Warren City Zoning Code
TITLE FIVE
Zoning Administration
1131.01 CONSTRUCTION OF LANGUAGE.
Certain words and terms in this Zoning Ordinance are defined for use as provided in this chapter:
Words used in the present tense include the future.
The singular number includes the plural and the plural includes the singular.
The word “shall” is mandatory and not directory.
The word “lot” includes the word “plot”.
The word “building” includes the word “structure”.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1131.02 ACCESSORY USE OR BUILDING.
“Accessory use or building” means either a subordinate use of a building, other structure or tract of land or a subordinate building or other structure whose use is incidental to that of the main building and which is located on the same lot as the main building.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1131.021 ADULT CABARET.
“Adult cabaret” means a nightclub, bar, restaurant, or similar establishment (whether or not subject to liquor permit) which regularly features persons who appear live in a state of dress which fails to opaquely cover a human buttock, pubic region, genitals and/or areola of a female breast.
(Ord. 11139/98. Passed 1-14-98.)
1131.03 BUILDING.
"Building" means any structure which is permanently affixed to the land and has one or more floors and a roof.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1131.04 BULK.
"Bulk" is the term used to describe the location of exterior walls of buildings and other structures in relation to lot lines, prescribing also the open spaces relating to a building or structure.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1131.05 DISTRICTS: RESIDENCE, COMMERCIAL AND MANUFACTURING.
"Residence Districts" include all RA, RB and RC Districts.
"Commercial Districts" include all CA and CB Districts.
"Manufacturing Districts" include all MA and MB Districts.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1131.06 DWELLING.
"Dwelling" means any building or portion thereof which is designed or used exclusively for residential purposes.
(a) "One-family dwelling" means a detached building, designed for or occupied exclusively by on family.
(b) "Two-family dwelling" means a building or portion thereof designed or used as the residence for two families living independently of each other.
(c) "Multiple-family dwelling" means a building or portion thereof used or designed as the residence of three or more families living independently of each other. Automobile courts, motels, trailer camps and tourist camps shall not be interpreted as multiple dwellings for the purpose of this Zoning Ordinance.
(Ord. 6171/63. Passed 12-2-63.)
1131.07 FAMILY.
"Family" means one or more persons who live together in one dwelling unit and maintain a common household. A family may consist of a single person or of two or more persons, whether related by blood, marriage or adoption. A family may also include domestic servants and gratuitous guests.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1131.08 HOME OCCUPATION.
"Home occupation" means an occupation or profession which is customarily carried on in a dwelling by a member of the family residing in the dwelling and which occupation is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling for residential purposes, and which may not occupy more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the floor space of such dwelling. A home occupation may include but is not limited to such uses as art studio, dressmaking, music teaching, and the office of a physician, dentist, lawyer, engineer, architect, accountant or realtor. A home occupation may not be interpreted to include barber shop, commercial stables and kennels, tea rooms, restaurants or tourist homes.
(Ord. 6171/63. Passed 12-2-63.)
1131.09 HOTEL.
"Hotel" means a building or any part of a building which contains living and sleeping accommodations for transient occupancy and has a common entrance or entrances.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1131.10 GARAGE.
(a) "Private garage" means a building or space used as an accessory to a main building permitted in any residence district and providing for the storage of motor vehicles and in which no business, occupation or service for profit is in any way conducted.
(b) "Public garage" means any garage other than a private garage for the storage of motor vehicles, at which repairs on any kind of motor vehicle are permitted or at which the sale of accessories and filling station service are permitted.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1131.11 HEIGHT OF BUILDING.
"Height of building" means the vertical distance from the established sidewalk grade at the center of the front of the building to the highest point of the roof surface if a flat roof, to the deck line for mansard roofs, and to the mean height level between eaves and ridge for gable, hip and gambrel roofs. For a building set back from the street line, height of building may be measured from the average elevation of the finished grade along the front of the building.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1131.12 LOT.
