§ 120-64. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

ACCESSORY USE

A use subordinate or supplemental to a main use on the same lot.

AGRICULTURAL USE

The raising for profit/gain of fruits, grains, vegetables and the like and structures incident thereto on a farm or other parcel, including the raising or keeping of animals, consistent with § 120-15. "Agricultural use," as defined in this chapter, does not include all of the uses defined as agricultural uses in New York's Agriculture and Markets Law.

ALLEY

A service-way that affords a secondary public means of vehicular access to abutting property.

ALTERATION

Any change to a structure that is not merely a repair or replacement of an existing part, or any change which would:

A. 

Enlarge or diminish the habitable area of the structure or any part thereof.

B. 

Change the number of dwelling units contained in any structure.

C. 

Cause a change in the location of height of the exterior walls or roof of the structure.

D. 

Move the structure from one position to another.

E. 

Change any exit or entry facilities.

F. 

Change or rearrange the structural parts, including bearing walls, beams, girders and columns.

G. 

Change a use.

ALTERNATE-CARE HOUSING (ACH)

A facility designed for those persons who are unable to live independently at a particular time. The following is a list of the specific types of alternate care housing:

A. 

COMMUNITY RESIDENCE

A dwelling providing room and board, recreation and rehabilitative services for the mentally disturbed under supervision.

B. 

HALFWAY HOUSE

A community residence providing twenty-four-hour, on-site supervisory staff for short-term residents.

C. 

SUPERVISED-LIVING FACILITY (GROUP HOME)

A community residence providing twenty-four-hour, on-site supervisory staff for long-term residents.

D. 

SUPPORTIVE-LIVING FACILITY

A community residence providing supervision for residents.

E. 

FAMILY-CARE HOME

A dwelling providing room, board and supervision for patients who are maintained on in-patient status by a state psychiatric facility.

F. 

PRIVATE PROPRIETARY HOME FOR ADULTS

A dwelling providing room, board, recreation and responsible supervision for persons who cannot function without personal assistance in their daily living.

G. 

PROPRIETARY RESIDENCE FOR ADULTS

A dwelling providing room, board, recreation and housekeeping service for persons requiring such services.

AMUSEMENT FACILITY

Indoor facilities open to the public, such as a theater, cinema or video arcade, and bowling.

ANTENNA

The actual device which transmits and/or receives radio frequency signal electromagnetic waves.

ANTENNA SUPPORT STRUCTURE

Any building or structure other than a tower which can be used for location of telecommunications facilities.

APARTMENT

An individual dwelling unit that is part of a mixed-use building, located above or to the rear half of the ground floor, subject to the floor area requirements of § 120-24 or 120-34A.

APPLICANT

The person applying for any permit, certificate of occupancy, variance or other process or remedy under this chapter. The owner may authorize in writing someone else to represent him or her.

APPLICATION

The process by which the owner or authorized representative of the owner of a lot within the Village submits a request to develop, construct, build, modify or erect any structure. "Application" includes all written documentation, verbal statements and representations, in whatever form or forum, made by an applicant to the Village concerning such a request under this chapter. Applications include permits and approvals beyond those solely for a building or structure. The application must be signed by the owner before it can be considered valid.

AREA VARIANCE

The authorization by the Board of Appeals for the use of land in a manner that is not allowed by the dimensional or physical requirements of the applicable zoning regulations.

AUTO SALES

A retail operation that sells, leases or rents motor vehicles as a part of that retail operation.

AUTO SERVICE STATION

An enclosed building or lot used for the repair, and/or servicing of motor vehicles.

BANNER

Any sign made from fabric or any nonrigid material supported at two or more points.

BAR

An establishment licensed under the laws of New York State primarily for the sale of alcoholic beverages and their consumption on the lot.

BED-AND-BREAKFAST ESTABLISHMENT

A dwelling having a registered resident host in a private single-family home in which at least three and not more than five rooms are provided for overnight accommodation, the rates for which include breakfast and lodging only, and in which no public restaurant is maintained and no other commercial services are offered. The bed-and-breakfast establishment shall not have more than 10 adult occupants as lodgers.

