§ 51A-13.302 — HEIGHT

SEC. 51A-13.302. HEIGHT.

(a) Maximum District Height. (1) Height within a WMU, WR, or RTN district cannot exceed the maximum height limit below (in feet or stories), except as otherwise provided in this section. Intensity | District | Height in Stories (max) | Height in Feet (max) Intensity | District | Height in Stories (max) | Height in Feet (max) LOW | RTN | 2½ | 35 WMU-3, WR-3 | 3½ | 50 WMU-5, WR-5 | 5 | 80 MEDIUM | WMU-8, WR-8 | 8 | 125 WMU-12, WR-12 | 12 | 180 HIGH | WMU-20, WR-20 | 20 | 300 WMU-40, WR-40 | 40 | 600 (2) Single-story shopfront, townhouse stacked, townhouse, manor house, and single-family house development types have maximum height limits that may be lower than the district height limits. (See Section 51A-13.304, “Development Types.”) (3) Maximum height may be reduced by a -HM overlay. (4) Height greater than 40 stories or 600 feet in WMU-40 or WR-40 is allowed through application of the -HM overlay. (b) Minimum District Height. (1) Height within a WMU, WR, or RTN district must meet or exceed the minimum requirements below (in stories), except as otherwise provided in this section. Intensity | District | Height in Stories (min) Intensity | District | Height in Stories (min) LOW | RTN | 1 WMU-3, WR-3 | 1 WMU-5, WR-5 | 1 MEDIUM | WMU-8, WR-8 | 2 WMU-12, WR-12 | 2 HIGH | WMU-20, WR-20 | 4 WMU-40, WR-40 | 5 (2) Mixed use shopfront, townhouse stacked, townhouse, and manor house development types are required to be at least two stories in height regardless of the minimum district height. (See Section 51A-13.304, “Development Types.”) (3) The minimum height provisions apply to the first 30 feet of the building measured inward from the street-facing facade on any primary or side street, except that up to 20 percent of the required street frontage may be lower than the minimum height for the district. (4) A -HM overlay cannot be used to override the minimum height provisions of this section. (5) No minimum height requirements apply to civic buildings or open space lots. (c) Measurement of Height. (1) Except as provided in this paragraph, height is measured as defined in Section 51A-2.102, “Definitions.” (2) An attic story is considered a half-story and counts toward the calculation of maximum number of stories. (3) A basement is not considered a story. (4) If a ground story is more than five feet above grade, the space below that floor counts as an additional story. (d) Story Height. (1) Ground story height is measured from the ground story finished floor to the top of the ground story horizontal facade articulation break. (2) Upper story height is measured from the top of the ground story horizontal facade articulation break to the top of each additional upper story horizontal facade articulation break. (3) At least 80 percent of each story must meet the minimum and maximum ground- and upper-story height provisions. (e) Height Exceptions. (1) Structures accessory to utility, public service, and institutional uses may be erected to any height consistent with FAA airspace limitations, airport flight overlay district regulations, residential proximity slope height restrictions, and the building code, except that local utility and transmission and distribution lines and supporting structures are exempt from residential proximity slope height restrictions. (2) In the RTN district, the following accessory structures may exceed the district height limits of this section provided they do not exceed the maximum district height by more than 12 feet: (A) Amateur communications tower. (B) Cooling tower. (C) Clerestory. (D) Chimney and vent stack. (E) Elevator penthouse or bulkhead. (F) Flagpoles. (G) Mechanical equipment room. (H) Ornamental cupola or dome. (I) Parapet wall, limited to a height of four feet. (J) Stairway access to roof. (K) Roof top deck. (L) Skylights. (M) Spires and belfries. (N) Solar panels. (O) Tank designed to hold liquids. (P) Visual screens surrounding roof-mounted mechanical equipment. (Q) Wind turbines and other integrated renewable energy systems. (f) Residential Proximity Slope. (1) Except as provided in this subsection, no portion of a building or structure over 26 feet in height may be located above the residential proximity slope as established in Section 51A-4.412. (2) If a parcel of land subject to a height restriction similar to the residential proximity slope in Section 51A-4.412 is rezoned to a WMU, WR, or RTN district, the city council must adopt an -HM overlay applicable to the parcel. The -HM overlay and any amendments to the overlay must provide the same height restrictions applicable to the parcel before rezoning. (3) Form districts are not sites of origination in the application of the residential proximity slope regulations of Section 51A-4.412. (Ord. No.30889)