For the purpose of this [zoning] ordinance, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section [section III]:

All words used in the present tense include the future tense. All words in the plural number include the singular number, and all words in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" denotes mandatory action.

Accessory. A use or structure customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use or structure and located on the same lot with such principal use or uses or structure, but not to include the operation of a boarding or tourist home.

Adult day care facility. A facility, licensed by DHEC, for adults 18 years of age or older, which offers in a group setting a program of individual and group activities, experiences, and therapies. The program is directed toward providing community based care for those in need of a supportive setting for less than 24 hours a day, thereby preventing unnecessary institutionalization and shall provide a minimum of four and a maximum of 14 hours of operation per day. The term adult day care facility shall not be considered synonymous with the terms "foster home," "half-way house," "boarding home," "residential care facility," "nursing home," or "group care home."

Adult entertainment. Any business that wholly or in part provides entertainment in which persons appear in a state of nudity in a public place. A public place is defined as all outdoor places owned by or open to the general public, including such places of entertainment as taverns, restaurants, clubs, theaters, dancehalls, banquet halls, party rooms or halls limited to specific members, restricted to adults or to patrons invited to attend, whether or not an admission charge is levied.

Alley. A secondary way which affords access to the side or rear or abutting property.

Alteration of building. Any change in the supporting members of a building (such as bearing walls, columns, or girders), any addition or reduction to a building, any change in use, or any relocation of a building from one location or position to another.

Antique shop. A retail store specializing in the selling of collectible objects such as a piece of furniture or work of art that has a high value because of its considerable age.

Auction business. The sale of goods or real estate by means of exchanges between an auctioneer and members of an audience, the exchanges consisting of a series of invitations for offers made by the auctioneer, offers by members of the audience, and the acceptance by the auctioneer of the highest or most favorable offer.

Automobile service station. Buildings or premises on any parcel or lot where gasoline, oils and greases, batteries, tires and automobile accessories may be supplied and dispensed at retail (or in connection with a private operation), where no part of the premises is used for the storage of dismantled or wrecked vehicle parts, and also where the following services may be rendered, and none other:

Sale and servicing of spark plugs, batteries and distributors;

Tire repair and servicing, but not recapping;

Replacement of mufflers and tailpipes, water hose, fan belts, brake fluid, light bulbs, floormats, seat covers, wiper blades, windshield wipers, grease retainers, and wheel bearings;

Radiator cleaning and flushing;

Washing and polishing;

Greasing and lubrication;

Exchanging fuel oil pumps and installing fuel lines;

Minor servicing and replacing of carburetors;

Emergency wiring repairs;

Adjusting and repair of brakes;

Minor adjustment of engines, not involving removal of the head or crankcase, or racing the motor; [and]

Sale of cold drinks and packaged foods, as accessory only to the principal operation.

Bed and breakfast. A dwelling with historic character or part thereof having the following characteristics:

a.

Provides lodging to boarders including three or fewer rooms; [and]

b.

Has a common dining area where meals are served primarily to its boarders.

Boardinghouse. A dwelling in which at least four persons are provided with meals for compensation, but in which no sleeping accommodations are provided for compensation. See "Tourist home."

Brewpub. A tavern or restaurant that produces on the permitted premises a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 2,000 barrels per year, respectively. A minimum of 25 percent of the barrel production must be sold on the premises.

Brewery. A place where beer is made commercially.

Building. Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls intended for shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or property of any kind. The word "building" includes the term "structure."

Building height. The vertical distance from the finished grade to:

(1)

The highest point of a flat, gable, hip or gambrel roof; or

(2)

The deck line of a mansard roof.

Exceptions to height requirement:

The following structures may extend above the height limits:

(1)

Chimneys;

(2)

Steeples or spires;

(3)

Fire or parapet walls;

(4)

Flagpoles;

(5)

Communication towers (per requirements of section XIV);

(6)

Water tanks; and

(7)

Stand pipes

Building line. That line which represents the distance a building or structure must be set back from a lot boundary line or a street right-of-way line. See section X [schedule of dimensional requirements] for setback requirements.