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPs)

A practice, or a combination of practices, that are determined to be effective, practical means of preventing or reducing the amount of pollution generated by non-point sources to a level compatible with water quality goals. Guidance on current BMPs can be obtained from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Examples of BMPs include but are not limited to soil management, vegetation control, sediment/erosion control and buffer zones.

BOND, PERFORMANCE

A bond held by the municipality pending completion within established time limits of conditions agreed upon orally or in writing.

BUILDING

Any roofed structure intended for the shelter, housing or enclosure of persons, animals or personal property.

BUILDING ENVELOPE

The three-dimensional space on a zoned lot within which a structure can be built, as permitted by applicable height, setbacks and Board of Health requirements.

BUILDING HEIGHT

The vertical distance measured from the average elevation of the finished or proposed finished grade across the street frontage of the building to the highest point of a flat roof or to the mean height between the eaves and the ridge of a gable, hip or gambrel roof.

BUILDING PERMIT

Official authorization issued by the Zoning Enforcement Officer before the erecting, moving, altering, rebuilding or enlarging of any building or structure.

BUILDING, ACCESSORY

Garages, playhouses, greenhouses, tool sheds, garden sheds and other similar roofed structures, subordinate to the principal building on the same lot.

CELLULAR ACCESSORY STRUCTURE

Accessory buildings and structures, including base stations designed and used to shelter equipment and/or to support personal wireless services. The term "accessory structure" does not include offices, long-term storage of vehicles or other equipment storage, or broadcast studios. An accessory structure serves the principal use, is subordinate in area, extent and purpose to the principal use and is located on the same lot as the principal use.

CEMETERY

Land used or intended to be used for the burial of the dead and dedicated for cemetery purposes, including columbaria, mausoleums and mortuaries when operated in conjunction with and within the boundaries of such cemetery.

CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY

A document issued by the municipality certifying compliance of a building and/or property with applicable building, construction, fire prevention codes and zoning codes.

CHANGE OF USE

A change from one allowable use listed in Table 1 to another, e.g., in "professional office," a change from a real estate office to an insurance office is not a change of use, but a change from "retail business" to "restaurant" is a change of use.

CO-LOCATED ANTENNA

Telecommunications facilities that utilize existing towers, buildings or other structures for placement of antennas and do not require construction of a new communications tower.

COMMERCIAL VEHICLE

A vehicle with gross vehicle weight in excess of 9,000 pounds that is used for commercial purposes to include trucks, trailers, busses and other motorized equipment.

CONVENIENCE STORE

A retail store that carries a limited selection of household and food items and may by open for extended hours. A convenience store may sell fuel and other disposable automobile products but may not sell or service motor vehicles.

CRAFT WORKSHOP

A place where artists, artisans, craftsman and other skilled tradespeople produce custom-made art or craft products, including but not limited to baskets, cabinets, ceramics, clothing, flower arrangements, jewelry, metal work, musical instruments, paintings, pottery, sculpture, toys and weaving.

DAY-CARE CENTER

A facility which is not a dwelling unit in which care is provided on a regular basis to three or more people for more than three hours per day per person as defined in NYCRR § 418.

DAY-CARE, FAMILY

A dwelling unit which is a personal residence and occupied as a family residence which provides day care on a regular basis for more than three hours a day to three to six people, as defined in NYCRR § 417.

DAY-CARE, FAMILY GROUP

A dwelling unit which is a personal residence and occupied as a family residence which provides day care to seven to 12 people, as defined in NYCRR § 416.

DEMOLITION

The razing of any existing building, including substantial removal of structural components so at to cause an effective removal of an existing building. Demolition does not include restoration or repair of existing structural elements with in-kind materials.

DENSITY

The total number of dwelling units divided by the total number of acres within the lot.

DEVELOPABLE AREA

Area within a lot, excluding required setbacks.

