Okla. Admin. Code § 120:10-1-3
For the purpose of this Chapter, words used in present tense shall include the future tense; words in the singular number include the plural and words in the plural include the singular, except where the natural construction of the writing indicates otherwise. The word 'shall" is mandatory and not discretionary. In addition the following words and terms, when used in this Chapter, shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Accessory structure" means a secondary building or structure, the use of which is incidental to that of the main building on the premises.
"Accessory use" means a secondary use or occupancy compatible to the principal use of the main building.
"Adult day care center" means a public or private facility where for compensation, a staff provides day care services to four (4) or more unrelated functionally impaired or physically disabled adults; services include, but are not limited to meals, recreation, socialization skills, counseling, and therapy.
"Advertising sign" or "structure" means any metal, wood, plastic, plaster, stone, or other sign placed for outdoor advertising purposes on the ground or any wall, post, building, or structure.
"Alley" means a street but not a public street, located between or behind buildings that is used to provide a secondary or service access to the abutting properties.
"Alter or Alterations" means the changing or remodeling of a building, structure or site that does not add to or otherwise increase the physical size or floor area of the main building on the site.
"Automobile" means a self-propelled mechanical vehicle designed for use on streets and highways for the transport of goods and people including but not limited to the following: passenger cars, trucks, buses, motor scooters, and motorcycles.
"Automobile repair and service" means a facility for the care, servicing, repair, or equipping of automobiles.
"Automobile service stations" means an area of land used for the sale of gasoline or oil fuels, but not butane or propane fuels, or other automobile accessories, which may or may include facilities for lubricating, washing, cleaning or servicing automobiles but not including painting.
"Automobile wrecking" or "Salvage yard" means an area outside of a building where motor vehicles are disassemble, dismantled, junked, or "wrecked"; or where motor vehicles not in operable conditions or used parts of motor vehicles are stored.
"Basement" means the portion of a building story having more than one-half of its height below grade. A basement shall be considered a story for the purpose of height regulations, only if more than one-half of its height is above grade or if the level of the first floor is more than eight feet above the established grade at any point.
"Boarding house" means a building, where, for compensation and by prearrangement for definite periods, lodging is provided for three (3) or more persons, provided that such persons are unrelated or are not living together as a family. The maximum number of persons permitted to live in a boarding house shall not exceed fifteen (15) persons.
"Building" means a more or less enclosed permanent structure intended for occupancy and use as, but not limited to housing, commerce, and industry.
"Building area" means the total area of a site which is covered by a building or buildings as measured on a horizontal plane at ground level, terraces and uncovered porches are excluded from the total area.
"Building Coverage Ratio" means a mathematical expression determined by dividing the total footprint area of all buildings on a site by the area of the lot on which the buildings are located as: Building Coverage Ratio = Total Area of Building Footprint(s) / Total Area of Lot.
"Building height" means the vertical distance from the average line of the highest and lowest points of that portion of the lot covered by the building to the highest point of coping of a flat roof, or in the deck line of a mansard roof, or to the average height of the highest gable of a pitch or hip roof.
"Building line" means a line established by law usually parallel to a property line, beyond which a structure may not extend; this does not apply to uncovered entrance platforms, porches, terraces, and steps.
"Building site" means an area or parcel of land with defined limits on the location or proposed location of buildings or structures.
"Carport" means a covered shelter opened on one or more sides designed for storage of private motor vehicles.
"Certificate of Appropriateness" means the official document issued by the Historical Preservation and Landmark Board of Review approving and/or concurring in the application for permission to construct, demolish, relocate, reconstruct, restore, or alter any structure designated by the authority of this regulation.
"Chemical dependence treatment center, residential" means a residential facility where unrelated persons reside temporarily and are evaluated and provided treatment by a staff of professionals while recovering from drug addiction, alcoholism, or psychological illness resulting from chemical substance abuse.