Building official. The person so designated by the York City manager.

Building, principal. A building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which said building is situated.

Care home. A resthome, nursing home, convalescent home, home for the aged, or similar use established and operated on a profit or nonprofit basis to provide lodging and/or domiciliary care for aged, infirm, chronically ill, or convalescent persons.

Cemetery. A place used, dedicated, or designated for cemetery purposes, including any one or combination of:

(a)

Perpetual care cemetery;

(b)

Burial park for earth interment;

(c)

Mausoleum; [and]

(d)

Columbarium.

Clinic. An establishment where medical or dental patients, who are not lodged overnight, are admitted for examination or treatment.

Child care center. A child care center shall mean or include any home, center, agency, or place, however styled, where children not related to the operator are received for custodial care apart from their parents, whether for compensation, reward, or otherwise, during part or all of the day or night and upon any number of successive days or nights.

Columbarium. A structure or building substantially exposed aboveground intended to be used for the interment of the cremated remains of a deceased person.

Commercial kitchen. A fully-equipped prep kitchen that is rented out for shared use. Such kitchens are also known as shared-use, commissary or incubator kitchens.

Commissary is a permitted food establishment that is authorized by SCDHEC to provide support of operation, storage, and servicing area for mobile food units or mobile food push carts and is constructed and operated in compliance with the requirements of city and state regulations and standards.

Distillery. A place where liquor is manufactured.

Dwelling. A building or portion of a building, other than a mobile home, designed for or occupied for residential purpose.

Dwelling, attached. A single-family dwelling attached to two or more single-family dwellings by common vertical walls.

Dwelling, detached. A dwelling which is not attached to any other dwelling by any means.

Dwelling, garden apartment. A multifamily dwelling up to three stories in height.

Dwelling, semidetached. A single-family dwelling attached to one other single-family dwelling by a common vertical wall, and each dwelling located on a separate lot.

Dwelling, patio house. A one-family dwelling on a separate lot with open space setbacks on three sides and with a court. The term is synonymous with zero lot line dwellings.

Dwelling, quadruplex. Four attached dwellings in one structure in which each unit has two open space exposures and shares one or two walls with adjoining unit or units.

Dwelling, single-family. A building containing one dwelling unit.

Dwelling, single-family, detached. A dwelling which is designed for and occupied by not more than one family and surrounded by open space or yards and which is not attached to any other dwelling by any means.

Dwelling, townhouse. A single-family dwelling in a row of at least three such units in which each unit has its own front and rear access to the outside, no unit is located over another unit, and each unit is separated from any other unit by one or more common fire-resistant walls.

Dwelling, mobile home. A structure transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode is eight body feet or more in width, or 40 body feet or more in length, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein; except that such term shall include any structure which meets this definition. The term "mobile home" shall not include the term "modular building or structure" as herein separately defined, or the term "recreational vehicle" or "camping trailer."

Dwelling, multifamily. A dwelling containing more than two dwelling units.

Dwelling, triplex. A dwelling containing three dwelling units, each of which has direct access to the outside or to a common hall.

Dwelling, two-family. A structure on a single lot containing two dwelling units, each of which is totally separated from the other by an unpierced wall extending from ground to roof or an unpierced ceiling and floor extending from exterior wall to exterior wall, except for a common stairwell exterior to both dwelling units.

Dwelling unit. One or more rooms within a dwelling constituting a separate, independent housekeeping establishment for use on a basis involving owner occupancy or rental or lease on a weekly, monthly or longer basis, with provision for cooking, eating and sleeping, and physically set apart from other rooms or dwelling units in the same structure.

Drive-in. A retail or service enterprise wherein service is provided to the consumer on the outside or inside of the principal building, or both. The term "drive-in" includes drive-in restaurants and dairy bars, theaters, banks, laundries, food stores, or carwashes.

