For purposes of this Chapter and when not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the singular include the plural, words in the plural include the singular and the masculine includes the feminine. The word shall is mandatory and not directory, the word may is permissive and the particular controls the general.

(Prior Zoning Code, § 2-1)

For the purpose of this Chapter, certain terms and words are hereby defined and shall have the following meanings unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended:

Accessory use and structure means a use subordinate and normally incidental to a use by right, and complying with all of the following conditions:

(1)

It is clearly incidental and customary to and commonly associated with the operation of the use by right.

(2)

It is operated and maintained under the same ownership as the use by right.

(3)

It is consistent with the structure or structural features of the use by right.

Alley means a public, dedicated right-of-way used primarily as a service or secondary means of access and egress to the service side of abutting property.

Amendment means an addition, deletion or change in the wording, context or substance of this Chapter or the zoning map made a part hereof.

Apartment means a room or suite of rooms in a multiple dwelling used or designed for occupancy by a single family.

Basement means a space under the main floor of a building and having at least one-half of its height below grade. A basement shall be counted as a story for purposes of height regulations if the vertical distance from grade to the ceiling is over five feet or if the space is used for business or dwelling purposes.

Block means an area of land intended to be used for urban purposes, which is entirely surrounded by public streets, highways or ways, except alleys, public walks, waterways or drainage channels; or the exterior boundaries of the subdivision.

Board of Adjustment means the Board of Zoning Adjustment of the City, as created under the authority of Section 31-23-207, C.R.S., and by this Chapter.

Boarder means a person who is housed with a family other than his or her own, for some compensation, monetary or otherwise, and who may also receive meals on the premises.

Boarding house. See Lodging house.

Building means a structure with a roof, intended for the shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, property or chattels. Where roofed structures are separated from each other by common or party walls having no openings for passage, each portion so separated shall be considered a separate building.

Building, accessory, means any building on a lot with a use accessory to a lawful main building or use. (See Accessory use.)

Building area means that portion of a lot that can be occupied or covered over by a building of a use by right, exclusive of front, rear and side yards.

Building height means the vertical distance as measured from the average finished grade at the building setback to the highest point of the roof for a flat roof or mansard roof, and to the mean height level between eaves and ridges for gable and hip roofs. Chimneys, ventilators, pipes, spires, cupolas or similar appurtenances shall be exclusive of building height.

Building Inspector means the Building Inspector of the City or his or her authorized representative.

Building line. See Building setback.

Building permit. See Permit, building.

Building setback means an imaginary regulatory line extended across the full width or side of a lot, parallel with the street right-of-way line or property line. No buildings or structures shall be built or placed between said line and the street right-of-way line or property line.

Campground means any plot of improved property utilized for camping and parking of pickup campers, motor homes, travel trailers, tent trailers or similar mobile units not exceeding either eight feet in body width or 32 feet in body length and designed specifically for recreation purposes.

Camping unit means any pick-up camper, motor home, travel trailer, tent trailer or similar mobile unit not exceeding eight feet in body width and 32 feet in body length and designed specifically for recreational and vacation purposes.

Camping unit campground means any plot of improved property utilized for camping and parking of camping units as defined above for a period not to exceed 30 days. Such a camping unit campground shall be referred to as a campground for the purposes of this Chapter.

Camping unit space means a plot of ground within a campground designed for the accommodation of one camping unit as herein defined for a period not to exceed 30 days.

Center line means the center line of the right-of-way of a platted, reserved or opened street, alley, highway, railroad right-of-way or similar right-of-way.

Certificate of occupancy means a certificate issued by the Building Inspector which signifies that, to his or her knowledge, a person or use may occupy a building, structure, lot or premises and will be in conformance with the regulations of this Chapter, and, where inspection by reason of a building permit has been accomplished, the certificate of occupancy shall also signify that the work done under the building permit has passed inspection.

Channel means a natural or artificial watercourse of perceptible extent, with definite bed and banks to confine and conduct continuously or periodically flowing water.

Church or religious building means a building, together with its accessory uses and buildings, where persons regularly assemble for religious worship.

City means the City of Walsenburg, Colorado.

