Be it ordained by the Board of County Commissioners of Howard County, Indiana, under authority of P.L. 178, Act of 1979, and all acts amendatory and supplemental thereto, General Assembly of the State of Indiana.

AN ORDINANCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH  ZONING OF THE AREA WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE HOWARD COUNTY PLAN COMMISSION.

This Ordinance, and Ordinances supplemental or amendatory thereto, shall be known, and may be cited hereafter as the "Zoning Ordinance of Howard County, Indiana - 1981."

In interpreting and applying the provisions of this Ordinance, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, comfort, morals, convenience and general welfare.

It is not the intent of this Ordinance nor should it be the result of this Ordinance that any usage of land existing at the time or prior to the passage of this Ordinance which was illegal or unlawful under former zoning ordinances or regulations should become legal or lawful under the terms of this Ordinance.

It is not intended by this Ordinance to interfere with, or abrogate or annul any easements, covenants, or any other agreements between parties, nor to interfere with, abrogate or annul any ordinance, other than expressly repeated hereby, rules, regulations or permits previously adopted or issued, and not in conflict with any of the provisions of this Ordinance or which shall be adopted or provided, except, that where this Ordinance imposes a greater restriction upon the use of buildings or land, or upon the height of buildings, or requires larger open spaces or greater lot area per family, than are required or imposed by such easements, covenants or agreements between parties, or by such ordinances, rules, regulations or permits, the provisions of this Ordinance shall control.

ACCESSORY BUILDING.  A building, part of a building, or structure which is subordinate to, and the use of which is incidental to that of the main building, structure or use on the same lot, and not used or designed for human occupancy.

ACCESSORY USE. A use incidental, related appropriate and clearly subordinate to the main use of the lot or building, which accessory use does not alter the principal use of the subject lot or adversely affect other properties in the district.

ADULT BOOK STORE. An establishment having a substantial or significant portion of its stock in trade, pictures (still or motion), books, magazines, and other periodicals which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matters depicting, describing or relating to "Specified Sexual Activities" or "Specified Anatomical Areas" or an establishment with a segment or section devoted to the sale or display of such material.

ADVERTISING STRUCTURE. Any structure used as an outdoor display, designed for or upon which, there is a notice or advertisement, pictorial or otherwise, regardless of size and shape, for the purposes of making anything known, the origin or sale of which is not on the property with such advertising structure.

AGRICULTURAL BUILDING.  A structure utilized for the conduct of farming operations but it does not include a dwelling.

AIRCRAFT. Any contrivance, now known or hereinafter invented, for the use or designed for navigation of or flight in the air or outer space, including missiles.

AIRPORT.  Any area which is used or intended to be used  for the taking off and landing of aircraft, including  helicopters, and any appurtenant areas which are used or intended to be used for airport  buildings or facilities, including open spaces, Texas  and tie down areas.

 ALLEY. A right-of-way, other than a street, road, crosswalk, or easement, that provides secondary access for the special accommodation of the abutting property.

APARTMENT HOUSE.  Means the same as dwelling, multi-family.

AUTOMATIC CAR WASH. A building. or portion thereof, where automobiles are washed by mechanical  devices of any kind.

AUTOMOBILE SERVICE STATION. Any building, structure or land used for the dispensing, sale or offering for sale at retail of any automobile fuels, oils or accessories, including lubrication or washing of automobiles and replacement or installation of minor parts and accessories, but not including major repair work such as motor replacement, body and fender repair or spray painting, or storage of disabled, unlicensed vehicles.

BLOCK. Property having frontage on one side of a street and located between the two nearest intersecting or intercepting streets, or nearest intersection or intercepting street and railroad right-of-way, waterway  or other barrier. When intersecting or intercepting streets and railroad right-of-way, waterway or other barriers do not exist, within 330' on either side of the centerline of the area, the unit of 660' shall be used.  The measurement may begin at a quarter section line and terminate each 660' unless intersected by a street.

BOARDING HOUSE. A building, not available to transients, in which lodging and meals are regularly provided for compensation for at least 3 but not more than 10 persons.

BUILDING. A roofed structure for the shelter, support, enclosure or protection of persons, animals, or property.

