Town of Cheektowaga, NY: zoning for new construction

R Residence District - The side and rear yards are percentages of the lot rather than the fixed figures shown, which are the caps: each side yard is 10% of the lot width and the two together 25% of it, so on a narrow lot both are smaller than shown.

• The rear yard is 25% of the lot depth and never less than 25 ft or the height of the principal building, so a 30 ft house owes a 30 ft rear yard
• A corner lot takes more land than an interior one: 10,200 sq ft on 85 ft of width
• Two principal buildings on one lot must stand 30 ft apart, or the average height of their facing walls if that is greater
• The 900 sq ft minimum livable ground floor area drops to 800 sq ft where the dwelling has an integral garage and livable floor space above the ground floor
• Accessory buildings are held to one storey and 12 ft
• No lot coverage or impervious standard is published here, and bulk is controlled through the yards, the height and the off-street parking requirement instead

RS Single Residential District - A second coverage cap covers accessory structures: 40% of the lot including the area under the principal structure, so accessory buildings buy the extra five points and no more.

• A corner lot takes 12,825 sq ft on 95 ft of width against the interior figures shown
• Accessory structures must stand 4 ft from any lot line and 10 ft from another structure, and may be no more than 12 ft high
• Minimum floor area is 1,200 sq ft for a one-storey dwelling and 1,400 sq ft for anything taller
• Height is two storeys as well as 35 ft
• The district's stated intent is low-density single-family detached development at roughly three dwelling units per gross acre, each on its own lot of at least 10,800 sq ft

RA Apartment District - The lot area is a base plus a per-unit rate: 12,000 sq ft for three dwelling units plus 3,500 sq ft for each additional unit above three, under a hard cap of 12 dwelling units per gross acre.

• The 150 ft frontage is for a standalone structure, which needs 150 ft abutting a dedicated street
• A structure within a development need not abut a street if the parcel has 100 ft of frontage on a dedicated street and the primary private drive is at least 28 ft wide
• The front yard is 25 ft from a public right-of-way but 30 ft from the pavement edge or curb of a private road, and the side yard 20 ft from a public right-of-way but 25 ft from a private road
• The side yard shown is the principal-building figure, 15 ft or half the height of the building, whichever is greater, and an accessory building owes 10 ft to a property line
• The rear yard is 25% of the lot depth and never less than 25 ft or the height of the principal building
• No building permit issues until the Town Board approves a site plan on the Planning Board's recommendation

RSC Senior Citizen Housing District - The district states no lot area and is sized by units instead: 1,000 sq ft per unit for a unit of one bedroom or less, and 1,500 sq ft per unit for two bedrooms or more.

• Occupancy is restricted to persons 62 or older, to a household where one or two persons is 62 or more, or to handicapped persons under 62 able to live without special medical or supervisory care
• The rear yard is 25 ft or half the height of the principal building, whichever is greater, and an accessory building owes 15 ft or half the height
• Two principal buildings must stand 30 ft apart, or the average height of their facing walls
• A fire lane at least 16 ft wide must ring the building for emergency vehicles, with parking barred on it and between it and the building
• At least 100 sq ft per unit must be set aside as social or recreational open space
• The developer must file a notarised affidavit that any future reuse for anything other than senior housing needs Town Board approval

RMH Residential Mobile Home District - The figures shown are for an individual mobile home lot. The park itself has a much larger entry threshold: a site of at least 20 acres with at least 50 mobile home lots fully serviced and available before initial occupancy, on a site width of at least 100 ft.

• At least 8% of the gross site must be recreation area
• Any structure must stand 25 ft from the park boundary, with fences, walls or plantings as boundary screening
• The front yard shown is measured from the right-of-way of a dedicated street; from a private street it is 25 ft from the pavement edge or curbline
• Principal structures must stand 20 ft apart
• A park office and small convenience retail serving residents are capped at 30 sq ft per lot in the park, up to 3,000 sq ft
• Density across the park may not exceed roughly eight units per gross acre

NS Neighborhood Services District - No minimum lot area is stated for this district, and the side and rear figures shown are the ones that apply where the lot abuts a nonresidential district. Abutting a residential district each becomes 10 ft.

