Section 17.04.040 Definitions.
A. Intent. This section defines certain words and terms
as they are used in this title.
B. General.
1. Words used in the present tense include the future;
2. The singular number includes the plural and the plural
includes the singular;
3. The words "shall" and "will" are
mandatory;
4. The word "may" is permissive;
5. The word "should" is a preferred alternative;
6. The word "lot" shall include the words "plot,"
"piece," "tract" and "parcel."
"Agriculture" means the production of food, feed and fiber commodities,
livestock and
poultry, bees, fruits and vegetables and sod, ornamental, nursery and horticultural crops that are
raised, grown or produced for commercial purposes or the raising of wildlife in domestication or
a captive environment. For the purpose of this Hamilton Municipal Code, Title 17, Chapter 4,
agriculture does not include feed lot operations.
"Airport" or "airstrip" means a place, on either land or
water, where aircraft may land and
take off, discharge or receive cargo and passengers, make repairs and take on fuel.
Alcoholic Beverage Establishment On-Site. "On-site alcoholic beverage establishments"
means those establishments under Montana Statutes, which permit the on-site sale and
consumption of alcoholic beverages, including but not limited to cabarets, taverns and cocktail
establishments.
"Alley" means a dedicated right-of-way set aside for vehicular traffic,
entering or going
through a city block. Minimum width is twenty (20) feet.
Animals, Domestic. "Domestic animals" means dogs, cats, birds, reptiles
(excluding rattle
snakes and other venomous snakes, alligators and crocodiles), rabbits, rodents, ferrets and fish
(excluding piranha).
"Apartment" means a room or suite of rooms which include bath and
kitchen
accommodations, intended or designed to be used as an independent residence by an individual
or family.
"Block" means a parcel of land bounded on all sides by streets, railroads
and or physical
barriers such as bodies of water.
"Boarding house" means a building other than a hotel where, for compensation
and by
prearrangement, meals and lodging are provided for two to ten persons.
"Building" means a structure having walls and a roof, permanently
located on the ground,
either directly or by being attached to a structure located on the ground. Separate parts of a
building divided by an unpierced wall shall be deemed separate buildings.
Buildings, Accessory. "Accessory building" means a subordinate building
on the same lot,
occupied by or devoted to a use incidental to the main use. Any building, garage, storage shed,
greenhouse or any other structure other than the main dwelling unit that is not attached or
connected to the main dwelling unit.
"Building area" means that portion of the lot that may be occupied
by buildings after setback
and open space requirements are met.
"Building height" means the vertical distance from the average elevation
of the proposed
final grade at the front of a building to the highest point of a flat roof, or the deck of a mansard
roof or the mean height between the eaves and the ridge.
Building, Main. "Main building" means a building in which is conducted
the principal use of
the lot where it is located.
"Building site" means a parcel of land occupied or intended to be
occupied by uses and
structures and which abuts a public street, road or highway or a private road which conforms to
approved standards.
"Casino" means a business whose purpose is gambling and has fifteen
(15) or more gambling
machines.
"Clear view area" at corners, curb-cuts, driveways and alleyways (not
to include streets
intersecting First Street) means a right triangle formed by the corner and points twenty (20) feet
from the intersection of the property line and the driveway. See Section 12.16.040(B).
"Clear view area at First Street intersections" means a right triangle
formed by the corner and
points fifty (50) feet from the intersection on the First Street frontage and twenty (20) feet on the
side street from the intersections of the property lines. See Section 12.16.040(C).
"Common area" means those areas within the property of an association
of unit owners of
town homes pursuant to MCA 70-23, Part 1 but which are not under the individual private
ownership of one unit owner. Common areas include landscaped areas other than patios of
individual units.
"Community center" means a building designed and used for recreational
or social
assemblies or for educational, health or welfare purposes (public or private).
"Community residential facility" means a community group home for
developmentally
disabled persons which does not provide skilled or intermediate nursing care, a youth foster
home or youth group home as defined in Section 41-3-1102, MCA, a halfway house operated in
accordance with regulations of the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences for the
rehabilitation of alcoholics or drug dependent persons or a licensed adult foster family care
home.
