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TO: The Honorable Members DATE: June 30, 1986 FILE: of the Board of County Commissioners DIVISION HEAD CONCURRENCE: �. SUBJECT: ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT Obert 11. e'a ing ICP CONCERNING YARD DEFINI- Planning & De eldpdlent Director TIONS AND YARD ENCROACH- MENTS S FRONtichard Shearer, REFERENCES: Chief, Long -Range Planning Zoning Ord. Memo It is requested that the data herein presented be given formal consideration by the Board of County Commissioners at their regular meeting of July 16, 1986. DESCRIPTION & CONDITIONS Several questions have arisen recently concerning the definition of front and rear yards and the requirements pertaining to satellite dish antennas and trellises in side yards. One situa- tion occurred when an individual was unable to install a satellite dish antenna on his through lot (a through lot has frontage on two parallel streets) because satellite dish antennas are only allowed in rear yards and, according to the definitions in the zoning ordinance, through lots have two front yards, two side yards and no rear yard. Another situation arose when the County's Code Enforcement Board instructed a family to remove a structure between a house and a fence because it encroached into a required side yard. The individuals appealed to the Board of Adjustment claiming that the structure is a trellis which would be a permitted yard encroach- ment. The Board of Adjustment denied the request, and the individuals sued the County. The court ruled that because the zoning ordinance does not contain a definition of trellis, the structure in question could be considered a trellis and would therefore qualify asa permitted yard encroachment. On June 12, 1986, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4 -to -0 to recommend approval of this proposed amendment. ALTERNATIVES & ANALYSIS The staff feels that the best solution to the problem of not allowing satellite dish antennas on through lots is to redefine front and rear yards to establish a procedure -for designating a rear yard on through lots. This requires amending the definition of front yard and rear yard. However, corner lots could also be in a situation where they would have two front yards and two side yards or three front yards and a side yard. Based on this situation, the staff feels that the satellite dish antenna location restrictions should be amended to allow satellite dishes in the side yard of a corner lot if the lot has no rear yard as defined by the zoning ordinance. In relation to trellises as permitted yard encroachments, the staff feels that the current regulations would allow a wide variety of structures to be constructed in required yards. The staff interprets a trellis to be a vertical structure attached to a wall that would project a minimal distance from a wall. However, since other people have different opinions of what a trellis is, the County needs to either define trellises in the zoning ordinance or not allow them as a yard encroachment. After 27 BOOK Db"I U,E 74