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(a) General Interpretation.

(1) Words used in the present tense include the future tense.

(2) The singular number includes the plural.

(3) The word “person” includes a corporation as well as an individual.

(4) The word “lot” includes the word “plot” or “parcel.”

(5) The term “shall” is always mandatory.

(6) The word “used” or “occupied” as applied to any land or building shall be construed to include the words “intended,” “arranged” or “designed to be used or occupied.”

(b) Specific Definitions.
“Accessory building” means a detached building or structure, the use of which is appropriate, subordinate, and customarily incidental to that of the main building or to the main use of the land and which is located on the same lot as the main building or use, except as allowed by a conditional use permit. An accessory building shall be considered to be a part of the main building when joined to the main building by a common wall or when any accessory building and the main building are connected by a breezeway.

“Accessory use” means a use customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the land, building, or structure and located on the same lot or parcel of land.

“Administrative official” means the person charged with the administration and enforcement of this chapter.

“Agricultural building” means a building or structure used to shelter farm implements, hay, grain, poultry, livestock, or other farm produce, in which there is no human habitation and which is not used by the public.

“Agriculture” means the science, art, and business of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock; farming.

“Airport” means a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport. An airport consists of at least one (1) surface such as a paved or gravel runway, a helicopter touchdown and lift off (TLOF) area, helipad, or water runway for aircraft takeoffs and landings, and often includes buildings such as control towers, hangars and terminal buildings.

“Airport compatible uses” means uses which include, but are not limited to: hangars, fixed base operators, aircraft repair and manufacturing, aircraft sales, and other uses approved by the ordinance of the City of Kenai, and the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulations, and compatible with the current airport master plan, the airport layout plan and the comprehensive plan.

“Alley” means a public way designed and intended to provide only a secondary means of access to any property abutting thereon.

“Alteration” means any change, addition, or modification in construction, location, or use classification.

“Animal boarding” means any building or structure and associated premises in which animals are fed, housed, and/or exercised for commercial gain.

Apartment House. See “Dwelling, multiple-family.”

“Area, building” means the total of areas taken on a horizontal plane at the main grade level of the principal building and all accessory buildings, exclusive of steps.

“Assemblage” means a large gathering of people for an event such as a concert, fair, or circus.

“Assisted living” means a living arrangement in which people with special needs, especially seniors with disabilities, reside in a facility that provides help with everyday tasks such as bathing, dressing, and taking medication.

“Automobile sales” means the use of any building or structure and associated premises for the display and sale of new or used automobiles, panel trucks or vans, trailers, or recreation vehicles and including any warranty repair work and other repair service conducted as an accessory use.

“Automobile service station” means the use of any building or structure and associated premises or other space used primarily for the retail sale and dispensing of motor fuels, tires, batteries, and other small accessories; the installation and servicing of such lubricants, tires, batteries, and other small accessories; and such other services which do not customarily or usually require the services of a qualified automotive mechanic.

“Automobile wrecking” means the dismantling of used motor vehicles or trailers or the storage or sale of parts from dismantled or partially dismantled, obsolete, or wrecked vehicles.

“Automotive repair” means the use of any building or structure and associated premises on which a business, service, or industry involving the maintenance, servicing, repair, or painting of vehicles is conducted or rendered.

“Bank” means any establishment or building or structure used for a financial institution that provides financial services for its clients or members. The term “bank” includes savings and loan.

“Bed and breakfast” means a residential, owner-occupied dwelling in which rooms are rented to paying guests on an overnight basis with no more than one (1) meal served daily.

“Boarding house” means a dwelling where the principal use is a dwelling by the owner or keeper and where the owner or keeper provides lodging for three (3) or more persons who are not members of the owner’s or keeper’s family and the lodgers pay compensation to use one (1) or more rooms. The common parts of the building or structure are maintained by the owner or keeper who may also provide lodgers with some services, such as meals, laundry, and cleaning. Boarding houses are not motels or hotels and are not open to transient guests.

“Building” means any structure built for the support, shelter, or enclosure of persons, animals, or property of any kind.