"Lot" means land occupied or to be occupied by a building and its accessory buildings or by a dwelling group and its accessory buildings, together with such open spaces as are required under the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance and having not less than the minimum area required by this Zoning Ordinance for a lot in the district in which it is located and having the principal frontage upon a public street.
(a) "Front lot line" is the line separating the lot from the street. On a corner lot, the owner shall, for the purpose of this Zoning Ordinance have the privilege of electing any street lot line as the front line, provided that the lot is of such a shape and size that all requirements pertaining to front, rear and side yards contained herein are complied with, and further provided that such selected front line is so designated on the building plans filed for approval with the Building Inspector.
(b) "Rear lot line" is the lot line opposite and most distant from the front lot line. The rear lot line of any irregular or triangular lot shall, for the purposes of this Zoning Ordinance, be a line entirely within the lot, ten feet long and parallel to and most distant from the front lot line.
(c) "Side lot line" is any lot line not a front lot line or a rear lot line. A side lot line separating a lot from a street is a side street lot line.
(Ord. 6171/63. Passed 12-2-63.)
1131.13 NONCONFORMING USE.
"Nonconforming use" means a use of a building or land which does not conform with the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance in the district in which it is located.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1131.14 OFF-STREET AUTOMOBILE PARKING SPAC E.
An "off-street automobile parking space" is a space located off of the public streets or alleys which shall be used for the parking of vehicles. The accommodation may be open and unenclosed or it may be located in a garage. A parking space shall be an area of appropriate dimensions, of not less than 180 square feet, net, exclusive of access or manuevering area, which has a means of ingress and egress from a street or alley.
(Ord. 6171/63. Passed 12-2-63.)
1131.15 SETBACK LINE
"Setback line" means a line indicating the minimum horizontal distance between the street easement, or right of way, and the building, or any projection thereof other than steps or permanently open porches or ramps, unless otherwise specifically defined.
(Ord. 9368/83. Passed 9-28-83.)
1131.16 YARDS.
"Yard" means an existing or required open space on the same lot with the main building and lying along the adjacent lot line, open, unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground to the sky, except as otherwise provided herein.
(a) "Rear yard" means a space, unoccupied except by an accessory use as herein provided, extending for the full width of the lot between the rear lot line and the extreme rear line of a building.
(b) "Side yard" means the yard along the side line of a lot and extending from the setback line to the rear yard.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1131.17 ZONING ORDINANCE.
"Zoning Ordinance" or "this Ordinance" means Ordinance 4520/53, passed December 28, 1953, as amended, which is codified as Titles Five
and Seven
of this Part Eleven - Planning and Zoning Code.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1133.01 PURPOSE.
The regulations prescribed for the districts herein set forth have been made in accordance with a comprehensive plan for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals and welfare of the public. They have been designed to provide adequate light and air, to prevent the overcrowding of land, to avoid undue concentration of population, to facilitate the adequate provision of water, sewerage, schools, parks and other public requirements. They have been made with reasonable consideration for particular uses with a view of conserving the value and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the City.
(Ord. 6171/63. Passed 12-2-63.)
1133.02 ESTABLISHMENT OF DISTRICTS AND MAP.
(a) In order to carry out the purposes and provisions of this Zoning Ordinance, the City is divided into the following districts:
(Ord. 6171/63. Passed 12-2-63.)
Residence Districts |
RA Districts RB Districts RC Districts RD Districts RE Districts. |
(Ord. 11309/99. Passed 7-14-99.)
Commercial Districts |
CA Restricted Districts CA Districts CB Districts |
(Ord. 11557/02. Passed 4-24-02.)
Manufacturing Districts |
MA Districts MB Districts |
The boundaries of such districts are established as shown upon the Map designated “Zoning Map of the City of Warren, Ohio, 1963", and such Map and all notations, references and other information shown thereon are incorporated into this Zoning Ordinance and shall have the same force and effect as if such Map and all notations, references and other information shown thereon were fully written and described herein.