City Council means the elected legislative governing body for the City.

Clinic, dental/medical means a building and/or association of physicians, dentists and allied professional persons for the purpose of carrying on their professions. A clinic may include a medical or dental laboratory, but not facilities for inpatient care or operating rooms for major surgery.

Club means any membership organization, including a lodge catering exclusively to members and their guests, whose facilities are limited to meeting, eating, entertainment and recreational uses, and further, whose activities are not conducted principally for monetary gain.

Commission. See Planning and Zoning Commission.

Comprehensive Plan means a comprehensive master plan adopted by the City Council for future growth, protection and development of the City, and which includes any unit or part of such plan separately adopted and any amendment to such plan or parts thereof.

Dedication means the intentional appropriation of land by the owner to some public use.

Density means the ratio between the number of dwelling units, number of buildings, bulk of buildings or structures or surface land coverage of buildings or structures, and the total amount of land or lot area they are situated on.

Density, gross, means the ratio between the buildings and land area as stated above, where the area of land devoted to streets and parking is included in the land count.

Dependent mobile home means any camping unit as defined above and any mobile home which does not have a flush toilet and a bathtub or shower.

Depth of lot means the average distance from street right-of-way to the rear lot line, which is the lot line opposite and most distant from said right-of-way.

Double frontage lot means a lot which fronts on one public street and backs on another.

Drive-in restaurant or refreshment stand means any place or premises used for sale, dispensing or serving of food, refreshments or beverages in automobiles, including those establishments where customers may serve themselves and may eat or drink the food, refreshments or beverages on the premises.

Dwelling means a building, other than a mobile home, designed to be used as a living place for one or more persons or families, but not including travel courts, hotels, motels, clubs, boarding houses or any other institution, such as an asylum, hospital or jail where persons are housed by reason of illness or under legal restraint.

Dwelling, attached, means a building containing numerous dwelling units, attached at the side in a series of two or more building structural units, each not containing more than three dwelling units. At points of attachment, such building structural units shall be separated from each other by firewalls extending from footings through roofs without openings which would permit the spread of fire from one structural unit to another. Such structural units shall each have a separate lot meeting the size requirements for the district, or be so located on land in the same ownership so that separate lots meeting district requirements could be provided, in which case dimensions of such land shall not be reduced below those required for the provision of separate lots. The term attached dwelling is intended to apply to row houses, townhouses, patio houses and atrium houses or any housing form which conforms to this definition, regardless of ownership of each dwelling unit or building.

Dwelling, duplex, means a building containing two dwelling units, however arranged, which may have single or separate entrances, on a minimum lot of 9,000 square feet area.

Dwelling, multi-family, means a building containing four or more dwelling units. The term includes cooperative apartments, condominiums, townhouses and the like. For purposes of this Chapter, regardless of how rental units are equipped, any multi-family dwelling in which units are available for rental periods of less than one week shall be considered a hotel or motel.

Dwelling, semi-attached, means a building containing not more than three dwelling units attached at the side by a common party wall without openings, or common garages or carports, and with each dwelling unit having a separate lot with dimensions meeting regulations for the district, or so located on land in the same ownership that individual lots meeting district requirements could not be provided, in which case the dimensions of such land shall not be reduced below that required for the provision of separate lots.

Dwelling, single-family, means a building containing only one dwelling unit. The term is general, including such specialized forms as single-family detached, single-family semi-detached and single-family attached. For regulatory purposes, the term is not to be construed to include mobile homes, travel trailers, housing mounted on self-propelled or drawn vehicles, tents or other forms of portable or temporary housing.

Dwelling, triplex, means a building containing three dwelling units, however, arranged, which may have a single or separate entrance, on a minimum lot of 12,000 square feet area.

Dwelling unit means one room, or rooms connected together, constituting a separate, independent housekeeping establishment for owner occupancy or rental or lease on a weekly or longer basis, physically separated from any other rooms or dwelling units which may be in the same structure, and containing independent cooking, plumbing and sleeping facilities.

Easement means a right granted by the property owner, generally established in a real estate deed or on a recorded plat, to permit the use of land by the public, a public agency, a utility, a corporation or particular person for a specified purpose or use.