“Building code” means the building code and/or other building regulations applicable in the City.

“Building, existing” means a building erected prior to the adoption of the ordinance codified in this chapter or one for which a legal building permit has been issued.

“Building height” means the vertical distance from the “grade,” as defined herein, to the highest point of the roof.

“Building, principal or main” means a building or structure in which is conducted the principal or main use on the lot which said building is situated.

“Business/consumer services” means the provision of services to others on a fee or contract basis, such as advertising and mailing; building maintenance; employment service; management and consulting services; protective services; equipment rental and leasing; commercial research; development and testing; photo finishing; and personal supply services.

“Cabin rentals” means the renting out of one (1) or more individual, detached dwelling units or buildings to provide overnight sleeping accommodations for a period of less than thirty (30) consecutive days.

“Cemetery” means any property used to inter the dead in buried graves or in columbarium, stacked vaults, or similar structures.

“Centerline” means the line which is in the center of a public right-of-way.

“Church” means a building or structure in which persons regularly assemble for worship, ceremonies, rituals, and education pertaining to a particular system of beliefs. The term “church” includes a synagogue or temple.

“City” means the City of Kenai, Alaska.

“Clinic” (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) means a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded, and typically cover the primary health care needs of populations in local communities, in contrast to larger hospitals which offer specialized treatments and admit inpatients for overnight stays.

“Collector street” means a street located and designed for the primary purpose of carrying through traffic and of connecting major areas of the City. Unless otherwise designated by the Commission, collector street shall be defined on the plan for streets and community facilities in the comprehensive development plan.

“College” means an educational institution providing postsecondary (after high school) education.

“Commercial kennel” has the same meaning given in KMC 3.05.010.

“Commercial marijuana establishment” means any retail marijuana store, excluding on-site consumption endorsements, marijuana cultivation facility, marijuana product manufacturing facility, and marijuana testing facility.

“Commercial recreation” means a recreation facility operated as a business and open to the public for a fee.

“Commission” means the Kenai Planning and Zoning Commission.

“Communication antenna” has the same meaning given in KMC 14.20.255.

“Communication tower” has the same meaning given in KMC 14.20.255.

“Conditional use” means a use which is permitted under the terms of this chapter; provided, that under the specified procedures, the Commission finds that certain conditions specified in this chapter are fulfilled. Conditional uses are listed in the Land Use Table.

“Condominium” means a common interest ownership dwelling in which:

(1) Portions of the real estate are designated for separate ownership;

(2) The remainder of the real estate is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions;

(3) The undivided interests in the common elements are vested in the unit owners. In the Land Use Table (KMC 14.22.010), “condominiums” shall be treated as two (2) or more family dwellings. For example, a four (4) unit condominium building would be treated as a four (4) family dwelling.

“Coverage” means that percentage of the total lot area covered by the building area.

“Crematory/funeral home” means building or structure used for preparation of the deceased for display and/or interment and may also be used for ceremonies connected with interment. Preparation may include cremation, which is the process of reducing dead bodies to basic chemical compounds in the form of gases and bone fragments. This is accomplished through burning—high temperatures, vaporization, and oxidation.

“Day care center” means an establishment where child care is regularly provided for children for periods of less than twenty-four (24) hours, including the building housing the facility and adjoining areas, and where tuition, fees, or other compensation for the care of the children is charged.

“Dormitory” means a building, whether public or private, associated with a school, college or university and designed, used, and arranged for private sleeping, studying, and living accommodation for students.

“Dwelling” means a building or any portion thereof designed or used exclusively for residential occupancy including one-family, two-family and multiple-family dwellings, but not including any other building wherein human beings may be housed.

“Dwelling, multiple-family” means any building containing three (3) or more dwelling units.

“Dwelling, one-family” means any detached building containing only one (1) dwelling unit.

“Dwelling, two-family” means any building containing only two (2) dwelling units.

“Dwelling unit” means one (1) or more rooms and a single kitchen in a dwelling designed as a unit for occupancy by not more than one (1) family for living or sleeping purposes.