"Conditional use structure" means a structure not allowed in a district
as a matter of right,
but which is allowed upon findings of the zoning board of adjustment that such use is in harmony
with the principal uses of the district.
"Conditional use" means a use not allowed in a district as a matter
of right, but which is
allowed upon findings of the zoning board of adjustment that such use is in harmony with the
principal uses of the district.
"Condominium" means a form of dwelling in which an independently owned
unit is located
in a building and on land, both of which are commonly owned, usually by a homeowners’
association. Includes similar units used for business purposes. Condominiums shall only be
established as a part of a planned unit development.
"Corner frontage" means property that fronts two intersecting streets.
Day Care or Pre-School. See Montana Code Annotated Section 52-2-703.
"Director of public works" or "community development" means
the appointed administrative
manager of the Department of Public Works and Community Development Department.
"Double frontage" means property that fronts two parallel streets.
Downtown Core Business Area. That area of downtown Hamilton which is bounded
on the
east beginning at Highway 93 (First Street) at the intersection of State Street, then north to
Cherry Street, then westerly to the alley between Highway 93 and Second Street, then northerly
to Pine Street, then westerly to Fourth Street, then southerly to Pinckney Street, then westerly to
Fifth Street, then southerly to State Street, then easterly to the alley between Third Street and
Fourth Street, then southerly to Bedford Street, then easterly to Second Street, then northerly to
State Street, then easterly to the point of beginning at Highway 93 (First Street).
"Dwelling" means a building, or portion of a building used exclusively
as a single-family,
two-family or multiple-family residence.
Dwelling, Single-Family. "Single-family dwelling" means a building
with one individual
residential unit.
Dwelling, Multiple-Family. "Multiple-family dwelling" means a building
or portion of a
building with two or more individual residential units, or residential condominiums, or
townhouses.
"Easement" means the right to use property owned by another for specific
purposes.
"Educational services" includes but are not limited to occupations
that are concerned with
imparting knowledge of the arts, sciences or other fields of learning or of physical activities; or
with teaching, advising or instructing others in any of these fields or in vocations. It includes but
is not limited to educational institutions, medical and vocational schools, tutorial services, public
or private, non-profit or for profit schools, religious schools, athletic training, dance schools,
Braille institutes, clinic consultants, child development centers, preschools, driving schools,
music instruction, correspondence schools and art schools.
"Factory built building" means state of Montana approved factory built
buildings or other
type of prefabricated housing unit built under the National Mobile Home Construction and
Safety Standards Act of 1974 and bearing the appropriate certification of inspection from the
Department of Housing and Urban Development. Factory built buildings require certification
from the manufacturer that the building was built in accordance with the approved plans.
"Family" means one or more persons occupying a dwelling unit as a
single, nonprofit,
housekeeping organization.
"Feed lot operation" means an enterprise in which fifty (50) or more
cattle, swine, sheep,
horses or similar livestock are fed and fattened for market and where sixty (60) percent or more
of the feed is imported or purchased.
"Fence" means a structure constructed of wood, metal, block, brick,
stone or any other
material other than natural vegetation to create a barrier.
"Fence, sight obstructing" means any fence structure where the fence
material obstructs
twenty-five (25) percent or more of the clear visibility through the fence.
"Fence, non-obstructing" means any fence structure where the fence
material obstructs
twenty-five (25) percent or less of the clear visibility though the fence.
"Financial services" includes but is not limited to occupations in
financial organizations,
including banks and trust companies, mortgage associations, savings and loan associations, credit
unions, personal finance companies, foreign exchange establishments, security and commodity-contract
dealerships, investment brokerage firms, exchanges, tax consultants and accounting
firms.
"Frontage" means that lot with a linear distance along a dedicated
road, street, highway or
right-of-way which is used to provide the primary means of access to a lot.
Garage, Public. "Public garage" means a building or portion of a building,
other than a repair
garage, used for paid storage or hire of motor vehicles; the sale of gasoline, oil and accessories is
incidental to the principal use.
"Governing body" means the Hamilton city council or its designee.