DRIVE-THROUGH

An accessory to a business which provides services, utilizing a window, to a customer's vehicle. Drive-throughs are restricted to retail banks.

DRIVEWAY

An area reserved on a lot, plot, site or parcel of land for the purpose of providing vehicular access connecting off-street parking or a parking lot with a public or private street and finished and maintained with a stabilized, all-weather surface material, such as asphalt, concrete, permeable pavement, paving stone, crushed stone or gravel.

DWELLING UNIT

One or more rooms that contain lawful cooking and sanitary facilities, inhabited by one or more persons living together and maintaining a common household, in a residential building or residential portion of a building. The minimum floor area for a dwelling unit shall be 400 square feet.

DWELLING UNIT, ACCESSORY

A second dwelling unit either in or added to an existing single-family detached dwelling, or in a separate building, on the same lot as the primary dwelling.

DWELLING, MULTIPLE-FAMILY

A building or group of buildings containing three or more dwelling units on a lot. This includes condominiums, townhouses and cooperatives, and excludes apartments located over commercial uses in the Village Center, Medical and Professional and Gateway Business Districts.

DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY

A detached building, other than a mobile home or other temporary structure, containing one dwelling unit.

DWELLING, TOWNHOUSE

A one-family dwelling attached in a row of at least three such units with each home having its own front and rear access to the outside.

DWELLING, TWO-FAMILY

A detached building, other than a mobile home or other temporary structure, containing two dwelling units.

EDUCATIONAL USE

An operation whose primary use is to convey knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits to groups of people through organized instruction. An educational use can function as a public, for-profit or a not-for-profit entity and must comply with all applicable New York State Education laws.

ENGINEER

Any engineer licensed by the State of New York.

ESTIMATED CONSTRUCTION COSTS (ECC)

The average rate per square foot of new building and site improvement costs as determined by the Zoning Enforcement Officer. This cost will be determined yearly and submitted to the Village Board of Trustees.

EXCAVATION

The removal of earth products on a lot, including but not limited to sand, gravel, soil, loam and mineral products.

FACADE

Those exterior portions of a building, including walls, porches, chimneys, balconies, parapets, fenestrations and roof portions, which face a public street or right-of-way.

FAMILY

One or more persons occupying a premises and living as a single nonprofit housekeeping unit.

FARM

Any lot containing at least seven acres which is used for commercial agriculture.

FENCES AND WALLS

An artificially constructed barrier of any material or combination of materials erected to enclose or screen areas of land.

FLOODPLAIN

Any area adjacent to a water body which is subject to inundation from high water and/or wave action and at a minimum that area subject to a one-percent-or-greater chance of flooding in any given year. All areas designated as special flood hazard zones by the Federal Insurance Administration's Official Map for the Village shall be considered as floodplain areas. Further determination of the extent or existence of floodplains shall be based on the best available information, including but not limited to Flood Damage Prevention, Village of Rhinebeck Local Law No. 2-1991, the United States Army Corps of Engineers floodplain studies, the United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service studies, soils, vegetation, hydrologic and geologic data.

FLOOR AREA

The sum of the gross area of the several floors, including any full story height below grade and accessory buildings on the same lot, measured from the exterior walls.

FREESTANDING SIGN

A sign supported by uprights or braces placed upon on into the ground and detached from any building.

FRONT PLANE

The facade of a building nearest the front property line which is parallel to or at an angle of 45° or less to a public street or public right-of-way excluding porches, decks or patios.

FRONTAGE, BUILDING

The side or face of the building which is parallel to or is at an angle of 45° or less to a public street or a public parking area.

FUNERAL HOME

A building or part thereof used for human funeral services. Such building may contain space and facilities for embalming and the performance of other services used in preparation of the dead for burial; the storage of caskets, funeral urns and other related funeral supplies; or the storage of funeral vehicles, but shall not include facilities for cremation. Where a funeral home is permitted, a funeral chapel shall also be permitted.

GRADE

The natural surface of the ground or surface after the completion of any approved change in contour.

