“Accessory use or structure” means a use or structure customarily subordinate or incidental to a primary use, and located on the same lot with the principal use or building and includes garages, required parking areas, small parks or playgrounds, living quarters necessary for caretakers, guards or employee overnight accommodations.

“Adjacent or adjoining lot” means those lots which share a lot line with another lot, and which would share a common lot line if lot lines were extended through any public right-of-way.

“Administrative approval” means an approval made by the planner under WMC 16.12.020 without public notice.

“Adult businesses” means a use which is the retail or wholesale display, sale, rental or provision of adult-oriented entertainment, goods, merchandise or activities. Any commercial use where at least 25 percent of its interior floor area, or at least 25 percent of the showing time, or where at least 25 percent of its merchandise, is devoted to the display, sale, viewing or rental of adult-oriented entertainment, goods, merchandise or activities is an adult business. Adult-oriented entertainment, goods, merchandise or activities refers to books, magazines, films, videos, photographs, or other such similar materials whose dominant content or theme is the actual or simulated depiction of sexual activities, display or exhibition of specified anatomical areas, or total nudity. Adult-oriented entertainment, goods, merchandise or activities is intended to include goods, merchandise or activities depicting, describing or pertaining to human sex acts or that include an emphasis on the display or depiction of male or female genitals, male or female buttocks, or female breasts. Typical examples of such adult businesses would include, but not be limited to, adult motion picture theaters, adult minimotion picture theaters, adult motion picture arcades, adult video rental stores, adult bookstores, and nude or partially nude dancing establishments commonly referred to as exotic dancing or strip tease dancing businesses, and otherwise including dancing performed to emphasize the display of nude or partially nude aspects of the human anatomy referred to herein. Adult business includes hotel, motels or similar establishments which offer a sleeping room for a period of time less than 10 hours or allows a tenant or occupant to subrent the room for a period of time that is less than 10 hours. For purposes of the definition of adult businesses, establishments found not to be subject to or regulated by WMC Chapter 9.04 but otherwise within the definition of adult businesses, as provided for herein, are to be included as within the meaning of adult businesses.

“Adult retirement housing” means a multifamily facility for adults over the age of 60 that is within one-fourth mile of a senior services facility, and has a senior citizen front door pick up transportation program available. The transportation program must operate a minimum of five days a week, during regular business hours, all year round.

“Agriculture” is a use involving the commercial growing of vegetation or the raising, controlled breeding, management, or keeping of beehives, farm animals, or poultry. Animals may be bred and raised for utility (e.g., meat, milk, eggs, fur), sport or pleasure.

“Approval” means any administrative approval, use permit or conditional use issued under this title.

“Assisted living home” means a single-family dwelling designed, used or intended for use in whole or in part as an assisted living home for adults age 60 or over, that is licensed and regulated under AS 47.33.

“Automotive sales” is a commercial use involving the display of three or more vehicles for sale.

“Batch plant” means machinery that blends materials together to create concrete or bituminous paving as the end product.

“Bed and breakfast (B&B)” means an owner-occupied residential dwelling with up to four guest rooms, and includes residential uses offering overnight accommodations to registered transient guests and in which a breakfast is customarily provided to registered guests and included in the charge for the room.

“Beehive” means a manmade housing structure for the keeping of bee colonies and production of honey.

“Berm” means a vegetated, raised earthen barrier.

“Building” means any structure over 120 square feet intended or used for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals or property of any kind.

“Building, commercial” means all buildings in the downtown core area in the commercial zone, as defined as the area between Nelson St. to the Parks Hwy. and between Lucille St. to Crusey St., shall have a foundation supporting the structure consisting of a footing and foundation system that is engineered for Alaska.

“Building height” (for purposes of determining the maximum height of a building) means the vertical distance from the average elevation of the finished grade at the foundation to the highest point on the roof, but not including radio antennas, water towers, church spires, penthouses constructed primarily for mechanical equipment and similar building mechanical features.

“Building line” (for purposes of determining a front setback) means the exterior line of all existing buildings in a block projected on a horizontal plane including steps, open porches and similar appurtenances.

“Building, principal” means a building in which is conducted the main use of the lot.

