Accessory
building means a subordinate building or structure, including
a detached garage, on the same lot or a part of the principal building,
occupied by, or devoted exclusively to, an accessory use.
Accessory
use means a use naturally and normally incidental, subordinate
and devoted exclusively to the main use of the premises.
Awning
and canopy mean any canvas (or other similar type material) awning
or structure not a part of the roof or the building to which it is
attached, and which extends over a porch, patio, deck, balcony, walk,
window, door or open space.
Bay
means a regularly repeated unit on a building elevation, defined by
columns, pilasters or other vertical elements, or by a given number
of windows or openings.
Belt
course, string course and horizontal course mean a projecting
horizontal band on an exterior wall marking the separation between
floors or levels.
Berm
means an undulating mound of soil graded, shaped and improved with
landscaping in such a fashion as to be utilized for decorative purposes.
Blank
wall means an exterior building wall with no openings and generally
constructed of a single material, uniform texture and on a single
plane.
Board
of appeals and board mean the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village
of Grosse Pointe Shores.
Buffer
means an area within a property or site, generally adjacent to and
parallel with the property line, either consisting of existing natural
vegetation or created by the use of trees, shrubs, berms and/or fences,
and designed to limit views and sounds from adjacent properties and
vice versa.
Buildable
area means the space of a lot or parcel remaining after yard,
parking or any other requirements of this chapter have been satisfied.
GRAPHIC
LINK: Buildable Area
Building
means any structure, either temporary or permanent, having a roof
and used or built for the shelter or enclosure of persons, chattels
or property of any kind.
Building
department means the department or official authorized by the
village council or by ordinance to enforce the provisions of this
chapter.
Building
line means the minimum setback line at which the face of the building
may be located (see the definition of Setback, front).
Building,
main or principal, means the main structure devoted to the principal
use of the site.
Building
scale means the relationship between the mass of a building and
its surroundings, including the width of the street, open space and
mass of surrounding buildings.
Caliper
means the diameter of a tree trunk when measured four feet above the
ground level.
Church
means a building used principally for religious worship, but such
term shall not include or mean an undertaker's chapel or funeral building,
rectory, dwelling or cemetery.
Column
means a vertical pillar or shaft, usually structural.
Commission
means the Planning Commission of the Village of Grosse Pointe Shores.
Condominium
act means Public Act No. 59 of 1978 (MCL 559.101 et seq.).
Context
means the character of the buildings, streetscape and neighborhood
which surround a given building or site.
Corner
lot means a lot of which at least two adjacent sides abut substantially
upon a street, provided that such two sides intersect at an angle
of not more than 135 degrees. Where a lot is on a curve, if tangents
through extreme points of the street line of such lot make an interior
angle of not more than 135 degrees, it is a corner lot. In the case
of a corner lot with a curved street line, the corner shall be considered
to be the point on the street line nearest to the point of intersection
of the tangents described in this definition.
Cornice
means the top part of an entablature, usually molded and projecting.
Court
means an open, unoccupied land area, other than a yard, bounded on
three sides by walls.
Cupola
means a small roof tower, usually rising from the roof ridge.
Curtain
wall means a light, nonstructural outer wall of a building, in
the form of a metal grid, with infill panels of glass and other materials.
District
means an area within the village within which certain regulations
and requirements, or various combinations thereof, apply under the
provisions of this chapter.
Double
frontage lot (through lot) means any interior lot having frontage
on two more or less parallel streets, as contrasted with a corner
lot, which generally has frontage on two intersecting streets. In
the case of a double frontage lot or a row of double frontage lots,
all yards of such lots adjacent to streets shall be considered frontage,
and front yard setbacks shall be provided as required.
Dwelling
and dwelling unit mean a room, or rooms connected together, constituting
a separate independent housekeeping establishment for one household
only, for owner occupancy or for rental, lease or other occupancy
on a monthly or longer basis, physically separated from any other
rooms or dwelling units, and containing independent cooking, bathing
and sleeping facilities.
Elevation
means an exterior facade of a structure, or its head-on view, or representation
drawn with no vanishing point, and used primarily for construction.
