ABUTTING. Sharing all or part of a common property line. For the purpose of determining ABUTTING property, intervening public and private ways and watercourses do not break the continuity of ABUTTING properties.

ACCESS. The way or means by which pedestrians and vehicles enter and leave property.

ACCESSORY USE AND STRUCTURE. A use or structure incidental and subordinate to the main use of the property and located on the same lot as the main use.

ADULT FOSTER HOME. As defined by O.A.R. 411-5-400(2); a state-certified dwelling operated in a family-type setting for senior citizens and/or disabled persons over the age of 18 who are in need of help in the provision of shelter, food, medical care and/or other service.

ALLEY. A street which affords only a secondary means of access to property.

APPEAL. A request for review of a Planning Commission, staff and/or City Council decision or interpretation of any provision of these ordinances.

AQUACULTURE. The propagation, cultivation, maintenance and harvesting of aquatic species.

AREA OF SHALLOW FLOODING. A designated AO zone on a community’s Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) with a one percent or greater annual chance of flooding to an average depth of one to three feet where a clearly defined channel does not exist, where the path of flooding is unpredictable, and where velocity flow may be evident. Such flooding is characterized by ponding or sheet flow.

AWNING. Any stationary structure, permanent or demountable, used in conjunction with a manufactured home or trailer, other than window awning, for the purpose of providing shelter from the sun and rain, and having a roof with supports and not more than one wall or storage cabinet substituting for a wall.

BED AND BREAKFAST ENTERPRISE, BOARDING, LODGING OR ROOMING HOUSE. A residential structure where not more than 15 persons, not including members of the family occupying such a structure, provide compensation for lodging and meals.

BUILDABLE AREA. For the purpose of siting structures on a parcel, the area thereon exclusive of all applicable setbacks or areas within restrictive overlay zones contained in this chapter. For purposes of calculating the allowable number of dwellings on a lot or parcel, the area thereof, exclusive of the following: road or utility easements, narrow strips of land provided for access from a street to a flag lot, areas within all estuary zones, and channels within the ordinary high water lines of streams that are at least 15 feet wide. This definition shall not apply to erosion control structures or structures otherwise allowed within applicable overlay zones.

BUILDING. A structure built or used for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or property of any kind.

CABANA. A stationary, light-weight structure which may be prefabricated, or demountable, with two or more walls, used adjacent to and in conjunction with a manufactured home to provide additional living space meant to be moved with the home.

CAMPING UNIT. Any tent or recreation vehicle located in a campground as temporary living quarters for recreation, education or vacation purposes.

CAMPSITE. Any plot of ground within a campground intended for the exclusive occupancy by a camping unit or units.

COMMISSION. The City of Nehalem Planning Commission.

CONDITIONAL USE. A use of land that generally conforms to the types and nature of the uses permitted by right in a zone, but because of potential adverse on-site and/or off-site impacts, requires the review and discretionary approval of the Planning Commission according to the provisions within this chapter.

CONDOMINIUM. With respect to property located within the state:

CONTIGUOUS. Sharing all or part of a common boundary.

CRITICAL FACILITY. A facility for which even a slight chance of flooding might be too great. CRITICAL FACILITIES include, but are not limited to schools, nursing homes, hospitals, police, fire and emergency response installations, installations which produce, use or store hazardous materials or hazardous waste.

DAY CARE CENTER or CHILD CARE FACILITY. Any facility that provides child care to children including a day nursery, nursery school group, group child care home, child care center, family child care home or similar unit operating under any name, but not including:

DEVELOPMENT. The act, process or result of developing, which means to bring about growth or availability; to construct or alter a structure; to conduct a mining operation; to make a change in the use or appearance of land; to divide land into parcels; or to create or terminate rights to access.

DOCK. A pier or secured float or floats for boat tie-up or other water use.

DREDGE MATERIAL DISPOSAL. The depositing of dredge material in aquatic or shoreland areas.

