Van Meter City Zoning Code

In their interpretation and application the provisions of this chapter shall be held to be the minimum requirements. Where this chapter imposes a greater restriction than is imposed or required by other provisions of law or by other rules, regulations or ordinances, the provisions of this chapter shall control. For the purposes of this chapter, the words “used or occupied” shall be deemed also to include “designed, intended or arranged to be used or occupied.” The word “lot” includes the words “plot or parcel.” Additional words, phrases, and terms used herein are defined and interpreted as follows:

   1.   “Accessory dwelling unit” means an additional dwelling unit located on the same lot as a single family residence that is either attached to or detached from the single family residence.

      A.   “Attached” means a structure which is joined to another structure at one or more sides by a wall.

      B.   “Detached” means a structure which is entirely surrounded by open space on the same lot.

   2.   “Accessory use, building or structure” means a building, use, or structure subordinate to another building, use, or structure on the same lot which is of a nature customarily incidental to the principal use, building, or structure; and does not alter or change the character of the premises; and which is not used for human occupancy.

   3.   “Adult entertainment establishment” means a retail or service establishment which is characterized by an emphasis on specialized sexual activity and/or specified anatomical areas, including, but not limited to:

      A.   Any book store, video store, or other establishment in which a substantial portion of its stock and trade is devoted to printed matter or visual representation of specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.

      B.   Any movie theater offering movies or other displays, or any establishments offering coin operated devices, which emphasize specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.

      C.   Any cabaret, club, tavern, theater, or other establishment which offers any entertainment emphasizing specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, including (but not limited to) topless and/or bottomless dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators or similar entertainment.

      D.   Any establishment offering massage or similar manipulation of the human body, unless such manipulation is administered by a medical practitioner, chiropractor, acupuncturist, physical therapist or similar professional licensed by the State. This definition does not include massages or similar manipulation offered at an athletic club, health club, school, gymnasium, spa, or similar establishments.

   4.   “Agriculture” means the use of land and/or buildings for agricultural purposes, including farming, dairying, pasturage, and animal and poultry husbandry; and the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating, or storing the produce provided, the operation of such accessory uses shall be secondary to the normal agricultural activities.

   5.   “Airport” means a facility where winged aircraft may land and take off, which may include runways, hangers, facilities for refueling and repair, accommodations for passengers, air traffic control towers, communications towers and antennas, lighting for runways and other facilities, and administrative offices. It may also include a heliport as an accessory use.

   6.   “Alley” means a public way, other than a street, 20 feet or less in width providing a secondary means of access to abutting property.

   7.   “Animal hospital” means any building, or portion thereof, and attached fenced-in kennel area, designed or used for the care, observation, or treatment of domestic animals.

   8.   “Art gallery/studio” means premises used principally for the sale, display and exhibition of art. This use may include accessory production of art products and instruction in the production of art using paint, clay, fabric or other media. This use does not include the mass production or manufacture of objects.

   9.   “Automobile repair” means the general repair, rebuilding, reconditioning of engines, motor vehicles, or trailers.

   10.   “Automobile or trailer sales area” means any area of land, building, or structure, where two or more motor vehicles, in running condition; or trailers fully capable of attachment to a motor vehicle are stored for display and sale.

   11.   “Automobile wrecking yard” means any area of land where two or more vehicles, not in running condition, or parts thereof, are stored in the open and are not being restored to operation; or any land, building, or structure used for wrecking or storing of such motor vehicles, or parts thereof.

   12.   “Basement” means a story having more than one-half of its floor-to-ceiling height below grade level. A basement shall not be counted as a story for the purpose of height regulations.

   13.   “Billboard” means any structure or portion thereof, situated on private property, used or intended for use for advertising purposes, or for public display of posters, painted signs, wall signs, or pictures which advertise a business, attraction, or manufacturing which is not carried on, in, or upon the premises upon which said illustration is located.

   14.   “Board” means the Board of Adjustment.

   15.   “Boarding house” means a building other than a hotel, and not open to transients, where, for compensation, meals and lodging are provided for three or more persons.