“Caliper” means the diameter of a tree trunk measured at six inches above the ground unless this dimension exceeds four inches; then the diameter is measured at four and one-half feet above the ground. For multi-trunk trees, the diameter is measured 12 inches above the first fork or 12 inches above ground level if all trunks originate from soil.

“Campground” means a private or publicly owned use which includes two or more campsites that are located, established or maintained for rent or public use for temporary occupancy by any tent, camper, travel trailer, recreational vehicle, cabin or similar building for recreation, vacation, education or rehabilitation purposes.

“Cattery” means any premises used for breeding, buying, selling, keeping or boarding five or more cats over the age of six months, whether for profit or not.

“Cemetery” means a use providing of burial plots for individuals from different families. The provision of burial plots for family members is not a cemetery.

“Church” means a use involving the organized worship of any deity(s) or the practice of any religious or occult discipline including ceremonies, services and accessory uses.

“City planner” means the city planner for the planning department of the city of Wasilla or designee.

“Clear cutting” means the removal of all vegetation from the land, including native trees and shrubs.

“Clerk” means the clerk of the planning commission of the city of Wasilla.

“Coalbed methane extraction” is the extraction of coalbed methane involving drilling, clearing, or grading or the removal for commercial purposes of native vegetation for the purpose of extracting coalbed methane.

“Commercial” means a use involving the storing, wholesaling, retailing or rental of any article, service or substance for cash, trade or any form of compensation, and supporting activities and buildings.

“Commission” means the city of Wasilla planning commission.

“Communication equipment” includes navigational aids, commercial satellite dishes, antennas over 35 feet in height, and airport approach lighting.

“Comprehensive plan” means the comprehensive plan for the city of Wasilla as adopted by the Wasilla city council and as may be amended from time to time.

“Conditional use” means a use designated as such in the district use chart in WMC 16.20.020, which is reviewed and decided upon by the commission under WMC 16.16.040. A conditional use requires a public hearing.

“Convenience store” is a commercial use not involving the sale of automotive fuels which is conducted only on the first floor of a building, occupies 1,000 square feet or less of the building, retails merchandise or services primarily to the neighborhood and is located on a lot with frontage on a street designated as a collector street in the city comprehensive plan.

“Correctional facility” means a structure used in whole or in part to house persons who are subject to state or federal government supervision as a result of a criminal proceeding. This term includes prisons, penitentiaries, trial holding facilities, halfway houses and other similar uses.

“Day” means any calendar day, Monday through Friday, exclusive of city holidays. A day commences at the time of receipt of an application or notice and ends after 24 hours in a day.

“Day care facility” means a commercial use where more than five children or adults are cared for during the day or night or by the hour. This term does not include similar uses where 24-hour care is offered.

“Developer” means any person who causes a use to occur or applies for an approval under this title.

“Domestic animal” means an animal of a species that has been bred and raised to live in or about the habitation of humans and is dependent on people for food and shelter. This includes dogs, cats, parrots, parakeets, canaries, guinea pigs, pot-bellied pigs, hamsters, turtles, or any other animals that are tame by nature and not defined as a farm animal, exotic animal, wild animal, or poultry in this section, so long as they are kept and maintained in compliance with other provisions of this title.

“Due deference” means that deference which is appropriate in the context of the reviewing party’s expertise and area of responsibility, and all the evidence available to support any factual assertions.

“Duplex” means a use or building on a lot containing two dwelling units.

“Dwelling, multifamily” means a use or building designed for or occupied by three or more families.

“Dwelling, single-family” means a use or detached building on a foundation dug into the ground that has a frost resistant footing and foundation wall, designed for or occupied by and providing housekeeping facilities for one family, including factory-built, prefabricated, and modular homes.

“Dwelling unit” means a use or residential unit consisting of a building or portion thereof providing independent and complete cooking, living, sleeping and toilet facilities for one family, and accessory uses.

“Engineer” means the Wasilla city engineer or designee.

“Existing use” means a lawful use or uses on the effective date of this title.