DWELLING. A detached structure that meets the requirements of the Uniform Building Code for residential structures and which is intended and/or used for residential purposes. DWELLING includes qualifiers such as the following, indicating the number of dwelling units per structure: single-family – one; two-family – two; multi-family – three or more.

DWELLING UNIT. One or more rooms occupied, designed or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters, and containing three or more of the following: refrigeration; cooking facilities (including cooking stove, hot plate, range hood, microwave oven or similar facility); dishwashing machine; sink intended for meal preparation (not including a wet bar); garbage disposal; and/or toilet.

EASEMENT. The grant of a right of use for a specific purpose over, through or on a parcel of land.

ELEVATED BUILDING. For insurance purposes, a nonbasement building which has its lowest elevated floor raised above ground level by foundation walls, shear walls, posts, piers, pilings, or columns.

FACING. Directly opposite, across from.

FAMILY. One or more persons related by blood, marriage, adoption or guardianship or similar circumstance; and not more than five additional persons not so related, occupying a dwelling unit and living as a single household unit. This includes the occupants of an adult foster home and a foster family home.

FENCE, SIGHT-OBSCURING. A fence or evergreen planting arranged in such a way as to obstruct vision.

FILL. The placement by humans of sediment or other material excluding solid waste, in an aquatic area to create new shoreland or on shorelands to raise the elevation of land.

FLOOD OR FLOODING. (1) A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of normally dry land areas from: (a) The overflow of inland or tidal waters. (b) The usual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source. (c) Mudslides (i.e., mudflows) which are proximately caused by flooding as defined in subsection (1)(b) of this definition and are akin to a river of liquid and flowing mud on the surfaces of normally dry land areas, as when earth is carried by a current of water and deposited along the path of the current. (2) The collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or other body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels or suddenly caused by an unusually high water level in a natural body of water, accompanied by a severe storm, or by an unanticipated force of nature, such as flash flood or an abnormal tide surge, or by some similarly unusual and unforeseeable event which results in flooding as defined in subsection (1)(a) of this definition.

FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP (FIRM). An official map of a community, on which the Federal Insurance Administrator has delineated both the special hazard areas and the risk premium zones applicable to the community. A FIRM that has been made available digitally is called a Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map (DFIRM).

FLOOD INSURANCE STUDY. An examination, evaluation and determination of flood hazards and, if appropriate, corresponding water surface elevations, or an examination, evaluation and determination of mudslide (i.e., mudflow) and/or flood-related erosion hazards.

GRADE. The average elevation of the existing ground at the centers of all walls of a building.

HEIGHT OF BUILDING. The vertical distance of a building measured from grade to the highest point of the roof.

HOME OCCUPATION. A lawful occupation carried out by a resident of the property on which the activity is located, within the residence or other buildings normally associated with uses permitted in the zone in which the property is located, subject to the provisions contained within this chapter.

HOTEL, MOTEL or GROUP COTTAGES. A building or group of buildings containing six or more units which are designed to be used; or which are used, rented or hired out for transient lodging purposes.

LANDSCAPING. Features include planting, groundcover, shrubs and trees, paving materials and site retainment.

LIGHT INDUSTRY. A business having noise, dust, odor, light, traffic and hazard impacts that are similar to those experienced in general business areas. Outdoor storage is screened with sight-obscuring fences.

LINE, PROPERTY. A line, or a description thereof, that is recorded in the office of the County Clerk, and which serves to distinguish a lot or parcel from surrounding properties.

LINE, STREET. A property line between a lot, tract, or parcel of land and an adjacent street or private way.

LINE OF NON-AQUATIC VEGETATION. The water-ward limit of shoreland areas, or where such a line cannot be determined, mean higher high water.

LOT. A parcel or tract of land.

LOT AREA. The total horizontal area within the lot line of a lot exclusive of streets and easements of access to other property.

LOT, CORNER. A lot abutting on two or more streets other than an alley, at their intersection.

LOT COVERAGE. The portion of a lot or parcel of land which is covered with buildings, parking and maneuvering area, patios, decks, covered or paved storage areas or other impervious surface.