   16.   “Building” means any enclosed structure which is built for the support or shelter of human use activities, whether stationary or movable.

   17.   “Building, height of” means the vertical distance from the average natural grade at the front of the building to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, or to the deck line of a mansard roof, or to the mean height level between eaves and ridge for gable, hip, and gambrel roofs.

   18.   “Building line”: A line parallel to the front lot line over which no portion of the building may extend, and which is a distance from the front lot line equal to the depth of the front yard required for the district in which such lot is located.

   19.   “Building, main or principal” means a building in which is conducted the main or principal use of the lot on which said building is situated. Where a substantial part of an accessory building is attached to the principal building in a substantial manner, as by a roof, such accessory building shall be counted as a part of the principal building.

   20.   “Bulk stations” means buildings, structures, and tanks used for the storage and distribution of flammable liquids or liquefied petroleum products, where the aggregate capacity of all storage tanks is more than 12,000 gallons.

   21.   “Business” means the purchase, sale, barter, or exchange of goods, wares, merchandise or services, the maintenance or operation of offices, or amusement and recreational enterprises for profit.

   22.   “Carnival (as temporary use)” means a traveling or transportable group or aggregation of rides, shows, games or concessions, or any combination thereof, which occur outdoors. It may be conducted as one enterprise or several concessionaires, and one admission fee may be charged for all shows or entertainments, or a separate fee may be charged for admission to each amusement.

   23.   “Carport” means a roofed structure providing space for the parking of motor vehicles and enclosed on not more than two sides. A carport attached to the principal building shall be considered as part of the principal building, and subject to all yard requirements therein.

   24.   “Cemetery” means land used or dedicated to the burial of the dead, including crematoriums, mausoleums, necessary sales and maintenance facilities.

   25.   “Clinic, medical or dental” means a building or buildings in which a group of physicians and/or dentists and their professional assistants are associated for the purpose of carrying on their professions.

   26.   “Club or lodge, private” means a non-profit association of persons who are bona-fide members paying dues; which owns, leases, or hires land, a building or portion thereof, the use of such premises being restricted to members and their guests.

   27.   “College/university” means public or private colleges, universities, community colleges or other institutions of higher learning that primarily teach classes that would count toward an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, and that may include associated dormitories. “College/university” shall not include “schools, specialized instructional,” as defined herein.

   28.   “Commission” means the Van Meter, Iowa, Planning and Zoning Commission.

   29.   “Communications antenna” means any exterior apparatus designed for telephone, personal wireless services, broadband, radio or television communications through the sending and/or receiving of electromagnetic waves.

   30.   “Communications tower” means a structure designed and constructed primarily for the purpose of supporting one or more communications antennas, including self-supporting lattice towers, guy towers and monopole towers. This use includes radio and television transmission towers, personal communications service (PCS), microwave towers, common-carrier towers, cellular telephone towers and the like. This use does not include any structure erected solely for a residential, noncommercial individual use, such as television reception antennas, satellite dishes or noncommercial wireless antennas (amateur radio).

   31.   “Condominium” means a multiple dwelling consisting of at least three units with a fee title to each dwelling unit which is held independently of the others and each unit having its own separate utilities and the remainder of the real estate is designed for common ownership solely by the owners of the separate dwelling units.

   32.   “Convent/Monastery” means a building where persons (such as nuns or monks) reside under religious vows.

   33.   “Court” means an open, unobstructed, and unoccupied space other than a yard which is bounded on two or more sides by a building on the same lot.

   34.   “Cultural facility” means facilities open to the public including, but not limited to, museums, cultural centers and aquariums. “Cultural facility” does not include a library, place of worship or lodge or private club, as defined herein.

   35.   “Curb level, grade” means the average elevation, where curb and gutter exists, of the highest point of the curb along the front line of the lot. Where no curbing exists, it is to be taken as the average elevation of the centerline of the paving along the front of the lot.

