ARTICLE III: GENERAL PROVISIONS

3.01 Compliance: Except as hereinafter provided:
No building, structure or land shall hereafter be erected, constructed, reconstructed, moved or structurally altered unless in conformity with all of the regulations wherein specified for the district in which it is located.

3.02 Area Requirements: No yard or lot existing at the time of passage of this ordinance shall be reduced in size or area below the minimum requirements set forth herein. Yards or lots created after the effective date of this ordinance shall meet at least the minimum requirements established by this ordinance.

3.03 Minimum Requirements: The provisions of this ordinance shall be construed to be minimum requirements. Wherever there exists a conflict between this ordinance and any other lawfully adopted rules, regulations, ordinances, deed restrictions or covenants, the most restrictive requirement shall govern.
3.04 Yard Space, General: The required yard space for each building, structure or use shall fall entirely upon land within a district or districts, in which the use is permitted.

3.05 Yard Space Encroachments -- Projections Into Yards: The following projections may be permitted into any front, rear or side yard:
A. Cornices, sills, eaves and other ornamental features to a distance of not more than two (2) feet six (6) inches.
B. Removed
C. Removed
D. Bay windows and chimneys to a distance of not more than three (3) feet, provided that such features do not occupy, in aggregate, more than one-third (1/3) of the length of the building wall on which they are located.
E. Removed
F. Removed
G. Removed

3.06 Private Swimming Pools: A private swimming pool (above and/or in ground) shall include a pool, pond, lake or open tank not located within a completely enclosed building and containing or normally capable of containing water to a depth at any point greater than one and one-half (1-1/2) feet. No such swimming pool shall be allowed in any district unless it complies with the following conditions and requirements:

A. It may not be located, including any walks or paved areas or accessory structures adjacent thereto, closer than five (5) feet to any property line of the property to which it is located.

B. The swimming pool, or the entire property on which it is located, shall be so walled or fenced as to prevent uncontrolled access by children from the street or adjacent properties.

C. The pool shall further be screened by, at minimum, a masonry wall, board fence or compact hedge five (5) feet in height and maintained in good condition.

3.07 Temporary Buildings: Temporary buildings that are used in conjunction with construction work only may be permitted in any district during the period that the building is being constructed. Such temporary buildings shall be removed upon completion of the construction work.

3.08 Assembly Buildings: Notwithstanding any other ordinance provisions to the contrary, on a lot occupied by a church or other buildings in which persons congregate, or which is designed, arranged, remodeled, or normally used for the congregation of persons in numbers in excess of twenty-five (25), the width of each side and rear yard shall not be less than twenty-five (25) feet.

3.09 Vision Clearance in Residence Districts: On a corner lot, no fence or other structure more than three (3) feet in height above the plane of the established grades of the street shall be erected on any part of the front yard or side yard herein established that is included within the street lines of intersecting streets and a line connecting such street lines at a point which is twenty (20) feet from their point of intersection, measured along such street lines and no planting of foliage shall be placed or maintained within such area that obstructs the view of a driver or a vehicle approaching the street intersection. At the discretion of the planning commission, no fence which is more than six (6) feet in height above the plane of the finished grade of the lots at the division line between lots shall be erected along such division line unless no part of such fence is within twenty (20) feet to any street line.

3.10 Trailers, Boats, Snowmobiles, ATVs and Cabins: No person shall maintain, install, construct, erect, or permit, on any property within the city, except as otherwise provided in this ordinance, the parking or standing of a trailer intended for or used for lodging, dwelling or sleeping, or any small houses, known as cabins, for the use of transient or permanent guests for lodging, dwelling or sleeping; except that unoccupied trailers used primarily for living purposes may be stored inside a building and such unoccupied trailers may be temporarily parked outside. The length of time which an unoccupied trailer may be parked outside shall not exceed a total of fifteen (15) days in any three (3) successive months. The storage of unoccupied trailers, boats, snowmobiles ATVs and other vehicles designed for recreational use and not exceeding thirty-four (34) feet in length is permitted within a building or in the open in a rear yard.

3.11 Public Sanitary Facilities Not Available: In any zoning district where a public sanitary sewer is not accessible, the Zoning Officer shall require the lot area and frontage requirements to conform to the provisions of the county sanitation code.

3.12 Zoning Officer: The person or persons designated as the municipal representative charged with carrying out the provisions of this ordinance, and assists the city in carrying out the City Land Use Plan Subdivisi-on/Plating Regulations, and other related tasks and authorities assigned by city council.

3.13 Dwelling Unit Restrictions.
A. No cellar, basement, garage, tent or accessory building shall at any time be used as an independent residence or dwelling unit, temporarily or permanently, except in multiple family dwellings, with additional living units located above ground.
B. Basements and cellars may be used as living quarters or rooms as a portion of the principal residential dwelling.
C. Tents, playhouses or similar structures may be used for play or recreational purposes only.
D. Existing cellars or basements used as an independent dwelling unit shall have the status of a non-conforming use, subject to the provisions of Article XVIII of this ordinance.
E. All dwellings other than mobile homes in approved mobile home parks, shall be located upon a foundation that meets the requirements of the zoning regulations or state/county statutes.
F. Site built dwellings and manufactured homes, other than mobile homes, shall be no less than thirty (30) feet in length and no less than sixteen (16) feet in width over the entire minimum length; provided, however, all dwelling units shall meet the minimum floor area requirements set out in this ordinance. Overhangs and other projections beyond the principal walls shall not be taken into account in determining the minimum width required hereunder.
G. Single family dwellings shall have a pitched roof and shall have eaves of not less than six (6) inches.

3.14 Architectural Design. The architectural design, color, roof pitch or lack of it, roof overhang or lack of it, and exterior material, of all buildings and structures shall not be so similar to or consistent with surrounding buildings in areas so as to constitute a blighting influence. The city may refuse to grant a permit for construction or location of any building which may significantly diminish neighboring property values or otherwise impair the health, safety, and welfare of the community; and in addition, the city shall have the additional power to require appropriate screening tot he extent that such screening with sufficiently ameliorate zoning permit for the reasons set forth herein shall be subject to appeal by the applicant in accordance with the provisions of Article XXI of this ordinance.