Sec. 54-353. - Standards and regulations.
For one-family attached dwellings, town, or row houses, the following standards and regulations shall apply in all districts where permitted.
a. Height limitations: Maximum fifty (50) feet and three (3) stories.
b. Lot width: Minimum sixteen (16) feet, except where side setbacks are hereinafter required, the minimum lot width shall be increased accordingly.
c. Front setback for the principal building: Must conform to area regulations of district where located, with the following exceptions:
1. In an STR, DR-1F, DR-2F, DR-3, DR-6, DR-9 or DR-12 district, no front setback shall be required for interior units of a single grouping of one family attached dwellings, provided that the minimum front setback of the end units of such grouping shall be either (1) ten feet, or (2) not less than the front setback of any structure located on the next built-upon lot fronting on the same street which is not part of the same town house, whichever is less.
2. In any district, if motor vehicles are parked or stored within a unit with vehicular entrance directly from the street, a minimum front setback of eight (8) feet shall be provided, except in the GB district, where the minimum front setback shall be five (5) feet and the maximum setback shall be ten (10) feet.
3. In any district, if motor vehicles are parked or stored in the front yard of a unit the front setback shall be at least twenty-five (25) feet.
d. Side setback for the principal building: A minimum side setback of six (6) feet shall be provided between the end units of a row and a side lot line; provided, however that:
1. In the GB district, the minimum side setback between the end units in a row and an interior side lot line may be five (5) feet; and
2. When the side lot line is a street line, the side setback adjacent to such street shall be at least ten (10) feet; and
3. When the side lot line borders a driveway, the title to which or the easement to which runs with or is appurtenant to such lot, the side setback may be reduced to three (3) feet; and
4. When no building on the next adjacent lot fronting on the same street is within three (3) feet of the side lot line, the side setback adjacent to such next lot may be reduced to four (4) feet if its wall on that side shall be of masonry construction, without openings, except ventilator grills; and
5. When the next adjacent lot is a platted open space or common area with a minimum width of ten (10) feet, there shall be no required side setback.
e. Rear setback for the principal building: A minimum rear setback of sixteen (16) feet shall be provided, except that within the GB district the rear setback may be reduced to ten (10) feet; but
1. When required vehicular parking space is provided in rear yard, minimum rear setback shall be twenty-five (25) feet; and
2. When a carport, garage, or other accessory building exceeding fifty (50) square feet is located in rear yard, the minimum rear setback shall be twenty-five (25) feet; and
3. When the property is zoned GB, the rear setback from an alley right-of-way shall be a minimum of five (5) feet and maximum of ten (10) feet if motor vehicles are parked in a unit, or a minimum of twenty-five (25) feet if a vehicle is to be parked in a driveway.
f. Minimum lot area per family: One thousand five hundred (1,500) square feet, except 1,200 square feet in the GB district.
g. Percent of lot occupancy: Except in the GB district, not more than fifty (50) percent of lot shall be occupied by principal and accessory buildings, except this may be increased by one hundred (100) square feet when required vehicular parking is provided in principal building, or in a parking lot or community garage the title to which or the easement for the use of which runs with or is appurtenant to the title to such building. In the GB district, not more than eighty (80) percent of lot shall be occupied by the principal and accessory buildings.
h. Accessory buildings: Shall be permitted and the following standards shall apply:
1. Front setback for accessory buildings: No front setback shall be required, provided that any accessory building must be located to the rear of the principal building a minimum of ten (10) feet.
2. Side setback for accessory buildings: There shall be no minimum side setback required, provided, however that when the side lot line is a street line, the side setback adjacent to such street shall be at least ten (10) feet.
3. Rear setback for accessory buildings: Minimum rear setback of five (5) feet shall be provided.
4. In addition to a carport or garage, another accessory building shall be permitted in the rear yard provided it does not exceed one hundred (100) square feet in floor area and twelve feet in height, and any such accessory buildings shall be constructed of materials similar to or in keeping with the principal building.
i. Additional dwellings: Not allowed.
j. Special requirements:
1. The partition wall and walls between such structures shall comply with building code requirements.
2. Not more than six (6) such dwellings shall be constructed or attached together in a continuous row, and no such row shall exceed two hundred (200) feet in length, except in SR-3, SR-4, SR-5 and STR Districts, where not more than two such units shall be constructed or attached together in a continuous row.
3. Off-street parking shall be provided for each such dwelling, pursuant to the zoning regulations, either on the premises or in a community parking lot or garage the title to which and/or the easement for the use of which runs with and/or is appurtenant to the title to such dwelling. No such parking lot or garage shall be located more than two hundred (200) feet from the dwelling which it serves. One driveway with a maximum width of eleven (11) feet shall be permitted in the front yard, except that dwellings within a development may be exempt from these driveway restrictions if sidewalks or paved multi-use paths with a minimum width of five (5) feet are installed along both sides of all street rights-of-way within the development, except streets in the GB district approved pursuant to Subsection. 54-353.j.4., and along all street rights-of-way located adjacent to the development and classified as subcollector or access streets.
4. In the GB district, street design standards in Section 54-821 shall be modified to permit the minimum right-of-way width and pavement width for a one-way, undivided access street with mountable curb to be reduced to twenty (20) feet, or two-way, undivided access street with mountable curb to be reduced to twenty-two (22) feet, if:
(a) Block length does not exceed five hundred (500) feet in length; and
(b) Right-of-way width and pavement width for streets that provide parallel parking is increased by seven (7) feet in the area where on-street parking is provided on one side, and fourteen (14) feet in the area where on-street parking is provided on two (2) sides; and
(c) Such streets and associated pavement markings and signage are permanently maintained by a home owners association and not maintained by the City of Charleston; and
(d) Through-block, concrete pedestrian paths with a minimum width of five (5) feet are provided in open space parcels or easements with a minimum width of ten (10) feet in each block that exceeds 200 feet in length; and
(e) the Technical Review Committee members find that the pavement widths, right-of-way widths, and layout of all streets within a development using this exception are sufficient to meet engineering, accessibility, pedestrian safety, traffic safety, and emergency vehicle access requirements; and
(f) One useable open space area is set aside as community gathering space and constructed as part of the development with a minimum total area, excluding easements, all stormwater facilities and required buffers, of fourteen thousand (14,000) square feet, and a minimum dimension of one hundred (100) feet. One such community gathering space shall be included for every fifty (50) dwelling units, and each space shall be increased in size by two hundred eighty (280) square feet for each additional dwelling unit until the next multiplier of fifty (50) units is reached.
(Ord. No. 2003-63, § 4, 7-15-03; Ord. No. 2014-67, § 9, 5-13-14; Ord. No. 2016-061, § 1, 5-10-16; Ord. No. 2021-155, § 1, 11-9-21)