“Exotic animal” means any animal not otherwise identified in the definitions provided in this section that is native to a foreign country or of foreign origin or character, or was introduced from abroad and is not native to the state of Alaska. This term specifically includes animals such as, but not limited to, lions, tigers, leopards, elephants, camels, antelope, anteaters, kangaroos, alligators, and water buffalo, and species of foreign domestic cattle, such as ankole, gayal, and yak, and any animals regulated by the State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Exotic animals that are typically kept as indoor pets are exempt from this definition.

“Family” means not more than eight persons whether or not related by blood, marriage or adoption, all of whom are living together as a single, independent housekeeping unit. The term “family” does not include persons living in a group home, an institutional home or a correctional facility.

“Farm animal” means any domestic species of cattle, sheep, swine, goat, horse, mule, donkey, llama, and alpaca that is normally and has historically been kept and raised on farms in the United States and used or intended for use as food or fiber, or for improving animal nutrition, breeding, management, or production efficiency. This term also includes animals such as rabbits, mink, and chinchilla when they are used for personal utility (e.g., meat or fur), sport, or pleasure.

“Fence” means an artificially constructed barrier of any material or combination of materials erected to enclose or screen an area, except in provisions of this title concerning landscaping, where “fence” means a sight-obscuring barrier constructed of wood, metal, fiberglass or masonry, or a combination thereof. Fences used for the keeping of farm animals must be constructed and maintained in a manner that will effectively contain the animals and protect adjacent lots from intrusion.

“Firearm” is defined as provided in AS 11.81.900(26), as amended from time to time.

“Firing range” means a facility designed for the purpose of providing a place on which to discharge firearms.

“Gross floor area (GFA)” means the sum of the covered and enclosed usable horizontal area of the floors of a building or buildings, measured on the exterior perimeter. The GFA may include outside display areas for businesses that conduct outside sales.

“Gross leasable area (GLA)” is the total floor area designed for tenant occupancy and exclusive use, including any basements, mezzanines or upper floors, expressed in square feet and measured from the centerline of joint partitions and from outside wall faces.

“Ground cover” means any landscaping treatment intended to prevent the growth of invasive species and/or provide erosion control. Ground cover may include lawn or low-growing plants, which grow in a spreading fashion to form a more or less solid mat of vegetation.

“Ground cover” means the material planted or distributed between the required plantings within required landscaped areas. This definition is only for the purpose of the landscaping requirements in WMC Chapter 16.33, Landscaping Standards.

“Group home” means a structure designed, used or intended for use in whole or in part as a long term residence providing supervised or assisted living for not more than eight people who are not handicapped as defined in 42 U.S.C. Section 3602. The term group home does not include an assisted living home or a correctional facility.

“Guest room” means a room used or intended to be used by a guest for sleeping purposes. Every 100 square feet of floor area in a room occupied by more than two guests will be considered a guest room.

“Hazardous materials” means any substance designated pursuant to Section 311(b)(2)(A) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA), any element, compound, mixture, solution or substance designated pursuant to Section 102 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, any hazardous waste having the characteristics identified under or listed pursuant to Section 3001 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, any toxic pollutant listed under Section 307(a) of the FWPCA, any hazardous air pollutant listed under Section 312 of the Clean Air Act, and any imminently hazardous chemical substance or mixture with respect to which the administrator of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency has taken action pursuant to Section 7 of the Toxic Substances Control Act.

“Heavy equipment storage” is a use including the commercial storage or repair of semitrailer tractors, commercial buses, construction and earth-moving equipment such as a front end loader, backhoe, dump truck, grader, bulldozer and other tracked or large-tired vehicle. This term does not include privately used recreational vehicles including air-boats, airplanes and vehicles designed for off-highway use.

“Height” means vertical distance of a tree or shrub from the ground level, or as measured from the top of the root ball to the tip of the highest branch.

“Helipad” means the specific site designated for landing and takeoff by helicopters.

“Heliport” means a use or designated site for the routine commercial or private general operations, landing, takeoff, parking, storage, fueling and/or maintenance of helicopters.

“Home occupation” means a small scale commercial use carried out in a dwelling unit that meets the criteria in WMC 16.16.060.