LOT, DEPTH. The average horizontal distance between the front lot line and the rear lot line.

LOT, FLAG. A single buildable lot partially separated from a public or private road by other lots or land, but maintaining a minimum of a 25-foot frontage on the public or private road from which it gains access.

LOT, INTERIOR. A non-corner lot.

LOT LINE. The property line of a lot.

LOT LINE, FRONT. The line separating a lot from a street or private way, other than an alley. On a corner lot, the front is the shortest property line along a street or private way other than an alley. In the case of a through lot or a corner lot with equal lines abutting streets, the FRONT LOT LINE is the side from which primary vehicular access is attained.

LOT LINE, REAR. The lot line which is opposite and most distant from the front lot line. In the case of an irregular, triangular or other shaped lot, a line ten feet in length within the lot parallel to and at a maximum distance from the front lot line.

LOT LINE, SIDE. Any lot line not a front or rear lot line.

LOT LINE, STREET SIDE. Any lot line along a street or private way (not an alley), other than the front lot line.

LOT, SIZE. The total area of a lot or parcel measured in a horizontal plane within the property lines, exclusive of public and private roads.

LOT, THROUGH. An interior lot abutting two streets.

LOT WIDTH. The average horizontal distance between the side lot lines, ordinarily measured parallel to the front lot line.

LOW-INTENSITY WATER-DEPENDENT RECREATION. Recreation which does not require developed facilities and can be accommodated without change to the area or resources.

MANUFACTURED HOME SUBDIVISION. A parcel (or contiguous parcels) of land divided into two or more manufactured home lots for rent or sale.

MARIJUANA CULTIVATION. A location where marijuana is produced or cultivated for use by a medical marijuana qualifying patient including within a building, structure or premises used for the cultivation or storage of medical marijuana that is physically separate and off site from a medical marijuana dispensary.

MARIJUANA INFUSION. A facility or business that incorporates medical marijuana (cannabis) by means of cooking, blending, or incorporation into consumable and/or edible goods.

MARIJUANA, MEDICAL. All parts of the genus cannabis, whether growing or not, and the seed of such plants that may be administered to treat or alleviate a qualifying patient’s debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the patient’s debilitating medical condition.

MARIJUANA, MEDICAL MARIJUANA FACILITY. A facility registered with the Oregon Health Authority under O.R.S. 475.314 and O.A.R. 333-008-1050 to:

MARIJUANA, MEDICAL MARIJUANA QUALIFYING PATIENT. A registry identification cardholder (person who has been diagnosed by a physician as having a debilitating medical condition) as further defined by O.R.S. 475.302(3) or the designated primary caregiver of the cardholder as defined by O.R.S. 475.302(5).

MARIJUANA, RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA RETAILER. A retail establishment licensed by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to sell marijuana and allow consumption of marijuana within its premises.

MARINA. Facilities which provide moorage, launching, storage, supplies, and a variety of services for recreational, commercial fishing and charter fishing vessels. They are differentiated from docks and moorages by their larger scale, the provision of significant landslide services and/or the use of a solid breakwater (rock, bulkhead and the like).

MEAN HIGHER HIGH WATER. A determined average elevation of a set of tide planes defined in Oregon 26, U.S. Department of Commerce Environmental Science Services Administration Coast and Geodetic Survey Tidal Bench Mark for the Lower Nehalem River.

MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT. Development that contains both residential and commercial or public/institutional uses all within the same structure. MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT may be “vertical” (residential above the ground floor) or “horizontal” (residential on the ground floor).

MANUFACTURED DWELLING.

MANUFACTURED DWELLING PARK. Any place where two or more manufactured homes are located within 500 feet of one another on a lot, tract or parcel of land under the same ownership; the primary purpose of which is to rent space or keep space for rent to any person for a charge or fee paid or to be paid for the rental or use of facilities or to offer space free in connection with securing trade or patronage of such person.

MANUFACTURED HOME ACCESSORY BUILDING OR STRUCTURE. Any awning, portable, demountable or permanent cabana, amada, carport, porch, skirting or steps established for use of the occupant of the manufactured home and which are designed or intended to be attached to and which depend, in whole or in part, upon the manufactured home for structural support.