BUILDING AREA. That  area of land, on a lot, which is occupied by buildings, excluding open areas or terraces, unenclosed porches not more than one (1) story high, and architectural features that project no more than two (2) feet.

BUILDING LINE. The line that established the minimum permitted distance on a lot between the front line of a building and the street right-of-way line.

BUSINESS. The purchase, sale, or exchange of goods or services, or the maintenance for profit of offices or recreation or amusement enterprises.

BUSINESS, WHOLESALE. Business establishments that generally sells commodities in large quantities or by the piece to retailers, jobbers, other wholesaler establishments, or manufacturing establishments.  These commodities are basically for further resale, for use in the fabrication of a product , or for use by a business service.

CAMPGROUND. An area of land used or designed to be used to accommodate two (2) or more camping units, including cabins, tents, travel trailers, or other camping outfits, but not including a travel trailer storage park.

CEMETERY. Land used for the burial of the dead and dedicated for cemetery purposes, including columbarium, crematory, mausoleum, or mortuary operated in conjunction with and on the same tract as the cemetery.

CHILDREN'S HOME OR CHILD CARING INSTITUTION. Any children's home, orphanage, institution or other place maintained or conducted by any group of persons, a firm, association or corporation engaged in receiving and caring for dependent, neglected, handicapped children or children in danger of becoming delinquent or in operating for a gain private business of boarding children who are unattended by parents or guardian, or person on loco parentis.

CLINIC.  An establishment in which patients are admitted for study or treatment of a disease, disorder or disability and in which the services of at least two (2) physicians, dentists or chiropractors are provided.

CLUB.   A building or portion thereof or premises owned or operated by a person for social, literary, political, educational, or recreational purpose primarily for the exclusive use of members and the guests.

CONDOMINIUM.  Ownership in common with others of a parcel of land and certain parts of a building thereon which would normally be used by all the occupants, such as yards, foundations, basements, floors, walls, hallways, stairways, elevators, and all other related common elements, together with individual ownership in fee of a particular unit or portion of such building.

COOPERATIVE.  A building or land in which an individual owns stock in a corporation with the right through a proprietary lease to occupy a portion of the land or a part of a building.

DAY NURSERY. Any institution operated for the purpose of providing care and maintenance to children separated from their parents or guardians or a person in loco parentis during a part of the day for two or more consecutive weeks excepting a school or other bona fide educational institution.

DETACHED BUILDING. A building that has not structural connection with another building.

DRIVE-IN RESTAURANT.  A building or structure in which food and/or drink are primarily prepared for sale and consumption under one or more of the following conditions:
                       1.  Within vehicles on the premises with such structure;
                       2.  On the premises outside of such structure;
                       3.  Take-out restaurants for consumption off the premises; ( see
                             definition of restaurant)

DWELLING. A building or part of a building that is used primarily as a place of abode, but not including a hotel, motel, lodging house, boarding house, or tourist home or manufactured home as defined herein.

DWELLING, FARM.  Single family dwellings located upon farms and occupied or used by the owner, farm tenant or other persons employed thereon.

DWELLING, MULTI-FAMILY.  A building consisting of three or more dwelling units with varying arrangements of entrances and party walls.

DWELLING, SINGLE FAMILY.  A  building consisting of a single dwelling unit only, separated from other dwelling units by open space.

DWELLING, TWO-FAMILY. A building consisting of two dwelling units which may be either attached side by side or one above the other.

DWELLING UNIT.  A dwelling or part of a dwelling used by one family as a place of abode.

FAMILY. One or more persons living as a single housekeeping unit, but not including a group occupying a hotel, motel, club, or nurse's home, dormitory or fraternity or sorority house.

FARM, CONFINEMENT FEEDING.  "Confined feeding" is defined as the feeding of animals grown for food, fur, or pleasure purposes in lots, pens, ponds, sheds, or building where feed is supplied to them by means other than grazing.  For the purpose of this Ordinance, the term "confinement feeding" shall be limited to the confined feeding of (1) 300 or more cattle; (2) 600 or more swine or sheep; (3) 30,000 or more fowl.  These numbers have been established by P.L. 175 Acts of the 1971 Indiana General Assembly; in the event that said P.L. 175 is amended, this ordinance shall be deemed amended so that it is in conformity with said act.

