General rules of Construction in Kutchan Town
Those who are planning to build a building in Kutchan town must obey the following rules of construction.
Article 1 Purpose.
The provision of these rules shall apply to the construction of every building or signboard.The purpose of these rules is to establish the minimum requirements required to regulate buildings for the climate of Kutchan town and so we can continue our comfortable lifestyle in the heavy snowfall season.
Article 2 General Definitions.
For the purpose of these rules, the terms defined in this section have the following meanings.
(1) ( Kenchikubutsu ) A building
(2) ( Kousakubutsu ) Artifical Attachment
“Kousakubutu” means a gate, wall, gate lamp or independent signboard which is attached to a building.
(3) ( Rakusetuyane ) “Rakusetuyane” means a building with a pitched roof which allows the snow to slide down. The pitch of the roof is more than one-100th (0.6 degrees).
(4) ( Murakusetuyane ) “Murakusetuyane” means a building with a roof which has such a structure or device that prevents snow on the roof from sliding off.
(5) ( Dourokyoukaisen )“Dourokyoukaisen” means a boundary line between the building site and the road in front of it.
(6) ( Rinchikyoukaisen ) “Rinchikyoukaisen” means a boundary line of a building site with an adjoining site which is not a road.
(7) ( Rakusetuhikyori ) “Rakusetuhikyori” means the horizontal distance between the building and the landing point of the snow sliding off from the roof.
(8) ( Kankoubai ) “Kankoubai” means a roof which has a pitch between 0.6 degrees and 5.7 degrees.
(9) ( Yuukougaihekikoutaikyori )“Yuukougaihekikoutaikyori” means the minimum horizontal distance from the outer wall of a building to the site boundary. In the case that a building has eaves, “Yuukougaihekikyori” must be the minimum horizontal distance between the top of the eaves and the site boundary.
Article 3 ”Rakusetuhikyori” from “Rakusetuyane”.
3.1 If you plan to build a building with “Rakusetuyane” , please refer to Annex 1.
3.2 When arranging buildings with “Rakusetuyane” on a site, note that the distance between the building and site boundary must be more than “Rakusetuhikyori”.
Article 4 ”Rakusetuhikyori” from “Kankoubai”
Regardless of the preceding Article 3 Clause 1, it should be considered that a snow cornice may occur from a low-pitched roof. To keep enough distance between a building with a snow cornice and a site boundary, refer to the following clauses to determine which Annex you should refer to (Annex 1 or Annex2).
4.1 In the case that the length of a roof is less than 6m, refer to Annex 2 to take “Rakusetuhikyori” into consideration.
4.2 In the case that the length of a roof is 6m or more, refer to Annex 1 (the row of the table which refers to a 10°pitched roof).
Article 5 Distance between an outer wall of a building with “Rakusetuyane” (on the side snow does not slide down) and a boundary line.
Article 6 and Article 7 provide the distance between an outer wall of a building with “Rakusetuyane” (on the side that snow does not slide down) and a boundary line.
Article 6 Distance from an outer wall of building with “Murakusetuyane” to a site boundary.
Refer to Annex 3, taking into consideration the snow cornice for the minimum distance from the outer wall of a building with “Murakusetuyane” to a site boundary.
Article 7 Distance from a building with “Murakusetuyane” to a site boundary in a business or semi-business district.
“Syougyouchiki” Business district
“Jyunsyougyouchiki” Semi-business district
Regardless of the previous Article, as long as a snow cornice does not occur, refer to Annex 4 to know the distance from a building with “Murakusetuyane” to a site boundary in a business or semi-business district.
Article 8 Prevention of danger.
8.1 For those who own a building or plan to build and fail to obey Article 3 Clause 2 and Article 4, he/she must take measures in the following Clauses.
8.1.1 A building owner must attach snow stoppers on the roof so that the snow does not slide off.
8.1.2 If there is a possibility that snow on the roof will slide off on to the road, the building owner must provide a warning sign.
8.2 In the case that a building owner fails to obey Article 6 and Article 7, he/she must take measures so that a snow cornice does not occur.
8.3 The building owner must allow enough space on the site to pile the snow which slides from the roof and it must not be piled on the road.
8.4 If there is a kerosene tank, a propane gas cylinder or sheds their of, they must be kept more than 1m from the road and 0.5m from the boundary line with a neighbouring site.
Article 9 “Youkougaihekikoutaikyori” of a building facing on a road.
In the case that a building faces the road, the minimum horizontal distance from a building to a site boundary with the road must be decided according to the width of the road. Please refer to Annex 5.
Article 10 Raising the ground level of a flat building site.
10.1 In the case that you raise the ground level of a flat building site, the ground level should be lower than either that of the adjoining roads plus 30 centimeters or the adjoining sites (whichever is higher). Exception: If you raise the ground level of a building site for a sanitation reason.
10.2 The area where you raise the ground level must be more than 75% of the circumference of the building. The area of the ground surface which is to be raised, has to be more than half the length of the shortest full length wall of the building.
10.3 The circumference of a building site which has been raised must be covered with grass or concrete to prevent an outflow of sand, soil and rainwater.
Article 11 Securing enough space for a garage or parking.
11.1The building owner must allow enough space for a garage or parking on the site. The size of the parking area depends on the use of the building, please refer to the following clauses.
11.1.1 A house or an apartment block
Secure a garage or parking space depending on the number of apartments/houses.
11.1.2 An office
Secure a garage or parking space depending on the number of desk employees.
11.1.3 A store
Secure a garage or parking space large enough to prevent illegal parking on the road.
11.2 The size of the parking space per car should be more than 15 square meters and in addition must be large enough to allow for snow in winter.
11.3 The distance from a car in the parking lot to the site boundary should be more than 50 centimeters.
Article 12 Promoting of planting trees in a site.
The building owner must consider planting as many trees as possible on the building site. Please refer to the following Clauses for further instructions for each type of building.
21.1 A house or an apartment block
① The boundary line of a building site which abuts a road Make a green belt 1 meter wide such as a lawn or flowerbed along the road (except the approach).
② Within the siteConsider the growth of a tree when you plant it on the site. If there is not enough space on the site, use a potted plant instead of planting a tree.
12.2 A large-scale building（A building other than a house or an apartment block with parking space for more than 10 cars.）
① The boundary line of a building site or its parking space which abuts a road Make a green belt such as a lawn or flowerbed along the road (except the approach).
② Within the siteConsider the growth of a tree when you plant it on the site. If there is not enough space on the site, use a potted plant instead of planting a tree.
Article 13 Prevention of outflow of the soil and sand.
The building owner must take measures to prevent an outflow of soil and sand by the rain from a building site to the road.
Article 14 Consideration for the surrounding scene.
Refer to the following Clauses to build a building which has a suitable structure for an area of heavy snowfall and an external appearance that is acclimatized with a rural area and the town as a tourist centre.
14.1 The external appearance of the building must match with nature and the surrounding view.
14.2 External fixtures of the building such as a garage, sheds for kerosene tank and propane gas cylinders must harmonize with the town streetscape.
14.3 Plan to make a comfortable space where one can live safely and actively in winter.
14.4 The commercial buildings on the roadside in commercial areas or skiing areas must have an attractive structure suitable for window-shopping etc.
Annex
Annex 1 (Referred to in Article 3)
Annex 2 (Referred to in Article 4)
Annex 3 (Referred to in Article 6)
Annex 4 (Referred to in Article 7)
Annex 5 (Referred to in Article 9)
