§ 8119-1.5.6. Front Yard.

a.

Location. A Front Yard is an allowed frontage type for a Courtyard, Small Apartment Building, Triplex/Quadplex , and Single-Family and Duplex Building types in the R/MU and RES zones; and an optional frontage type for the Industrial Building in the IND zone.

b.

Description. The Front Yard is the area between the building façade and the property line. Front yards may be unique to the property or designed in a manner that is similar to adjacent front yards. Front yards are frequently defined by solid or see-through fences, walls or hedges.

On sloping sites, front yards may be raised above the level of the adjoining sidewalk and supported by a low retaining wall at the property line with steps providing access from the sidewalk through the front yard to the building entry. Porches, stoops, balconies, and awnings may encroach into front yard setbacks. (See Sec. 8119-1.3.2(e), Sec. 8119-1.3.3(e) and Sec. 8119-1.3.4(e) for allowed building encroachments in the R/MU, RES and IND zones.)

c.

Design Standards.

1.

Front Yards shall be located on the lot and dimensioned per the zone standards.

2.

Front yards shall be landscaped. Paved areas shall be limited to walks and driveways where present.

3.

For residential buildings in the Residential (RES) and Residential/Mixed Use (R/MU) zone, Front Yards shall be used in conjunction with a Porch or Stoop frontage type (with the exception of a Side Street Frontage ).

4.

At corner lots, both Primary and Side Streets frontages shall be treated as Front Yards.

TABLE 1.5.6. FRONT YARD STANDARDS
Front Yard diagram: Building setback can be small or large depending on the building types and zone.
STANDARDS		MIN.	MAX.
a	Size of Front Yard	Per building setbacks in applicable zone
b	Allowed encroachments into building setbacks	Porch, stoop, awnings, balconies
c	Wall or fence height	—	3 ft. (solid); 5 ft. (see-through)
d	Height of Front Yard above adjoining sidewalk	0 ft.	3 ft.
e	Distance from property line to front yard fence	12 in.	—

 

[1] For other applicable requirements for Fences, Walls and Hedges, see Sec. 8119-1.8.3

Front Yard Example—Landscaping with paving limited to walkways.

Front Yard diagram with an optional low fence.

Front Yard Example—A front yard enclosed by a fence.

5.

Garden walls along the property line are allowed subject to the applicable requirements for Fences, Walls and Hedges for height and materials, see Sec. 8119-1.8.3. For additional details, see Sec. 8106-8.1.

6.

Discretionary development with landscaping shall have a minimum of 80 percent of the front yard area as soft or hard landscaping.

(Ord. No. 4479, § 8(App. B), 9-22-2015)