"Child care center" means any public or private facility that, for compensation, receives six (6) or more children under the age of thirteen (13) years not of common parentage and, apart from their parents, legal guardians or custodians.
"Child care facility" means a facility operated by a person, public or private institution where, for compensation and definite time periods, children under the age of thirteen (13) years, not of common parentage, for care apart from their parents, legal guardians or custodians, are received and provided care; the program may or may not include educational, recreational, and social activities.
"Child care home" means a private residence where, for compensation, the owner/occupant receives five (5) or less children for care, and is operated in a manner that preserves the home as a primarily residential use and will not change the character of the residence.
"Childhood development center" means a public or private facility that offers a development program for children with learning or physical disabilities, services provided include, but are not limited to, testing, screening, counseling, treatment, therapy, and educational programs.
"Commission" means the Capitol-Medical Center Improvement and Zoning Commission.
"Community treatment center" means a public or private facility that does not include residential accommodations, where a staff of professionals evaluates and provides treatment for persons suffering or recovering from physical, emotional, or substance abuse problems.
"Court" means an open, uncovered, unoccupied space, partially or fully surrounded by walls or buildings.
"Courtyard" means an open area that is partially or fully enclosed by one or more buildings and/or by walls.
"Drive-in restaurant" means an establishment designed to permit its patrons to purchase and consume food and/or non-alcoholic beverages while they remain in their automobiles on the premises.
"Drug treatment center" or "halfway house" means a facility where unrelated persons, reside temporarily while recovering from treatment for chemical dependence, alcoholism or a psychological illness and no counseling or treatment is provided on the premises. This definition does not include "halfway house or sober houses" as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"Dry cleaning" or "self-service laundry" means a building or part of a building available to the general public for the purpose of washing, drying, dry cleaning wearing apparel, and textiles by means of mechanical appliances which are operated primarily by the customer or an attendant.
"Dwelling" means a building, designed or used as living quarters for one or more families, but not including house trailers, mobile homes, or travel trailers.
"Dwelling, accessory" means a second dwelling that is subordinate to the principal dwelling on an owner-occupied parcel in a RD-1 or RD-2 district and is occupied by no more than one person; accessory dwellings are located to the rear of the rear building line of the main building and have a floor area of 50% or less of the floor area of the main building on the parcel.
"Dwelling, attached" means a residential building sharing one or more of its sidewalls with an adjoining unit.
"Dwelling, detached" means a dwelling standing completely alone, not sharing a wall with another dwelling having open space on all sides.
"Dwelling, single-family" means a dwelling designed to accommodate and be occupied by one family.
"Dwelling, two-unit" means a building for residential use designed to accommodate two family units to be occupied by two families living independently of each other.
"Dwelling, multi-unit" means a building for residential use designed to accommodate several separate family units, usually for occupancy by three or more families living independently of each other.
"Dwelling" or "row house" or "townhouse" means one of a series of houses constructed in an unbroken row, sharing one or more of its sidewalls with a neighbor; each unit has a separate outdoor entrance and is designed to be occupied by one family.
"Exterior architectural feature" means any architectural design element or detail that characterize an architectural style including but not limited to building materials, windows, signage, doors, iron work, and other ornaments.
"External improvement" means any installation or physical change made to a property to increase its value and/or improve its aesthetic quality.
"Family" means one or more persons related by blood or marriage, including adopted children, or a group of, not to exceed, five persons (not related by blood or marriage), occupying the premises and living as a single non-profit housekeeping unit, as distinguished from a group occupying a boarding house, group home or hotel.
"Floor area, gross" means the area within the perimeters of the outside wall of a building as measured from the inside surface of the exterior walls, with no deduction for hallways, stairs, closets, thickness of walls, columns or other interior features.
"Floor area, net" means the actual occupied area of building devoted or intended to be developed to a particular use, with structural head room of seven (7') feet or more, whether above or below the finished lot grade, not including accessory unoccupied areas or thickness of walls.