“Elementary school” means any school usually consisting of grades pre-kindergarten through grade six (6) or any combination of grades within this range.

“Essential service” means the erection, construction, alteration, or maintenance by public utility companies or municipal departments or commissions, of underground or overhead gas, electrical, steam, or water transmission or distribution systems, collection, communication, supply, or disposal systems, including poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm boxes, traffic signals, hydrants, and other similar equipment and accessories in connection therewith. This definition shall not be interpreted to include public buildings.

“Family” means any number of individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling unit.

“Farming” means a tract of land cultivated for the purpose of commercial agricultural production.

“Fence, height” means the vertical distance between the ground directly under the fence and the highest point of the fence.

“Floor area” means the total of each floor of a building within the surrounding outer walls but excluding vent shafts and courts.

“Fraternal organization” means a group of people formally organized for a common object, purpose, or interest (usually cultural, religious or entertainment) that conducts regular meetings and has written membership requirements.

“Frontage” means all the property fronting on one (1) side of a street between intersection streets.

“Garage, private” means an accessory building or any portion of a main building used in connection with residential purposes for the storage of passenger motor vehicles.

“Garage, public” means any garage other than a private garage, available to the public, operated for gain, and which is used for storage, repair, rental, greasing, washing, servicing, adjusting, or equipping of automobiles or other vehicles.

“Gas manufacturer/storage” means the surface use of lands used in the production, the mechanical transformation, or the chemical transformation of hydrocarbon gas and includes uses for gas conditioning/compressor stations. “Storage” means surface uses necessary for storage of produced or nonnative natural gas.

“Governmental building” means a building or structure owned and operated by any department, commission, or agency of the United States or of a state or municipality and used to conduct official business of government.

“Grade (ground level)” means the average level of the finished ground at the center of all walls to a building. In case walls are parallel to and within five (5) feet of a public sidewalk, the ground level shall be measured at the sidewalk.

“Greenhouse” means a building or structure, usually a glassed or clear plastic enclosure, used for the cultivation and protection of plants.

“Guest room” means any room in a hotel, dormitory, boarding, or lodging house used and maintained to provide sleeping accommodations for one (1) or more persons.

“Guide service” means any activity on any premises used for collecting or returning persons from recreational trips when remuneration is provided for the service.

“Gunsmith” means a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms.

“High school” means a secondary school usually consisting of grades nine (9) through twelve (12) or any appropriate combination of grades within this range.

“Home occupation” means an accessory use carried out for remuneration by a resident in the resident’s dwelling unit.

“Hospital” means an institution that provides medical, surgical, or psychiatric care and treatment for the sick or the injured.

“Hotel” means a building or group of buildings containing more than five (5) guest rooms used for the purpose of offering public lodging on a day-to-day basis with or without meals.

“Junkyard” means any space one hundred (100) square feet or more of any lot or parcel of land used for the storage, keeping, or abandonment of junk or waste material, including scrap metals or other scrap materials, or for the dismantling, demolition, or abandonment of automobiles, other vehicles, machinery, or any parts thereof.

“Library” means a collection of sources, resources, and services, and the structure in which it is housed; it is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual.

“Licensed premises for commercial marijuana establishment” means any and all designated portions of a building or structure, or rooms or enclosures in the building or structure, at the specific address for which a commercial marijuana establishment license is issued, and used, controlled, or operated by the commercial marijuana establishment to carry out the business for which it licensed.

“Loading space” means an off-street space or berth on the same lot with a building or structure to be used for the temporary parking of commercial vehicles while loading or unloading merchandise or materials.

“Lodge” means a building or group of buildings containing five (5) or fewer guest rooms used for the purpose of offering public lodging on a day-to-day basis with or without meals.

“Lot” means a parcel of land occupied or to be occupied by a principal use and having frontage on a public street.

“Lot, corner” means a lot situated at the junction of, and bordering on, two (2) intersecting streets, two (2) platted rights-of-way, two (2) government easements, or any combination thereof.