GROSS HABITABLE AREA

An area in a building used for living, sleeping, eating or cooking, not including utility, storage, and storage rooms or garages.

GROSS LEASABLE AREA

A number, in square feet, representing the entire area occupied by a building, including common areas, storage, mechanical areas and space occupied by interior structures and partitions.

HOME OCCUPATION

An occupation or profession carried on by a resident of the lot within a dwelling unit or an accessory structure that meets dwelling unit setbacks, which is clearly incidental to the residential use of the dwelling unit and does not change the character thereof. In order to be classified as a home occupation, the use in question would generally have an impact beyond that of a typical residential use, such as noise, traffic, pollution, signs and parking.

HOSPITAL

A facility or institution engaged principally in providing services by or under the supervision of a physician or for the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of human disease, pain, injury or physical condition, including a general hospital. The term "hospital" shall not include an institution, sanitarium or other facility engaged principally in providing services for the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of mental disability and which is subject to the powers of visitation, examination, inspection and investigation of the Department of Mental Hygiene, except for those distinct parts of such a facility which provide hospital service.

HOUSEHOLD

A domestic unit that may include both related and nonrelated people with shared cohabitation within the same dwelling.

KENNEL

A commercial establishment licensed to operate a facility housing dogs, cats or other household pets and/or where breeding, boarding, training or selling of animals is conducted as a business. This use is not permitted in any zoning district.

LANDSCAPING PLAN

A detailed lot plan showing the site grading, pavement areas, building footprint, landscape design, green space, trees and other plantings.

LIBRARY

A building containing printed, pictorial, digital and archival material for public use for purposes of study and reference.

LODGE or CLUB

A facility, excluding overnight lodging facilities and public restaurant facilities, used by a noncommercial, not-for-profit organization (as defined by New York State law) which has formal written membership requirements.

LODGING FACILITY

Any hotel, motel or inn providing sleeping accommodations for transient guests, with or without a dining room or restaurant, excluding room rental homes, short-term rentals, and bed-and-breakfast establishments.

LOT

A lawfully created parcel of land fronting upon a street and considered as a unit, occupied or capable of being occupied by one building or by a group of buildings united by a common use or interest.

LOT AREA

The total horizontal area included within lot lines; no part of the area within a public right-of-way may be included in the computation of lot area.

LOT COVERAGE AREA

The total ground area or footprint of all structures, expressed as a percentage of the lot area, exclusive of uncovered porches, parapets, steps and terraces.

LOT FRONTAGE

That portion of the lot abutting the street line. In the case of a lot that abuts more than one street, the Planning Board may designate either street line as the lot frontage.

LOT WIDTH

The average horizontal distance between the side lot lines.

LOT, CORNER

A lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection, and having an interior angle at the point of intersection of less than 135°.

MANUFACTURED OR MOBILE HOME

A movable or portable unit designed and constructed to be towed on its own chassis and connected to utilities. This excludes travel trailers. This use is not permitted in the Historic Overlay District, nor on lots directly adjoining said district.

MONOPOLE

A communications tower consisting of a single pole constructed without guy wires and ground anchors.

MUNICIPAL USE

Use of land, building and structures by the Town of Rhinebeck, Village of Rhinebeck and other governmental bodies.

NONCONFORMING LOT

A lot of record which does not comply with the area, shape, frontage or locational provisions of this chapter for the district in which it is located.

NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE

A structure, including buildings, which does not satisfy the dimensional requirements of this chapter for the district in which it is located, but which was not in violation of applicable requirements when constructed.

NONCONFORMING USE

Any use lawfully existing prior to the adoption of this chapter or any preceding zoning law or ordinance which does not conform with the use provisions of this chapter for the district in which it is located.

NURSING HOME

An extended or intermediate-care facility licensed by the New York State Department of Health to provide full-time convalescent or chronic care of persons with, or recuperating from, illness or incapacity, where nursing services are furnished, or for the accommodation and care of persons of advanced age.

ONE-HUNDRED-PERCENT-CLEAR ZONE

The area where, in the event of a tower failure, the entire height of the tower would fall completely within the boundaries of the property in which it is located.