"Floor area ratio" means a mathematical expression determined by dividing the gross floor area of a building by the lot area on which it is located as: Floor Area Ratio (FAR) = Gross Floor Area of Building(s) / Total Area of Lot
"Frontage" means the length of a lot line or a building site along a street or other public way.
"Garage or parking structure" means a building for short term storage of motor vehicles, having 2 or more tiers or levels and at least 2 partially open sides.
"Garage apartment" means a dwelling unit occupied by 1 family constructed above a private garage.
"Garage, private residential" means an accessory building or part of a main building used for storage of motor vehicles owned by the occupants and guests of the main building.
"Good repair" means a condition which not only meets the minimum standards of health and safety, as detailed in the International Building Code Book of the City of Oklahoma City, but which also guarantees continued attractiveness, structural soundness, and usefulness.
"Gross floor area" (See "Floor area, gross") "Group home" means a dwelling where the occupants reside temporarily and are furnished with independent sleeping and living quarters, shared or individual kitchens and dining facilities in an environment that provides a group setting of social contact, mutual support and assistance. Medical or psychological treatment may be provided on the premises. Compensation for living quarters may or may not be required.
"Health care facilities" means any facility related to health care and/or treatment of physical or emotional illness which include but are not limited to the following:
(A) "Clinic, dental, medical or mental health" means a facility for the evaluation, examination, and treatment of physically or emotionally ill out-patients, including all clinic facilities associated with any college within the University of Oklahoma Medical School.
(B) "Dental or medical laboratories" means a facility operated for the primary purpose of performing medical or dental diagnostic, testing, analytical or clinical work having a direct relationship to a specific health service.
(C) "Extended stay facility" means a residential type facility usually operated by a philanthropic organization that provides short term, temporary living quarters with meals or kitchen facilities for families of patients receiving treatment, and /or ambulatory outpatients; the operator may receive compensation for services.
(D) "Geriatric care center" means an outpatient health facility dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, and care of senior adult patients. The clientele may or may not participate in clinical research or other health or social service programs administered by the center.
(E) "Hospital" means an institution providing inpatient medical, surgical, or trauma care for the sick and injured, which include support services that are fundamentally associated with the facility.
(F) "Health center" means a group of facilities providing health services, including but not limited to research laboratories, inpatient and outpatient treatment and services, institutions of higher education, service centers, and residential accommodations.
(G) "Health center residential" means residential dwelling units owned and operated by Health Center members for the purpose of housing staff, students, employees, and visiting health care professionals.
(H) "Health Sciences Center Facilities" means all of or any part of the University of Oklahoma's College of Medicine and other colleges.
(I) "Medical research laboratory" means a facility operated for the primary purpose of performing research, analytical or clinical research associated with the provision of health care services. Laboratories engaged in producing or manufacturing for commercial sales or distribution are not considered to be research laboratories.
(J) "Public health facility" means a facility primarily utilized by a health organization to provide public health services including related facilities such as laboratories, clinics, and administrative offices and including the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
(K) "Rehabilitation center" means a facility operated primarily for the purpose of assisting in the treatment of temporary or permanently disabled patients and a coordinated approach by many professions is made to the physical, emotional, and vocational evaluation of patients; and, living quarters may be operated as a fundamental part of the facility.
(L) "Mixed Use Building" means for the purposes of the Mixed Use Overlay District-1, Health Center Commercial, a building designed and constructed to accommodate 2 or more compatible uses. The uses are separated by interior walls or partitions. Off-street parking is provided for each specific use in a common parking facility. The building may be owned by one or more occupants, or a private individual or group.
"Hauling Trailer" means a vehicle to be pulled behind an automobile or truck which is designed for hauling animals, produce, goods, or freight, including boats.
"Historical and/or architectural significance" means that which has a special historical or aesthetic interest or value as part of the development, heritage or cultural characteristics of the city, region, state or nation.