MINIMUM SAFETY STANDARDS. Those standards prescribed by the Uniform Building Code, Uniform Fire Code, State of Oregon, locally adopted ordinances or any other regulation or rule adopted and/or recognized by the city that pertains to the safety of persons and/or property.

NEW CONSTRUCTION. For floodplain management purposes, structures for which the start of construction commenced on or after the effective date of a floodplain management regulation adopted by a community and includes any subsequent improvements to such structures.

NON-CONFORMING STRUCTURE OR USE. A lawfully existing structure or use at the time this chapter or any amendment thereto becomes effective, which does not conform to the requirements of the zone in which it is located.

OWNER. The owner of the title to real property, or the contract purchaser of real property of record, as shown on the last available complete tax assessment roll. OWNER shall also mean any agent with written authority of the owner.

PARCEL. A single unit of land that is created by a partitioning of land.

PARKING SPACE. An enclosed or unenclosed surfaced area of not less than 18 feet by nine feet in size, exclusive of maneuvering and access area, permanently reserved for the temporary storage of one automobile, and connected with a street or alley which affords ingress or egress for automobiles.

PERSON. Every natural person, firm, partnership, association, social or fraternal organization, corporation, trust, estate, receiver, syndicate, branch of government or any group or combination acting as a unit.

PLANNING COMMISSION. A commission appointed by the governing body of the city to assist in the development and administration of the city’s land use ordinances and regulations.

PRIMARY USE. The principal purpose for which property is used or occupied.

PRIVATE WAY. A thoroughfare reserved for use by an identifiable set of persons.

PUBLIC PARK or RECREATION. Recreation developments which provide for picnicking, swimming, fishing, riding or other similar activities (excludes hunting), but which exclude overnight camper or recreational vehicle use and outdoor commercial amusements such as miniature golf courses and go-cart tracks.

RECREATIONAL VEHICLE.

RESIDENTIAL HOME. A home licensed by or under the authority of the Department of Human Resources under O.R.S. 443.400 to 443.825 which provides residential care alone or in conjunction with training or treatment or a combination thereof for five or fewer individuals who need not be related. Staff persons required to meet Department of Human Resources licensing requirements shall not be counted in the number of home residents, and need not be related to each other or to any resident of the RESIDENTIAL HOME.

RESIDENTIAL FACILITY. A facility licensed by or under the authority of the Department of Human Resources under O.R.S. 443.400 to 443.460 which provides residential care alone or in conjunction with training or treatment or a combination thereof for six to 15 who need not be related. Staff persons required to meet Department of Human Resources licensing requirements shall not be counted in the number of facility residents, and need not be related to each other or to any resident of the RESIDENTIAL FACILITY.

RIPARIAN. Of, pertaining to or situated on the edge of the bank of a river or other water body.

SETBACK. A linear distance perpendicular to a lot line that describes the depth of a lot or parcel that shall not be occupied by a structure, unless specifically provided for in this chapter.

SHOPPING CENTER. Three or more retail or service establishments on a single unit of land.

SHORELINE STABILIZATION. The protection of the banks of tidal or non-tidal streams, rivers or estuarine waters by vegetative or structural means.

SHORT-TERM RENTALS. A building or group of buildings, residential in nature, containing less than six dwelling units that are intended and/or designed to be used; or which are used, rented or hired out for transient lodging purposes.

SIGN. An identification, description, illustration or device which is affixed to or represented, directly or indirectly, upon a building, structure or land; and which directs attention to a product, place, activity, persons, institution or business. Each display surface of a sign other than two surfaces parallel and back to back on the same structure shall be considered a SIGN.

SIGN, ADVERTISING. A sign which directs attention to a business, product, activity or service which is not necessarily conducted, sold or offered upon the premises where the sign is located.

STANDARDS. Rules governing the size, dimensions, shape or orientation of a lot or parcel, or the placement of buildings or activities thereon.