(Ord. 6171/63. Passed 12-2-63.)
(b) (EDITOR’S NOTE: In addition to the districts originally created under subsection (a) hereof, the following districts have been established by ordinances enacted subsequent to Ordinance 4520/53 as respectively indicated:
Planned Unit District (Residential and Commercial). (Ord. 7607/73. Passed 4-2-73.) |
Senior Citizens Multi-Family District. (Ord. 7608/73. Passed 4-2-73.) |
Planned Unit Industrial District. (Ord. 8529/77. Passed 11-28-77.) |
Residential Apartment District. (Ord. 8840/79. Passed 12-10-79.) |
1133.03 CONFORMITY REQUIRED.
After the effective date of this Zoning Ordinance, no building or premises shall be used, and no building or structure shall be erected, altered, converted or relocated except in conformity with the regulations prescribed herein. Any change, extension or enlargement of use and/or any construction, reconstruction, alteration, relocation, enlargement or conversion of structures in any district will be governed by all regulations, specific or general, pertaining to such district.
(Ord. 6171/63. Passed 12-2-63.)
1133.04 ENFORCEMENT.
The Building Inspector shall enforce the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance. No permit shall be issued for excavation or for the construction or alteration of any building, structure or part thereof, and no permit shall be issued for the use of any land where the plans, specifications or intended use indicate that the building or use would not conform in all respects with the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1133.05 CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY.
No vacant land and no building hereafter erected or altered shall be occupied or used in whole or in part, nor shall any owner or tenant of any land or building hereafter change the use classification or enlarge the use in any building or on any premises without a certificate of occupancy from the Building Inspector, stating that the use of the building or premises complies with the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance.
Application for a certificate of occupancy shall be made with the application for a building permit or may be directly applied for where no building permit is necessary and shall be issued or refused in writing within five days after the Building Inspector has been notified in writing that the building or premises is ready for occupancy.
A record of all such certificates shall be kept in the office of the Building Inspector. Copies shall be furnished on request to any person having a proprietary or tenancy interest in the property.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1133.06 CHANGES AND AMENDMENTS BY PETITION.
Any owner of property desiring an amendment to this Zoning Ordinance, changing the shape, area or the regulations for any district herein created, shall file with Council his petition for such change. Such petition shall be accompanied by a fee, as prescribed by Section 1133.10
, to defray the costs in connection with hearing and deciding any such petition.
(a) Such petition shall be made only upon such standard form as may from time to time be prescribed by the Building Inspector with the approval of Council. Failure to file a petition on such standard form shall invalidate such petition.
(b) All petitions shall be referred to the Planning Commission and to the Buildings and Grounds Committee of Council at the first regular meeting of Council held after their filing.
(c) The Planning Commission shall submit to the Clerk of Council and the chairman of the Buildings and Grounds Committee a recommendation concerning each petition referred to it, by no later than the thirtieth day following the day of such referral. All such recommendations shall be in writing, shall contain explicit reasons for the recommendation and shall be signed by the secretary and one other member of the Commission.
(d) Submission of legislation implementing any petition shall be within the sole discretion of the Buildings and Grounds Committee of Council. However, nothing in this section shall prevent the introduction of zoning legislation by any member of Council.
(e) Council shall take no final action upon any such petition until such recommendation has been received or the thirty-day period has elapsed. This section shall apply only to final passage of legislation and shall not prevent Council from taking any and all steps preliminary thereto.
(f) Changes and amendments substantially conforming to the recommendation of the Planning Commission shall be adopted by a majority vote of the total membership of Council, after public notice and hearing thereon. All other changes shall be adopted only by a three-fourths vote of the total membership of Council, after public notice and hearing thereon.
(g) For purposes of this section, draft legislation will be deemed to substantially conform to the recommendation of the Planning Commission if so certified by the Director of Law. (Ord. 6705/67. Passed 1-3-67.)
