Chapter 290Zoning

ABANDONED USE A use which has been discontinued for twenty-four (24) consecutive months.

ACCESSORY BUILDING A building devoted exclusively to a use subordinate to the principal use and, customarily, incidental to the principal use of the lot.

ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT (ADU) A self-contained housing unit, inclusive of sleeping, cooking and sanitary facilities, located on the same lot as a principal dwelling, that (1) maintains a separate entrance, either directly from the outside or through an entry hall or corridor shared with the principal dwelling sufficient to meet the requirements of the state building code for safe egress; and (2) is not larger in gross floor area than one-half (1/2) the gross floor area of the principal dwelling or nine hundred (900) square feet, whichever is smaller. An accessory dwelling unit may be located within, attached to, or detached from the principal dwelling. [G.L. c. 40A, s. 1A]

ACCESSORY SIGN A sign which is subordinate to the principal use and customarily incidental to, and on the same lot as, the principal use.

ACCESSORY USE A use subordinate to the principal use, and customarily incidental to, and on the same lot as the principal use.

ADULT DAY CARE FACILITY Staffing, facilities and programs which may include personal care services, recreational and social facilities and common dining facilities that are provided to individuals who are fifty-five (55) years or age or older and/or to disabled adults which are made available to such persons for a fee on a daily or part time basis. Such facilities may provide transportation services and shall not allow overnight stays.

ADULT ENTERTAINMENT ESTABLISHMENT Any of the following businesses:

Adult bookstore An establishment having as a substantial or significant portion of its stock in trade printed matter, books, magazines, picture periodicals, motion picture films, video cassettes, or coin operated motion picture machines for sale, barter or rental which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to “sexual conduct” as that term is described in G.L., c. 272, s.31; “sexual devices” or an establishment having for sale sexual devices, objects, tools, or toys which are distinguished or characterized by their association with sexual activity, including sexual conduct or sexual excitement as defined in G.L. c. 272, s.31, or an establishment with a segment or section devoted to the sale or display of such materials.

Adult motion picture theatre An enclosed building with a capacity of 50 or more persons used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing, or relating to “sexual conduct” as defined in G.L. c. 272, s. 31 for observation by patrons therein.

Adult mini motion picture theatre An enclosed building with a capacity for less than fifty (50) persons used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing, or relating to “sexual conduct” as defined in G.L., c. 272, s. 31 for observation by patrons therein.

Adult dancing/entertainment establishment An establishment, including but not limited to, a restaurant, lounge, dance hall, nightclub, gentlemen’s club or other such place whose business includes the offering to customers of live entertainment wherein employees, agents, servants, independent contractors, or other customers perform dance routines and/or display or expose specified anatomical areas, offered as adult oriented entertainment for viewing by patrons or spectators on the premises and characterized by the emphasis on matter depicting, describing, or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas as defined in G.L. c. 272, s.31.

ANTENNA Any exterior apparatus designed for telephonic, radio, television, personal communications services (PCS), pager network, or any electromagnetic waves of any bandwidth. An antenna can either be attached to a tower or attached to a building.

ARTIST A person regularly engaged in and who derives a substantial portion of his/her annual income from art or creative work either written, composed, created or executed for a "one of a kind, limited" production exclusive of any piece or performance created or executed for industry oriented distribution or related production.

ARTIST LIVE/WORK SPACE The use of all or a portion of a building for both art use and the habitation of artists.

ART USE The production of art or creative work either written, composed, created or executed for a "one of a kind, limited" production exclusive of any piece or performance created or executed for industry oriented distribution or related production. Such use may include the fine and applied arts including painting or other like picture, traditional and fine crafts, sculpture, writing, creating film, creating animation, the composition of music, choreography and the performing arts.

ART/CRAFT STUDIO A facility for art use as defined above that is separate from any residential uses.,occupiedby no more than three (3) individuals at any one time.

ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY (ALF) A facility as defined in 651 CMR 12.02.

AUTOMOTIVE USES As the term is used in the Table of Use Regulations herein shall mean motor vehicles of any kind, including but not limited to automobiles, trucks, sport utility vehicles, motorcycles, mopeds, recreational vehicles, snowmobiles, travel trailers, and the like.

Autobody or Paint Shop a painting facility provided all servicing and repairs are carried out inside the building.

Automotive Repair Garage a repair facility not including autobody or paint shops, provided all servicing and repairs are carried out inside the building.

Automotive Sales, indoor a sales place for new or used cars conducted entirely with a building, or rental agency for autos, trailers, or motorcycles conducted entirely within a building provided no major repairs are made.

Automotive Sales, outdoor a sales place or storage place for new or used cars conducted partly or wholly on an open lot, or rental agency for automobiles, trailers, motorcycles conducted partly or wholly outdoors.

Automotive Service Station a filling station, with or without self-service gasoline pumps, where no major repairs are made provided that all lubrication and minor repairs are carried out inside the building.

Car Washing Establishment a facility using mechanical equipment for purposes of cleaning automobiles and other vehicles.

BANNER A temporary or permanent sign made of fabric or fabric-like material which may be free-hanging or attached at all corners.

BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM (BESS) One or more devices, assembled together, capable of storing energy in order to supply electrical energy at a future time, including the batteries, controls, power-conditioning systems, and associated electrical and structural components. A battery energy storage system co-located with and accessory to a solar energy system may be regulated as a component of that solar energy system. All battery energy storage systems shall comply with 527 CMR (the Massachusetts Fire Code), NFPA 855, and applicable equipment-listing standards (UL 9540).

BOARDING OR LODGING HOUSE a house where lodgings are let to four or more persons not within second degree of kindred to the person conducting it, and shall include fraternity houses and dormitories of educational institutions, but shall not include dormitories of charitable or philanthropic institutions or convalescent or nursing homes licensed under G.L. c. 111, s. 71 or rest homes so licensed, or group residences licensed or regulated by agencies of the commonwealth.

ground level at all elevations of a building.

BUILD The word "build" shall include the words "erect," "construct," "alter," enlarge," "modify," "excavate," "fill," and any others of like significance.

BUILDING The word "building" shall include the word "structure" unless the context unequivocally indicates otherwise. "Building" shall also mean any three-dimensional enclosure by any building materials of any space for use or occupancy, temporary or permanent, and shall include foundations in the ground, also all parts of any kind of structure above ground except fences and field or garden walls or embankment retaining walls.

BUILDING HEIGHT The vertical distance of the highest point of the roof beam in the case of a flat roof and of the mean level of the highest gable of a sloping roof as measured from the mean

BUILDING-MOUNTED WIND ENERGY FACILITY A wind energy facility shall be considered to be building integrated if it is designed to be permanently mounted on a building or other inhabitable structure. This definition applies to wind turbines of any capacity that are designed to be operated in direct contact with a building. This definition also covers, for the purposes of this zoning provision, other wind energy facilities primarily used for land- based applications which may be permanently mounted and operated on a building.

BUSINESS OR PROFESSIONAL OFFICE A building or part thereof, for the transaction of business or the provision of services exclusive of the receipt, sale, storage, or processing of merchandise, including banks and other financial institutions.

CARPORTS Definition: A roofed, open-air motor vehicle shelter which may be an attached or a free-standing structure. Detached: Detached carports shall be governed under the same regulations as accessory buildings. Attached: carports attached to the primary structure on the lot shall be governed under the same regulations as an attached garage.

CHILD CARE FACILITY A day care center or school age child care program, as those terms are defined in G.L. c. 28A, s. 9 and exempt from regulation pursuant to G.L. c. 40A, s. 3.

CLUB OR LODGE, PRIVATE Buildings, structures and premises used by a nonprofit social or civic organization, or by a nonprofit organization catering exclusively to members and their guests for social, civic, recreational, or athletic purposes and provided there are no vending stands, merchandising, or commercial activities except as may be required generally for the membership and purposes of such organization.

COMMERCIAL RECREATIONAL FACILITY, INDOOR A structure for recreational, social or amusement purposes, which may include as an accessory use the consumption of food and drink, including all connected rooms or space with a common means of egress and entrance. Such facilities shall include theatres, concert halls, dance halls, skating rinks, bowling alleys, health clubs, dance studios, or other commercial recreational centers conducted for or not for profit; provided, however, that activities connected therewith shall be at least 45 feet from any lot line in residential districts.

COMMERCIAL RECREATIONAL FACILITY, OUTDOOR Golf course, driving range, bathing beach, sports club, horseback riding stable, boathouse, game preserve, marina or other commercial recreation carried on in whole or in part outdoors, whether for profit or nonprofit, except those activities more specifically designated in this ordinance.

CONTRACTOR’S GARAGE A garage or storage unit, which may also include an office and serve as an official business address, where a licensed building tradesman or contractor stores supplies, vehicles, tools, and other equipment that is normally part of their commercial activities, provided that no major manufacturing or repair activity occurs on the premises.

CORNICE The exterior trim of a structure at the meeting of a roof and a wall.

CRAFTS BUSINESS A light-manufacturing business (including food and beverage production) that includes a retail component open to the public, including but not limited to a microbrewery, maker space, or other artisan manufacturing. Said manufacturing shall not generate offensive noise, odors, vibrations, flashing, etc. Businesses looking to locate on the ground floor of a building must have a retail/public space, open to the general public that comprises a minimum of 25% of the proposed floor area.

FABRICATION Facilities used for research, development, prototyping, testing, or limited production of goods, components, or materials, conducted entirely within an enclosed structure, where production is subordinate in scale and purpose to the research or development activity it serves. Fabrication employs electric or other substantially noiseless and inoffensive motive power and quiet machinery and processes, and shall produce no noise, vibration, smoke, dust or other particulate matter, odor, gas fumes, heat, humidity, glare, flashing or excessively bright light, electromagnetic radiation, or refuse matter perceptible at any lot line. Accessory office and the ancillary sale of goods produced on site are permitted. Fabrication does not include a Manufacturing, assembly, reconditioning and processing plant, a Crafts Business, or an Art/Craft Studio. Fabrication includes the following:

• (1) Life science: research, development, or prototype manufacturing utilizing microorganisms, chemical or biological substances, vivariums, or biomechanical equipment in the fields of life science, biotechnology, medical, pharmaceutical, environmental science, microbiology, comparative medicine, and apparatus, machines and devices for research and development in any such field.
• (2) Research and development: an establishment engaged in innovative research and development activities, including but not limited to the fields of biology, life science, chemistry, electronics, computer science, engineering, geology, medicine, and physics, and vivariums.
• (3) Laboratory: a designated area within a building equipped to conduct scientific experiments, tests, investigations, research, prototype manufacture, and experimental and testing activities, including vivariums. Laboratory includes Biosafety Level 1 and Biosafety Level 2 facilities and does not include Biosafety Level 3 or Biosafety Level 4 facilities.
• (4) Advanced prototyping: facilities used for research, development, and limited manufacturing activities entirely within the structure, including the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, computer components, robotics, additive manufacturing, and advanced materials.
• (5) Renewable or alternative energy research and prototyping: a facility used for researching, developing, prototyping, limited manufacturing, and testing renewable or alternative energy concepts, methods, processes, materials, or products and components.
• (6) Research and testing: a facility used for the research, development, and testing of innovative information, methods, processes, materials, or products, including the development and fabrication of prototypes or specialized machinery integral to research or testing. This may include a small chemical laboratory and chemical storage.

CURB CUT Any opening providing vehicular access between a street, alley, or other public way and a lot, whether or not a curb is present, including a break, depression, or flush or rolled edge, driveway, parking area, loading area, or similar facility.

DATA CENTERS A building or series of buildings, where the primary intended use is the commercial housing, operation, or support of high-performance servers, storage systems, networking equipment, and related computing infrastructure and equipment necessary for storing, processing, and distributing data and applications.

DECK A horizontal platform supported by any combination of posts, beams, foundations, and/or joists with or without handrails, steps or terraces and not covered by a permanent roof.

DOOR, FRONT An entry that serves as the principal entrance for residents or visitors to one or more offices, dwelling units or retail establishments on a lot, and includes obvious design elements that identify it as a primary entrance.

DORMITORY A building used as group living quarters for individuals enrolled and/or employed by a university, college, boarding school or convent. A dormitory shall be owned and operated by a sponsoring institution, except that a dormitory for a minimum of fifty (50) college and/or university students may be developed and/or operated by a separate private for-profit entity. Where a dormitory is privately developed and/or operated, programs and services must meet the standards of Section 7.8 of the Zoning Code.

DRAINAGE STRUCTURE A detention or retention area designed to hold stormwater beyond the time when a storm occurs for discharge into the ground, into wetlands, into streams, or into a public or private drain system. Drainage systems, such as infiltration trenches or pipes, located entirely underground are not considered surface drainage structures.

DRIVE-THROUGH FACILITY An accessory facility, including any window, kiosk, lane, or vehicle-stacking area, that is designed to allow customers to obtain goods or services, or to transact business, while remaining in a motor vehicle. A drive-through facility is regulated separately from, and in addition to, the principal use it serves.

DRIVEWAY A vehicular passageway providing access between a street or way and a parking space, parking area, garage, or loading area, or between two such areas on a lot or lots.

DWELLING, ATTACHED A dwelling unit designed for or occupied as a residence and separated from another dwelling unit on one (1) or more sides of a vertical party wall.

DWELLING, DETACHED A building designed for or occupied as a residence and separated from any other building except accessory buildings by side yards.

DWELLING, MULTIFAMILY A building containing three (3) or more dwelling units, and wherein units may be located on more than one (1) floor.

DWELLING, SINGLE FAMILY A detached dwelling, other than a manufactured (mobile) home designed for or occupied by one (1) familydwelling unit.

DWELLING, TWO- FAMILY A freestanding building designed, or intended exclusively for residential use, containing two (2) dwelling units, each family occupying a single-dwelling unit typically situated one (1) above the other but may also be two (2) attached dwelling units.

DWELLING, TOWNHOUSE A structure consisting of two or more dwelling units, the interior of which is configured in a manner such that dwelling units are attached horizontally, separated by a party wall, and each dwelling unit is located on a separate lot with a separate exterior entrance.

DWELLING UNIT Any room or suite of rooms forming a habitable unit for one (1) family with its own cooking and food storage equipment and its own bathing and toilet facilities and its own living, sleeping and eating areas wholly within such room or suite of rooms.

EDUCATIONAL USE, EXEMPT Use of land or structures for educational purpose exempt from regulation pursuant to G.L. c. 40A, s. 3.

EDUCATIONAL USE, NONEXEMPT Use of and or structures for educational purpose not exempt from regulation pursuant to G.L. c. 40A, s. 3.

FAÇADE The exterior face of building which is treated in an architectural fashion.

FAMILY An individual, or two (2) or more individuals related by blood, marriage, or adoption living together, or not more than three (3)five (5) individuals not related by blood, marriage, or adoption living together.

FAMILY DAY CARE, SMALL A family child care home licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care as a family child care home under 606 CMR 7.00.

FAMILY DAY CARE, LARGE A large family child care home licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care under 606 CMR 7.00.

ADULT DAY CARE, SMALL An adult day care or adult day health program serving not more than fourteen (14) participants at any one time.

ADULT DAY CARE, LARGE An adult day care or adult day health program serving more than fourteen (14) participants at any one time.