   36.   “Day-care center” means a facility operated for the purpose of providing care for six or more children for part or all of a day and includes but is not limited to the following: nursery school, kindergarten, child-care center, day nursery, preschool and playground. It does not include bona fide kindergartens or nursery schools operated by public or private elementary or secondary systems.

   37.   “Dwelling” means a building or portion thereof, used primarily as a place of abode for one or more human beings, but not including a tent, trailer, or mobile home, or hotels, motels, boarding houses, and tourist homes.

   38.   “Dwelling, single-family” means a building designed or used exclusively for occupancy by one family.

   39.   “Dwelling, two-family” means a building designed or used exclusively for occupancy by two families.

   40.   “Dwelling, multiple family” means a building, or portion thereof, containing three or more dwelling units.

   41.   “Dwelling unit” means a dwelling or a portion thereof, used for one family for living, and sleeping purposes, containing bathroom and cooking facilities. One or more persons occupy a single housekeeping unit and using common cooking facilities. Unless related by blood or marriage, no such family shall contain over three persons. Every additional group of three or fewer persons not related by blood or marriage living in said housekeeping unit shall be considered a separate family for the purpose of this chapter.

   42.   “Floodplain” means that continuous area, adjacent to a stream bed or other natural drainage channels or areas, that is low-lying and subject to periodic inundation by water.

   43.   “Floor area of building” means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a building and its accessory buildings on the same lot; except that in residential buildings, basement, and attic floor area not devoted to active use shall be excluded, but the area of roofed porches and roofed terraces shall be included. All dimensions shall be measured between exterior faces of walls.

   44.   “Garage, private” means any building or structure enclosed on more than two sides intended and used for the parking of the private motor vehicles of the families resident upon the premises.

   45.   “Garage, public” means any building where automotive vehicles are painted, repaired, rebuilt, reconstructed and/or stored for compensation.

   46.   “Home occupation” means any use conducted entirely within a dwelling and participated in solely by members of the family, which use is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling for dwelling purposes and does not change the character thereof, and in connection with which there is no commodity sold upon the premises except those produced thereon. In no event shall a barber shop, salon, gift shop, or animal hospital be construed as a home occupation unless the individual has applied for and received a special use permit pursuant to Section 165.22(7)(A)(7) of this chapter for a special use permit to operate a barbershop or salon. Commodities incidental to the practice of cosmetology or barbering may be sold in the event a special use permit is granted.

   47.   “Homeless shelter” means a facility that provides temporary sleeping and/or living accommodations and meals to homeless persons and which may include counseling, accessory offices or recreational facilities for occupants.

   48.   “Hotel” means a building in which lodging is provided and offered to the public for compensation, and which is open to transient guests, in contradistinction to boarding or lodging houses.

   49.   “Indoor recreation and amusement” means indoor facilities including health/fitness clubs, sports arenas, swimming pools, ice or roller skating rinks, bowling alleys, tennis, handball and other court games, sports clubs, indoor golf, paintball marking, pool, billiards, foosball, table tennis, shuffleboard, pinball machines, video games and similar recreation or amusement facilities. This use may include accessory uses such as snack bars, pro shops and locker rooms, which are designed and intended primarily for the use of patrons of the principal recreational use.

   50.   “Junk yard” means an open area or fenced-in enclosure where waste, discarded, or salvaged materials are bought, sold, exchanged, baled, packed, disassembled or handled, including (but not limited to) scrap iron and other metals, paper, rags, rubber tires, and bottles, but not including areas where such uses are conducted entirely within a completely enclosed building, or the processing of used, discarded, or salvaged materials are part of a manufacturing operation.

   51.   “Kennel” means any premises on which four or more dogs, six months or older, are kept for board, breeding or sale.

   52.   “Land use plan” means the comprehensive long-range plan for the desirable use of land within the community, as officially adopted and as amended from time to time by the Council; the purpose of the plan being, among other things, to serve as a guide to the zoning and progressive changes in zoning of land to meet changing needs, in the subdividing and use of undeveloped land and in the acquisition of land for such public purposes as streets, parks, schools, and other public buildings and uses.

