets.

Lot width: The horizontal distance between the side lot lines measured at right angles to the lot depth at a point midway between the front and rear property lines.

Medical marijuana treatment center: An entity that acquires, cultivates, possesses, processes (including development of related products such as food, tinctures, aerosols, oils or ointments), transfers, transports, sells, distributes, dispenses or administers marijuana, products containing marijuana, related supplies, or educational materials to qualifying patients and their caregivers and is registered by the state department of health.

Medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility: A facility that is owned or operated by, or affiliated with, a medical marijuana treatment center holding all necessary licenses and permits from which medical marijuana is delivered, purchased, possessed or dispensed for medical purposes.

Mobile home: A manufactured detached, transportable, single family dwelling unit designed for long term occupancy and arriving at the site where it is to be occupied as a complete dwelling unit, containing all conveniences and facilities, with plumbing and electrical connections provided for attachment to approved utility systems. To retain mobility, under-carriage and axels must remain attached to the unit.

Mobile home rental park (MHRP): A land area under unified control designed and planned to be developed in a single operation or by a series of prescheduled development phases according to an officially approved final master land use plan and unity of title covenants running with the land which does not necessarily correspond to the property development and use regulations of the zoning district in which the development is located.

Motel: A group of two (2) or more attached, detached or semi-attached buildings containing guest rooms or apartments with automobile storage or parking space provided in connection therewith, designed and used primarily by automobile transients. A motel may have eating facilities in connection therewith.

Nameplate: A sign indicating the name, address, and/or profession or occupation of an occupant or a group of occupants.

Non-conforming sign: A sign or advertising structure existing within the city of the effective date of this ordinance which, by its height, square foot area, location, use or structural support does not conform to the requirements of this Code shall hereafter be termed non-conforming.

Nursing home: A health facility where persons are housed and furnished with meals and continuing nursing care for compensation, in which three (3) or more persons not of the immediate family are received, kept or provided with food and shelter or care.

Open space: That part of a lot, including courts or yards, which is open and unobstructed and is available for entry and use from its lowest level to the sky, and is available for entry and use by the occupants of the building or buildings on the premises and may include space located and treated to enhance the amenity of the development by providing landscaping and/or screening for the benefit of the occupants or neighboring areas. Open space may include water surfaces that comprise not more than ten (10) percent of total open space.

Painted wall sign: Any sign painted on any surface or roof of any building, visible from any public right-of-way.

Parking lot: Off-street facility used for the storage or parking of motor vehicles to provide an accessory service to a commercial, industrial, or residential use.

Passenger automobile: Any vehicle classified or licensed as a passenger automobile under rules of the Motor Vehicle Commission of the State of Florida.

Planned development: An alternative method of development within the city where the developer wishes to alter or improve the usage of unplatted terrain or to modify the nature of an existing and duly recorded plat. The site of a planned development shall contain at least ten (10) acres and must meet the requirements of article XII of this ordinance.

Projecting sign: The term projecting sign shall mean any sign projecting at an angle from the outside wall or walls of any building which is supported by only one rigid support, irrespective of the number of guy wires used in connection therewith.

Person: Person shall mean and include any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.

Plastic sign: Any sign, embellishment or sign area made of plastic flat sheet, corrugated panels, formed or molded on one or more faces.

Point of purchase sign: Any structure, device, display board, screen, surface or wall with characters, letters or illustrations placed thereto, thereon, or thereunder by any method or means whatsoever where the matter displayed is used for advertising on the premises a product actually or actively offered for sale or rent thereon or therein or services rendered.

Political sign: Any advertising structure used in connection with a local, state, or national election campaign.

Real estate sign: Any sign erected by the owner, or his exclusive agent, advertising the real property upon which the sign is located for rent or for sale.

Roof sign: Any sign erected, constructed, and maintained wholly upon or over the roof of any building.

Setback: See yard.