FLASHING SIGN An illuminated sign in which the artificial light is not maintained in a stationary or constant intensity.

FLOOR AREA, GROSS The sum, in square feet, of the gross horizontal areas of all the floors of a building, as measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or centerlines of walls separating two (2) buildings, including:

• Roofed porches and balconies, whether enclosed or unenclosed and unroofed porches and balconies above the second floor.
• Elevator shafts and stairwells on each floor.
• Accessible attic space with clear headroom of at least five feet, whether finished or unfinished, except as hereafter excluded. Accessible attic space includes spaces that are only accessible via a pull-down stair or ceiling hatch.
• Interior balconies, mezzanines and penthouses.
• Basement and cellar areas, except as hereafter excluded.

The following areas are excluded from the gross floor area:

• Areas used for parking garages, accessory parking or off-street loading purposes.
• Basement and cellar areas devoted exclusively to uses accessory to the operation of a commercial or industrial building.
• Open or lattice-enclosed exterior fire escapes, and unroofed porches and balconies no higher than the second floor.
• Attic space and other areas for elevator machinery in any building or mechanical equipment accessory to the operation of a commercial or industrial building.
• Attic space that is not accessible and attic space with less than five feet of clear headroom.

FLOOR AREA RATIO The ratio of gross floor area of a structure to the total area of the lot.

GARAGE DOOR, RESIDENTIAL The door to a residential garage that provides access for a vehicle to be driven into or out of that garage.

HOME OCCUPATION An activity customarily carried on lawful accessory commercial or non-residential use by the permanent resident of a dwelling unit, inside the dwelling unit. requiring only customary home or hobby-type equipment, but excluding the following:

• The sale of articles produced elsewhere than on the premises for the purpose of sale;
• The storage of materials or products outside of a principal building;
• Motor vehicle repair, landscaping yard or contractor’s yard.
• Home occupations include but are not limited to activities conducted by recognized professions, fine art studios, dressmaking, and teaching of not more than four (4) pupils simultaneously.

HOTEL or MOTEL A building or buildings intended and designed for transient, overnight or extended occupancy, divided into separate units within the same building with or without a public dining facility. If such hotel or motel has independent cooking facilities, such unit shall not be occupied by any guest for more than four (4) continuous months, nor may the guest reoccupy any unit within thirty (30) days of a continuous four-month stay, nor may the guest stay more than six (6) months in any calendar year.

LARGE WIND ENERGY FACILITY All equipment, machinery and structures utilized in connection with the conversion of wind to electricity with a tower taller than 100 feet. This includes, but is not limited to, transmission, storage, collection and supply equipment, substations, transformers, service and access roads, and one or more wind turbines.

LIGHT MANUFACTURING: Fabrication, assembly, processing, finishing work or packaging. LINTEL Is the horizontal support member across the head of a door or window.

LOT The whole area of a single parcel of land with ascertainable boundaries in single or joint ownership, undivided by a street, approved and established by deed(s) or record, or a segment of land ownership defined by lot boundary lines on a land subdivision plan duly approved and recorded.

LOT AREA The horizontal area of the lot exclusive of any area in a public or private way open to public use and exclusive of any land below the high water line of any water body contained therein. At least seventy (70) percent of lot area required for zoning compliance shall be land other than wetland.

LOT AREA (HRC DISTRICT) See Section 5.1.5.

LOT COVERAGE The area of a lot covered by the aggregate of the maximum horizontal cross-section area of all buildings on a lot exclusive of cornices, eaves, gutters, chimneys, bay windows, balconies and terraces.

IMPERVIOUS LOT COVERAGE The portion of a lot that is covered with impervious surfaces, including but not limited to buildings, driveways, parking areas, access roads, sidewalks, patios, tennis courts, and above-ground and in-ground pools. The lot coverage of porous asphalt, pervious concrete, paving stones, or grass pavers is calculated using the runoff coefficient provided by the manufacturer and certified by a design professional.

LOT FRONTAGE A continuous line between side lot lines measured along the edge of a street and also provided that there are both rights of access and potential safe year-round practical vehicular access, unimpeded by:

• wetlands, unless a wetlands crossing has been approved by the Conservation Commission; or
• topography which prevents a proposed driveway from meeting the requirements of Section 6.7 of this ordinance, unless the Planning Board has granted an exception as provided in said Section 6.7.2 and 6.7.3; or
• other natural barriers between the street line and a potential building site, and the street has been determined by the Planning Board to provide adequate access to the lot under the provisions of the Subdivision Control Law and the City of Lowell Subdivision Regulations. On any lot bounded on more than one (1) side by a street or streets, frontage requirements shall apply for at least one (1) of the abutting streets.

LOT LINE, FRONT A line dividing a lot from a street.

LOT LINE, REAR Except for triangular lots, corner lots, and other such lots, the lot line opposite the front lot line.

MANUFACTURED (MOBILE) HOME: A structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built on a permanent chassis and is designed for use with or without a permanent foundation when attached to the required utilities.HOME A dwelling unit constructed in a factory in conformance with the federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (24 CFR 3280), as amended, and transportable in one or more sections. A manufactured home installed on a permanent foundation shall be regulated as a dwelling of the corresponding type (single-family, two-family, or multifamily) and shall not be excluded from any district in which such dwellings are permitted. A manufactured home that is not installed on a permanent foundation, and that remains on a permanent chassis designed for transport (a “mobile home”), shall be regulated as set forth in the Table of Uses.

