§ 155.02.02. DEFINITIONS.

Except when definitions are specifically included in the text, words in the text of this Ordinance shall be interpreted in accordance with the meaning set forth in this section. Where words have not been defined, the standard dictionary definition shall prevail. In cases of conflict regarding any definition, the Zoning Administrator shall rule on any contested definition or on any interpretation in meaning of words or phrases used within this Ordinance.

"Accessory" means an activity that is customarily associated with and appropriately incidental and subordinate to a principal activity on a parcel and is located on the same parcel with the principal activity, except as provided under the provisions for accessory off-street parking within this Ordinance.

"Activity or use" means the performance of a function or operation that constitutes the use of the land and includes all structures or buildings associated therewith.

"Approving Authority" means the Administrative Official or may mean the Planning Commission when the Administrative Official has used his/her discretionary authority to forward an item to that body.

"Administrative Official" means the Director of Planning, Building, and Technology; Zoning Administrator; or other person duly designated to act on their behalves.

"Applicant" means any person or organization having legal title or sufficient proprietary interest in the land or buildings sought to be subdivided or developed, or the activity sought to be permitted, under this Ordinance.

"Attached" means an enclosure having continuing walls, roof, and floor.

"Building" means a structure having a roof supported by columns or walls.

"Certificate of Occupancy" means a certification issued upon structure construction or renovation completion that authorizes occupancy and thereby indicates compliance with applicable zoning and building provisions. Also see "Temporary Certificate of Occupancy."

"Check cashing" means the act of providing a service regulated by the State of South Carolina in S.C. Code § 34-41-10 et seq.

"Commercial" means covering all the activities of trade. (Note: For the purposes of this Ordinance, certain uses such as home occupations and bed and breakfasts are considered accessory residential activities and not commercial activities.)

"Condominium" shall mean a single unit in a multiunit-type structure, which may be owned or leased by an individual, firm, or corporation who may have a common use of all related activities and/or facilities associated with the structure. Each unit is subject to separate ownership, though multiple units may be located on a single parcel of land. Condominium refers to the ownership technique described in S.C. Code §§ 22-31-10 through 27-31-300, as the Horizontal Property Act of 1967. Condominium ownership may be used on any style of construction, but shall be developed under the requirements and provisions of the Horizontal Property Act. Prior to the approval of any condominium project, the legal declaration establishing the ownership association shall be submitted to the Planning Commission for approval by the Town Attorney as to form and legal sufficiency, as provided for in the Horizontal Property Act, and the declarations shall require the association to provide exterior building maintenance services and architectural control. Dwelling units constructed or redeveloped as condominium units shall be governed by all applicable zoning, design and density requirements associated with the particular regular zoning district or special overlay zoning district. Commercial projects constructed or redeveloped as condominium units shall be governed by all applicable zoning, design, and density requirements associated with the particular activity or activities that are proposed to be conducted within the condominium units.

"Condominium ownership" means the individual ownership of a particular portion of a building and the common right to share, with other co-owners, in the general and limited common elements of the property.

"Detached" means a building that is surrounded by yards or other open spaces.

"Drug and tobacco establishment" means any premises where drug and tobacco paraphernalia is displayed for sale, offered for sale, or sold, and which devotes more than a two-foot (2') by four-foot (4') (two feet (2') in depth maximum) section of shelf space for drug and tobacco paraphernalia. Items included in this definition are listed in the Town's Drug Paraphernalia Ordinance.

"Dwelling" means a building, or portion thereof, designed exclusively for nontemporary residential occupancy, including single-family dwellings, duplex and multiple dwelling units, but not including transient occupancy.

"Dwelling unit" means one or more rooms in a residential building or residential portion of a building that are arranged, designed, used or intended for use by one or more persons living together and maintaining a common household, and that shall include lawful cooking space and lawful sanitary facilities reserved for the occupancies thereof.

"Family" means one (1) or more persons related by blood, marriage, legal adoption or guardianship; living together; or a group of individuals, of not more than four (4) persons, not related by blood, marriage, legal adoption or guardianship but living together as a single housekeeping unit.

"Floor area ratio" means the total floor area on a parcel divided by the area of the parcel. For example, a building containing twenty thousand (20,000) square feet of floor area (gross) on a parcel of one hundred thousand (100,000) square feet has a floor area ratio (FAR) of 0.2.

"Gross acre" means the total area of land confined within the property boundaries, expressed in acres, including those which are permanently underwater or subject to inundation, or that are contained in an easement or grant of use other than existing publicly dedicated road right-of-way.

"Height control plane" means an imaginary plane beginning above a lot line of a parcel at a set vertical distance above the property line as set forth in this Ordinance, (reference to the horizontal reference plane) and rising over a parcel at a ratio of vertical distance to horizontal distance as set forth in this Ordinance.