“Lot coverage” means that portion of the lot covered by buildings or structures that require a building permit.

“Lot depth” means the horizontal distance separating the front and rear lot lines of a lot and at right angles to its width.

“Lot line, front—corner lot” means the shortest street line of a corner lot.

“Lot line, front—interior lot” means a line separating the lot from the street.

“Lot line, rear” means a line that is opposite and most distant from the front lot line, and in the case of irregular, triangular, or gore shaped lot, a line not less than ten (10) feet in length, within a lot, parallel to and at the maximum distance from the front lot line.

“Lot line, side” means any lot boundary line not a front lot line or a rear lot line.

“Lot width” means the mean horizontal distance separating the side lot lines of a lot and at right angles to its depth.

“Manufactured housing” means a dwelling unit that meets Department of Housing and Urban Development standards for manufactured housing and is wider than sixteen (16) feet, has a roof pitch of 4:12 or greater with roofing and siding common to standard residential construction and is transported to the site and placed on a permanent foundation.

“Manufacturing/fabricating/assembly” means the mechanical or chemical transformation of materials or substances into new products including assembling of component parts, the manufacturing of products, and the blending of materials such as lubricating oils, plastics, resins or liquors.

“Marijuana” means all parts of the plant of the genus Cannabis, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof, the resin extracted from any part of the plant, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or its resin, including marijuana concentrate. The term does not include fiber produced from the stalks, oil, or cake made from the seeds of the plant, sterilized seed of the plant which is incapable of germination, or the weight of any other ingredient combined with marijuana to prepare topical or oral administrations, food, drink, or other products.

“Marijuana concentrate” means resin, oil, wax, or any other substance derived from the marijuana plant by any method which isolates the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) bearing resins of the plant.

“Marijuana cultivation facility” means any entity with a State license registered to cultivate, prepare, and package marijuana and to sell marijuana to marijuana retail facilities, marijuana products manufacturing facilities, marijuana testing facilities, but not to consumers.

“Marijuana cultivation facility, limited” means an entity registered to cultivate in an area of five hundred (500) square feet or less of cultivation, prepare, and package marijuana and to sell marijuana to retail marijuana stores, to marijuana product manufacturing facilities, and to other marijuana cultivation facilities, but not to consumers.

“Marijuana cultivation facility, standard” means an entity registered to cultivate in an area greater than five hundred (500) square feet under cultivation, prepare, and package marijuana and to sell marijuana to retail marijuana stores, to marijuana product manufacturing facilities, and to other marijuana cultivation facilities, but not to consumers.

“Marijuana product manufacturing facility” means a State-licensed fully enclosed secure indoor facility registered to purchase marijuana, manufacture, prepare and package marijuana products, and sell marijuana and marijuana products to other marijuana product manufacturing facilities and to retail marijuana stores, but not to consumers.

“Marijuana products” means concentrated marijuana and marijuana products that are comprised of marijuana and other ingredients and are intended for use or consumption, such as, but not limited to, edible products, ointments, and tinctures.

“Marijuana testing facility” means a State-licensed commercial marijuana testing facility that is registered to analyze and certify the safety and potency of marijuana and marijuana products.

“Mini-storage facility” means a completely enclosed structure containing three (3) or more areas or rooms available for lease or rent for the purpose of the general storage of household goods, vehicles or personal property; where the lessee of the unit is provided direct access to deposit or store items and where vehicles do not fill the majority of the allowed storage space.

“Mobile home” means a structure, which is built on a permanent chassis in accordance with Department of Housing and Urban Development Standards and designed to be used as a dwelling unit, with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. A mobile home is subject to all regulations applying thereto, whether or not wheels, axles, hitch or other appurtenances of mobility are removed and regardless of the nature of the foundation provided.

“Mobile home park” means a site with required improvements and utilities for the long-term parking of mobile homes which may include services and facilities for the residents.

“Modular home” means a dwelling constructed in modules or sections at a place other than the building site, built to conform to KMC Title 4, is transported to the site and then assembled and placed on a permanent foundation.