• All uses except signs, landscaping and off-street parking, loading and stacking must be inside completely enclosed structures, so outdoor display and drive-through service are ruled out
• Parking, loading and stacking areas must sit 10 ft from any lot line and driveways 5 ft, and on a shallow lot that pavement rule binds first
• No coverage percentage is published: coverage is whatever the uses, yards, off-street parking, loading and stacking and landscaping leave over
• Site plan review by the Planning Board is required for all development, for any addition over 350 sq ft, and for any change of use

C Retail Business District - No minimum lot area is stated as a number: it is whatever is required to meet the parking and yard requirements, so size the parking first and the lot second.

• Two side yards are required at 10 ft each, but a side yard abutting a residential district boundary must be at least 20 ft or the height of the principal building, whichever is greater
• The rear yard follows the side-yard rule where it abuts a residential district
• A side yard used for one-way vehicular access must be at least 18 ft wide with a 12 ft driveway
• A side yard used for two-way access must be at least 30 ft wide with a driveway no wider than 24 ft
• No coverage percentage is stated
• Site plan review is required under § 260-29

CM General Commercial District - No lot size standard of any kind is stated, neither a minimum width nor a minimum area, so what sizes a lot here is the yard requirements plus the off-street parking requirement.

• The side and rear figures shown apply where the lot abuts a nonresidential district. Abutting a residential district each becomes 20 ft or the height of the principal building, whichever is greater
• Height and setback are coupled there: at the 40 ft ceiling that is a 40 ft side and rear yard, so on a shallow lot the full height is not reachable
• No coverage percentage is stated
• Site plan review is required under § 260-29

MS Motor Service District - The 10 ft side yard and the 25 ft rear yard apply where the lot abuts a nonresidential district. Abutting a residential district, each becomes 50 ft.

• A motor vehicle or trailer sale or rental use requires a lot of at least 1/2 acre
• Where more than one building sits on the lot they must stand 30 ft apart
• Parking, loading and stacking areas must be 10 ft from any lot line, except along a street line
• Fuel pumps and pump islands may sit in any yard abutting a street right-of-way, and in any other yard not abutting a residential district, at least 20 ft from any lot line and 10 ft from a building

CF Community Facilities District - Lot size here is a performance standard with no number: the parcel need only be adequate for the buildings, off-street parking, loading and stacking, landscaping, accessory uses, yards and open spaces.

• The side setback shown applies where the lot abuts a nonresidential district; abutting a residential district it is 25 ft
• The rear yard jumps further than the side: 15 ft abutting a nonresidential district but 50 ft abutting a residential one
• Parking and loading setbacks are separate and smaller: 15 ft from a dedicated street right-of-way, 5 ft from side and rear yards abutting nonresidential, 10 ft abutting residential
• A mausoleum must stand at least 200 ft from any adjoining residence district
• Any new cemetery must contain a single contiguous area of 20 acres or more
• No coverage percentage is stated

M1 Light Manufacturing District - No lot size standard is stated, neither width nor area. Side yards run 10 ft abutting a nonresidential district, 50 ft abutting a residential district and 20 ft abutting an existing residential use.

• Rear yards run 10 ft abutting a nonresidential district, 60 ft abutting a residential district and 20 ft abutting an existing residential use
• The article's stated intent is manufacturing, processing and warehousing involving truck traffic, noise and extensive outdoor storage, sited away from residential areas
• No coverage percentage is stated
• Site plan submission is required under § 260-35

M2 General Manufacturing District - The side and rear figures shown apply where the lot abuts a nonresidential district. Abutting a residential district each becomes 50 ft.

• Where more than one building sits on the lot they must stand 30 ft apart
• Parking and loading setbacks apply to pavement rather than buildings: 10 ft at the side and rear abutting nonresidential, 50 ft abutting residential, and 25 ft from a dedicated street right-of-way
• No coverage percentage is published: coverage is whatever the uses, yards, off-street parking, loading and stacking and landscaping leave over

AG Special Aggregates District - This district has one dimensional rule, and it binds an excavation exactly as it binds a building: nothing may stand within 200 ft of a public right-of-way or an adjacent property line.

• It is one perimeter rather than three yards, which is why the front, side and rear figures are identical
• A 200 ft perimeter consumes about 4.6 acres of a ten-acre square parcel, so the usable yield is far below the gross area
• No lot size, width, height or coverage standard is stated anywhere in this district
• Site plan submission is required under § 260-35