FARM, GENERAL.   An area used for agricultural operations, including truck gardening, forestry, the operation of a tree or plant nursery, or the production of livestock and poultry except as defined under "farm, confinement feeding"; or the processing of farm products on the farm by the resident owner or tenant, but it does not include commercial or custom slaughtering.  Land, including necessary buildings and structures shall be considered used for agriculture if not composed of subdivision lots, and if the raising of crops or animals is the principal occupation of the residents or users thereof.

FILLING OR SERVICE STATION.  Means the same as Automobile Service Station.

FLOOD OR FLOODWATER.  Water of any lake or watercourse which is above the banks and/or outside the channel and banks of such watercourse.

FLOOD HAZARD AREA.  Any floodplain, floodway, floodway fringe district or any combination thereof.

FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY.  A study prepared by the Federal Insurance Administration for Howard County determining the extent of flood hazards.  The study, along with accompanying Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps and Flood Insurance Rate Maps, is hereby declared a part of this and shall be used for determining the extent of the Flood Plain, Floodway and Floodway Fringe District.

FLOOD PLAIN.  Areas subject to flooding with 100-year frequency floods in Flood Plain, Floodway or Floodway Fringe Districts or combinations thereof, as illustrated on the Flood Boundary and Floodway Maps as prepared by the Flood Insurance Administration or for areas not illustrated, as defined by the Soil Survey as being Genesee, Shoals, or other soils series occurring on the first bottoms of streams, however, in no case should it be necessary to exceed the 100-year flood elevation.

FLOOD PROOFED BUILDINGS. A commercial or industrial building designed to exclude flood waters from the interior of that building.  All such flood proofing shall be adequate to withstand the flood depths, pressures, velocities, impact and uplift forces and other factors associated with the regulatory flood.

FLOOD PROTECTION GRADE.  The elevation of the lowest floor of a building or structure.  If a basement is included, the basement floor is considered the lowest  floor.  Exception: if a commercial or industrial building is flood proofed as hereinafter defined, the term "flood protection grade" applies to the water surface elevation for which the building is protected.

FLOODWAY.  The channel of a river or stream and those portions of the floodplain adjoining the channel, which are reasonably required to efficiently carry and discharge the peak floodwater and flood flow of any river or stream.

FLOODWAY FRINGE.  That portion of the flood plain, excluding the floodway, where development may be allowed under certain restrictions.

FRONT LINE.  With respect to a building, means the line of the face of the building nearest the front line, except as deed restrictions specify otherwise.

GARAGE, AUTOMOBILE REPAIR.  A building other than a public or private garage used for the care, repair, or equipment of automobiles.

GARAGE, PRIVATE.  A detached accessory building or portion of a main building on the same lot as a dwelling for the housing of vehicles of the occupant of the dwelling, including carports.

GARAGE, PUBLIC.  Any garage, other than a private garage, for the parking of vehicles.

GARAGE, TRUCK REPAIR.  A building other than a public or private garage used for the care, repair, or equipment of trucks, over one (1) ton, or where such vehicles are parked or stored for remuneration, hire or sale.

GENERAL INDUSTRIAL USE.  Manufacturing, processing, extraction, heavy repairing, dismantling, storage, or disposal of equipment, raw materials, manufactured products or wastes, in which operators other than transportation, may be performed in either open or closed areas.

GROUND FLOOR AREA.  The area of a building in square feet as measured in a horizontal plane at the ground floor level within its largest outside dimensions, exclusive of open porches, breezeways, terraces, garages, and exterior stairways.

HAZARDOUS WASTE.  Hazardous waste means a solid waste or a combination of solid wastes that, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical , or infectious characteristics, may:
                         (A) Cause or significantly contribute in an increase in mortality or
                               increase in irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness:  or

                         (B) Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or
                               the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported,
                              disposed of, or otherwise managed.

HEIGHT.  The vertical distance measured from the mean elevation of the finished grade of the ground about the front of the building to the highest point of the roof for flat roof; to the deck line of a mansard roof; and to the mean elevation between eaves and ridge for gable, hip and  gambrel roofs.