Escape room. A game in which a team of players cooperatively discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to progress and accomplish a specific goal in a limited amount of time.

Event venue is any building, facility, room, or portion thereof, which is rented, leased, or otherwise made available to any person or group for an event, meeting, or function such as a wedding or reception. A fee may or may not be charged for use of the space. This definition does not include fraternal organizations, religious facilities, or community centers.

Family. One or more persons occupying a single dwelling unit, provided that all members are related by blood or marriage; provided, further, that domestic servants employed on the premises may be housed on the premises.

Family day care home. A family day care home is one in which care is given in a family during the day only for one and not more than seven children, including the day care parent's own children.

Flea market. A business venture renting, leasing, and subleasing spaces and buildings to dealers and others similarly situated engaged in retail and wholesale selling of goods, merchandise and wares, both new and used, to the general public.

Garage, private. An accessory building or portion of a principal building used for the private storage of motor vehicles as an accessory use and similar maintenance tools used in yard care.

Garage, public. Any garage, other than a private garage, which is used for storage, minor repair, rental, servicing, washing, adjusting or equipping of automobiles or other motor vehicles.

Garage, repair. A building and premises designed or used for purposes indicated under "automobile service station" or major commercial repairs or both; provided that body work and painting shall be conducted within fully enclosed buildings and there shall be no open storage of junk, wrecked vehicles, dismantled parts or supplies visible beyond the premises.

Gift shop. A shop that sells souvenirs and small items suitable to be given as presents.

Guesthouse. Living quarters situated within a detached or semidetached accessory building located on the same premises with the principal building. Such quarters shall: (1) be used only by a bona fide nonpaying guest or relatives of the occupants of the premises; and (2) not be rented or otherwise occupied as a separate dwelling. Cooking facilities are permitted.

Home occupation. An occupation or profession conducted within a dwelling for pecuniary gain by members of a family residing in such dwelling, but not including the operation of tourist homes or boarding homes; provided that physicians, surgeons, dentists and other members of medical professions operating as home occupations receive approval of their sanitary facilities by the South Carolina State Board of Health. [Home occupation] requires a special permit from [the] planning commission.

Hotel. A building or buildings in which sleeping accommodations in ten or more rooms, with or without meals, but without separate cooking facilities, are provided and offered to the public for compensation, and which is open to transient or permanent guests. The word "hotel" includes the terms "motel," "tourist court," "airtel," and "boatel."

Junk/salvage yard. The use of any part of a lot, whether inside or outside of a building, for the storage, keeping, abandonment, sale or resale of junk, salvage or scrap materials, or the dismantling, demolition, or abandonment of automobiles or other vehicles, machinery, equipment, or parts thereof.

Livestock. Domestic animals kept for use on a farm or raised for sale or profit.

Loading space, off-street. Space logically and conveniently located for pickups and deliveries scaled to delivery vehicles expected to be used, and accessible to such vehicles when the required off-street parking spaces are filled.

Lot. A parcel of land of varying size which is designed as a single unit of property. Unless clearly indicated otherwise, the word "lot," when used alone in this ordinance, shall mean a "zoning lot" as herein defined.

Lot area. The area within perimeter property lines of the respective lot (exclusive of area within the street, or road right-of-way).

Lot, corner. A lot located at the intersection of two or more streets. Any zoning lot adjoining a curved street shall be considered a corner lot if the tangents to the curve at the points of intersection of the side lot lines intersect at an interior angle of less than 135 degrees (Lot A in Illustration A, Appendix).

Lot, depth. The mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines, measured in the general direction of the side lot lines.

Lot, interior. A lot, other than a corner lot, which has frontage on only one street other than an alley.

Lot of record. An area designated as a separate and distinct parcel of land on a legally recorded subdivision plat or in a legally recorded deed as filed in the official records of the clerk of court's office.

Lot, through. A lot, other than a corner lot, which has frontage on more than one street other than an alley.