OWNER

The holder of legal title as well as holders of any equitable interest, such as trust beneficiaries, contract purchasers, option holders, and lessees under leases having an unexpired term of at least 10 years.

OWNER-OCCUPANCY

Where owner-occupancy is required, the lot and dwelling unit must be the owner's legal home where the owner resides on a permanent basis for at least 260 days of the year.

PARKING LOT

An area not within a building where motor vehicles may be stored for the purposes of temporary, daily or overnight off-street parking.

PARKING REPLACEMENT COST

The parking replacement cost shall be based on the actual cost of providing a given number of parking spaces at or near the use in question. Such cost shall be based on the purchase, improvement and maintenance of suitable property.

PASTURE LAND

Land covered with grass or low plants suitable for grazing.

PERSON

Any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association, company or other legal entity, private or public, whether for profit or not for profit.

PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICES

Commercial mobile services, unlicensed wireless services, and common carrier wireless exchange access services as defined by Section 704 of the Federal Telecommunications Act.

PLANNED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

A form of development on larger parcels that permits flexibility in lot area, bulk standards, and housing types, with no increase in the total number of potential housing units, in order to permanently preserve natural areas, create park land, or protect environmentally or historically sensitive features.

PLAYGROUND

An open space dedicated to the use of children's play equipment, such as slides, swings or play facilities.

PROFESSIONAL OFFICE

Offices and related spaces for provision of services by medical practitioners, attorneys, architects, engineers, brokers and similar professions.

PROPAGATION STUDY

A study which demonstrates the existing signal coverage and the signal coverage resulting from the proposed communications facility.

RECREATION AREA, ACTIVE

A defined area reserved for and specifically designed to accommodate outdoor sports and activities.

RECREATION AREA, PASSIVE

A defined area reserved for and specifically designed to accommodate uses such as, but not limited to, recreation trails or paths and picnic areas.

RECREATIONAL BUSINESS

A facility operated as a business and open to the public, with facilities for uses such as tennis, horseback riding, swimming, golf, miniature golf, driving ranges and open-air live theater.

RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION

A tax-exempt organization that regularly conducts religious worship or related activity.

RESTAURANT

A retail business (excluding drive-through food establishments) where food and beverages are sold to customers for consumption at a table or counter, or on a patio, or off the premises as carry-out orders.

RETAIL BUSINESS

Any establishment selling goods to the general public for personal and household consumption, including restaurants and bars, and excluding all other uses that are separately defined herein.

ROOM RENTAL HOME

A dwelling having a registered resident host in the primary dwelling of a private single-family or two-family home in which at least one and not more than two rooms are provided for overnight accommodation, the rates for which include breakfast and lodging only, and in which no public restaurant is maintained. The room rental home shall not have more than four adult occupants as lodgers.

SERVICE BUSINESS

Any business or nonprofit that provides services to the public, including barbershops, dry cleaners, appliance repair, building trades and banks, and excluding all other uses that are separately defined herein.

SETBACK

The horizontal distance from the property line, measured at right angles as set forth in Table 2.

SIGN

Any material, structure or device, including awnings or umbrellas, composed of letters, pictures or symbols designed or used for the purpose of attracting, or which does attract, the attention of the public to the subject matter thereof and located out-of-doors, on the exterior of a building, or inside the building within two feet of the window or in a manner to be viewed primarily by passersby. Any distinct striping, lighting, corporate color schemes and other graphic design intended to serve as an attraction or to call attention to the site will be defined as a "sign."

SIGN, ABANDONED

Any sign associated with a building which becomes vacant and remains unoccupied; or which pertains to a time, event or purpose that no longer applies; or which remains in place that no longer advertises a bona fide business or activity; or which pertains to a product or service other than the one offered on such lot, shall be deemed to have been abandoned after a period of three months or more.

SIGN, ANIMATED

Any sign manifesting kinetic or illusory motion caused by natural, mechanical, manual, electrical or other means.