MANUFACTURING A use engaged in the basic processing and manufacturing of materials, or the manufacture from previously prepared materials, of finished products or parts, including processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment, packaging, incidental storage, sales and distribution of such products, including, but not limited to, the following types of industries: food and kindred products, apparel, textiles and related products, electronic and electrical products, furniture and fixtures, printing and publishing, paper and allied products, plastic and allied products, primary and fabricated metal products, machinery, transportation and related equipment products, instruments and related products, including the storage of raw materials and containers used in or incidental to any of the foregoing provided that any open lot storage shall not exceed 12 feet in height and that the area so used shall be enclosed by a tight wall or fence of at least the same height of the material so stored.

MARIJUANA All parts of any plant of the genus Cannabis, the hemp plant; ingested through various forms for the intended use as a drug or medicine for the intoxicating effects yielded by tetrahydrocannabinol; commonly referred to as marihuana, weed.

MARIJUANA ACCESSORIES Equipment, products, devices, or materials that are intended or created for planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, production, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana into a person.

MARIJUANA CULTIVATION FACILITY A use engaged in the cultivation, processing, and packaging of marijuana; manufacturing of marijuana product; deliver and transfer of marijuana to marijuana establishments, but not to consumers. This definition shall also apply to marijuana product manufacturer, marijuana cultivator, craft cultivator cooperative, marijuana transporter, third party marijuana transporter, and marijuana micro-business.

MARIJUANA COURIER an entity licensed to deliver finished marijuana products, marijuana accessories and branded goods directly to consumers from a marijuana retailer, but is not authorized to sell marijuana or marijuana products directly to consumers and is not authorized to wholesale, warehouse, process, or repackage. A marijuana courier shall not be considered to be a marijuana retailer.

MARIJUANA DELIVERY OPERATOR An entity licensed to purchase at wholesale and warehouse finished Marijuana Products acquired from a Marijuana Cultivation Facility and sell and deliver finished Marijuana Products and Marijuana Accessories directly to consumers. A Delivery Operator is not authorized to repackage marijuana or marijuana or open a storefront under this license. The Delivery Operator must be licensed by the Cannabis Control Commission and the Massachusetts of Department of Public Health.

MARIJUANA PRODUCTS Manufactured products having marijuana or a marijuana extract, including but not limited to edibles, beverages, topic products, ointments, oils, and tinctures.

MARIJUANA TESTING FACILITY A licensed facility used to test marijuana and marijuana products, and certify for potency and the existing of contaminants. This definition shall also apply to marijuana research facility, marijuana independent testing lab, and marijuana standards testing lab.

MASSAGE Any method of pressure on or friction against, or stroking, kneading, rubbing, tapping, pounding, vibrating, or stimulating of external parts of the human body with the hands or with the aid of any mechanical or electrical apparatus or appliances, with or without such supplementary aids as rubbing alcohol, liniments, antiseptics, oils, powder, creams, lotions, ointment or other such similar preparations commonly used in the practice of massage under such circumstances that it is reasonably expected that the person to whom the service is provided, or some third person on his or her behalf, will pay money or give any other consideration or any gratuity therefor. The practice of massage shall not include the following individuals while engaged in the personal performance of duties or their respective professions:

• Physicians, surgeons, chiropractors, osteopaths, or physical therapists who are duly licensed to practice their respective professions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• Nurses who are registered under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
• Barbers and beauticians who are duly licensed under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, except that this exclusion shall apply solely to the massage of the neck, face, scalp and hair of the customer or client for cosmetic or beautifying purposes.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA TREATMENT CENTER A not-for-profit entity, as defined by Massachusetts law only, registered by the Department of Public Health, that acquires, cultivates, possesses, processes (including development of related products such as food, tinctures, aerosols, oils or ointments), transfers, transports, sells, distributes, dispenses, or administers marijuana, products containing marijuana, related supplies, or educational materials to qualifying patients or their personal caregivers.

MEDICAL OR DENTAL CENTER OR CLINIC A building designed and used for the diagnosis and treatment of human patients that does not include overnight care facilities.

METEORLOGICALMETEOROLOGICAL TOWER A temporary tower equipped with devices to measure wind speed and direction, to determine how much electricity a wind energy facility can be expected to generate.

MOVIE OR LIVE PERFORMANCE THEATRE A movie theater or performance theatre (also called cinema, movie house, film house, film theater or picture house) is a venue, usually a building, for viewing movies (films), or other similar programs for entertainment.

MUNICIPAL FACILITY Government office, service, or facility, including police and fire stations, libraries, and administrative offices, owned or operated by the City of Lowell, the Lowell School Department, or any of their departments or any non-residential facilities of the Lowell Housing Authority.

NARCOTIC DETOXIFICATION AND/OR MAINTENANCE FACILITY A non-residential drug treatment program that assists individual addicted to drugs by administration of a substitute drug. Any facility that dispenses, prescribes, administers, allocates, delivers, hands out, or uses in any way a substitute drug, with or without providing other treatment services, shall be deemed a ‘Narcotic Detoxification and/or Maintenance Facility’ and subject to the regulations under section 7.7 of this ordinance.

NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE Any structure which does not conform to the dimensional requirements in this chapter or to the parking and loading requirements of this chapter for the district in which it is located; provided, that such structure was in existence and lawful at the time the applicable provisions of this or prior zoning ordinances became effective.

NONCONFORMING USE A use of a building, structure or lot that does not conform to the use regulations of this ordinance for the district in which it is located; provided, that such use was in existence and lawful at the time the applicable provisions of this or prior zoning ordinances became effective.

OPEN SPACE, LANDSCAPED The parts of a lot designed and developed for greenspace with trees, shrubs, ground cover and grass, including other landscaped elements, such as natural features of the site, walks and terraces. Such space shall not include rooftops or areas of lot used for parking, access drives or other hard-surfaced areas.

OPEN SPACE, USABLE The parts of a lot designed and developed for outdoor use by the occupants of the lot for recreation, including swimming pools, tennis courts or similar facilities, for gardens or for household service activities such as clothes drying, which space is at least seventy-five (75) percent open to the sky, free of automotive traffic and parking and readily accessible to all those for whom it is required. Open space shall be deemed usable only if at least seventy-five (75) percent of the area has a grade of less than eight (8) percent. Usable open space shall consist of at least 150 square feet of contiguous area.

PARKING GARAGE OR PARKING AREA, NONRESIDENTIAL A building, structure, lot or part of a lot designed or used for the shelter or storage of commercial or noncommercial motor vehicles used by the occupants or users of a lot or lots devoted to use or uses not permitted in a residence district, in which space is available either to long-term or to transient or casual parkers.

PARKING GARAGE OR PARKING AREA, RESIDENTIAL A building, structure, part of a building or structure, lot or part of a lot designed or used for the shelter or storage of noncommercial motor vehicles used by the occupants or users of a lot or lots devoted to a use or uses permitted in a residence district and in which no space is rented for casual or transient parkers.

For all parking areas, the following definitions shall apply.

Access drive the portion of a private parking area or commercial parking lot or structure used to provide access from the street to the parking spaces, but which does not abut a parking space on any side.

Angle parking parking spaces placed at an angle less than 90 degrees from a drive lane.

Drive lane the portion of a private parking area or commercial parking lot or structure which abuts a parking space on one or more sides, which is not used for vehicular parking, and which provides access from the parking space to a street with or without the use of an access drive.

Perpendicular parking parking spaces placed at an angle of 90 degrees from a drive lane.

PATIOS A recreational area adjacent to a dwelling built at grade with a variety of materials, including concrete, pavers, stone, tile, brick, pebbles, rock or pea gravel. Most are set on a concrete slab or a sand and pebble base, where the structure does not require safety railings under the Massachusetts Building Code. Such area shall be kept free of motor vehicles.

PERMANENT SIGN A sign intended to be used for a period greater than thirty (30) days.

PLANNED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT A land use category allowed by special permit that may include the subdivision of land for multiple residential buildings and other compatible land use activities as outlined in Section

8.2 herein.

PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT A mixed use development on a plot of land containing a minimum of the lesser of sixty thousand (60,000) square feet or (5) five times the minimum lot size of the zoning district or as otherwise indicated in this Code, in which a mixture of residential, open space, commercial, industrial or other uses as permitted in the underlying zoning district and a variety of building types to be allowed by special permit as provided for herein.

PORCH A horizontal platform supported by any combination of posts, beams, foundations, and/or joists with or without handrails, steps or terraces covered by a permanent roof, but not enclosed with walls, windows or screens any higher than 4 feet from the platform.

PRIVATE SCHOOL Any educational facility serving school-aged children between the grades of K-12 which is not operated by the City of Lowell School Department. This definition shall include any privately operated school, whether religious or secular, and any charter school, regardless of whether such institutions are set up as non-profit, not-for-profit, or for-profit entities.

PROJECTION An architectural feature, often containing window and/or door assemblies, including bay windows, door porticos, eaves, and balconies, that protrudes beyond the primary wall plane of a building. They may be semi-circular, faceted or rectangular and often have their own roof. They are used to provide a wider view, bring in more light, and contribute to the articulation of a building’s exterior.

PUBLIC SERVICE FACILITY Public facilities including but not limited to transformer stations, substations, pumping stations, telephone exchanges, provided that in residence districts such public service facility is considered essential to service such a residential area and that no public business office, storage yard or storage building is operated in connection with the facility.

RECOGNIZED PROFESSION Architecture, engineering, law, medicine, dentistry or other activity in which specialized services to clients are performed by persons possessing a degree from a recognized institution of higher learning demonstrating successful completion of a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study, and possessing evidence of professional capability such as membership in a professional society requiring standards of qualification for admission or licensing by the Commonwealth.

RECREATIONAL/COMMERCIAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY The retail sale of recreational/commercial marijuana and marijuana product items to a person twenty-one years of age and older, provided that the marijuana retailer is licensed by the Cannabis Control Commission (MA) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for recreational marijuana sales. This definition shall also apply to marijuana store-front retailers.