"Historic district" means a geographically definable area with a concentration of linkages of significant sites, building, structures, or monuments that are unified historically, architecturally, or archaeologically.
"Home occupation" means an occupation or profession carried on by a family or member of a family residing on the premises, which does not change the character and is secondary to the use of the dwelling for dwelling purposes and to which the following restrictions apply:
(A) not more than 1 person, other than a family member residing on the premises, is employed at the home;
(B) no trading in merchandise is carried on in connection with the business;
(C) no display of merchandise or signs other than 1 non-illuminated nameplate, not more than 2 square feet in area or 9" in diameter attached to the main or accessory building; and,
(D) no mechanical equipment is used or activity is conducted which creates noise, dust, odor, or electrical disturbance beyond the confines of the lot on which the occupation is conducted;
(E) Beauty or barber shop, tea room or restaurant, intermediate care facility, real estate office, or cabinet, metal or auto repair shop are not considered a home occupation.
(F) Any other restrictions the Commission determines are necessary to protect the environment and the quality of the residential area in which the use is located.
"Hotel" means a building or group of buildings under one ownership containing six (6) or more sleeping rooms intended to be occupied as the more or less temporary abiding place of persons who are lodged with or without meals for compensation.
"Humanitarian or Philanthropic Foundation" means a facility owned and operated by a charity, legal nonprofit organization, religious institution or quasi-public entity where the primary source of operating funds is donations, and the services provided are offered directly to the general public and serve the public interest.
"Institution" means a public or private organization or foundation dedicated to providing a service to the public.
"Intermediate care facility" means a health care facility for individuals who are disabled, elderly, or non-acutely ill, usually providing less intensive care than offered at a hospital or skilled nursing facility.
"Juvenile treatment center, residential" means a public, quasi-public or private facility that may require onsite security or supervision, where unrelated juveniles 18 years of age or younger are placed, whether it be voluntarily or involuntarily, and reside temporarily primarily for the purpose of rehabilitation, whether programs are operated for the treatment or counseling of but limited to chemical dependence, abuse, neglect, truancy, delinquency, behavioral or emotional problems and education is typically a vital part of the program.
"Kennel, public" means any lot or premises on which four (4) or more dogs more than six (6) months of age are kept for compensation.
"Lot" means a parcel of land with principal frontage along a street, including open space as required by this regulation and other laws and ordinances.
"Lot area" means the total horizontal area included within lot lines.
"Lot, corner" means a lot of which at least 2 adjacent sides abut streets for their full lengths, provided that the interior angle at the intersection of the 2 sides is not less than a code-specified distance.
"Lot, depth" means the distance from the front of the lot to the extreme rear line of the lot.
"Lot, double frontage" means a lot bounded by 2 streets on the front and back.
"Lot, frontage" means the boundary line of a lot that abuts a street, or, if it abuts more than one street, then the street designated by the owner.
"Lot, interior" means a lot other than a corner lot.
"Lot, lines" means the legal defined boundary or limit of a parcel of land.
"Main building" means a structure constructed on the lot for occupation by the principal use.
"Motel" means an area containing 1 or more structures designed or intended to be used as temporary sleeping facilities of one or more transient families intended primarily for automobile transients.
"Nonconformance" means a condition of a structure or land which does not conform to the regulations of the zoning district in which it is situated. This may include, but is not limited to, failure to conform to use, height, area, coverage, or off-street parking requirements.
"Nonconforming use" means a structure or land occupied by a use that does not conform to the regulations of the district in which it is situated.
"Office building" means a building that is used for professional or clerical purposes, no part of which is used for dwelling purposes.
"Ordinary maintenance and repair" means any work, in a historical zoning district that does not require a Certificate of Appropriateness by law, where the purpose of the work is to correct any deterioration or damage to any part of a structure and to restore the structure, as near to its condition prior to the occurrences of the damage.
"Parking Deck" means a permanent structure for the use of parking automobiles with two (2) above ground floors of parking spaces.
