The regulations and requirements as to height of buildings and area of lot which may be occupied by buildings, side yards, front yards and rear yards; and other regulations and requirements as established in the sections of this chapter, shall be subject to the following exceptions and additional regulations:

    (a) Height:

    (1)    a. In districts R-1, R-2 and R-3, where public or semi-public buildings, such as schools, museums, libraries, public administration buildings, etc., either public or private, are permitted, such buildings may be erected to a height not exceeding seventy-five (75) feet, unless a greater height is allowed, provided that such buildings shall be set back one additional foot on all sides for each additional foot that such buildings exceed the specified height limits as established by the regulations of the district in which such building is situated.

        b.    In the R-3 district only, schools may be constructed to a height of one hundred (100) feet without additional setback requirements.

    (2)    Dwellings in districts R-1 and R-2 may be increased in height, not exceeding ten (10) feet, in addition to the limitation prescribed in such districts, provided that two (2) side yards of not less than fifteen (15) feet in width each, are provided.

    (3)    Parapet walls, false mansards, flagpoles, chimneys, finial cooling towers, elevator bulkheads, penthouses, stacks, cupolas, antennas (as defined in section 29-21.3) and spires shall not extend more than six (6) feet above the height limit.

    (4)    On through lots one hundred twenty-five (125) feet or less in depth, the height of a building may be measured from the curb elevation of either street. On through lots of more than one hundred twenty-five (125) feet in depth, the greater height shall apply to a depth of not more than one hundred twenty-five (125) feet from the higher street.

    (5)    In district A-1, such items as silos, windmills, barns, and other structures normally associated with agricultural use of the land, may not exceed seventy-five (75) feet in height.

    (6)    In districts R-1, R-2 and R-3, private noncommercial radio and television antennae may be permitted to be constructed to a height in excess of thirty-five (35) feet, but none shall be greater than forty-five (45) feet in height. Such antennae shall not be located in the front yard area of any lot, and shall be in compliance with all applicable laws and ordinances of the city.

    (b) Yard Exceptions:

    (1)    In districts R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-4, where lots composing forty percent (40%) or more of the frontage, on the same side of a street between two (2) intersecting streets (excluding reverse corner lots), are developed with buildings, the median of the front yards of

such buildings shall establish the minimum front yard depth for the entire frontage. Where a recorded plat has been filed showing a setback line which otherwise complies with the requirements of this chapter, yet is less than the established setback for the block as provided above, such setback line shall apply.

    (2)    Where an official plan line has been established for future widening or opening of a street upon which a lot abuts, the depth or width of a yard shall be measured from such official plan line to the nearest line of the building.

    (3)    Every part of a required yard or court shall be open from its lowest point to the sky, unobstructed except for the ordinary projection of sills, belt courses, cornices, chimneys, buttresses, solar energy systems, ornamental features, and eaves. None of the above projections shall extend into a court more than six (6) inches nor into a minimum yard more than twenty-four (24) inches; and provided further, that canopies or open porches having a roof area not exceeding sixty (60) square feet may project a maximum of six (6) feet into the required front yard. Open paved terraces may project not more than ten (10) feet into a front or rear yard, and existing open porches extending into a required yard shall not be enclosed.

    (4)    An open fire escape may project into a required side yard, but not more than half the width of such yard, and not more than four (4) feet from the building. Fire escapes, solid floored balconies, and enclosed outside stairways may project not more than four (4) feet into a rear yard.

    (5)    A terrace garage in a district R-1 to R-3 inclusive, may be located in a front or side yard, provided that it is completely recessed into the terrace, and that the height of the terrace is sufficient to cover and conceal the structure from above, and further that the doors, when open, shall not project beyond any property line, and that the structure be set back at least four (4) feet from the front property line.

    (6)    In any residential district, a detached accessory building shall not:

        a.    Exceed twenty-four (24) feet in height;

        b.    Be higher than the main building; or

        c.    Occupy more than thirty (30) per cent of a rear yard.

        A detached accessory building may be connected with the main building by a lightly constructed, covered passage, open on each side, not more than six (6) feet wide inside, the roof of which is not more than twelve (12) feet high at its highest point, and is not an extension of the roof of the main building.

    (7)    No rear yard shall be required in any nonresidential district on any lot of which the rear line adjoins a railway right-of-way or which has a rear railway track connection.

    (8)    In computing the depth of a rear yard for any building where such yard abuts an alley, one-half of such alley may be assumed to be a portion of the rear yard.

    (9)    Buildings constructed on the campus of an institution of higher learning, and which buildings have been included as part of a development plan approved by the council, need not comply with the yard requirements of the district in which they are located, but shall comply with the following requirements:

        a.    Minimum distance to a street line--twenty-five (25) feet, except that where there is a building existing at the time of the passage of this section, with less than a twenty-foot setback on the same side of the street and within one hundred (100) feet on either side of the proposed building, such building may be located not less than twenty (20) feet from the street line.

        b.    Minimum distance to a property line other than a street--fifteen (15) feet for buildings thirty-five (35) feet in height, and five (5) additional feet for each additional ten (10) feet in height.

    (c)    Balcony projections over property lines in district C-2:

    (1)    In district C-2, balconies on new, renovated or retrofitted construction may project into the public right-of-way only if:

    

    a.    The improvement complies with section 24-2(c) of this code; and

    b.    The balcony projects only over a public sidewalk.  No balcony shall project over the travel lanes of any public street or alley; and

    c.    The maximum protection and minimum height above the public sidewalk shall be governed by the Building Code of Columbia, Missouri, adopted in chapter 6 of this code; and

        d.    The proposed balcony meets all applicable design standards contained in this code and other ordinances passed by the city council.

(Code 1964, § 19.210; Ord. No. 9958, § 1, 10-3-83; Ord. No. 15471, § 1, 1-5-98; Ord. No. 20284, § 3, 6-1-09)