   53.   “Library” means a public or private facility where books, periodicals, recordings and other documents are principally maintained for borrowing and use by patrons, rather than being offered for sale. This use may include the incidental sale of surplus materials and other goods.

   54.   “Live entertainment” means the performance of singing, playing musical instruments, spoken word or dancing by live performers within an establishment such as a restaurant or tavern/bar, or portion thereof. Live entertainment does not include theaters that may have live musical performances as part of a theatrical production, or restaurants that play low-volume background music.

   55.   “Lot” means a parcel of land, abutting on a street, whose area, in addition to the parts thereof occupied or hereafter to be occupied by a building, structure, and/or accessory buildings, is sufficient to provide the yards required by the regulations herein given.

   56.   “Lot, corner” means a lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection.

   57.   “Lot double-frontage” means a lot having a frontage on two or more non-intersecting streets, as distinguished from a corner lot.

   58.   “Lot interior” means a lot other than a corner lot.

   59.   “Lot area” means the horizontal area within the lot lines of the lot.

   60.   “Lot lines” means the lines bounding a lot.

   61.   “Lot of record” means a lot which is part of a subdivision recorded in the office of the County Recorder, or a lot or parcel described by metes and bounds, the legal description of which has been duly recorded.

   62.   “Lot depth” means the mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.

   63.   “Lot width” means the width of a lot measured at the building line and at right angles at its depth.

   64.   “Mobile home” means any vehicle used or maintained for use as a conveyance upon highways or public streets or waterways; so designed and constructed as to permit occupancy thereof as a dwelling unit or sleeping place for one or more persons whether attached or unattached to a permanent foundation.

   65.   “Mobile home park” means any lot or portion of a lot upon which two or more mobile homes occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes are located regardless of whether or not a charge is made for such accommodation.

   66.   “Motor vehicle storage, temporary” means the temporary outdoor storage of motor vehicles, trucks, vans, recreational vehicles, trailers or other similar motorized transportation, when not accessory to any principal use on the same lot.

   67.   “Nonconforming use” means a building, structure, or premises lawfully occupied or under construction at the time of the enactment of the zoning regulations for the district in which it is located; also such use resulting from changes in zoning districts or in textual provisions made hereafter.

   68.   “Nursing or convalescent home” means a building or structure having accommodations and where care and room and board is provided for invalid, infirm, aged, convalescent, or physically disabled or injured persons, not including insane or other mental cases, inebriate or contagious cases.

   69.   “Office, government” means an office of a local, State or federal government organization. This use is distinct from a public service facility, as defined herein.

   70.   “Outdoor entertainment, temporary” means the performance of live music outside of an enclosed building in an outdoor space as part of a community festival or an event hosted by the City, park district or other governmental body, or as a temporary accessory use to a business.

   71.   “Outdoor recreation” means active outdoor recreational facilities available to the general public, including lighted ball fields, lighted ball courts, driving ranges, miniature golf courses, batting cages, skateboarding courses, archery ranges, outdoor aquatic facilities owned and operated by a park district such as swimming pools, splash parks and water slides, and other similar uses. This use may include accessory uses such as snack bars that are designed and intended primarily for the use of patrons of the principal recreational use. Outdoor recreation does not include model airplane facilities, golf courses or outdoor amusement.

   72.   “Outdoor sales, temporary” means the sale or display for sale at retail of goods, or the provision of service, out-of-doors in conjunction with or accessory to a principal use. Temporary outdoor sales shall be limited to three events within one calendar year per lot. These events shall be restricted to the following time limits: one event of not more than 60 days, and two events of not more than 30 days each.

   73.   “Outdoor storage” means the storage of any goods, material, merchandise or equipment outside of an enclosed building. Outdoor storage does not include the display of goods for sale at retail or temporary storage of refuse, nor does it include outdoor refuse dumpsters, recycling containers, compacting equipment, pallet storage, baled cardboard and other refuse and recycling materials.