"Parking Garage" means a permanent structure for the use of parking automobiles with more than two (2) above ground floors of parking spaces.
"Parking space" means a permanently surfaced area, enclosed or unenclosed, with permanently surfaced driveways connecting the parking space with a street or alley for permitting ingress and egress sufficient in size to store 1 vehicle.
"Placard/Professional name plate" means a wall-mounted flat plate, slab, or disk not greater than 2 square feet in area or 9 inches in diameter that contains the name and/or logo, address, and occupation of the individual or firm engaged in a profession.
"Planned unit development (PUD)" means a development planned in accordance with the provisions of Section 120:10-5-11.1 of this Chapter.
"Premises sign" means any sign that identifies the legal or exact firm name of the business on the premises or advertises any service or product being offered for sale.
"Public administration use" means the legislative, judicial, and executive branches, and the administrative and regulatory activities of the government of the State of Oklahoma and/or its political subdivisions.
"Public school" means an institution dedicated to educating children and supported by public funds.
"Reconstruction" means the work of rebuilding a structure, but not attempting to put it back to its exact original form.
"Recreational vehicle" means a manufactured vehicle dually used as both a vehicle and a temporary travel home for camping to full time living.
"Recreation vehicle space" means a portion of land within a parking facility designed to accommodate one recreational vehicle or travel trailer.
"Restoration" means the process of accurately recovering all or part of the form and detail of a resource and its settings as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of removal of later work and the replacement of missing earlier work.
"Set-back" means the minimum distance between a reference line, usually the property line and the building or a portion of the building.
"Sign" (See "Advertising sign or structure").
"Site development plan" means a plan of a construction site drawn at a scale which shows the exact position and dimensions of the buildings and other structures to be constructed including building elevations, yards, landscape, pedestrian and vehicular circulation and parking, and other features; dimensions and contours of the lot; adjacent roadways and other easements; and the relationship of the development to adjacent areas.
"Skilled nursing facilities" may be independent or part of a senior continuing care community, where 24 hour medical care is available, in addition to custodial care. Residents may be there temporarily for a period of rehabilitation, or may be there for long term care. State regulations define the services that skilled nursing facilities can provide.
"Story" means the space in a building between the surface of any floor levels and a roof above; a basement is usually considered as a story.
"Story, half" means a story within a sloping roof usually having dormer windows and occupying about half the area of the floor or floors below.
"Street" means any public or private thoroughfare usually paved, including all area within the right-of-way, such as sidewalks; a public way which provides the principal means of access to adjacent property.
"Street, intersecting" means any street which joins another street at an angle, whether or not it crosses the other.
"Structure" means anything constructed or assembled, which requires location on the ground or attachment to something located on the ground.
"Structural alteration" means any change in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams or girders, or any substantial change to the roof or in the exterior walls.
"Transitional living facility" means a facility that provides temporary housing and shelter for an extended period to persons who are temporarily homeless due to natural disaster or economic instability and generally integrated with social service and counseling programs for transition to self-sufficiency.
"Yard" means an open space between a building and the adjoining lot lines, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground open to the sky except where otherwise specifically provided in this Chapter.
"Yard, front" means a yard of a lot, facing the street that extends from the front line of the building to the front property line and across the width of the lot, with no obstructions or projections in between, other than steps.
"Yard, rear" means the yard across the full width of the rear of the lot extending from the rear line of the main building to the real property line. On corner lots, the rear yard shall be considered as parallel to the street on which the lot has its least dimension. On both corner lots and interior lots, the rear yard shall, in all cases be at the opposite end of the lot from the front yard.
"Yard, side" means the yard between the side line of a building and the adjacent property line extending from the front property line to the rear property line.
"Zoning district" means all property located within the boundaries of the Capitol-Medical Center Improvement and Zoning District as described in 73 O.S., Section 83, as amended.
Okla. Admin. Code § 120:10-1-3