“Motel” means a group of one (1) or more detached or semi-detached buildings containing two (2) or more individual dwelling units and/or guest rooms designed for, or used temporarily by, automobile tourists or transients, with a garage attached or parking space conveniently located to each unit, including groups designated as auto courts, motor lodges, or tourist courts.

“Museum” means a building or structure that houses and cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary.

“Necessary aviation facilities” means any air navigation facility, airport visual approach aid, airfield lighting and signage, meteorological device or any type of device approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the location and height of which is fixed by its functional purpose.

“Nonconforming lot” means a lot lawfully existing at the time this chapter became effective, which by reason of area or dimensions, does not meet the development requirements for the zone in which it is located.

“Nonconforming structure” means a structure or portion thereof, lawfully existing at the time this chapter became effective, which by reason of its yards, coverage, height, or other aspects of design, does not meet the development requirements of this zone.

“Nonconforming use” means a use of a structure or land, or of a structure and land in combination, lawfully existing at the time this chapter became effective, or established on the premises of a previous nonconforming use as specified in this chapter, which is not in conformity with the uses permitted in the zone in which it exists.

“Nursing, convalescent or rest home” means a building or structure used as a residence for people who require constant nursing care and/or have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living.

“Office” means a room or group of rooms used for conducting the affairs of a business, profession, service, industry, or government.

“On-site consumption endorsement” means the State-regulated consumption of certain marijuana products at or adjacent to a retail marijuana store by patrons of the commercial marijuana establishment.

“Park” means a tract of land, designated by a public entity for the enjoyment of the public and generally used for active and passive recreational activities.

“Parking, public lots” means a parking area available to the public, whether or not a fee for use is charged.

“Parking space, private” means any automobile parking space, excluding garages, not less than nine (9) feet wide and one hundred eighty (180) square feet in total area.

“Parking space, public” means an area of not less than one hundred eighty (180) square feet exclusive of drives or aisles giving access thereto in area accessible from streets and alleys for the storage of passenger motor vehicles operated by individual drivers.

“Person” means a natural person, his or her heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, and also including firm, partnership, or corporation, or their successors and/or assigns or the agent of any of the aforesaid.

“Personal services” mean establishments engaged in providing services involving the care of a person or his or her apparel.

“Planned unit residential development” means an alternative method of development of a residential neighborhood under more flexible conditions than otherwise required in a specific zoning district.

“Principal use” means the major or predominant use of a lot or parcel of land.

“Profession” means an occupation or calling requiring the practice of a learned art through specialized knowledge based on a degree issued by an institution of high learning, e.g., Doctor of Medicine.

“Property owner” means the owner shown on the latest tax assessment roll.

“Public” means a place to which the public or a substantial group of persons has access and includes highway, rivers, lakes, transportation facilities, schools, places of amusement or business, parks, playgrounds, prisons, hallways, lobbies and other parts of apartment houses and hotels not constituting rooms or apartments designed for actual residence.

“Recreation” means leisure activities sometimes requiring equipment and taking place at prescribed places, sites, parks, or fields. It can include active recreation, such as structured individual or team activities requiring the use of special facilities, courses, fields or equipment or passive recreation, such as activities that do not require prepared facilities such as wildlife and bird viewing, observing and photographing nature, picnicking, and walking.

“Recreational vehicle” means a vehicular-type unit, primarily designed as temporary living quarters for recreational camping, or travel use, which either has its own motor power or is mounted on or drawn by another vehicle. Recreational vehicles include, but are not limited to, travel trailers, camping trailers, truck campers, and motor homes.

“Recreational vehicle park” means an area established by a conditional use permit for the parking of two (2) or more recreational vehicles on a temporary basis.

“Recreation or youth center” means a building, structure, athletic playing field, or playground, run or created by a local government or the State to provide athletic, recreational, or leisure activities for minors, or operated by a public or private organization, licensed to provide shelter, training, or guidance for persons under twenty-one (21) years of age.

“Restaurant” means an establishment where food and drink is prepared, served, and consumed primarily within the principal building.