   74.   “Park, neighborhood” means public or private open space maintained in a natural state or improved with amenities for passive or active recreation, including but not limited to ball fields and ball courts without lighting for night play. This use does not include facilities categorized as “outdoor recreation.”

   75.   “Parking area, private” means a parking lot used for parking of motor vehicles that is not within a parking garage/structure and is not within or under a building. This use is distinct from “parking area, public.”

   76.   “Parking area, public” means an open area, other than a street or alley, designed for use or used for the temporary parking of four or more motor vehicles when available for public use, whether free or for compensation, or as an accommodation for clients, or customers, paved with a dust preventative or hard surface.

   77.   “Parking space” means a permanently surfaced area of not less than 200 square feet either within a structure or in the open, inclusive of driveway or access drives, for the parking of a motor vehicle.

   78.   “Place of worship” means a church, temple, synagogue, mosque or other religious place assembly, which may or may not include schools and/or meeting facilities and accessory uses such as a parish house, recreational facilities and other nonprofit operations that serve members of the religious organization.

   79.   “Police firearms training range” means a firearms range used exclusively for training and practice by law enforcement personnel.

   80.   “Post office” means a facility with service windows for mailing packages and letters, post office boxes, postal service offices, postal vehicle storage areas and sorting and distribution facilities for mail.

   81.   “Primary building face” means the side or sides of the building fronting on a street right-of-way, excluding any appurtenances such as projecting fins, columns, pilasters, canopies, marquees, showcases or decorations.

   82.   “Professional training center” means a training center with classrooms, administrative offices, food preparation and service, residential accommodations for trainees and recreational facilities.

   83.   “Plat” means a map or chart indicating the subdivision or re-subdivision of land, intended to be duly filed for record.

   84.   “Public plaza” means pedestrian-oriented open space owned and maintained by a public agency for the use and enjoyment of the general public, commonly hardscaped.

   85.   “Public service facility” means a facility owned and operated by a governmental entity used to provide a public safety or public service, including but not limited to police and fire stations, public works facilities for road or utility maintenance, vehicle maintenance garages, workshops, storage, offices, communications and dispatch, school bus maintenance and storage, and park maintenance facilities.

   86.   “Row dwelling” means any one of at least three but no more than six attached dwellings in a continuous row, each such dwelling designed and erected as a unit on a separate lot and separated from one another by an approved wall or walls and each unit having its own separate utilities. (Also referred to as a “townhouse.”)

   87.   “Satellite receiving antenna” means an accessory structure often called a “dish” or “earth station antenna” the purpose of which is to receive communication, including (but not limited to) radio and television or other signals from satellite and other extra-terrestrial sources whether affixed to the ground as a permanent structure, to the building, or a mobile unit such as a trailer or vehicle.

   88.   “School, primary or secondary” means public, private or parochial institutions primarily engaged in academic instruction for all, or part of, grades Kindergarten through Grade 12, and recognized or approved by the State of Iowa. This use may include accessory day-care centers for children over the age of three.

   89.   “School, specialized instructional” means a private for-profit or nonprofit establishment where the primary business is providing specialized instruction not necessarily limited by age, such as, but not limited to driving, trade, specialized academic, vocational, art, music and dance schools.

   90.   “Short-term rental’ means any residential property, dwelling, condominium, or portion thereof that is available for use or is used for accommodations or lodging of guests, who pay a fee or other compensation, for a period of less than thirty-one (31) consecutive days. “vacation rentals” or “short-term rental” means any establishment engaged in the business of furnishing or providing rooms intended or designed for dwelling, lodging or sleeping purposes to transient guests and which are known in the trade as such. The terms “vacation rental” or “short-term rental” do not include any hospital, convalescent or nursing home or sanitarium, or any facility associated with a hospital providing rooms for medical patients and their families, nor do they include any hotel, motel, or bed and breakfast facility.