Evidence means any map, table, chart, contract or any other document or testimony prepared or certified by a qualified person to attest to a specific claim or condition, which evidence must be relevant and competent.

Family means one or more persons occupying a single dwelling unit and maintaining a common household, but not including boarding or rooming houses, lodges, clubs, hotels or motels.

Flood means a general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from the overflow of streams, rivers, lakes or other inland water and which may affect other lands and activities through stage elevation, backwater and/or increased groundwater level.

Floodplain or flood-prone area means an officially designated land area adjoining a river, stream, watercourse or lake that is likely to be flooded by a storm equal to or greater in intensity than the 100-year storm. For administrative purposes, the floodplain shall be the area officially identified on the City's "Flood Hazard Boundary Map" on file in the office of the City Clerk.

Floodproofing means a combination of structural provisions, changes or adjustments to properties and structures subject to flooding primarily for the reduction or elimination of flood damages to properties, water and sanitary facilities, structures and contents of buildings in a flood hazard area.

Floor area means the total area of all floors enclosed within a building.

Floor area, gross, means the sum of the gross horizontal areas measured between the exterior faces of the exterior walls of the several floors of a building and accessory buildings, including interior walls, balconies, mezzanines, hallways, wells, basements and cellars, and including the area of roof porches, patios and carports having more than one wall.

Floor area, net, means the sum of the gross horizontal areas measured between the interior faces of exterior walls of the several floors of a building and accessory buildings, including interior balconies, mezzanines, retail or wholesale floor areas, basements, cellars and surrounding open spaces used in conjunction with the building and accessory buildings, but excluding interior walls, enclosed hallways, wells, shafts, lavatories, furnace rooms, janitor supply rooms or closets, accessory store rooms and/or areas, and roofed porches, patios and carports enclosed by less than three walls.

Frontage means the property distance on one side of a street measured along the property line of the street. Corner lots shall have only one frontage. Frontage for a single use which may extend for more than one platted lot shall be the total linear distance of all lots of the use along one side of a street, and shall be considered as a single frontage.

Garage, private, means an accessory building or portion of a main building on the same lot and used for the storage only of private passenger motor vehicles of the occupants of the main building.

Garage, repair, means a building or space for the repair or maintenance of motor vehicles, but not including factory assembly of such vehicles, auto wrecking establishments or junk yards.

Golf course means a regulation nine-hole or 18-hole course for the game of golf, which may or may not be accompanied by a country club, but not including miniature courses, putting greens or golf driving ranges.

Grade level means the average of the ground levels of a lot, prior to construction thereon, measured at the center of all perimeter walls of a building.

Gross leasable area means the total area designed for tenant occupancy and exclusive use, including basements, mezzanines and upper floors, if any, expressed in square feet and measured from the centerline of joint partitions and from outside wall faces.

Home occupation means any nonresidential use conducted entirely within a dwelling unit and carried on solely by the inhabitants thereof, which use is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling unit for dwelling purposes and does not occupy more than 25 percent of the total floor space of the dwelling unit or accessory structure and which does not exceed more than ten customers per 24-hour day. To qualify as a home occupation, the use must also conform to the following requirements:

(1)

There shall be no change in the outside appearance of the building or premises, or other visible evidence of the conduct of such home occupation, other than one sign, not exceeding four square feet in area, non-illuminated and mounted flat against the wall of the principal building.

(2)

No traffic shall be generated by such home occupation in greater volumes than would normally be expected in a residential neighborhood, and the need for parking space generated by such home occupation (over and above that available along the frontage of said premises) shall be met off the street and other than in a required front yard.

(3)

No equipment or process shall be used in such home occupation which creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors or electrical interference detectable to normal senses at any spot adjacent to the premises.

Hotel or motel means a building or group of attached or detached buildings designed for occupancy by short-term or part-time residents who are lodged, with or without meals, and in which no facilities are provided for cooking in individual rooms.

Independent mobile home means a mobile home that has a flush toilet and bathtub or shower.