Environmental
constraints means features, natural resources or land characteristics
that are sensitive to improvements and may require conservation measures
or the application of creative development techniques to prevent degradation
of the environment, or may require limited development, or in certain
instances may preclude development.
Essential
services means the erection, construction, alteration or maintenance
by public utilities, or village departments or commissions, of underground
or overhead gas, electrical, steam, telephone or water transmission
or distribution systems, including poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers,
pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm boxes, call boxes, traffic signals,
hydrants and other similar equipment and accessories in connection
therewith. Such term shall not include buildings reasonably necessary
for the furnishing of adequate service by such public utilities or
village departments or commissions.
Facade
means a building face or wall.
Family
means an individual or group of two or more persons related by blood,
marriage or adoption, together with foster children of the principal
occupants, with not more than one additional unrelated person, who
are domiciled together as a single, domestic, housekeeping unit in
a dwelling. Notwithstanding such definition, a family shall be deemed
to include persons not within the second degree of kinship occupying
a dwelling unit and living as a single, nonprofit housekeeping unit,
if such occupants are handicapped persons as defined in title VIII
of the civil rights act of 1968, as amended by the fair housing amendments
act of 1988. Such unrelated individuals shall have the right to occupy
a dwelling unit in the same manner and to the same extent as any family
unit as defined in this definition.
Fascia
means a projecting, flat, horizontal member or molding, also part
of a classical entablature.
Fenestration
means window and other openings on a building facade.
Floor
area means the measurement of usable floor area for residential
uses that shall be the sum of the area of the first story measured
to the exterior face of exterior walls, and, similarly measured, the
area having more than seven feet, six inches of headroom of any upper
story that is connected by a fixed interior stairway and which may
be made usable for human habitation. The measurement of such floor
area shall exclude the floor area of basements, garages, accessory
buildings, attics, breezeways and unenclosed porches.
Focal
point means a point, surface, building or structure terminating
a vista or view, often at the end of a straight street or coinciding
with a bend.
Front
lot line means, in the case of a lot abutting upon Lake Shore
Road, the Lake Shore Road lot line. In the case of a lot abutting
only one street, such term means the line separating such lot from
such street. On a corner lot, other than Lake Shore Road, only one
street line shall be considered the front lot line.
Gable
means the part of the end wall of a building between the eaves and
a pitched or gambrel roof.
Gateway
means a principal point of entrance into a district or neighborhood.
Grade
means the ground elevation established for the purpose of regulating
the number of stories and the height of buildings. The building grade
shall be the level of the ground adjacent to the walls of the building
if the finished grade is level. If the ground is not entirely level,
the grade shall be determined by computing the average elevation of
the ground for each face of the building and then using the average
of the several averages.
Half
story means a story which is situated within a sloping roof, the
area of which, at a height of four feet above the floor, does not
exceed 75 percent of the floor area directly below it.
Harmony,
without limiting the generality of the commonly accepted definition
of such term (e.g., the effect produced when different things come
together without clashing or disagreement), means determinations
made under this chapter relative to such term so as to promote congruity
in character between or among buildings, lots or structures considering
all relevant factors, such as lot size and shape, building or structure
size, setback, height, density, shape, exterior architecture and design,
landscaping, use of materials, color and scale.
Height
of building means the vertical distance measured from the average
elevation of the finished grade along the front of the building to
the highest point of the roof.
Home
occupation means an activity carried on by an occupant of a dwelling
unit as a secondary use which is clearly incidental to the use of
the dwelling unit for residential purposes. (See also section 40-244.)
Horizontal
course. See the definition of Belt course.
Human
scale means the relationship between the dimensions of a building,
structure, street, open space or streetscape element and the average
dimensions of the human body.
Impervious surface means any material at or near grade level that
prevents the absorption of stormwater into the ground. Impervious
surfaces shall include but are not limited to: concrete or asphaltic
surfaces, areas constructed of brick pavers, wood or other synthetic
wood type decking, graveled areas, etc. This includes driveways, sidewalks,
walkways, parking areas, hard surface landscape areas, decorative
ponds, and/or sport or recreation areas.