HOME OCCUPATION.  An occupation carried on within a dwelling which occupation shall be subordinate and incidental to the residential use of said dwelling, provided that: there shall be no external evidence of the occupation other than one identification sign not exceeding two (2) square feet in area to be placed flat against the dwelling where the occupation is conducted; there shall be no traffic congestion nor traffic hazard created by the home occupation; only the occupant  or members of his or her family, normally residing in said residence, handle all the work  and does not employ others at the residence of elsewhere in said occupation; no external  changes, additions, enlargements, or exterior alteration changing the residential appearance to a business or commercial appearance shall be permitted; there shall be no physical  expansion of utilities or community facilities beyond that normal to the residential use of their property.  In no event shall a tourist home, tea room, dance studio, kennel or animal hospital to  be construed as a home occupation.

HOTEL.  See Motel.

INCINERATOR.  Incinerator means an engineered apparatus designed for the burning of solid waste under the effect of controls of temperature, retention time, air, and other combustion factors.

INDUSTRIAL PARK.  A tract of land which is planned and developed as a distinctive and attractive unit, featuring landscaped open spaces of generous dimensions and well-designed structures, to be used for industrial research, light industrial operations, offices and similar purposes, and for uses necessary to the convenience of employees, and, is controlled by an organization guaranteeing the continued maintenance of all commonly used areas and installations.

INSTITUTION.  A building and/or land designed to aid individuals in need of mental, therapeutic, rehabilitative counseling, or other correctional services.

JUNK YARD.  A place, usually outdoors, where waste or discarded used property other than organic matter, is accumulated and/or stored and is or may be salvaged for re-use, resale, including, but not limited to, one or more unlicensed or inoperable motor vehicles.

KENNEL.  A place primarily for keeping of 4 or more dogs, or other small animals that are ordinarily kept as pets and are at least 4 months old.

LIGHT INDUSTRIAL USE.  Manufacturing, processing, extraction, heavy repairing, dismantling, storage, or disposal of equipment, raw materials, manufactured products or wastes, in which all operations other than transportation, are performed entirely within enclosed buildings and for which all loading and unloading facilities are enclosed.

LODGING HOUSE.  A building, not available to transients, in which lodgings, but not meals, are regularly provided for compensation for at least three but not more than ten persons.

LOT.  Land occupied or suitable for one (1) main building or use together with its accessory buildings and including the open spaces required under the regulations but excluding present  or proposed right-of-ways.  A lot  may be land so recorded in the office of the County Recorder or it may include parts of, or a combination of such lots when adjacent to one another and used as one (1)  parcel. Open spaces necessary for compliance with these regulations are one building or use shall not be again counted as open space for any other building or use.

LOT, CORNER.   A lot at the junction of and abutting two intersecting or intercepting streets.

LOT COVERAGE.  The percentage of the lot area that is occupied by buildings.

LOT LINE, REAR.  An interior or corner lot means the lot line that is opposite the front line and farthest from it, except that for a triangular or other irregularly-shaped lot it means the line ten (10) feet long, parallel to the front lot line, and wholly within the lot, that  is farthest from the lot line.

LOT LINE,  SIDE.  A lot line other than a front or rear lot line.

LOT, MINIMUM AREA OF.  The area of a lot is computed exclusive of any portion of the right-of-way of any public or private street.

LOT, THROUGH.  A lot fronting on two (2) parallel or approximately parallel streets includes lots fronting on both a street and watercourse or lake.

LOT WIDTH.  The distance between the side lot lines as measured on the building line.

LOWEST FLOOR.  The lowest floor of the lowest enclosed area (including basement).  An unfinished or flood resistant enclosure, usable solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage in an area other than a basement area, is not considered a building's lowest floor provided that such enclosure is not built so as to render the structure in violation of the applicable non-elevation design requirements of this ordinance.

MANUFACTURED HOME.  A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built for use with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities.  For flood plain management purposes, the term "manufactured home" also includes park trailers, travel  trailers and similar vehicles placed on a site for greater than one hundred eighty (180) days.

MANUFACTURED HOME PARK.  An area of land on which two (2) or more manufactured homes are regularly accommodated with or without charge, including any building or other structure , fixture, or equipment that is used or intended to be used in providing that accommodation.