“Hotel” means a commercial use in a building containing more than six guest rooms intended, used, designed to be used, rented out or occupied on a temporary basis for sleeping purposes. At least 25 percent of all rooms have inside access to the main lobby of the building.

“Industrial” means a use that has potential for significant negative impact on adjoining uses. This category includes uses that incorporate buildings that are large, tall, or unsightly and uses that generate offensive odors, noise or glare; involve large amounts of exterior storage; and uses that, because of their scale, create nuisances or hazards such as heavy truck traffic, commuter traffic, or other intense activity. This definition includes uses such as airports, landing strips, and heliports; truck or rail terminals; concrete batching plants, asphalt or concrete mixing plants; resource extraction; unenclosed bulk material or machinery storage; fuel generation plants (petroleum refineries); grain elevators; meat packing plants or slaughterhouses; resource recycling facilities; commercial flammable or hazardous material storage; sanitary landfills, large scale sewage treatment facilities and manufacturing plants.

“Institutional home” means a structure designed, used or intended for use in whole or in part as a long-term residence providing supervised or assisted living for more than eight people, including people who seek rehabilitation or recovery from any long-term illness, physical, mental or other infirmity or disability. The term includes limited care facilities for the elderly, homes for children, sanitariums, nursing homes, and living quarters for people with long-term illness. The term “institutional home” does not include a correctional facility.

“Junkyard” means a lot or portion thereof which is used for the purpose of the outdoor storage, handling, dismantling, wrecking, keeping or sale of more than two unregistered, discarded, wrecked or abandoned airplanes, appliances, vehicles, boats, and building and building materials, machinery, equipment, or parts thereof, including scrap metals, wood, lumber, plastic, fiber or other tangible materials.

“Kennel” means any premises used for breeding, buying, selling, keeping or boarding five or more dogs over the age of six months, whether for profit or not.

“Landscape vegetation, existing” means previously installed landscape plant material such as trees, shrubs, perennial flowers, or lawn that is healthy, undamaged, and established.

“Landscaped area” means all areas shown on the approved landscape plan that contain required plantings (trees, shrubs, flowers, hedges, etc.), mulch, and other landscaping features that require maintenance and retention in perpetuity. These areas are often protected by curbs or other structural barriers and may be located along the perimeter of the site, within the interior and exterior of parking lots, and as screening/buffering between incompatible uses. This does not include sidewalks/walkways, patios, decks, fountains, or other pervious or nonpervious hardscape unless specifically permitted within this chapter.

“Lawn” means a managed area planted with grass that is typically maintained with a lawnmower and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes.

“Lot” means a distinct parcel of land for ownership and tax purposes which is delineated and fixed on a plat filed for record or described by aliquot parts.

“Lot area” means the total area within the property lines of the lot or the total area of lots with a common boundary line and ownership.

“Lot line, front” means the property line or lines separating the lot from a street.

“Lot line, rear” means the property line or lines opposite and more distant from a front lot line.

“Lot line, side” means any property boundary line not a front or rear lot line.

“Maintenance” means the care of landscape improvements or natural vegetated areas, including watering, mowing, fertilizing, raking, pruning and replacing dead materials as necessary to keep the vegetation in a healthy and attractive condition.

“Mobile food vendor” means a temporary outdoor food and/or beverage service use that may be nonmotorized and self-propelled by the operator or is a vehicle that is either motorized or trailered. This term is inclusive of food trucks, trailers, and/or food carts and trailers.

“Mobile home” means a residential use involving a detached single-family dwelling designed for long-term human habitation and having complete living facilities, constructed and fabricated into a complete unit at a factory and capable of being transported to the location of use on its own chassis and wheels, identified by a model number and serial number by its manufacturer, and designed primarily for placement on an impermanent foundation, and accessory uses. The meter base for incoming wiring is usually not attached to the exterior wall of the mobile home. A travel trailer is not a mobile home.

“Mobile home park” means one or more mobile homes on a lot.

“Modular home” means a building constructed as a prefabricated or assembled unit at a place other than the building site, and is moved on the highway by a licensed commercial trailer and then placed on a permanent foundation. The meter base for incoming wiring is attached to the exterior wall of the modular home.