Interior lot means a lot, other than a corner lot.
Land
division act means Public Act No. 288 of 1967 (MCL 560.101 et
seq.).
Lintel
means a horizontal beam, either structural or decorative, over an
opening in a masonry wall.
Lot
means a parcel of land occupied, or intended to be occupied, by a
main building or a group of such buildings and accessory buildings,
or utilized for the principal use and uses accessory thereto, together
with such yards and open spaces as are required under the provision
of this chapter. A lot may or may not be specifically designated as
such on public records. Each such parcel shall also have its front
lot line abutting a public street or approved private road per section
40-252. Single-family residential lots shall be rectilinear in shape,
except on culs-de-sac or curves, or by a variance granted by the zoning
board of appeals.
GRAPHIC
LINK: Lots
Lot
coverage means the percent of the lot or parcel occupied, or which
could be occupied, by the main or principal buildings, accessory buildings
and structures. Patios not higher than six inches above the ground,
trees, shrubs and natural landscaping, walkways, driveways and parking
spaces shall not be counted or measured as part of the maximum lot
coverage. The maximum lot coverage permitted in the residence district
and residence lakefront district is 25 percent.
Lot
depth means the horizontal distance between the front and rear
lot lines. In the case of irregularly shaped lots, the average depth
shall apply.
Lot
line means any boundary line separating one lot from another,
whether the line is at the side, rear or front of the properties.
Lot
of record means a parcel of land, the dimensions of which are
recorded on file with the county register of deeds at the time of
inception of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived or in
common use by village or county officials, and which actually exists
as shown, or any part of such parcel held in a record ownership separate
from that of the remainder thereof.
Lot
width means the horizontal straight line
distance between the side lot line measured at right angles to the
side lot line. The minimum required lot width shall be measured at
the required front yard setback and at the rear lot line or lakefront
yard setback line. If the side property lines are not parallel, the
width of the lot shall be the length of a line at right angles to
the axis of the lot at a distance equal to the front setback required
for the district in which the lot is located. The axis of a lot shall
be a line joining the midpoint of the front and rear property lines.
GRAPHIC
LINK: Lot Width
Masonry
means wall building material, such as brick or stone, which is laid
up in small units.
Massing
means the three-dimensional bulk of a structure (i.e., height, width
and depth).
Master
plan means a comprehensive plan adopted by the commission, including
graphic and written proposals indicating the general location for
streets, parks, schools, public buildings and all physical development
of the village, and including any unit or part of such plan, and any
amendment to such plan or parts thereof, and is intended to be the
plan referred to in Public Act No. 207 of 1921 (MCL 125.581(2)).
Mean
grade means the arithmetical average of elevations of points on
the boundary lines of a site (parcel of land), uniformly spaced, and
not more than 100 feet apart.
Off-street
parking means an improved hard surface area for the parking of
automobiles, not on a public right-of-way, providing vehicular parking
spaces along with adequate drives and aisles for maneuvering so as
to provide defined access for entrance and exit for the automobiles.
Parking
space means an accessible area, either garage or surfaced area,
of definite length and width, exclusive of drives, aisles or entrances
giving access thereto, for the parking of permitted vehicles.
Parkway
means a planting area located within the public right-of-way, typically
located between the curb and the sidewalk, and planted with ground
cover and trees.
Paving
and to pave mean to construct a surface, or a surface constructed,
of a plant mix bituminous aggregate or a concrete surface in conformance
with applicable village ordinances or state specifications.
Pilaster
means a column partially embedded in a wall, usually nonstructural.
Pitch
means the angle of slope of a roof or berm.
Portico
means an open-sided, permanent structure attached to a building, sheltering
an entrance or serving as a semienclosed space.
Proportion
means the relationship or ratio between two dimensions (i.e., width
of street to height of building wall, or width to height of window).
Public
utility means any person, village department or board duly authorized
to furnish, and furnishing to the public under village regulations,
electricity, gas, steam, communication, telegraph, transportation
or water.
Public
view means that which is reasonably visible, under average conditions,
to the average observer located on any public land or right-of-way
or on any semipublic or private space which is normally accessible
to the general public.