Junk yard means an area, enclosed or open, 100 square feet or more, or any area not more than 50 feet from any street, used for the collection, storage or sale of waste paper, rags, scrap metal or discarded material; or for the collecting, dismantling, storage, salvaging or demolition of inoperative vehicles, machinery or other materials; and including the sale of whole or parts thereof. This definition does not include storage facilities entirely within an enclosed building.

Kennel means an establishment where dogs or other household pets are raised, bred, boarded or cared for as a gainful occupation.

Loading area means a space other than a public street or alley for the parking of commercial vehicles for the purpose of loading or unloading materials or merchandise.

Lot or parcel means a measured portion of a subdivision or other piece, plat or area of land of contiguous assemblage as established by survey, plat or deed, having its frontage on a public street and intended as a unit for transfer of ownership or development. A lot may or may not have real property improvements contained thereon.

Lot area means the number of square feet included with a lot, as measured by the boundaries of the lot described on a horizontal plane upon which the boundaries have been vertically projected.

Lot length. See Depth of lot.

Lot width means the average distance between the two side lot lines which adjoin the lot frontage, measured perpendicular from one of the sides.

Master Plan. See Comprehensive Plan.

Mobile home means a structure designed to be transported after fabrication, originally constructed to have no foundation other than wheels, jacks or skirting. Such a structure is built upon a chassis and retains the chassis on which it was built, whether or not such structure is placed on a permanent foundation. Such a structure is suitable for human habitation on a year-round basis when provided with the required plumbing, heating and electrical facilities.

Mobile home park means any plot of ground upon which one or more mobile homes, occupied or intended to be occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes, are located for periods of longer than 90 days, regardless of whether or not a charge is made for such accommodation.

Mobile home space means a plot of ground within a mobile home park designed for the accommodation of one mobile home.

Mobile home subdivision means a residential subdivision designed exclusively for and occupied only by mobile homes, in which the homes and the land are owned by the occupants. Such a subdivision shall not be included in the definition of mobile home park and shall be regulated under subdivision regulations.

Modular, manufactured or prefabricated home means a structure designed to be transported after fabrication and located as a permanent addition to, and becoming a part of, the real property. Such a structure must meet minimum construction requirements of the Building Code adopted by the City or similar requirements as accepted by the Federal Housing Administration or the Veterans' Administration. Such structure must be set on a permanent foundation and is subject to all local building, zoning and housing regulations. Any such modular home meeting the requirements herein defined is not considered a mobile home, but rather a dwelling unit. (Also see Dwelling.)

Motor vehicle means every vehicle intended primarily for use and operation on the public highways that is self-propelled and every vehicle intended primarily for operation on the public highways that is not driven or self-propelled by its own power but is designed to be attached to or become a part of or to be drawn by a self-propelled vehicle, not including mobile homes, farm tractors and other machines and tools used in the production, harvesting and care of farms products.

Net land area means the land area devoted to the buildings and accessory uses on the same lot or site, but excluding land for streets, public parking, public playgrounds or other uses indirectly related to the building use of the site. Gross land area, in contra-distinction to net land area, is the total land area for the specific use on a land parcel, including all accessory and public uses.

Nonconforming means any building, parcel of land or use of land lawfully occupied or existing at the time of passage of the initial ordinance codified herein or amendments thereto, which does not conform after the passage of said ordinance or amendments with the zoning requirements of the district in which it is situated.

Nonconforming mobile home park or campground means any mobile home park or campground which is not in compliance with the provisions of this Chapter at the time of the adoption of the initial ordinance codified herein.

Nonconforming sign means any sign which was lawfully erected, constructed or placed on a lot or parcel prior to the adoption of the initial ordinance codified herein or amendments thereto which no longer conforms to the sign regulations contained in this Chapter.

Nonconforming structure means any building, structure or portion thereof which was lawfully constructed and existed prior to the adoption of the initial ordinance codified herein or any amendment thereto, which does not conform to the height, bulk or other building requirements contained in this Chapter for buildings in the district in which it is situated.

Nonconforming use means a use which lawfully occupied a building or land at the time of passage of the initial ordinance codified herein or amendments thereto, but which does not conform after the passage of said ordinance or amendments with the use regulations of the district in which it is situated.