RECYCLING FACILITIES A facility in which recyclables, such as newspapers, magazines, books and other paper products; glass; metal; asphalt products; and other materials are recycled, reprocessed, and treated to return such products to a condition in which they may be again used as a new product; provided, however, that motor vehicle salvage yards and graveyards; junkyards; and solid waste transfer facilities shall not be deemed a “recycling facility” for the purposes of this definition.

REGISTERED MARIJUANA USE A use engaged in the commercial cultivation, assembly, production, processing, packaging, retail or wholesale, trade, distribution, dispensing, or delivery of Medical or Recreational Marijuana that is regulated by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health or the Cannabis Control Commission.

RELIGIOUS USE, EXEMPT Use of land or structures for religious purpose exempt from regulation pursuant to G.L.

c. 40A, s. 3.

RESTAURANT A building, or portion thereof, including but not limited to a lunch room, cafeteria, ice cream parlor, containing tables and/or booths for at least two-thirds (2/3) of its legal capacity, which is designed, intended and used for the indoor sales and consumption of food prepared on the premises, except that food may be consumed outdoors in landscaped terraces, designed for dining purposes, which are adjuncts to the main indoor restaurant facility. Alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages may be served, subject to local licensing. Entertainment shall be limited to music with no dancing. No drive-up or drive-through window shall be employed.

RESTAURANT, TAKE-OUT Any establishment which has as its principal business the preparation of food, frozen dessert, or beverage for sale to be consumed away from the premises of the establishment, or at ten or fewer seats at tables, benches or counters. This does not apply to restaurants that occasionally sell such items for consumption away from the premises, and does not apply to drugstores or grocery stores. Restaurants of a size greater than 1500 square feet cannot be considered take-out restaurants. Take out restaurants may have drive-through windows, by special permit, if drive-through windows are an allowed use in the district in which the restaurant is located, as defined under

12.4 (g) in Article XII: Table of Uses in the Lowell Zoning Ordinance.

RETAIL A facility selling goods but not more specifically listed in the Table of Use Regulations.

SELF-STORAGE FACILITY or MINI-WAREHOUSE A facility where individual portions of the space are rented to consumers for the temporary storage of business or personal items.

SENIOR CONGREGATE HOUSING A form of housing in which each individual or two-person family is provided with separate quarters which contain living and sleeping space and which may contain kitchen and bath facilities. Such housing shall also contain common dining, kitchen and social facilities. The provision of meals, housekeeping, personal care and limited support services may also be provided. A minimum of 80 percent of the separate living quarters shall be restricted to families of not more than two persons with at least one member sixty-two (62) years of age or older.

SERVICE BUSINESS Any of the following uses:

• Barber, beauty shop, salon for hail, nails, or tanning, laundry and dry cleaning pick-up agency, shoe repair, self-service laundry or other similar uses;
• Hand laundry, dry cleaning or other similar use, provided personnel on premises is limited to five employees;
• Printing shop, photographers studio, career, or other similar use, provided personnel on premises is limited to five employees.

SETBACK, FRONT The shortest horizontal distance between the boundary separating a parcel, lot or block of land from the street or way that it fronts on and a building or feature of a building. Where the front portion of a lot is encumbered by an easement for a public sidewalk or roadway, all front setback dimensions are measured from the boundary separating the easement area from the unencumbered lot. This code regulates the following front yard setbacks.

Front garage setback The shortest horizontal distance measured between the boundary of the parcel, lot or block bordering a street or way and a residential garage door visible from a street or way.

Front porch setback the shortest horizontal distance measured between the boundary of the parcel, lot or block bordering a street or way to the closest point of a covered porch attached to the front of a building.

Front projection setback the shortest horizontal distance measured between the boundary of the parcel, lot or block bordering a street or way to the closest point on a building projection but excluding covered porches.

Maximum front yard setback the longest permitted horizontal distance measured between one boundary of the parcel, lot or block bordering a street or way to a front-facing façade of the building including a front door.

Minimum front yard setback the shortest horizontal distance measured between the boundary of the parcel, lot or block bordering a street or way to the closest point on a building excluding projections or covered porches.

SHORT-TERM RENTAL The rental of all or a portion of a dwelling unit, or of an accessory dwelling unit, to an occupant for a period of thirty-one (31) consecutive calendar days or less, in exchange for compensation, as the term “short-term rental” is used in G.L. c. 64G, s. 1. A short-term rental does not include a hotel, motel, bed-and-breakfast establishment, or lodging house otherwise defined and regulated by this Ordinance.

SIDEWALK A paved, surfaced, or leveled area, paralleling and usually separated from the street, used as a pedestrian walkway.

SIGN A structure which consists of a device, light, letter, word, model, banner, pennant, trade flag, logo, insignia, or representation which advertises , directs, or announces a use conducted, goods, products, services, or facilities available which influence persons, or conveys information, including electric signs, but excluding window displays or merchandise and signs which are incidental to the displayed merchandise.

SIGN, ON PREMISES Sign or other advertising device which advertises or indicates only the person occupying the premises on which it is located, the merchandise for sale or the activity conducted thereon.

SILL The horizontal exterior member below a window.

