Chapter 17.08 — YARD REGULATIONS

No part of a yard provided for any building or structure on any lot for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this title shall be included or considered as a part of a yard required by this title for a building or structure on any other lot. (Ord. 98 § 12.07.01, 1974)

In any residential zone where more than fifty percent of the lots on one side of the street frontage in a block are occupied for dwellings, multiple dwellings or hotels, fronting on the same street, the average front yard of the occupied lots may be used to determine the minimum required front yard for all lots on the same side of the street frontage in such block. In no case shall such front yard established by existing buildings be less than ten feet. Existing buildings located on the rear half of a lot shall not be used in determining the average front yard. (Ord. 98 § 12.07.02, 1974)

On every through lot in a residential zone there shall be a front yard on both street frontages as required in the zone in which the frontage is classified. Exceptions to this shall be all lots in the R-3 zone, and lots in the R-1 and R-2 zones upon which rights of vehicular access over the rear property line have been relinquished by recorded document, and when the rear yard of such through lot does not abut the front yard of an adjacent lot.

(Ord. 98 § 12.07.03, 1974; Ord. 265 § 1, 1981)

Dwellings erected on the rear of a corner lot shall have a front yard facing the side street equal to the side yard adjacent to the side street as required in the zone in which the lot is located. (Ord. 98 § 12.07.04, 1974)

Each residential lot shall maintain a rear yard area consistent with the minimum rear yard dimension required for the underlying zone. For corner lots, such rear yard area may be opposite the front yard or exterior side yard, but in either case, no permit shall be issued which would cause any residential property which has an interior yard meeting the rear yard requirement to be diminished to less than the standard rear yard setback.

(Ord. 505 § 3, 1994)

• A. The yard requirements of this title shall not be construed as preventing the projection into any yard of the following:

  1. Cornices, canopies, belt courses and similar architectural features to a distance not to exceed two feet;

  2. Fire escapes required by law or ordinance not to exceed four and one-half feet;

  3. Landings, unroofed porch slabs, steps and walls retaining earth;

  4. Bay windows having a maximum projection of two feet and any one bay window a maximum length of twelve feet;

  5. Open wire or open metal fences not over four feet in height;

  6. Masonry walls or solid fences not exceeding three feet in height.

• B. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the erection of a fence or wall enclosing an electric utility building or structure as required by an applicable law or regulation;

• C. In manufacturing zones, fences constructed of material approved by the city council may be erected to a height of not more than eight feet from the surface of the ground; provided, that such fences erected along that portion of the property fronting upon any street shall be set back not less than two feet from the property line and planted to vegetation.

• (Ord. 98 § 12.07.05, 1974)

Parking or storage of business-related equipment, materials and tools is prohibited upon any residential zoned property unless it is within an enclosed building in a manner where it is not visible from the public right-of-way or other public or private property. Exempt from this prohibition is a vehicle regularly used to transport an occupant to and from such person's employment. (Ord. 390 § 3, 1988)