§ V. General provisions.

1.

Use of building or land: Except as hereinafter provided, no building or land shall hereinafter be used or occupied and no building or part thereof shall be erected, moved, or altered unless in conformity with the regulations herein specified for the district in which it is located.

2.

Size and location of building: Except as hereinafter provided, no building shall hereafter be erected or altered:

A.

To accommodate or house a greater number of families.

B.

To exceed the height.

C.

To occupy a greater percentage of lot area.

D.

To have narrower or smaller rear yards, front yards, side yards, inner or outer courts than is specified herein for the district in which such building is located.

3.

Yard area: No part of a yard or other open space required about any building for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this Ordinance shall be included as a part of a yard or other open space similarly required for another building.

4.

One main building to a lot: Every building or structure hereinafter erected shall be located on a lot of record and in no case shall there be more than one (1) main building on one (1) lot except in the cases of a main institutional building, a public or semi-public building, a commercial or industrial building, or a caretaker or watchman's residence, or a separate commercial and a residential use or uses located on an A-2 zoned lot, which may be located upon a lot or tract, provided no such building or portion thereof is located outside of the buildable area of the lot or tract.

Editor's note— Paragraph 4. of section V appears as amended by section 2 of Ordinance Number 145, adopted March 10, 1976.

5.

Vacation of streets and public ways: Whenever any street, alley or other public way is vacated by official action of the governing body of the Parish of Plaquemines, the zoning district adjoining each side of such street, alley or public way shall automatically extend to the center of same and all area included therein shall then become subject to all appropriate regulations of the extended districts.

6.

Open parking lots:

A.

Open parking lots when located in A-1 Rural, A-2 Rural, R-1A, R-1B, R-1C Single Family or R-2 Two Family Residential Zoning Districts for the storage of self-propelled transient passenger vehicles as an adjunct to the operations of a business or industrial establishment located in a medical, commercial, or industrially zoned district only when established under all of the following conditions and standards:

Editor's note— Subparagraph A. of paragraph 6. of Section V appears as amended by Ord. No. 03-79, § 1, adopted May 22, 2003.

(1)

The property or consolidation of properties to be used for a parking lot under the provisions of this Section must be located within the square or tract of land containing both the principal use to which the parking lot is an adjunct and the medical, commercial or industrial district in which it (the principal use) is located. The property or consolidation of properties to be used for parking lots under the provisions of this Section must have a front or side on at least one boundary of a medical, commercial, or industrial district and must have a frontage upon a street that contains either medical, commercial, or industrially zoned frontage. Property petitioned for a parking lot under the provisions of this Section and separated from the medical, commercial or industrial district only by an alley or servitude shall be considered contiguous to such medical, commercial or industrial district for the purposes of this Section.

(2)

Such parking lots must be accessible to and must front upon a public street for a distance as required to assure safe traffic conditions but in no event shall the frontage be less than sixty (60) feet on the same street for both egress and ingress. In the event the parking lot provides an entrance only on one street with an exit elsewhere on the same street, or an exit on another street or streets, this minimum of sixty (60) feet frontage may be reduced to thirty (30) feet. Under no conditions shall the backing up of vehicles be permitted as a means of egress from a parking lot regardless of frontage.

(3)

A site development plan prepared by the owner or his authorized agent containing the standards set forth herein and showing existing conditions and measurements shall be submitted to the Zoning Administrator as part of the application for building permit.

Editor's note— Subparagraph (3) of paragraph A. of subsection 6 of Section V appears as amended by section III of Ordinance Number 169, adopted August 31, 1977.

(4)

Such parking lots shall not in whole or in part substitute for off-street parking area or spaces required by this Ordinance in any instances of any new construction or additions.

(5)

Such parking lots shall be used only for vehicular parking with no repair work, servicing work, greasing, washing, sale or dispensing of merchandise of any kind being permitted within the parking lot.

(6)

No fee shall be charged for parking.

(7)

The operator or operators of such parking lots shall be responsible for the orderly closing and vacating of the parking lot simultaneously with the occupancy that it serves and in no event shall this hour be later than 11:30 p.m. nor shall the parking lot be reopened before 7:00 a.m. of the following morning.

B.

No permit issued under the provisions of this Section shall be valid until and unless the petitioner has complied with the following standards of development:

(1)

A front yard at least twenty (20) feet in depth and on corner lots a side yard on the street side not less than five (5) feet in width shall be provided and not used for parking purposes; however, where no ingress or egress is proposed along an entire street frontage of the parking lot, no front or side yard area (as applicable) is required.

(2)

Where ingress or egress is proposed, the required front or side yard shall be separated from the parking area or parking spaces by a dense shrubbery planting substantially concealing the parking lot and at least five (5) feet in height; or as an alternative, a solid masonry wall or nontransparent wood treated fence not less than four (4) feet nor more than seven (7) feet in height. Whenever the parking lot adjoins a vacant or developed property residentially zoned, a continuous solid masonry wall or nontransparent wood treated fence not less than five (5) feet in height nor more than seven (7) feet in height shall be constructed on the side and/or rear property lines of the parking lot. Required plantings and walls shall be maintained in good condition.

Editor's note— Subparagraph (2) of paragraph B. of subsection 6 of section V appears as amended by section IV of Ordinance Number 169, adopted August 31, 1977.

(3)

Required front and side yards shall be planted with grasses, shrubs or trees; planting must be maintained in a manner not obstructing sight distance for vehicles entering or leaving the parking lot.

(4)

Parking lots shall be connected with a street by a driveway or driveways maintained in good condition. The driveway shall be twelve (12) feet wide for one-way traffic and twenty-five (25) feet wide for two-way traffic. Where more than one driveway cuts a front or side lot line an intervening space of not less than thirty (30) feet shall be provided.

In all instances where traffic exists across sidewalk areas where an unobstructed 20-foot setback is not provided, there shall be required a traffic speed retarding device meeting approved standards of the Traffic Engineering Department.

Editor's note— Subparagraph (4) of paragraph B. of subsection 6 of section V appears as amended by section VI of Ordinance Number 169, adopted August 31, 1977. In such amendatory ordinance, such subparagraph was referred to as subsection (5); however, section V of such amendatory ordinance had renumbered the subparagraphs so as to redesignate the former subsection (5) as subsection (4) (See the editor's note following subsection (7) for further details), and it is clear from the context that the council intended to amend what was renumbered as (4).

(5)

Adequate lighting shall be provided if premises are operated after sundown and shall be so arranged or reflected away from residential areas as to cause no annoying glare to adjacent residential properties.

(6)

On-site drainage shall be provided in such a manner that surface rainwater will not be allowed to flow across any sidewalks adjoining the property proposed for conditional off-street parking.

(7)

All parish Permits, Building and Subdivision requirements shall have been met prior to the commencement of any improvements or building.

Editor's note

Subparagraphs (4) through (7) of paragraph B. of subsection 6 of section V were redesignated as such by section V of Ordinance Number 169, adopted August 31, 1977. Formerly they were subsections (5) through (8) respectively; they were redesignated as such amendatory section also repealed the subparagraph formerly designated as (4).