"Grandfather," "grandfathered," or "grandfathering"
are terms to describe a pre-existing
condition that fails to conform to current, federal, state or city regulations. A pre-existing or
nonconforming condition may remain until such time as a change or alteration is made to the
nonconforming condition. If the item cannot be brought into compliance with current regulations,
a new variance or conditional use permit would be required.
Group Home. See Montana Code Annotated Sections 53-20-302 and 41-3-1102.
"Health related services" includes but is not limited to holistic
medicine and natural food
stores, acupuncturists, acupressure and massage therapy, chiropractor offices and naturopathic
doctor’ s offices.
"Home occupation" means a for-profit activity carried on in a dwelling
as a use subordinated
to the primary use.
"Hospital" means a licensed institution where sick or injured persons
receive medical care.
"Hotel" means a building with ten or more sleeping rooms which are
provided to transient
guests for compensation.
"Junk yard" means land or buildings where waste or discarded or salvaged
materials are
brought, sold, stored, exchanged, cleaned, packed, disassembled or handled.
"Kennel" means a place where five or more domestic animals are kept,
whether as pets or
commercially.
"Landscaping" means natural vegetation or any combination of natural
and man-made
materials intended to enhance the appearance or mitigate the adverse effects of the use of a
property.
"Livestock" means cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, asses,
llamas, alpacas, bison,
ostriches, rheas, emus and domestic ungulates.
"Lodging house" means a building where lodging is provided for three
to nine persons by
prearrangement and for compensation.
"Lot" means a parcel of land in a subdivision or a parcel of deeded
land for which the
subdivision map or the deed is recorded in the office of the county clerk and recorder.
Lot, Corner. "Corner lot" means a lot located at the intersection
of two streets or a lot
bounded on two sides by a curving street, two cords of which form an interior angle of one
hundred thirty-five (135) degrees or less.
"Lot coverage" means the area of a lot occupied by the main building
or buildings and
accessory buildings.
Lot, Double Frontage. "Double frontage lot" means an interior lot
having frontage on two
parallel or approximately parallel streets.
"Lot depth" means the mean horizontal distance between the front and
rear lot lines.
Lot, Frontage. Required "lot frontage" is measured at the front setback
as required for the
zoning district. Cul-de-sac lots and knuckle lots shall permit a reduction of lot width at the front
property line not to exceed fifteen (15) feet.
Lot, Interior. "Interior lot" means a lot other than a corner lot.
"Lot width" means the distance between the side lot lines measured
at right angles to the lot
depth at the established front building line.
"Manufactured home" means a residential dwelling built in a factory
in accordance with the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Code and the Federal
Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards. A manufactured home does not include
a mobile home, as defined in Section 61-1-501, a house trailer as defined in Section 61-1-501 or
a mobile home or house trailer constructed before the Federal Manufactured Home Construction
and Safety Standards went into effect on June 15, 1976.
"Medical services" includes but is not limited to professional occupations
concerned with
treating and caring for sick and injured persons and animals. It includes but is not limited to
medical facilities, hospitals, sanitariums, clinics, doctor’ s offices, dentist offices, pharmacies,
medical supplies and equipment, medical research, medical and dental related experimental and
testing laboratories, emergency medical services, ambulance services, occupational therapy,
physical therapy, rehabilitation facilities, immunology and serology laboratories, blood banks,
nursing services, medical house keeping services, midwifery offices, prosthetic supplies, imagery
centers, dietetics, optical and ophthalmological services, and veterinarian services including
laboratories, veterinary bacteriology, parasitology and pharmacology.
"Mini-storage units" means a multiple storage buildings, usually attached
with common
walls, available for leasing.
"Mobile home" means forms of housing known as "trailers,"
"house trailers" or "trailer
coaches" eight feet or more in width or forty-five (45) feet or more in length, designed to be
moved from one place to another by an independent power connected to them.
"Mobile home park" means five acres of land or more upon which two
or more mobile
homes, occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes, are located, regardless of whether a charge is
made for such accommodation.
"Motel" means a group of attached or detached buildings containing
individual sleeping units
for transient guests where a majority of such units open individually and directly to the outside or
to an interior corridor and where parking is located on the premises.
