Glossary
Alley:
The vehicle passageway within a block, which provides access to
garages and garbage bins along the rear edge of lots.
Civic Use:
Occupied building space used primarily for public education,
cultural performance, gatherings and displays administered by non-profit
cultural, educational, and religious organizations.
Commercial Use:
Occupied building space used for the conduct of retail, office,
artisan, restaurant, lodging, childcare, professional business, governmental
services, entertainment, and recreational uses.
Façade:
An elevation or ‘face’ of a building, from ground level to
roofline.
Front Façade:
The elevation with the main entrance to a building, usually
facing a public street.
Front Setback:
The distance between the frontage line of a primary street and
the front façade of a building. Porches, balconies, stoops, chimneys, and
bay windows are permitted to encroach into the front setback.
Height Limit:
The vertical extent of a building, measured in feet from the
average grade level surrounding the building perimeter, to the midpoint
between the roof’s apex and the nearest eave.
Home Office:
Office use located on a residential lot in single ownership and
operated by the owner of the residence. Home offices shall be a maximum of
600 sq. ft. in floor area, located either in a secondary building to the
rear of the primary building, or on the first floor of the primary building,
occupying at maximum the rear 50% of the building footprint.
Point-of-service type offices and signage shall be prohibited.
Live/Work Unit:
A building in single ownership that provides limited commercial
space on the first floor and a dwelling unit on the upper floor(s). The
operator of the commercial use may reside in the dwelling unit, or either
the commercial space or the dwelling unit may be leased or rented.
Lodging Use:
Premises used for short-term human habitation. Food service may
be included.
Lot Coverage:
The maximum area of a lot that may be occupied by a structure.
Lot coverage is expressed as a ratio. Open porches, decks, terraces, and
stoops are excluded from the calculations.
Mixed-Use Building:
A single building that occupies two or more of the following use:
retail, office, professional services, personal services, lodging,
restaurants, and residential. Uses may be divided vertically or
horizontally.
Office Use:
Premises used for services, including professional, financial,
clerical, administrative, medical. Retail and manufacturing are excluded.
Point-Of-Service:
Office uses or services frequented by customers or clients.
Point-of-Service type offices are prohibited in the Neighborhood General and
Neighborhood Edge zones.
Primary Building:
The principal building on a site, containing the primary
residence or business. The Primary Building fronts on the primary street.
Rear Setback:
The distance between the rear lot line and the rear wall of a
building. Roof overhangs may encroach into the setback.
Residential Use:
Premises used primarily for human habitation.
Retail Use:
Premises used for the exchange of services or goods.
Rowhouse:
Attached single-family houses on individual tax lots. Rowhouses
share common walls with one or two adjacent unit. Rowhouse groups consist
of a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 units. Alleys in the rear of the lots
provide vehicular access to Rowhouses. Front driveways and street facing
garages are prohibited
Secondary Building:
A smaller, detached structure located in the rear of a lot and
shall be limited in size to a maximum of 1,200 sf in floor area. Secondary
Buildings may contain the following uses: garage, home office, workshop, or
secondary dwelling units.
Secondary Dwelling Unit:
Secondary Dwelling Units are located on the same lot as the
primary dwelling unit and may be rented but not sold separately. Secondary
dwelling units shall be limited to 600 sq. ft. in floor area and may be
located within the primary building or within a secondary building to the
rear of the primary building. Secondary dwelling units shall have separate
outside entrances.
Shared Parking:
Parking spaces assigned to more than one use where persons
utilizing the spaces are unlikely to need the spaces at the same time of
day.
Combined Side Yard Adjacent
Lot Setback:
The sum of the distances between the side lot lines and the side
elevations of a building. Roof overhangs may encroach into the setback. On
street corners, the Side Street Setback shall be included in the
calculation.
Side Street Setback:
The distance between the frontage line of a side street and the
street facing side elevation of the building. Roof overhangs may encroach
into the setback.
Storefront:
The portion of a building at the first story of a building that
is made available for retail use. Storefronts shall be directly accessible
from sidewalks.
Stoop:
An entry platform on the frontage of a building. Stoops may be
roofed but they need not necessarily be enclosed.
Story:
A habitable floor level within a building, no more than 14 feet
high from floor to ceiling, except for retail storefronts that may be 18
feet in height.
Townhouse:
Attached single-family houses on individual tax lots. Townhouses
share a common wall with one adjacent unit. Alleys in the rear of the lots
provide vehicular access to Townhouses. Front driveways and street facing
garages are prohibited.
VGAC:
Village Gardens Architectural Review Committee
Workshop Use:
Premises used for the creation, assemblage, and repair of goods,
including their retail sale.