Shopping center: A group of commercial establishments planned, developed, managed and operated as a unit, with off-street parking provided on the property, and related in its location, size, and type of shops to the trade area which the unit serves.

Shrubs: A woody perennial plant of low stature characterized by persistent stems and branches springing from the base.

Sign: Any writing (including letter, word, or numeral), pictorial representation (including illustration or decoration), emblem (including device, symbol, or trademark), flag (including banner or pennant), or any other figure of similar character which is a structure of any part thereof, or is attached, painted on, or in any other manner represented on a building or other structure, and shall include any sign placed upon a vehicle used to announce, direct attention to, or advertise and is visible from outside a building. A sign shall include writing, representation, or other figure of similar character within a building and located in a window. The following shall not be subject to the provisions of this ordinance: signs of a duly constituted governmental body, including traffic or similar regulatory devices, legal notices, warnings at railroad crossings, flags of the United States and State of Florida; memorial signs or tablets erected and authorized by a duly constituted governmental body; temporary sign or signs denoting architect, engineer, or contractor when placed on construction sites; signs required to be maintained by law or government order, rule, or regulations; small directional signs displayed for the public, including signs which identify rest rooms, freight entrances, or the like; home occupation nameplate or sign.

Sign area: That background area upon which the advertising surface area is placed. Where the advertising surface area is attached directly to the wall of a building, that wall shall not be construed to be the background sign area unless it is an integral part of the sign. (For painted wall signs, see surface area.)

Sign, flashing: Any illuminated sign, which exhibits changes in light or color. Illuminated signs which indicate the time, temperature, weather, or other similar information shall not be considered flashing signs.

Snip sign: Any sign made of any material, including paper, cardboard, wood, and metal, when such sign is tacked, nailed, posted, pasted, glued, or otherwise attached to trees, poles, fences or other objects, and the advertising matter appearing hereon is not applicable to the premises upon which said sign is located.

Special exception: A use which may be allowed within a zoning district subject to the provisions of article XIX, section 19.7 of this ordinance.

Story: That portion of a building included between the upper surface of any floor, and the upper surface of the floor next above, except between the upper surface of the top-most floor and the ceiling or roof above.

Street: A strip of land, owned privately or publicly which affords the principal means of access to abutting property. The word street includes road, thoroughfare, parkway, avenue, boulevard, expressway, lane, throughway, place, and square, or however otherwise designated.

Street frontage: See lot frontage.

Street line: The line between the street and abutting property, also referred to as right-of-way line.

Surface area (of a sign): The actual area of the letters or symbols applied to a background. For computation purposes, straight lines forming a regular polygon shall be drawn closest to the extremities of the copy, encompassing all individual letters or symbols.

Swimming pool: Any portable pool or permanent structure containing a body of water eighteen (18) inches or more in depth and forty (40) square feet or more of water surface area, including a wading pool.

Temporary sign: Any sign erected and maintained for a specific length of time.

Townhouse: A building designed for or occupied exclusively by one family and attached to another building of a similar design and separated by one or more party walls. A townhouse development shall be allowed in accordance with the provisions of article XII of this ordinance.

Trees: Self-supporting woody plants of species which normally grow to an overall height of a minimum of fifteen (15) feet.

Yard: The open space on the same lot with the main building. A front yard is that area extending from the street line to the front building wall and the front wall building line. A side yard is that area between the side wall building line and the side lot line and a rear yard is that area extending from one side lot line to the other between the rear wall building line and rear lot line.

Variance: A modification of the literal interpretation of the provisions of this ordinance, other than the provisions relating to use requirements.

Vehicular sign: A sign affixed to or painted onto a transportation vehicle or trailer, for the purposes of business advertising; however, not to include signs affixed to vehicles or trailers for identification purposes or required by licensing ordinances.

Vines: Plants which normally require support to reach mature form.

(Ord. No. 10-2017, § 2, 10-10-2017)