MANUFACTURED HOME SPACE.  An area of land within a manufactured home park for the placement of one manufactured home which is designated for the exclusive use of the occupants.

MANUFACTURED HOME TIE DOWNS.  Sufficient anchorage to resist flotation, collapse or lateral movement of any manufactured home.  At a minimum, such anchorage shall consist of:
                              (1.) over the top tie be provided at each of the four corners of the
                                    manufactured home, with two (2) additional ties per side at
                                    intermediate locations, with manufactured homes less than fifty
                                    (50) feet long requiring only one (1) additional tie per side.

                             (2.) frame ties to be provided at each corner of the manufactured
                                    home with five additional ties per side at intermediate points
                                    and manufactured homes less than fifty (50) feet long requiring
                                    four (4) additional ties per side.

                             (3.) all components of the anchoring systems shall be capable of
                                    carrying a force of 4,800 pounds; and ( 4.) any addition to the
                                    manufactured home be similarly anchored.

MASSAGE.  Any method of pressure on or friction against, or stroking, kneeding, rubbing, tapping, pounding, vibrating, or stimulating of the external soft parts of the body with the hands or with the aid of any mechanical or electrical apparatus or appliance, with or without such supplementary aids as rubbing alcohol, liniments, antiseptics, oils, powder, creams, lotions, ointments, or other similar preparations commonly used in this practice.

MASSAGE ESTABLISHMENT.  Any establishment having a fixed place of business where any person, firm, association or corporation engages in or carries on or permits to be engaged in or carried on any massage activities.

MASSAGE PARLOR.  Means the same as Massage Establishment.

MEDICAL AND DENTAL OFFICES.  Any building or portion of a building used or intended to be used as an office for the practicing of any type of medicine, including chiropractic, dentistry or optometry.

MINERAL EXTRACTION.  (1) mining or quarrying, and (2) removal of earth materials.

MODULAR HOME.  An assembly of materials or products comprising all or part of a total structure which, when constructed, is self-sufficient or substantially self-sufficient and when installed, constitutes a dwelling unit, except for necessary preparations for its placement.

MOTEL AND HOTEL.   A building or group of buildings, in which lodging is provided and offered to the public for compensation, and catering primarily to the public traveling by motor vehicle.

NATURAL RESOURCES.  The Indiana Natural Resources Commission.

NONCONFORMING USE.  A building, structure, or use of land existing at the time of enactment of this Ordinance, and which does not conform to the regulations of the district or zone in which it is situated.

OPEN USE.  The use of a lot without building, or a use for which the main building has a floor area no larger that five (5) percent of the lot area.

PARKING LOT.  A parcel of land devoted to unenclosed parking space for five (5) or more motor vehicles for compensation or otherwise.

PERSON.  Includes a corporation, firm, partnership, association, organization, or any other group that acts as a unit or legal entity.

PLACE.  A right-of-way permanently reserved in a plat which affords the principle means of access to abutting property, is not dedicated to nor maintained by the public, but does grant the right to governmental agencies to use said place to provide law enforcement, mail delivery, and fire protection.  A lot fronting on a Place is eligible for address assignment and building permit issuance.

PLANNED DEVELOPMENT.  An area planned for one or more uses as an integrated and harmonious unit displaying desirable and fitting site design characteristics, the use requirements of this Ordinance being generally applicable to the area as a whole rather than to the  individual components.

PLAT.  A map or chart that shows a division or parcel of land and is intended to be filed for record.

PRINCIPLE BUILDING.  A building in which the principal use of the lot on which it is located is conducted, including a building that is attached to such a building in a substantial way, such as by roof (with respect to residential uses, it means the main dwelling).

PRIVATE SEWAGE DISPOSAL.  A system which is not constructed, installed or maintained, operated, and owned by a city, county, taxing district established for that purpose, regional sanitary district, or a utility under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission of Indiana.

PROFESSIONAL OFFICE.  Any building or portion thereof, used for or intended to be used as an office for a lawyer, architect, engineer, land surveyor, real estate broker, accountant, physicians, surgeons, dentists, licensed insurance agents and other similar professions.