Lot width. The distance between side lot lines measured at the front building line.

Lot, zoning. A parcel of land that fronts on a designated accepted street and that has the minimum area required by these regulations for a lot in the respective zoning district within which such parcel of land is located. The parcel of land may be used for principal uses, accessory uses, yards, and/pr open spaces that are allowed by this zoning ordinance. A lot of record may or may not be a zoning lot.

Massage therapist. A person, licensed as required by title 40, chapter 30 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina, [S.C. Code, § 40-30-11 et seq.] who administers massage therapy for compensation.

Massage therapy establishment. The application of a system of structured touch of the superficial tissues of the human body with the hand, foot, arm, or elbow whether or not the structured touch is aided by hydrotherapy, thermal therapy, a massage device, human hands, or the application to the human body of an herbal preparation.

Mausoleum. A structure or building substantially exposed aboveground, intended to be used for the entombment of the remains of a deceased person.

May. The word "may" is permissive and not mandatory.

Microbrewery. A small, independently-owned brewery that crafts and produces its own beer subject to the following:

(1)

A maximum production of 15,000 barrels (or 460,000 U.S. gallons) of beer per year.

(2)

A micro-brewery must sell 25 percent or more of its beer on site.

Mobile food units are fully enclosed mobile kitchens that may prepare, cook, or serve foods as an extension of a retail food establishment, under time/temperature control for safety. A mobile food unit must be permitted by the planning department in order to operate from a retail food establishment.

Mobile home. See section VIII, C [conditional uses].

Mobile home park. See section VIII, C [conditional uses].

Modular building or structure. A structure or building including the necessary electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating, and other service systems, manufactured off-site and transported to the point of use for installation or erection, with or without other specified components, as a finished building, and not designed for ready removal to another site. The term is applicable to all buildings or structures, including residential, commercial, industrial, institutional, etc. When meeting the requirements of the Modular Building's Construction Act (S.C. Code 1976, § 23-43-10 et seq.), said building or structure may be located in any of the city's several zoning districts.

Nonconforming use. A building, structure, or parcel of land lawfully occupied by a use that does not conform to the regulations of the zoning district in which it is situated. Such nonconforming use shall cease after 50 years from the date of notice of nonconformance.

Nudity. The showing of the human male or female genital, pubic area, or buttocks with less than a fully opaque covering; the showing of the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering of any part of the nipple; the exposure of any device, costume, or covering which gives the appearance of or simulates the genitals, pubic hair, natal cleft, perineum anal region, or pubic hair region; or the exposure of any device worn as a cover over the nipples and/or areola of the female breast, which device simulates and gives the realistic appearance of nipples and/or areola.

Open space. Open space is land and/or water bodies used for recreation, amenity or buffer; it shall be freely accessible to all residents of a development, where required by this ordinance. Open space shall not be occupied by buildings or structures, roads, parking or road right-of-way; nor shall it include the yards or lots of residential dwelling units required to meet minimum lot area or parking area requirements.

Perpetual care (cemetery). The maintenance and reasonable administration of the cemetery grounds and buildings in keeping with a properly maintained cemetery. In the event that a cemetery offers perpetual care for some designated sections of its property but does not offer perpetual care to other designated sections, the cemetery must be considered a perpetual care cemetery for the purposes of this chapter [zoning ordinance].

Person. Any individual, firm, company, partnership, association, public or private authority or corporation.

Planning commission. The City of York Planning Commission.

Poolhall. An establishment with two or more pool tables under one common roof.

Setback (yard). A required open space located on the same lot as the principal building. The setback shall be unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground to the sky except for the following:

1.

Trees and shrubs;

2.

Fences or walls, subject to height limitations;

3.

A maximum two-foot allowance for a building overhang;

4.

Uncovered stairway serving primary or accessory buildings; and

5.

Encroachments, utilities, and accessory uses otherwise expressly permitted.