SIGN, BILLBOARD

See "sign, off-premises," below.

SIGN, DIRECTORY

Any sign containing multiple names located at a shopping plaza or building used to identify multiple businesses or professional offices that are located on site.

SIGN, INTERNALLY ILLUMINATED

Signs wherein a translucent or opaque material which forms the sign is back-lit by the light source and the light is enclosed from direct view.

SIGN, NONCONFORMING

Any sign that is not in compliance with this chapter from the date of original enactment, or from any future date on which this chapter may be amended.

SIGN, OFF-PREMISES

Any sign which advertises an establishment, products, services or entertainment not present, sold or distributed on the lot where the sign is located.

SIGN, PORTABLE

Any sign, whether on its own trailer, wheels or otherwise, designed to be movable and not structurally attached to the ground, a building, structure or other sign, including A-frame easel, and sandwich-board-style signs.

SIGN, ROOF

Any sign mounted over or on the roof or parapet of a building.

SIGN, SELF-ILLUMINATED

Any sign wherein the light source itself is shaped and utilized to form the sign (e.g., neon or an array of individual lamps).

STEALTH

Any tower or telecommunications facility which is designed to enhance compatibility with adjacent land uses, including but not limited to architecturally screened roof-mounted antennas, antennas integrated into architectural elements, towers designed to look other than like a tower, such as light poles, power poles and trees. The term "stealth" does not necessarily exclude the use of uncamouflaged lattice or monopole tower designs.

STREET

Any approved public or private way, which may include a sidewalk, street, avenue or road.

STRUCTURE

Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires location on the ground or attachment to something having location on the ground. Structures shall include, among other things, buildings, decks, sheds, fences, storage bins, reviewing and display stands, platforms, towers, swimming pools, tennis courts, gasoline pumps, canopies, playhouses, greenhouses, gazebos, pergolas, toolsheds and garden sheds. Sidewalks, ground-level parking lots, driveways and patios are not structures.

STRUCTURE, ACCESSORY

A structure subordinate or supplemental to the main building on the same lot.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES

Any cables, wires, lines, wave guides, antennas and any other equipment or facilities associated with the transmission or reception of communications which a person seeks to locate or has installed upon or near a tower or antenna support structure. However, telecommunications facilities shall not include any satellite earth station antenna one meter in diameter or less which is located in the Village Center or Gateway Business Districts or any satellite earth station antenna one meter or less.

TOWER

A structure which supports telecommunications facilities, whether a self-supporting lattice or monopole structure constructed from grade as a freestanding structure or a guyed tower or any other structure erected in connection with a building or other permanent structure or equipment capable of containing or intended for the use of one or more antennas for transmitting and/or receiving radio, television, digital, telephone, cellular, microwave or other similar electronic communications. The term "tower" shall not include amateur radio operators' equipment, as licensed by the FCC, and as exempted in § 120-20L of this chapter.

TOWER, GUYED

A communications tower constructed with guy wires and ground anchors.

TOWER, SELF-SUPPORTED

A communications tower, other than a monopole, that is constructed without guy wires and ground anchors.

USE VARIANCE

The authorization by the Board of Appeals for the use of land for a purpose which is otherwise not allowed or is prohibited by the applicable zoning regulations.

VETERINARIAN'S OFFICE

An establishment for the medical and/or surgical care of sick or injured animals, including facilities for their temporary occupancy and, when operated by a licensed veterinarian, for their cremation. Outdoor facilities for boarding and cremation are not permitted. Use of a veterinarian's office for retail purposes is prohibited, except for those items either prescribed by a doctor of veterinarian medicine or those items necessary for the treatment of animal health problems.

YARD

The area between the lot lines and the required setbacks. A yard shall be unobstructed except for elements permitted by this chapter.

ZONING PERMIT

A permit issued by the Zoning Enforcement Officer in accordance with Article XV of this chapter, either in conjunction with a building permit or on its own before the commencement of any activity as governed under this chapter.

Amended 11-12-2019 by L.L. No. 4-2019