"Nonconforming use" means a use of a building or land which was lawful
when this Title 17
or amendments to it were passed, but which no longer conforms to the uses allowed in the district
in which it is located.
"Nursing home" or "convalescent home" means a facility used
for the care of the aged or
infirm. Services provided do not include surgical care for treatment of disease or injury.
"Personal service facility" means a retail establishment where cleaning,
maintenance or
repair of clothing is done, or where services to improve personal physical appearance are
performed.
"Planned unit development" means a land development project in which
flexible and
efficient use of land and services is encouraged while preserving and enhancing open space and
natural or historical features. Such development may include public, commercial and/or
residential uses.
"Recreational vehicle (RV)" means a vehicular unit eight feet or less
in width, designed as
temporary living quarters for recreational camping or travel use, and operated under its own
motive power or mounted on or drawn by another vehicle. Includes travel trailer, camping trailer,
truck camper and motor home.
"Restaurant" means an establishment serving food and beverages, including
but not limited
to coffee shop, cafeteria, short order cafe, luncheonette, grille, tearoom, sandwich shop, soda
fountain, tavern, bar, cocktail lounge or similar place where food and drink is prepared, served or
provided to the public with or without charge.
"Right-of-way, (dedicated public)" means a strip of land publicly
owned by the city that
various types of city infrastructure may be constructed within (i.e., sidewalks, curbs, gutters,
streets, boulevards, water mains, sewer mains, storm drains, street lights. This list of examples is
not all inclusive).
"RV park" means a site used for temporary parking of motor homes,
travel trailers or tents.
"Service station" means a building or premises where automobile fuels,
lubrication oil or
grease, tires, batteries or minor automobile accessories are sold and/or installed, except when
such sales and services are incidental to the conduct of a public garage.
"Setback" means the required distance between lot lines and any structures
as established by
the regulations for each zoning district.
"Sign" means any advertising device designed to inform or to draw
attention to goods and/or
services available.
"Story" means that portion of a building included between the surface
of any floor and the
surface of the next floor above, or if there is no floor above, the space between the surface of any
floor and the ceiling above. A basement is considered a story if the distance measured between
the established floor and the ceiling is six feet or more.
"Street" means any public or private surfaced or unsurfaced thoroughfare
that provides
vehicular movement.
Street, Dedicated. "Dedicated street" means a public-owned thoroughfare
that provides
vehicle movement.
"Street, Primary. "Primary street" means the dedicated public
street and/or private street of
which the main building’ s main entrance faces.
Street, Private. "Private street" means a privately owned thoroughfare
that provides vehicle
movement.
"Structure" means anything constructed or erected, and permanently
located on the ground
either directly or by being attached to a structure located on the ground. A structure is not
necessarily a building, but a building is a structure.
"Townhouse" means a form of multiple-family dwelling in which the
owner of each dwelling
unit owns the land underneath the unit in addition to sharing in joint ownership of the common
areas of the development.
"Two-family dwelling" means a form of multiple-family dwelling in
which two individual
living units are within one structure under common ownership.
"Use" means the principal purpose for which land or premises or a
structure is designed,
arranged, intended, occupied or maintained.
Use, Accessory. "Accessory use" means a use incidental to the principal
allowed use of a lot
or building located on the same lot.
"Variance" means the deviation of height, area, size and open space
limitations of this Title
17, where specific physical conditions unique to the site would create an unreasonable hardship
in the development of the site for allowed uses.
"Yard" means the open space unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground
upward by any
portion of a structure which is located on the same lot with a building.
Yard, Front. "Front yard" means the open space between the side lot
lines and lying between
the front property line and the nearest building on the lot.
Yard, Rear. "Rear yard" means the open space between the side lot
lines and lying between
the rear property line and the nearest building on the lot.
Yard, Side. "Side yard" means the open space between the front and
rear property lines and
lying between the side property line and the nearest building on the lot.
"Zoned lot" means a legally described parcel that is located within
a defined zoning district
within the city boundaries. (Ord. 225 (part), 2003)