“Motel” means a commercial use providing transient accommodations with at least 25 percent of all rooms having direct access to the outside without the necessity of passing through the main lobby of the building.

“Mulch” means dead vegetative matter used as a ground cover to retard weed growth, control erosion or conserve moisture; for example, bark mulch placed over weed fabric.

“Multifamily” means a residential use with three or more dwelling units.

“Native vegetation” means dense stands of forest including trees and shrubs that are naturally occurring in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.

“Native vegetation, existing” means existing vegetation prior to any clearing, including trees, shrubs, and other plant species that are either indigenous to and/or occur naturally on the site. This includes vegetation that could have been expected to have been on the site prior to any clearing. This includes forests, wetlands, meadows, or any other undisturbed and undamaged vegetation.

“Neighborhood” means the physical area within a minimum of 600 feet of the proposed use. This term also means an area having certain characteristics in common, including traffic flow, attendance at an elementary school, subdivision boundaries, or a short distance to frequently needed services.

“Nonconforming lot” means a lot whose width, area or other dimension did not conform to the regulations when this code became effective.

“Nonconforming structure” means a building or structure or portion thereof lawfully existing at the time this code became effective, which was designed, erected or structurally altered for a use that does not conform to the zoning regulations of the zone in which it is located.

“Nonconforming use” means a use which lawfully occupied a building or land at the time this code became effective, which has been lawfully continued and which does not now conform with the use regulations.

“Nonconformity” means a lot, building, use or portion thereof, which was lawfully erected, altered or maintained, but no longer conforms to the provisions for the zoning district in which it is located.

“Peak use” means the time period during which those characteristics of a use including traffic, parking, visitation and other activities are at the most active or intense levels.

“Perennial flower” means an herbaceous flowering plant that regrows each year without replanting and typically achieves heights between six and 18 inches at maturity.

“Person” means a partnership, corporation, company, joint venture, public agency, the city and any other municipality, or other association, as well as a natural person.

“Pet animal” means any animal that has commonly been kept as a pet in family households in the United States, such as, but not limited to, dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, and hamsters. This term excludes farm, exotic, and wild animals as defined in this section.

“Planned unit development (PUD)” means a use or combination of uses that are developed under an overlay zoning district in which regulations with respect to permitted uses and structures, minimum dimensions, residential density and other requirements may be varied to allow design innovations and special features in exchange for additional or superior site amenities or community benefits.

“Planner” means the city planner of Wasilla or designee.

“Play field” means an area set aside for outdoor games or recreation including soccer fields, baseball diamonds, football fields, golf ranges and courses, and other uses having similar characteristics.

“Pollution” means the contamination or altering of air, water or land in a manner that creates a nuisance, or makes the air, water or land unclean, noxious or impure so that it is harmful or injurious to public health, safety or welfare, to domestic, commercial, industrial, or recreational use, or to livestock, wild animals, birds, or fish or other aquatic life.

“Poultry” means chickens, doves, ducks, geese, grouse, ptarmigan, pigeons, quail, swans, guinea fowl, peacocks, and turkeys.

“Public facility” is a use, lot or building owned or used by a federal, state or local government agency, school board or utility company, including fire stations, public education facilities, libraries, hospitals, and accessory uses.

“Residential” means a use and accessory uses involving the occupation of a building for living, cooking, sleeping, and includes a single-family dwelling, duplexes, or a multifamily dwelling. Group homes and mobile homes are specifically excluded from this definition.

“Resource extraction” is a use involving clearing or grading or the removal for commercial purposes of native vegetation, topsoil, fill, sand, gravel, rock, petroleum, natural gas, coal, metal ore, or any other mineral, and other operations having similar characteristics.

“Setback” means the area of a lot adjacent to a lot line within which permanent buildings, except for access ways, may not be erected.

“Shrub” means a woody plant that has many small branches from its base and is not tree-like and is a minimum of two feet in height.

“Sidewalk” means the portion of a street intended for nonmotorized vehicle and pedestrian use only.

“Sight triangle” means a triangular shaped portion of land established at street intersections in which nothing is erected, placed, planted or allowed to grow in such a manner as to limit or obstruct the sight distance of motorists entering or leaving the intersection.