Off-street loading space means a space, not a part of a public thoroughfare, designed for the loading and unloading of vehicles servicing buildings adjacent thereto. Such berths shall not be less than 12 feet in width and 25 feet in length, exclusive of access aisles and maneuvering space.

Off-street parking space means an off-street, hard-surfaced, dust-free space designed and intended to be occupied by a parked automobile, exclusive of maneuvering and roadway space.

Open space, net, means the uncovered area of a lot reserved for open space use exclusive of required area for streets, utility easements, parking and off-street loading.

Permit means a document issued by the City granting permission to perform an act or service which is regulated by the City.

Permit, building, means a permit issued by the Building Inspector authorizing the construction, erection, remodeling, movement, structural alteration or similar work on a building or structure when such work is not in violation of any provisions of this Chapter, this Code or other applicable ordinances and regulations of the City.

Person means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, joint venture, company, association or agent thereof.

Planned unit development means the development of land in a manner which allows a variety of uses, in which normal restrictions of lot sizes, setbacks, densities, land uses and other criteria may be relaxed in return for development conformance to an approved plan for the total parcel. Approval may be given upon evidence of the provisions of open space, public facilities, access, planning aesthetics and other considerations deemed important by the Planning and Zoning Commission and when in compliance with these regulations and other applicable regulations of the City.

Planning and Zoning Commission means the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City, as duly constituted by law.

Property line, also lot line, is one or more of the perimeter boundaries of a legally described parcel of land.

Public building or use means any building open to the general use, participation or enjoyment of the public and owned by a municipality, county, state or federal government or any political subdivision thereof.

Public hearing means a hearing held by the City Council prior to acting on any amendment, repeal, supplement or change in the wording, context or substance of this Chapter or the zoning map made a part thereof or prior to acting on any special use request. In order to meet hearing requirements, the owners of land immediately adjoining the area affected by the proposed zoning revision or special use request must be notified by certified mail of the proposed hearing at least 15 days prior to the date scheduled for hearing. Similar notice shall be provided in a newspaper of general circulation in the City to inform the general public of the proposed zoning revision or special use request. At the hearing, parties in interest and citizens shall have the opportunity to be heard on the subject of the hearing. The applicant shall bear the cost and responsibility for providing notice to adjoining property owners and for newspaper publication. A public record of such hearing must be kept.

Public meeting, as distinguished from a public hearing, is held by the Planning and Zoning Commission prior to providing recommendations on any zoning revision or special use request. Unlike a public hearing, notice requirements are not always mandatory but may be required by the Planning and Zoning Commission. If notice is required by the Planning and Zoning Commission, the applicant shall bear the cost and responsibility for providing notice to adjacent property owners and for newspaper advertising. At the meeting, parties in interest and citizens shall have the opportunity to be heard on the subject of the hearing; however, the Planning and Zoning Commission may establish rules of procedure and otherwise restrict the time each party of interest or citizen is allotted to make comments.

Public utility means any person, firm, corporation, municipal department, board, district or commission duly authorized to furnish and furnishing under federal, state or municipal regulations to the public: gas, electricity, sewage disposal, communications or an approved and municipally sanctioned water supply.

Reverse frontage lot means a lot which fronts on one public street and backs on another. (Same as double frontage lot.)

Road. See Street.

Seat means an individual chair designed to seat one person, or part of a bench designed to seat one person, measuring at least 16 inches in width.

Semi-public building or use means any building open to the general use, participation or enjoyment of the public and owned by a public agency other than a municipality, county, state, federal government or any political subdivision thereof.

Service building means a structure housing toilet and bathing facilities for men and women, laundry facilities or such other facilities as may be required by this Chapter.

Setback means the required distance, and the land resulting therefrom, between the edge of the right-of-way of a public roadway, or some other designated line, and the closest possible line of a conforming structure.

Sewage means a combination of liquid wastes, which may include chemicals, house wastes, human excreta, animal or vegetable matter in suspension or solution, and any other solids in suspension or solution, and which may be discharged from a dwelling, building or other establishment.