START OF CONSTRUCTION. Includes substantial improvement, and means the date the building permit was issued, provided the actual start of construction, repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition placement, or other improvement was within 180 days of the permit date. The ACTUAL START means either the first placement of permanent construction of a structure on a site, such as the pouring of slab or footings, the installation of piles, the construction of columns, or any work beyond the stage of excavation; or the placement of a manufactured home on a foundation. Permanent construction does not include land preparation, such as clearing, grading and filling; nor does it include the installation of streets and/or walkways; nor does it include the excavation for a basement, footing piers or foundations or the erection of temporary forms; nor does it include the installation on the property of accessory buildings, such as garages or sheds not occupied as dwelling units or not part of the main structure. For a substantial improvement, the ACTUAL START OF CONSTRUCTION means the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of a building, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building.

STORY. The portion of a building between the finished surface of any floor and the next floor above, that is at least six feet above grade; the top story shall be the topmost living space.

STREAM. A water body with a distinct channel and flow.

STREET. The entire right-of-way of every public and private way for vehicular and pedestrian traffic; and includes the terms road, highway, lane, place, avenue, alley and other similar designations. For setback purposes, non-vehicular public and private ways are not considered STREETS and require no setbacks.

STRUCTURAL ALTERATION. Any change to the supporting members of a structure including foundations, bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams, girders or any structural change in the roof or in the exterior walls.

STRUCTURE. Anything constructed or installed or portable, the use of which requires a location on a parcel of land. For floodplain management purposes, a walled and roofed building, including a gas or liquid storage tank, that is principally above ground, as well as a manufactured home.

SUBDIVISION. A tract of land that has been divided into four or more lots within a calendar year.

SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. Damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before damaged condition would equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before the damage occurred.

SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT. Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the “start of construction” of the improvement. This term includes structures which have incurred “substantial damage” regardless of the actual repair work performed. The term does not, however, include either: (1) any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations or state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions, or (2) any alteration of a “historic structure”; provided, that the alteration will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a “historic structure.”

TOWNHOUSE. A single-family dwelling unit constructed in a row of attached units separated by property lines and with open space on at least two sides.

TRANSIENT LODGING. A room or suite of rooms which is occupied not as a principal residence:

URBAN OR URBANIZABLE LAND.

URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY. A line established by the state and contained within a city’s Comprehensive Plan, which distinguishes urbanizable land adjacent to an incorporated city from surrounding rural land.

USE. The purpose for which land or a structure is designed, arranged or intended, or for which it is occupied or maintained.

UTILITY FACILITIES. Structures, pipes or transmission lines which provide the public with electricity, gas, heat, steam, communication, water, sewage collection or other similar services.

VARIANCE. A grant of relief from one or more of the standards contained within this chapter. VARIANCE also means a grant of relief by a community from the terms of a floodplain management regulation.

WATER-DEPENDENT. A use or activity which can be carried out only on, in or adjacent to water areas because the use requires access to the water body for water-borne transportation, recreation, energy production or source of water.

WATER-RELATED. Uses and activities which do not require direct water access, but provide goods and services that are directly associated with a water-dependent use and a location other than adjacent to the water would result in a public loss of quality in the goods and services offered, considering the economic, social and environmental consequences of the use.

YARD. An open space on a lot which is unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

YARD, FRONT. A yard between side lot lines and measured horizontally at right angles to the front lot line from the front lot line to the nearest point of a building or other structure. Any yard meeting this definition and abutting on a street other than an alley shall be considered a FRONT YARD.

YARD, REAR. A yard between side lot lines and measured horizontally at right angles to the rear lot line from the rear lot to the nearest point of a building or other structure.

YARD, SIDE. A yard between the front and rear yard measured horizontally at right angles from the side lot line to the nearest point of a building or other structure. (Ord. 80-2, passed 06/14/2010; Ord. 2013-01, passed 08/12/2013; Ord. 2015-05, passed 12/14/2015; Ord. 2018-02, passed 09/10/2018)