“Sign” means any device for visual communication that is used for the purpose of bringing the subject thereof to the attention of the public, excluding the following:

“Site plan” means an accurate to scale graphic depiction of a plan of development that shows existing and planned future conditions including topography, water bodies, buildings, uses, parking areas and vegetation on the lot and in the general area of the proposed development.

“Subdivision” means any division of land which results in the creation or elimination of lots for development and requiring a review by the Matanuska Susitna Borough platting board. A survey that does not result in the creation or elimination of lots such as lot line adjustments are exempt from this definition.

“Surveyor” means a professional land surveyor who is registered and licensed in the state of Alaska.

“Temporary building or use” means a building that is capable of being immediately moved to provide access or a use which occurs on a daily basis, for a limited time up to six months.

“Traffic impact analysis” is a report which assesses the effects that a particular development’s traffic will have on the transportation network in the city of Wasilla and surrounding community. A traffic impact analysis consists of an executive summary; site plan indicating existing and proposed uses, access and circulation; trip generation rates and design hour volumes; trip distribution; traffic counts; capacity and level of service calculations; signal warrant analysis; and summary with recommended mitigation measures.

“Transitional home for criminals” means a use which serves as a place of residence for criminals who are in transition between a correctional facility and living in the community.

“Travel trailer/camper” means a vehicular type portable structure without permanent foundation, which can be towed, hauled or driven and primarily designed as temporary living accommodations for recreational, camping and travel use. The term includes travel trailers, truck campers, camping trailers and self-propelled motor homes.

“Tree” means a woody plant, usually with one trunk, with a minimum height of eight feet.

“Tree, preserved” means all existing, healthy trees identified on an approved landscape plan in an area of the lot that is outside the approved clearing limits and/or all existing, healthy trees within the shoreline protection area.

“Use” includes any significant activity on a lot. A use is considered to occur when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the building. A temporary use is a use that lasts less than 30 days within any six-month period. A use includes the following:

“Use, change of” means a change in the occupancy/tenancy of a building/structure from one permitted use to another permitted use. The change may or may not trigger a change in the requirements that apply to a site (i.e., parking, landscaping, exterior façade). A change of use includes, but is not limited to, the following:

“Use permit” means an approval of a use made by the planner under WMC 16.12.020 that includes public notice.

“Utility facilities” means a use either public or private, which is above or below ground level and which is used to treat, condition or convey water, sewer, energy, electricity and communication services. The term includes pipes, cables, utilidors, substations, transformers, switching devices, lift stations, public satellite dishes, public antennas, and towers. This term does not include minor accessories to the existing system or utility connections necessary for an individual lot.

“Variance” means the relaxation of the strict application of the requirements of WMC 16.24.010.

“Walking distance” means the area within 300 feet measured from the nearest point of the parking or storage facility to the nearest point of the building that such facility is required to serve.

“Waterfront use” means any use, including accessory uses or buildings on a lot within 75 feet of a water body.

“Wild animal” means any animal which is now or historically has been found in the wild, or in the wild state, within the boundaries of the United States, its territories, or possessions. This term includes, but is not limited to, animals such as: moose, caribou, elk, mink, Dall sheep, deer, bear, coyote, squirrel, fox, and wolf. Also included are any animals regulated by the State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

“Yard” means an open space within the required setbacks. (Ord. 22-03 § 2, 2022; Ord. 20-11(AM) § 2, 2020; Ord. 19-16(AM) § 2, 2019; Ord. 18-12(AM) § 2, 2018; Ord. 10-01 § 2, 2010; Ord. 09-32 § 2, 2009; Ord. 09-26(SUB) § 4, 2009; Ord. 09-13 § 2, 2009; Ord. 08-41 § 3, 2008; Ord. 08-29 § 22, 2008; IM 07-05; Ord. 06-47(AM) § 3, 2006; IM 04-05; Ord. 03-62 § 5, 2003; Ord. 03-05 § 2, 2003; Ord. 02-60(SUB) § 3, 2002; Ord. 02-52 § 2, 2002; Ord. 01-31(SUB) § 2, 2001; prior code § 16.43.204)