Rear
lot line means a lot line opposite the front lot line.
Recreation
vehicles includes the following:
(1) Aircraft means all types of airborne vehicles.
(2) Boat and boat trailer include boats, personal watercraft,
floats and rafts, plus the normal equipment to transport such vehicles
on the highway.
(3) Folding tent trailer means a canvas or plastic folding structure
mounted on wheels and designed for travel and vacation uses.
(4) Motor home means a portable dwelling designed and constructed
as an integral part of a self-propelled vehicle.
(5) Pickup camper means a structure designed primarily to be
mounted on a pickup or truck chassis and with sufficient equipment
to render it suitable for use as a temporary dwelling for travel,
recreation and vacation uses.
(6) Snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle mean snowmobiles, all-terrain
vehicles and the normal equipment to transport such vehicles on the
highway.
(7) Travel trailer means vehicular, portable structure built
on a chassis, designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for travel,
recreation and vacation uses.
(8) Utility trailer means a vehicle with an open or enclosed
platform built on a chassis, designed to be used for the transport
of goods and materials.
Rhythm
means the effect obtained through repetition of:
(1) Architectural elements, such as building footprints, height,
roof lines or side yard setbacks;
(2) Streetscape elements, such as decorative lampposts; or
(3) Natural elements, such as trees.
Rhythm
of solids to voids means the relationship between the solid portions
of a building facade and the voids formed by doors, windows, other
openings and recesses. Such term may also refer to the relationship
between building mass (solids) and side yard setbacks (voids) along
a street.
Setback,
front, means the minimum horizontal distance between the required
front line of a building and the street right-of-way line.
Side
lot line means any lot line, other than the front lot line or
rear lot line.
Sidewalk,
public, means a paved path provided for pedestrian use and usually
located at the side of a road within a right-of-way. In residential
areas, it is separated from the roadway by a parkway.
Special
land use means a use specified in this chapter as permissible
in a specific use district only after certain special standards are
met.
Story
means the portion of a building between one floor level and the floor
level next above it, or between the uppermost floor and the roof.
Any story lying more than 50 percent by volume below the established
sidewalk grade at the center of the front of the building and any
mezzanine, balcony or similar story having a floor area of less than
50 percent of the floor area of the story immediately above it shall
not be counted as a story in measuring the height of buildings under
this chapter.
Street
means a public thoroughfare which affords a principal means of access
to abutting property.
Street
furniture means functional elements of the streetscape, including,
but not limited to, benches, trash receptacles, planters, telephone
booths, kiosks, sign posts, street lights, bollards and removable
enclosures.
Streetscape
means the built and planted elements of a street which define its
character.
String
course. See the definition of Belt course.
Structural
alteration means any change in the number and widths of exits
in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls, partitions,
columns, beams or girders, or any substantial change in the roof.
Structure
means anything erected which requires permanent location on the ground
or attachment to something having permanent location on the ground.
Temporary
building or use means a structure or use permitted by the board
of appeals to exist during periods of construction of the main building
or use.
Texture
means the exterior finish of a surface, ranging from smooth to course.
Use
means the purpose for which land, or any building on such land, is
designed, arranged or intended to be occupied or used, or for which
it is occupied or maintained.
Yard
means a space open to the sky and unoccupied or unobstructed except
by encroachments specifically permitted in section 40-258 on the same
lot with a building or structure. Yard measurements shall be the minimum
horizontal distances.
GRAPHIC
LINK: Yards
(1) Front yard means a yard extending across the full width
of the lot between the front lot line and the nearest line of the
main building.
(2) Rear yard means a yard extending across the full width
of the lot between the rear lot line and the nearest line of the
main building.
(3) Side yard means a yard extending from the front yard to
the rear yard between the side lot line and the nearest line of
the main building or accessory building attached to the main building.
Zoning board of appeals. See the definition of Board of appeals.
(Ord. No. 200, art. 2, § 200, 7-7-1997; Ord. No. 212, §
I, 1-16-2001; Ord. No. 226, § I(200), 4-15-2003)
Cross references: Definitions generally, § 1-2.