Setbacks. In all zoning districts, the front building line shall be measured from the edge of the road right-of-way.

Signs. See section XI [off-street parking requirements].

Special exception. A use so specified designated in this ordinance, that would not be appropriate generally or without restriction throughout the zoning district but which, if controlled as to number, area, location or relation to the neighborhood, would, in the opinion of the board of zoning appeals, promote the public health, safety, welfare, morals, order, comfort, convenience, appearance, prosperity or general welfare.

Story. That portion of building included 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 the floor and ceiling next above it.

Story, half. A story in which one or more exterior walls intersect a sloping roof not more than two feet above the floor of such story.

Street. A dedicated public way for vehicular traffic, which may or may not afford the principal means of access to abutting property.

Street centerline. That line surveyed and monumented by the state highway department shall be the centerline of a street, or in the event that no centerline has been so determined, it shall be that line running midway between, and parallel to the general direction of the outside right-of-way line of such streets.

Structures. Anything constructed or erected which requires a fixed location on the ground, or which is attached to something having a fixed location on the ground, including, but not limited to, buildings, mobile homes, signs, walls and fences.

Taproom. A place to taste and sample product from a brewery, microbrewery or distillery that produces its own beer or liquor in house.

Thrift store. A store selling secondhand clothes and other household goods (typically to raise funds for a charitable institution).

Tourist home or roominghouse. A dwelling in which sleeping accommodations in fewer than five rooms are provided or offered for the use of guests in return for compensation. Any dwelling in which accommodations are offered in the ten or more rooms shall be deemed to be a "hotel" as herein defined. The use of a dwelling as a tourist home shall be considered neither an accessory use nor a customary home occupation.

Trailer. Any vehicle or structure capable of moving or being moved over streets and highways on its own wheels or on flatbeds or other carriers, which is designed or utilized to: (1) provide temporary or permanent quarters for the conduct of a business, profession, trade or occupation; (2) serve as a carrier of people, new or used goods, products or equipment.

Used. Such term shall also include "designed, arranged or intended to be used or occupied."

Variance. A modification of the strict terms of this ordinance if granted by the board of zoning appeals where such modification shall not be contrary to the public interest and where, owing to conditions peculiar to the property and not as a result of any action on the part of the property owner, a literal enforcement of this ordinance would result in unnecessary and undue hardship; provided, however, that no variance shall be granted which shall authorize a land use not otherwise permitted in a particular district.

Video poker establishment (video poker game machine establishment). Any establishment where one or more, but more than five electronic video poker game machines that, upon insertion of a coin or cash or token purchased for coins or cash, are available to play or simulate the play of games utilizing video display and microprocessor in which a player may receive free games or credits that can be redeemed for cash. The building housing the video poker establishment must be a single building under one roof and must meet all City of York building codes and ordinances.

Wine bar. A wine bar is a tavern-like business focusing on selling wine while also selling a limited selection of food, beer, ciders, and mead for consumption on or off premises. The establishment needs to have an extensive list of wines that is offered by the bottle, by the glass and by the taste.

Yard. See setback (yard).

Yard, front. A yard situated between the front building line and the front lot line extending the full width of the lot.

Yard, rear. A yard situated between the rear building line and the rear lot line and extending the full width of the lot.

Yard, side. A yard situated between a side building line and a side lot line and extending from front yard to the rear yard.

(Ord. No. 00-337, 1-2-2001; Ord. No. 01-350, § 1, 12-4-2001; Ord. No. 01-353, 12-4-2001; Ord. No. 01-354, 12-4-2001; Ord. No. 02-359, 4-2-2002; Ord. No. 02-358, 6-4-2002; Ord. No. 16-573, 5-3-2016; Ord. No. 18-598, 7-3-2018; Ord. No. 20-616, 3-3-2020; Ord. No. 22-672, 6-7-2022; Ord. No. 22-673, 6-7-2022; Ord. No. 23-686, 2-6-2023; Ord. No. 23-689, 6-6-2023)