"Home for the mentally and/or physically handicapped" as defined in S.C. Code § 6-29-770, a home serving nine (9) or fewer mentally or physically handicapped persons provided the home provides care on a twenty-four-hour basis and is approved or licensed by a State agency or department or under contract with the agency or department for that purpose.

"Horizontal reference plane" means the plane created upon the averaging of all mean sea level elevations of a property boundary which is then used as the base reference plane for the height control plane.

"Lot" or "parcel" means the basic development unit; an area with fixed boundaries, used or intended to be used by one or more buildings and its accessory building(s) and not divided by any public highway or right-of-way.

"Lot area" or "parcel area" means the entire area of a parcel, measured in square feet or in gross acres.

"Net acre" means the area of land within the property boundary not underwater or subject to inundation and that is not contained in an easement or grant or street right-of-way whether public or private.

"Passive activity" means a nonactive activity such as utilities, park benches, picnic tables, detention ponds, and storm drainage systems. Parking is not considered a passive activity.

"Payday loans or cash advances" means a short-term loan that is intended to bridge the borrower's cashflow gap between pay days. This definition shall not mean the activity of a bank, savings institution, credit union, or farm credit system organized as such under the laws of the United States or any state.

"Principal activity" means the main use(s) of the land or a function performed thereon that fulfills the primary activity of an establishment, institution, household, or other entity. Such an activity may be inside and/or outside a building.

"Principal building" means a structure(s) that houses the main use(s) conducted on a parcel or that contains the primary function or principal activity of the parcel.

"Property line, external" means the property line where a parcel abuts another parcel that is not within the same development project.

"Property line, internal" means the property line where a parcel abuts another parcel that is within the same development project.

"Residence" means a building or part of a building containing one or more dwelling units including mobile homes and modular housing. Detached single dwelling unit structures, attached duplex dwelling unit structures, attached multiple dwelling unit structures, mobile home parks and group housing activities are considered residential activities for the purpose of this Ordinance. However, transient habitation, detention centers, nursing homes, hospitals, health clinics and the like are not considered part of the definition of residence.

"Residential amenity" means an activity that is designed to enhance the quality of life of the neighborhood with which it is associated. Residential amenities are often placed in furtherance of outdoor recreation and may include but are not limited to golf courses, driving ranges, tennis courts, basketball courts, playgrounds, clubhouses, swimming pools, gazebos, picnic shelters, picnic tables, walking trails, and the like. The additional buffer shall be used to protect only those properties located in the neighborhood with which the amenities are associated.

"Residential [use]" pertaining to a residence means, for example, an attached garage, which is considered part of a residential use, whereas a detached garage is considered an accessory use. In a mixed-use building, that portion of the structure used for nonresidential purposes is not considered a residential use.

"Revoke" means the removal of a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy or Certificate of Occupancy based on the Building Official's judgment that the project does not meet applicable state law or the building codes adopted by the Town of Lexington, or other Town ordinances.

"Sales area" means any area within a retail activity normally accessible to customers.

"Structure" means any object constructed or installed by a person, including, but not limited to, buildings.

"Temporary building or structure" means and includes any trailer, mobile office, building or structure constructed of wood, metal, wallboard, or other construction material where, either by reason of construction or purpose, the building or structure is intended to exist for a short period of time.

"Temporary Certificate of Occupancy" means a time-restricted and activity-restricted Certificate of Occupancy issued by the Building Official where the project does not meet all applicable State laws and the adopted building codes of the Town of Lexington or other Town ordinances but where some activities, such as but not limited to stocking shelves or moving furniture, would not be hazardous to the public health, safety, or general welfare.

"Title loan" means the issuance of a monetary amount in exchange for the title of an automobile, boat, or other possession for a specified period of time. This definition shall not mean the activity of a bank, savings institution, credit union, or farm credit system organized as such under the laws of the United States or any state.

"Townhouse" or "townhome" means one of a series of three (3) or more attached one-family dwelling units on separate lots that:

(1)

May or may not have a common roof;

(2)

Share a common exterior wall; and

(3)

May share and own in common the surrounding grounds.

Prior to the approval of any townhouse project, the legal declaration establishing the ownership association shall be submitted to the Approving Authority for approval by the Town Attorney as to form and legal sufficiency, and the declarations shall require the association to provide exterior building maintenance services and architectural control.

"Video game machine" means an electronic or computerized amusement and arcade machine, device, or table that upon insertion of cash or thing of value is available to play or simulate the play of games using a video display and microprocessors in which the player may receive free games, credits, or thing of value that can be redeemed for cash or thing of value.

"Video machine owner" means any person who maintains for use or permits the use of a video game machine in any video game establishment occupied by him/her.

(Ord. 2007-34, § 1, passed 10-1-07; Ord. 2008-42, § 2, passed 8-4-08; Ord. No. 2013-12, § 1, 6-3-13 ; Ord. No. 2014-13, § 1, 3-3-14 )