“Retail business” means establishments engaged in selling goods or merchandise to the general public for business or personal/household consumption and rendering services incidental to the sale of such goods.

“Retail marijuana store” means a State-licensed entity registered to purchase marijuana from a marijuana cultivation facility, to purchase marijuana and marijuana products from a marijuana manufacturing facility, and sell marijuana and marijuana products to consumers.

“Secondary use” means a use allowed on a lot or parcel of land only if there is also an allowed principal use on the property.

“Sign” means any words, letters, parts of letters, figures, numerals, phrases, sentences, emblems, devices, trade names, or trademarks by which anything is made known, such as are used to designate an individual, firm, association, corporation, profession, business, or a commodity or product, which are visible from any public street or highway and used to attract attention.

“Square feet under cultivation” means an area of the licensed premises of a standard or limited cultivation facility that is used for growing marijuana, measured on the perimeter of the floor or growing space for marijuana. “Square feet under cultivation” does not include hallways, equipment storage areas, or other areas within the licensed premises that are not used for growing marijuana such as an office, or a processing or storage area.

“State highway” means a right-of-way classified by the State of Alaska as a primary or secondary highway.

“Storage yard” means a lot used primarily for the storage of operational vehicles, construction equipment, construction materials or other tangible materials and equipment.

“Street” means a public right-of-way used as a thoroughfare and which is designed and intended to provide the primary means of access to property abutting thereon.

“Structure” means that which is built or constructed, an edifice or a building of any kind, composed of parts joined together in some definite manner.

“Subsurface extraction of natural resources” means removing valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or (coal) seam. Materials recovered could include gas, oil, base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock salt and potash.

“Surface extraction of natural resources” means removal of material, usually soil, gravel, or sand for use at another location.

“Taxidermy” means the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals, fish, and/or birds for display.

“Theater” means a building or structure, or part thereof, devoted to the indoor exhibition of motion pictures and/or of live dramatic, speaking, musical, or other presentations.

“Townhouse” means single-family dwelling units constructed in a series or group of two (2) or more units separated from an adjoining unit by an approved party wall or walls, extending from the basement of either floor to the roof along the linking lot line.

“Tree nursery” means a place where trees/plants are propagated and grown to usable size.

“Use” means the purpose for which land or a building is arranged, designed, or intended, or for which either land or a building is or may be occupied or maintained.

“Variance” means the relaxation of the development requirements of this chapter to provide relief when the literal enforcement would deprive a property owner of the reasonable use of his or her real property.

“Warehouse” means a building or structure used for the storage of goods, wares and merchandise that will be processed, sold or otherwise disposed of off of the premises.

“Wholesale business” means business conducted primarily for the purpose of selling wares or merchandise in wholesale lots to retail merchants for resale.

“Yard” means an open, unoccupied space, other than a court, unobstructed from the ground to the sky, except where specifically provided by this chapter, on the same lot on which a building is situated.

“Yard, front” means a yard extending across the full width of the lot between the front lot line of the lot and the nearest exterior wall of the building which is the nearest to the front lot line.

“Yard, rear” means a yard extending across the full width of the lot between the most rear main building and the rear lot line.

“Yard, side” means a yard on each side of a main building and extending from the front lot line to the rear lot line. The width of the required side yard shall be measured horizontally from the nearest point of a side lot line to the nearest part of the main building.

“Zoning change” means the alteration or moving of a zone boundary; the reclassification of a lot, or parcel of land, from one zone to another; and the change of any of the regulations contained in this chapter.

“Zoning ordinance or ordinances” mean the zoning ordinance of the City of Kenai and KMC Title 14.

(Ords. 925, 1017, 1179, 1305-89, 1306-89, 1634-95, 1744-97, 1745-97, 1862-2000, 1910-2001, 2068-2004, 2094-2005, 2099-2005, 2100-2005, 2185-2006, 2195-2006, 2272-2007, 2652-2012, 2688-2013, 2870-2016, 2884-2016, 3068-2019)