(h) With respect to Residential A, B, C, D and E zoning areas, a three-year waiting period shall be observed before the property owner may resubmit a request for a zone change once it has been denied by Council.
(Ord. 11309/99. Passed 7-14-99.)
1133.07 CHANGES AND AMENDMENTS BY MOTION OF COUNCIL.
Council may, on its own motion, amend this Zoning Ordinance, changing the shape, area or the regulations for any district herein created, subject to the following provisions:
(a) All such draft legislation shall be referred to the Planning Commission and to the Buildings and Grounds Committee of Council at its first reading.
(b) The Planning Commission shall submit to the Clerk of Council and to the chairman of the Buildings and Grounds Committee a recommendation concerning each draft referred to it, by no later than the thirtieth day following the day of such referral. All such recommendations shall be in writing, shall contain explicit reasons for the recommendation and shall be signed by the secretary and one other member of the Commission.
(c) Council shall take no final action upon any such draft legislation until such recommendation has been received or the thirty-day period has elapsed. This section shall apply only to final passage of legislation and shall not prevent Council from taking any and all steps preliminary thereto.
(d) Changes and amendments substantially conforming to the recommendation of the Planning Commission shall be adopted by a majority vote of the total membership of Council, after public notice and hearing thereon. All other changes shall be adopted only by a three-fourths vote of the total membership of Council, after public notice and hearing thereon.
(e) For the purposes of this section, draft legislation will be deemed to substantially conform to the recommendation of the Planning Commission if so certified by the Director of Law.
(Ord. 6705/67. Passed 1-3-67.)
1133.08 AMENDMENT OF FEE SCHEDULES AND PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS.
Those sections of this Zoning Ordinance which relate to fee schedules, administration, penalties, procedural requirements and other matters not affecting the shape, area or the regulations of any zoning district may be amended in accordance with the rules of Council without recommendation of the Planning Commission or public hearing.
(Ord. 6705/67. Passed 1-3-67.)
1133.09 EFFECT OF ZONING CHANGE ON ISSUED BUILDING PERMITS.
If this Zoning Ordinance is amended and its provisions changed, and as a result, a building for which a permit has been issued no longer conforms to the provisions of this Title, such permit shall remain valid only if construction begins under the permit within sixty days of the date of passage of the amendment involved.
For the purpose of this section, construction shall be deemed to have begun only if on-site work, including prefabrication of material by a subcontractor or materialman, has been performed and there is a present intent to continue that work without delay. Merely nominal work performed for no other immediate purpose than the protection of an issued permit shall not be construed as a beginning of construction.
(Ord. 6706/67. Passed 1-3-67.)
1133.10 FEE SCHEDULE.
The following fees shall be charged for filings under this Part Eleven - Planning and Zoning Code, and no filing shall be deemed valid until the prescribed fee has been paid.
Zone Change Petitions | |
Where 1 lot is affected | $ 370.00 |
Where 2 lots are affected | 380.00 |
Where 3 lots are affected | 390.00 |
Where 4 lots are affected | 400.00 |
Where 5 lots are affected | 410.00 |
Where over 5 lots are affected | 25.00 for each additional lot |
Where acreage is affected, the fee shall be as follows: | |
One acre based on 43,560 square feet | $ 400.00 |
For each additional 9,000 feet over the first acre, an additional | 25.00 |
Variance Petitions | 200.00 |
Zoning Appeals | 370.00 |
Vacate a Street | 150.00 |
(Ord. 10095/90. Passed 2-28-90.) | |
1133.99 PENALTY.
Whoever violates any provision of this Zoning Ordinance shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense. Each day such violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ord. 8374/76. Passed 10-4-76. )
1135.01 CREATION AND APPOINTMENT.
An administrative board is created, such board to be known as the Board of Zoning Appeals. The members of the City Planning Commission shall compose and constitute the membership of the Board of Zoning Appeals. The term of each member of the Board of Zoning Appeals shall run concurrently with his membership in the City Planning Commission.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1135.02 PROCEDURE; POWERS AND DUTIES.
