Village of Gowanda, NY: zoning for new construction

One Family Residential - The 30 ft front yard is measured from the curb line, not from the property line, so on a parcel with a deep lawn strip between curb and lot line it leaves more buildable depth than an ordinary setback of the same size.

• The lot requirement is stated as dimensions rather than as an area, 75 ft by 150 ft, so a lot of the same square footage on other proportions does not satisfy it
• Coverage counts all buildings, accessory buildings included
• Customary agricultural operations are permitted, but farm animal buildings and stored manure or other odor- or dust-producing material must be at least a hundred feet from an adjoining lot line
• On a corner lot the yard along the side street must be as deep as the front yard required on that street, so 30 ft rather than the ordinary side yard
• A house on an undersized lot needs the Board of Appeals, and only if the lot was in single and separate ownership on 5 August 1968 and adjoins no other lot of the same owner
• A porch, steps or terrace of more than 35 sq ft on a continuous foundation counts as part of the building and may not stand in a required yard; a smaller open porch may project five feet into one

One and Two Family Residential - The two side yards must total at least 15 ft, and the 6 ft figure is only a floor on each side, so six and six fails and the real pair is six and nine.

• The 30 ft front yard is measured from the curb line rather than the property line
• Coverage counts all buildings, accessory buildings included
• The code states no lot area and no lot dimensions here
• Hospitals, sanitariums, rest homes and philanthropic and charitable institutions need the approval of both the Planning Board and the Board of Trustees
• On a corner lot the yard along the side street must be as deep as the front yard required on that street, so 30 ft rather than the ordinary side yard
• A porch, steps or terrace of more than 35 sq ft on a continuous foundation counts as part of the building and may not stand in a required yard; a smaller open porch may project five feet into one

Multiple Residential - The two side yards must total at least 15 ft, and the 6 ft figure is only a floor on each side. Above 25 ft of height each side yard grows by one foot for every two feet, or fraction, over that.

• Height is capped twice over, at three stories and at 40 ft from natural grade
• The 30 ft front yard is measured from the curb line
• Every multiple-family dwelling must provide three hundred square feet of parking space for each family unit, and no front yard may be used for open-air parking
• Coverage counts all buildings, accessory buildings included
• The code states no lot area and no lot dimensions here
• A porch, steps or terrace of more than 35 sq ft on a continuous foundation counts as part of the building and may not stand in a required yard; a smaller open porch may project five feet into one

General Business - The zeros here are what the code states: no lot area, no front yard and no side yards, and no coverage cap either. But a building may not stand nearer the street than the average setback of the business buildings already on that side of the block.

• A lot that adjoins another district must meet that district's side yard requirement
• Against a residential district on the same block face, a front yard half as deep as the residential one is required for fifty feet in, with a six-foot stockade fence between them
• Parking is one space for every two hundred square feet of floor area in retail use
• Light industry, the processing, assembly, packaging or storage of already refined materials, needs a special use permit
• Converting first-floor business space into dwellings is barred, and so is any use this district does not name

Neighborhood Business - There is no front yard figure here. A building may not stand nearer the street line it fronts on than the average setback of any building on the same side of the street within the block, so the existing street wall sets the line.

• The two side yards must total at least 15 ft, and the 6 ft figure is only a floor on each side
• Height is capped twice, at three stories and at 40 ft
• Coverage counts all buildings, accessory buildings included
• A mobile home is permitted only inside a mobile home park of at least twenty acres; each lot in that park then takes the standards for a single-family dwelling in the multiple residential district
• Against a residential district on the same block face, a front yard half as deep as the residential one is required for fifty feet in, with a six-foot stockade fence between them
• Parking is one space for every two hundred square feet of floor area in retail use

Heavy Industrial - The side yard is stated twice over in the same section, as ten feet in one paragraph and 25 ft in the next, with nothing reconciling them, so 25 ft is the figure that satisfies both.

• A lot bordering a residential district takes ten feet, or the side yard the adjoining residential district requires, whichever is greater
• A building used for dwelling purposes takes the yards, lot area and coverage of the multiple residential district
• Any use this district does not name is barred
• Junk yards, automobile wrecking yards and scrap iron, paper or rag storage are permitted only if conducted inside a building or entirely enclosed by a solid fence at least six feet high
• Any process that is noxious or injurious through dust, smoke, refuse, odour or gas is prohibited unless the Board of Appeals permits it on conditions
• Parking is one space for each employee on the largest shift

Medical Facilities - The 100 ft front yard is measured from the curb line rather than the property line. A building must be at least eight hundred square feet.

• The 6 ft side yard is a floor on each side and the two must total at least 15 ft
• Neither side yard applies to a walk-through structure connecting buildings in separate ownership on separate parcels
• No yard is required on the side of a building abutting the lot line between it and a building it is interconnected with
• Parking is one space for every hundred and fifty square feet of building area, not counting the area used for parking itself
• Uses are limited to hospitals, medical and dental offices, clinics, urgent care, mental health services and counselling, with accessory buildings and uses; anything not named is barred

Planned Development - The three acres is the only dimensional standard set here. The plans, drawings, specifications and elevations filed with the application become the standard once the Village Board adopts them.

• The district is created parcel by parcel: the Village Board refers the application to the Planning Board, then holds a public hearing and amends the chapter to define the boundaries
• Where the Planning Board has disapproved, or approved with a modification the applicant will not make, three affirmative votes of the Village Board are needed
• Land and buildings may be used for any lawful purpose, including garden apartments, shopping centres and motels, as authorised by the Village Board