PUBLIC SEWER SYSTEM.  A system constructed, installed, maintained, and owned by a city, county, taxing district, regional sanitary district, or a utility under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission of Indiana, but shall not include a sewer installed for the purpose of carrying surface water and runoff and subsoil drainage.

REGULATORY FLOOD.  A flood having a peak discharge which can be expected to be equaled or exceeding on the average of once in a one-hundred-year period, as calculated by the method and procedure which is acceptable to and approved by the Indiana Natural Resources Commission.  This flood is equivalent to a flood having a probability of occurrence of one percent in any given year.

REGULATORY FLOOD PROFILE.  A longitudinal profile along the thread of a stream showing the maximum water surface elevation attained by the regulatory flood.

REPAIR SHOP.  An establishment where repairs are made or items mended.

RESTAURANT.   A building or structure in which food and drinks are prepared primarily for sale and consumption within such structure, including incidental take-out service. (See definition of Drive-In Restaurant).

ROADSIDE STAND.  A temporary structure designed or used for a display or sale of agricultural and related products, produced on the premises.

RUB-DOWN SPA.  Means the same as a Massage Establishment.

SANITARY SEWER.  A pipe or conduit designed for carrying any combination of water-carried wastes from residence, business, commercial building, public uses, and industries, together with such ground, surface, and storm waters as may be present but are not intentionally admitted.

SCHOOL, PRIVATE.  A school other than a public school.

SCHOOL, PUBLIC.  A publicly-funded institution conducting regular academic instruction at kindergarten, elementary, and secondary levels.

SCHOOL, TRADE OR BUSINESS.  A secretarial or business school or college when not publicly-owned or not owned or conducted by or under the sponsorship of a religious, charitable or nonprofit organization, or a school conducted as a commercial enterprise for teaching instrumental music, dancing, barbering, hair dressing, or drafting, or for teaching industrial or technical arts.

SIGN.  Any notice or advertisement, pictorial or otherwise, used as an outdoor display for the purpose of advertising the property or the establishment or enterprise, including goods and services, upon which the signs are exhibited.

SOLID WASTE. Solid waste means any garbage, refuse sludge from a waste treatment plant, sludge from a water supply treatment plant, sludge from an air pollution control facility, or other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial , commercial, mining, or agricultural operations or from community activities or any other source.  However, the term "solid waste" does not include:

                         (A) Solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage or dissolved
                               materials in irrigations return flows or industrial discharges, which
                               are point source subject to permits under Section 402 of the
                               Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments (33U.S.C . 1342);

                        (B) Source, special nuclear, or bi-product materials as defined by the
                              Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) ; or

                        (C) Manures or crop residues returned to the soil at the point of
                               germination as fertilizer or soil conditioners as part of a total farm
                               operation. (P.L. 143-1985, SECTION 90)."

SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREA.
                          1)  Less than completely and opaquely covered:
                                      (a) human genitals, pubic region,
                                      (b) buttock, and
                                      (c) female breast below a point immediately above the top of the
                                           aureole; and

                         2)  Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if
                               completely and opaquely covered.

SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITIES.
                         1)  Human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal;
                         2)  Acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse or sodomy;
                         3)  Fondling or other touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttock
                               or female breast.

STREET (ROAD).  A right-of-way, other than an alley, dedicated or otherwise legally established to public use, usually affording the principal means of access to abutting property.  A street may be designated as a highway, thoroughfare, parkway, boulevard, road, avenue, lane, drive, or other appropriate name.

STREET, RESIDENTIAL.  A street used primarily for access to abutting properties, usually residential.

STREET, PRIMARY FEEDER.  A street planned to facilitate the collection of traffic from local streets, and to provide convenient ways for traffic to reach arterial streets.

STREET, PRIMARY ARTERIAL.  A street planned to facilitate the collection of traffic from feeder streets.

STREET, SECONDARY FEEDER.  A street similar in function to a primary feeder projected to carry a lesser amount of traffic.

STREET, LIMITED ACCESS ARTERIAL.  A street which serves a high volume of traffic corridors and connects major population centers and traffic generators, with access limited or controlled.

STRUCTURAL, CHANGE.  A substantial change, or repair, excluding normal and usual repair, in a supporting members of a building, such as a bearing wall or partition, column, beam, girder, or in an exterior wall or the roof.

