BANI Newsletter- November 2010

A version of the following article appears in "The Higher Standard," the newsletter for the Builders Association of Northeast Indiana. www.ba-ni.com.

---

Happy Halloween!

In honor of this time of year, we will share some tricks and treats from the Steuben County Zoning Ordinance.

Single-family homes need to have 1 parking space for each bedroom. That’s one reason why it’s important for the Plan Commission to have building plans to examine in addition to site plans.

At-grade steps need to be set back at least 5 feet from the property line. This applies to steps of all materials.

Buildings in Lake Residential zoning districts must have gutters and drain that water to the lake.

All new residential dwellings need to have at least one deciduous tree planted in the front yard. (One tree per dwelling; a duplex would require 2 trees.) The tree can be planted in the required setback but needs to be outside of the clear-vision area. A new tree does not need to be planted if there are older trees there already.

All buildings need to be at least 10 feet away from any adjacent building. This distance is measured from the farthest edges of the buildings, usually the gutters. This standard applies to buildings on adjacent properties too. We have revised the permit application form to include this measurement. Please check to make sure your site plans show adjacent buildings if they might be close.

Steuben County does not require permits for garage sales. It does limit the total number of garage sales per property to 3 in a year. Each sale can be up to 3 days in length. A special exception is required for a longer-duration garage sale.

The height limit does not apply to chimneys, elevator bulkheads, public monuments, church spires, belfries, cupolas, or ornamental towers. Parapet walls and cornices may project up to 4 feet above the maximum building height.

Buildings damaged by fire or “Act of God” need to be repaired or removed from the property within 180 days. Nonconforming homes damaged by fire or other act of nature may be rebuilt if the existing foundation can be reused and the ground and overall square footage remains the same. If this home is in a floodplain, it would need to be rebuilt to meet the flood protection grade requirements.

When an improvement location permit is issued for a commercial or industrial property, all of the on-site lighting must be brought up to current standards.

Commercial mechanical equipment, including meters, elevator housings, tanks, hvac, etc, must be screened from public roads and adjacent properties.

Overhangs can extend up to 3 feet into the front and rear yard setbacks (excluding 5’ foot setbacks). Uncovered porches and stoops can extend up to 10 feet into the front and rear yard setbacks but cannot be closer than 20 feet to a rear property line.

A residential accessory building can be located in side yards or rear yards. If located in the side yard, it must meet the zoning district setback from the side property line. If located in the rear yard, it can be located 5 feet from the side and rear property lines, including overhangs. For lakefront properties, an accessory building can be located in the lakefront yard, but it must meet the lakefront setback and be less than 50 square feet in area. An accessory building can be located in the road-front yard of lakefront properties and can be 10 feet from the road right-of-way. Properties less than 2 acres may have 1 accessory building*; properties larger than 2 acres may have 2 accessory buildings*. (*Gazebos and agricultural accessory buildings don’t count towards this total.)

Commercial accessory buildings need to meet the same setbacks for the primary buildings.

Funeral homes are special exception uses in Agriculture, Residence-2, Residence-3, Local Business, and Accommodation Business zoning districts. The minimum area is 1 acre, and minimum width is 150 feet. An off-street vehicle assembly area needs to be provided for funeral-procession assembly.

Cemeteries are a special exception use in Agriculture and Environmental Control zoning districts and a permitted use in Local Business and General Business zoning districts. The minimum size for a cemetery is 10 acres, all setbacks are 50 feet. Additionally, zombie proof fences and gates must be installed and a zombie action plan must be approved by the Emergency Management Director prior to internments*. (*Ok, this isn’t a requirement for cemeteries, but it should be! Safety first when dealing with the un/dead.)

Now that the leaves are down, it’s time for the Plan Commission to start the ordinance amendment process. Staff have a list of items that need attention, and we have received a couple of requests from the County Commissioners. We received a lot of input from the building community last year and would welcome further involvement this year.