Southold City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VIII
Residential Office RO District
§ 280-37 Purpose.
The purpose of the Residential Office (RO) District is to provide a transition area between business areas and low-density residential development along major roads which will provide opportunity for limited nonresidential uses in essentially residential areas while strongly encouraging the adaptive reuse of existing older residences, to preserve the existing visual character of the Town and to achieve the goal(s) of well-planned, environmentally sensitive, balanced development, which the Town has determined to be desirable.
§ 280-38 Use regulations.
[Amended 5-6-2003 by L.L. No. 10-2003; 12-5-2017 by L.L. No. 20-2017; 12-14-2021 by L.L. No. 22-2021; 1-18-2022 by Res. No. 2022-117; 6-7-2022 by L.L. No. 5-2022; 12-3-2024 by L.L. No. 21-2024]
In the Residential Office (RO) District, no building or premises shall be used and no building or part of a building shall be erected or altered which is arranged, intended or designed to be used, in whole or in part, for any uses except the following:
A.
Permitted uses.
(1)
One-family detached dwellings, not to exceed one dwelling on each lot.
(2)
Owner-occupied two-family dwellings.
(3)
The following uses are permitted uses subject to site plan approval by the Planning Board:
(a)
Buildings, structures and uses owned or operated by the Town of Southold, school districts, park districts and fire districts.
(b)
Buildings, structures and uses owned or operated by fraternal organizations and utilized for activities typically conducted by a fraternal organization, including but not limited to public meeting places, charitable and fund-raising events, patriotic observances and catering for public and private functions.
(c)
Bed-and-breakfast uses as set forth in and as regulated by § 280-13B(14).
(d)
Professional offices.
(e)
Churches or similar places of worship, parish houses, convents and monasteries.
(f)
Libraries, museums, art galleries, exhibit halls, artists'/photographers' studios and dance studios.
(g)
Small business offices such as insurance agencies, real estate agencies, computer software services, financial planning securities brokers and like-kind small business establishments excluding retail sales of any kind or nature and limited to overall floor space of 3,000 square feet.
(h)
Day-care center.
B.
Uses permitted by special exception by the Board of Appeals. The following uses are permitted as a special exception by the Board of Appeals as hereinafter provided and, except for Subsection B(6), are subject to site plan approval by the Planning Board, provided that not more than one use shall be allowed for each 40,000 square feet of lot area:
(1)
Special exception uses as set forth in and regulated by § 280-13B(1) through (7) of the Agricultural-Conservation District.
(2)
Funeral homes.
(3)
Apartments may be permitted over business and professional offices as regulated by § 280-45B(4)(a) through (f), inclusive.
(4)
Restaurants, except fast-food or formula restaurants.
(5)
Custom workshops, provided that they shall not be all or part of a commercial center.
(6)
Conversion of an existing building to apartments, subject to the following conditions:
(a)
Expansion of the building may be permitted as part of the conversion to apartments;
(b)
The number of apartments shall be limited to a maximum of six apartments;
(c)
The existing building to be converted must be located on a parcel within a designated Hamlet Locus (HALO) Zone or Hamlet Center;
(d)
The apartments shall be offered for rent;
(e)
The eligible applicants for tenancy must be registered in the Town of Southold Housing Registry, administered by the Government Liaison Officer, prior to the commencement of any tenancy;
(f)
The apartment must be the primary residence of the signatory to the lease at the time possession is taken and throughout the tenancy;
(h)
Property owners must apply for a building permit for the approved construction within one year of the special exception approval;
(i)
The apartment use may not be changed to another permitted use for a minimum period of eight years from the time the use receives a certificate of occupancy;
(j)
The subject parcel, the subject building, and the apartments must remain in common ownership;
(k)
Town of Southold rental permits must be obtained for each of the apartments; and
(l)
The parcel must have at least one parking space per apartment.
C.
Accessory uses. The following uses are permitted as accessory uses and, except for residential accessory uses and signs, which are governed by Article XIX, are subject to site plan review:
(1)
Accessory uses as set forth in and regulated by § 280-13C(1) through (7) of the Agricultural-Conservation District and subject to the conditions set forth in § 280-15 thereof.
(2)
Accessory uses set forth in and regulated by § 280-22C(2) of the Hamlet Density Residential District.
D.
Additional standards. All permitted structures as set forth in this article, except for single-family dwellings, shall be subject to the following:
(1)
No outdoor storage or display of any kind shall be permitted.
(2)
All permitted buildings and other structures shall be visually residential in character, the visible architectural features of which shall be consistent and compatible with the architectural styles of the existing structures in the immediate neighborhood.
(3)
Store fronts of any kind whatsoever shall not be permitted.
§ 280-39 Bulk, area and parking regulations.
No building or premises shall be used and no building or part thereof shall be erected or altered in the Residential Office (RO) District unless the same conforms to the Bulk Schedule and Parking and Loading Schedules incorporated into this chapter, with the same force and effect as if such regulations were set forth herein in full.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Bulk Schedule is included at the end of this chapter, and the Parking and Loading Schedules are in §§ 280-78 and 280-79.