All meetings of the Board of Zoning Appeals shall be public. The Board shall organize annually and elect a chairman and a vice-chairman. The Board shall appoint a secretary who shall keep its records.
The Board of Zoning Appeals shall have such duties and powers as set forth in the various sections of this Zoning Ordinance. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall adopt such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance. It shall also hear and decide all matters referred to it or upon which it is required to pass under this Zoning Ordinance. Within its powers, the Board may reverse or affirm, wholly or in part, or modify the order, requirement, decision or determination as in its opinion ought to be done under the circumstances and to that end shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken, and it may issue or direct the issuance of a permit.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1135.03 APPEALS; NOTICE; HEARING; DECISION.
No action shall be taken by the Board on any case until after public notice and hearing. The presence of four members shall constitute a quorum, and the concurring vote of four members shall be necessary to reverse or modify any order, requirement or decision of the Building Inspector or to decide in favor of the appellant on any matter which the Board is required to pass or to effect any variation.
Where public notice is required, the petitioner shall deposit with the secretary of the Board a sum sufficient to defray the cost of printing the required notices.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1135.04 PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIRED.
Proper notice of a hearing before the Board shall be a legal notice published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City at least ten days before the public hearing, and a written notice mailed to the owner or his agent at the address given on the appeal, and to directly affected property owners or their agents at least five days before the proposed hearing in such manner as the Board in its rules of procedure shall prescribe.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
1135.05 POWERS.
The Board of Zoning Appeals shall have the following powers:
(a) To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is error in any order, requirement, permit, decision, determination or refusal made by the Building Inspector or other administrative official in the carrying out or enforcement of any provision of this Zoning Ordinance.
(b) Permit the extension of an existing or proposed building or use into a more restricted district under such conditions as will safeguard the character of the more restricted district.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)
(c) Grant a permit in an RA District, RB District, RC District, RD District, or RE District for a group residential development on a site containing not less than three acres of land, so as to permit a more flexible placing of buildings on the land by exempting each individual building in such group development from the yard and lot area requirements and to permit the grouping of open spaces and such accessory facilities as garages and parking spaces. However, the Board of Zoning Appeals may not diminish in distance any required setback line along any street line, or any rear yard or side yard requirement along the boundaries of the development.
(Ord. 11309/99. Passed 7-14-99.)
(d) Grant a permit in any Residence or Commercial District for a temporary building or use incidental to the residential or commercial development, such permit to be issued for a period of not more than two years.
(e) Grant a permit for the erection and use of a building and accessory structures and the use of premises in any Residence District for a telephone exchange, electric substation, water supply booster pump station and reservoir, gas supply pressure adjustment station, and radio and television transmitter station, subject to such conditions and safeguards as will protect the character of the Residence District.
(f) Grant a permit in an MA District for a building or use otherwise excluded from such District, provided such building or use is distinctly incidental and essential to the use of a building or plant with a series of buildings permitted in such District, subject to such conditions as will safeguard the public health, safety, convenience and general welfare.
(g) Apply the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance in such a way as to carry out the true intent and purpose where the street and alley layout on the ground differs from the layout shown on the Zoning Map.
(h) Where by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness or shape of a specific piece of property or by reason of exceptional situations or conditions of such piece of property, the strict application of these regulations would result in peculiar and exceptional practical difficulty to or exceptional or undue hardship upon the owner of such property, the Board shall have the power in a specific case to vary from such strict applications so as to relieve such difficulties or hardships, provided such relief may be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without substantially impairing the intent and purpose of this Zoning Ordinance and subject to such conditions and safeguards as the Board may impose.
(Ord. 4520/53. Passed 12-28-53.)