SMALL WIND ENERGY FACILITY All equipment, machinery and structures utilized in connection with the conversion of wind to electricity with a tower shorter than 100 feet. This includes, but is not limited to, transmission, storage, collection and supply equipment, substations, transformers, service and access roads, and one or more wind turbines.

SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM A device or structural design feature, a substantial purpose of which is to provide for the collection, storage, or distribution of solar energy for space heating or cooling, daylighting, electricity generation, or water heating. A solar energy system may be roof- or building-mounted (mounted on the roof or facade of a building or structure) or ground-mounted (mounted on a structure, pole, or rack anchored to the ground and not attached to a building). Ground-mounted solar energy systems are classified by the area they occupy as small-scale (1,750 square feet or less), medium-scale (more than 1,750 and up to 40,000 square feet), or large-scale (more than 40,000 square feet).

SPECIAL PERMIT GRANTING AUTHORITY Unless, specifically designated otherwise herein, the Board of Appeals of the City of Lowell.

STATE BUILDING CODE (SBC) The latest edition of the Massachusetts State Building Code.

STORY That part of a building or structure between any floor and the floor or roof above. A cellar, basement or parking area will count as a story only if a) more than half of the clear height is above the average elevation of the finished lot grade, OR, b) more than five feet of the front elevation is above the grade at the front of the structure. Steeples and projections used or intended to be used exclusively for utility service or access to the roof shall not be deemed a story. Attic areas used for storage or structural support where no portion of the attic can be converted to a living area under the Massachusetts Building Code shall not be considered a story.

STORY, HALF A partial story under a roof which has the line of intersection of the roof and the wall face not more than three feet above the floor level, and in which space the floor area with headroom of five feet or more occupies no more than 80 percent of the area of the story directly beneath. Where such floor area occupies more than 80 percent it shall be considered a story. Dormers are included in determining the story status. Attic areas used for storage or structural support where no portion of the attic can be converted to a living area under the Massachusetts Building Code shall not be considered a half-story.

STREET An accepted city way, or a way established by or maintained under county, state, or federal authority, or a way built to the specifications of a subdivision plan approved in accordance with the subdivision control law, or a way determined by the planning board to have sufficient width, suitable grades, and adequate construction to provide for the needs of vehicular traffic in relation to the proposed use of the land, and for the installation of municipal services to serve such land and the buildings erected or to be erected thereon.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY Any structure, antenna, tower, or other device used for commercial purposes and which provides mobile wireless services, unlicensed wireless services, cellular phone services, specialized mobile radio communications (ESMR), personal communications service (PSC), or common carrier wireless exchange access services.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS TOWER Any structure that is designed and constructed primarily for the purpose of supporting one or more antennas. The term telecommunications tower shall include self-supporting lattice towers, guy towers, monopole towers, radio and television transmission towers, microwave towers, common-carrier towers, cellular phone towers, and the like.

TEMPORARY SIGN A sign intended to be used for a period of thirty (30) days or less.

TERRACE A paved surface on grade intended for private or shared use between residences. Not included are porches, decks or balconies.

TOWER HEIGHT The vertical distance from the mean grade (average grade around the perimeter) to the highest point of the structure.

TOWNHOUSE DEVELOPMENT Development of individual dwelling units in a row of at least three such units in which each unit has its own access to the outside, no unit is located over another unit, and each unit is separated from any other unit by one or more vertical common fire-resistant walls.

TRAILER A highway vehicle designed, constructed and equipped for use as a dwelling and which is capable of being hauled or towed, or is self-propelled, including any such vehicle so converted as would make it immobile.

TRANSIENT A person or stay which is brief or temporary as a guest.

USE The purpose for which land or a building is arranged, designed or intended, or for which either land or a building is or may be occupied or maintained.

VETERINARY ESTABLISHMENT A place for the treatment of animals, including kennels and pet shops, provided that in business districts all animals are kept indoors and there are no noise or odors perceptible from adjoining establishments or buildings.

WAREHOUSE A building used primarily for the storage of goods and materials, for distribution, but not for sale on the premises, but not including open storage or bailing of junk, scrap metal, rags, waste paper or used rubber.

WETLAND That area of land which may not be excavated or filled as of right and is subject to federal, state, county or town regulations governing lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, fresh water swamps and other wetlands features as identified by the Wetland Protection Act, as determined by the conservation commission or DEP.

WHOLESALE The sale of goods in large quantity for the purpose of resale and completely enclosed in a building. Such uses shall not include the sale or transfer of flammable liquids, gas, explosives or other potentially hazardous materials.

WIND ENERGY FACILITY All equipment, machinery and structures utilized in connection with the conversion of wind to electricity. This includes, but is not limited to, transmission, storage, collection and supply equipment, substations, transformers, service and access roads, and one or more wind turbines.

YARD, FRONT The yard extending across the full width of the lot and lying between the front street line, or the building line and the nearest part of a building, excluding front porches and projections.

YARD, REAR The yard extending across the full width of the lot and lying between the rear line of the lot and the nearest part of a building.

YARD, SIDE The yard between the side line of the lot and the nearest part of a building and extending from the front yard to the rear yard, or in the absence of either such yards, to the front or rear lot line as may be.