Street means any street, avenue, boulevard, road, lane, parkway, viaduct, alley or other way for the movement of vehicular traffic which is an existing state, county or municipal roadway, or a street or a way shown upon a plat, heretofore approved pursuant to law or approved by official action; and includes the land between street lines, whether improved or unimproved, and may comprise pavement, shoulders, gutters, sidewalks, parking areas and other areas within the right-of-way. For the purpose of this Chapter, streets shall be classified and defined as follows:

Major highway means a major regional highway, including an expressway, freeway or interstate highway, designed to carry vehicular traffic into, out of or through the regional area (inter-regional); or from one political subdivision of the region to another (intra-regional).

Major or arterial street means a street or road designed to carry vehicular traffic relatively unimpeded through the City or to connect major land use elements within or immediately surrounding the City.

Collector street means a street or road designed to carry vehicular traffic from one or more residential or nonresidential areas to or from a major or arterial street or highway. Collector streets are usually the principal entrance streets to residential developments and the streets for primary circulation within these developments.

Local street means a street intended primarily to provide pedestrian and vehicular access to abutting properties and designed to carry vehicular traffic from one or more individual residential or nonresidential units to or from a collector street.

Service or frontage road means a minor street located adjacent and parallel to a major or collector street for providing and controlling access to abutting properties and adjacent areas.

Cul-de-sac means a short public way with one end open to traffic and the other end terminated by a vehicular turn-around.

Half-street means a street parallel and contiguous to a property line and of lesser right-of-way width than is required for minor or major streets.

Stub street means a street or road extending from within a subdivision boundary and terminating there with no permanent vehicular turn-around. Stub streets are only permitted to provide adjacent undeveloped parcels of land to be developed later with an adjacent connecting street system.

Street right-of-way means the entire portion of land dedicated to public use for street and utility purposes.

Structural alteration means any change in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams or girders, or any complete rebuilding of the roof or exterior walls.

Structure means anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires permanent location on the ground or attached to something having a permanent location on the ground, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, advertising signs, billboards, backstops for tennis courts and arbors on breezeways, but excepting utility poles, fences, retaining walls and ornamental light fixtures.

Structure, permanent, means a structure which is built of such materials and in such a way that it would commonly be expected to last and remain useful for a substantial period of time.

Structure, temporary, means a structure which is built of such materials and in such a way that it would commonly be expected to have a relatively short useful life, or is built for a purpose that would commonly be expected to be relatively short-term or could easily be removed.

Trailer park. See Mobile home park.

Use means the purpose for which land or a building is arranged, designed or intended, or for which land and/or a building is or may be occupied.

Variance means the relation of the term of these zoning regulations in relation to spatial restrictions on buildings and structures, such as building height, floor area, setback and yard space, where specific physical conditions, unique to the site, would create an unreasonable hardship in the development of the site for permitted uses.

Watercourse means a channel, natural depression, slough, artificial channel, gulch, arroyo, stream, creek, pond, reservoir or lake in which storm runoff and floodwaters flow either regularly or infrequently. This includes major drainage ways for carrying urban storm runoff.

Yard means an open space on the same lot with a building, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided herein. In measuring a yard for the purpose of determining the width of a side yard, the depth of a front yard or the depth of a rear yard, the minimum horizontal distance between the lot line and the main building shall be used.

Yard, front, means a yard extending across the front of a lot between the side lot lines and extending from the front lot line to the front of the main building or any projections thereof. The front yard shall be on the side of the lot which has been established as frontage by the house numbering system.

Yard, rear, means a yard extending across the rear of a lot, measured between the side lot lines, and being the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the rear of the main building, including any projections on interior lots. The rear yard shall in all cases be at the opposite end of the lot from the front yard. In the case of through lots and corner lots, there will be no rear yards, but only front and side yards.

Yard, side, means a yard extending from the front yard to the rear yard and being the space between the side lot line and the side of the main building, including any projections.

Zoning district means a zoned area in which the same zoning regulations apply throughout.

(Prior Zoning Code, § 2-2; Ord. No. 704, § 1.8, 4-4-1978; Ord. No. 1081, § 1, 12-15-2015)