STRUCTURE.  Anything constructed or erected that requires location on or in the ground as attachment to something having a location on or in the ground.

SUBSTANTIAL MODIFICATION.  Any alteration, repair, enlargement or extension of an existing building.  Such substantial modification is considered to occur when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural element of the building commences.  This term does not however, include either
                      (1) any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing
                            health, sanitary, or safety or safety code specifications or

                      (2)  any alteration of a structure listed on the National Register of
                             Historic Places or the Indiana State Survey Historic Architectural
                             Archeological  and Cultural Sites, Structures, Districts and Objects.

TOURIST HOME.  A building in which not more than five (5) guest rooms are used to provide or offer overnight accommodations to transient guests for compensation.

TRAVEL TRAILER.  A vehicle or other portable structure less than thirty-five (35) feet in length, including the hitch, that is designed to move on the highway and designed or used as a dwelling.

TRAVEL TRAILER STORAGE PARK.  An area of land which two (2) or more travel trailers are regularly stored with or without charge, including any building or structure, fixture or equipment that is used or intended to be used in connection with providing that accommodation.

TRUCK SERVICE CENTER.  An occupancy which provides especially for the servicing of trucks, with incidental operations similar to those permitted for "Automobile Service Station".

USE. The employment or occupation of a building, structure or land for a person's service, benefit or enjoyment.

VISION CLEARANCE ON CORNER LOTS.  A triangular space at the street corner of a corner lot, free from any kind of obstruction to vision between the heights of three (3) and twelve (12) feet above established grade, determined by a diagonal line connecting two (2) points measured fifteen (15) feet equidistant from the street corner along each property line.

WORKSHOP.  A  small establishment where manufacturing or hand crafts are carried on.

YARD.  A space on the same lot with a principal building that is open and unobstructed by structures except as otherwise authorized by this Ordinance.

YARD, FRONT. A yard extending across the full width of the lot, unoccupied other than by steps walks, terraces, driveways, lamp posts, and other similar structures the depth of which is the least distance between the nearest street right-of-way and the front line of the building.

YARD, REAR.  A yard that extends across the full width of a lot and is bounded on the rear by the rear lot line, and the depth of which is the least distance between the rear lot line and the rear of the principal building.

YARD, SIDE.  A yard between the principal building and the adjacent side lot line, that extends from the front yard, or street right-of-way where there is no front yard, to the rear yard, and the width of which is the least distance between the side lot line and the adjacent side of the building.

BOARD. The Board of Zoning Appeals of Howard County, Indiana

BOARD OF HEALTH. The Howard County Board of Health.

CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY. A certificate issued by the Zoning Administrator for the occupancy or use of a building or structure.

COMMISSION. The Howard County Plan Commission of the County of Howard, Indiana.

COUNTY. The County of Howard, Indiana

DIRECTOR. The Executive Director of the Howard County Plan Commission of Howard County, Indiana.

HEALTH OFFICER. The County Health Officer or his deputy or assistant.

IMPROVEMENT LOCATION PERMIT. A permit issued by the Zoning Administrator for the erection and/or alteration of a building or structure.

JURISDICTIONAL AREA. The unincorporated area of Howard County, Indiana.

SANITARY ORDINANCE. An Ordinance of Howard County, Indiana, regulating the location and installation, construction,  maintenance and replacement of private sewage disposal systems referred to as the "County Private Sewage Disposal Ordinance."

SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION  DISTRICT. (S.W.C.D.) The Howard County Soil and Water Conservation District.

SPECIAL EXCEPTION. The authorization of a use, designated as being permitted in the district concerned if it meets special conditions, and upon application is specifically authorized by the Board.

VARIANCE. A modification of the specific requirements, other than use, of this Ordinance granted by the Board in accordance with the terms of this Ordinance for the purpose of assuring that no property, because of the special circumstances applicable to it, shall be deprived of privileges commonly enjoyed by other properties in the same vicinity and District.

ZONING ADMINISTRATOR. The employee or officer of the Howard County Plan Commission who has authority to enforce this Ordinance.

ZONE MAP. The Maps showing the Zone Districts.
 
 

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