   91.   “Sign” means any structure or device for visual communication that is used for the purpose of bringing the subject thereof to the attention of the public. Any non-illuminated or illuminated sign with non-moving, non-flashing, and non-rotating light conforming to the applicable standards set forth in the categories below is exempt from the general sign requirements of each zoning district. However, such sign must meet all other requirements described for its category

      A.   Directional/Informational Signs. Up to four free-standing on-premises signs per nonresidential lot with a maximum height of three feet and a total maximum sign area per lot not to exceed 32 square feet. One off-premises sign for an institutional use may be allowed by Special Permit from the Zoning Administrator.

      B.   Flags. Any official governmental flag, or flag displaying the recognized symbol of a non-profit organization.

      C.   Historical Marker. A marker, monument, plaque, or other type sign or notice located on public or private property which identifies documents or records an historical event pertaining to the structure on which it is located. One sign per building no larger than 12 square feet is permitted.

      D.   Incidental Signs. A sign pertaining to specific products services, or facilities available on the premise. A maximum of five signs per nonresidential lot with a total maximum of 32 square feet.

      E.   Institutional Signs. An on-premises sign pertaining to a medical, charitable, religious, educational, or civic institution with a maximum size of 40 square feet.

   92.   “Single family residence” means the same as defined by “dwelling, single-family,” except to the extent that a single-family residence may share utility lines with the accessory dwelling unit if full unit access that includes a separate metering system for billing purposes can be provided to the accessory dwelling unit.

   93.   “Specified anatomical areas’ means:

      A.   Less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttocks, and female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola; and

      B.   Human male genitals in a discernable turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.

   94.   “Specified sexual activities” means:

      A.   Human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal;

      B.   Acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse or sodomy; and fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttocks or female breasts.

   95.   “Story” means that portion of a building between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it, or if there is no floor above it the space between such floor and the ceiling next above it.

   96.   “Street” means a public or private thoroughfare, being a right-of-way of a required width, which affords a primary means of access to abutting property.

   97.   “Structure” means anything constructed or erected which requires location on the ground or attachment to something having a location on the ground, including satellite receiving antenna.

   98.   “Structural alteration” means any change in the supporting members of a building, including (but not limited to) bearing walls, load bearing partitions, columns, beams, or girders, or any substantial change in the exterior walls or roof, beyond ordinary repairs and maintenance.

   99.   “Tenant” means a person occupying a dwelling unit who pays, or has payments made on the individual’s behalf, a stated payment at fixed intervals for the use of the dwelling unit. The term includes a person occupying a dwelling unit owned by another individual, who in return for housing agrees to occupy and maintain the premises. Payment of utilities is not required under the terms of this chapter for a person to be considered a “tenant” within the meaning of this chapter.

   100.   “Theatre (small/large)” means an indoor establishment where live performance, motion pictures or other recorded media are offered for public viewing, where admission is charged. This use does not include any sexually oriented business, as defined herein.

   101.   “Transportation operations facility” means a facility, which may include outdoor facilities and buildings, where buses, trains, taxicabs or other delivery vehicles are stored and/or dispatched, where loading and unloading of passengers and freight may be carried on regularly. This use is distinct from a public service facility, as defined herein.

   102.   “Utility” means infrastructure services that typically includes overhead electric and communication lines and poles; electric utility towers; electric transformers and switchgear; traffic signals and controllers; streetlighting; wastewater lift stations; fire hydrants and standpipes; water supply wells, reservoirs and towers; stormwater drainage; and underground gas, electrical, telephone, communications, water distribution, wastewater collection and drainage facilities, electrical substations, telephone equipment buildings, cable television head-end facilities, above-ground natural gas transmission facilities, municipal wastewater treatment facilities, water supply treatment facilities and similar large-scale utility equipment and buildings.

   103.   “Yard” means an open space on the same lot with a building or structure open, unoccupied, and unobstructed by structures, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

   104.   “Yard, front” means an open space extending across the full width of the lot and lying between the front lot line and the nearest line of the principal building, other than the usual projection of steps.

   105.   “Yard, rear” means an open space extending across the full width of the lot and lying between the rear lot line and the nearest line of the principal building, other than the usual projection of steps.

   106.   “Yard, side” means an open space extending from the front yard to the rear yard between a building and the side lot line.