For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms and words are hereby defined. Words used in the present tense shall include the future; the singular number shall include the plural, and the plural the singular. The word "building" shall include the word "structure"; the word "lot" includes the word "plot"; and the word "shall" is mandatory and not merely permissive or directory.
ACCESSORY BUILDINGS AND USE.
A subordinate building or a portion of the main building, the use of which is incidental to that of the main building or to the main use of the premises. An accessory use is one which is incidental to the main use of the premises.
ALL WEATHER SURFACE. An impervious surface cover consisting of asphalt, concrete, or other similar permanent hard surface material sufficient to prevent ruts, mud, dust, loose material, and other nuisances.
ALLEY.
Public or private thoroughfare which affords only a secondary means of access to property abutting thereon.
ALTERNATIVE PARKING SURFACE. An all weather surface that can additionally be constructed with decomposed granite or pavers.
APARTMENT.
A room or suite of rooms in a multiple dwelling, or in a building in which more than one living unit is established above or on the same floor as non-residential uses, which room or suite is intended or designed for use as a residence by one family and which includes culinary accommodations.
APARTMENT HOUSE.
A building or portion thereof used or designed as a residence for three or more families living independently of each other, and doing their own cooking in the building, including apartments and apartment hotels.
BOARDING HOUSE.
A building, other than a hotel, where for compensation and by pre-arrangement for definite periods, meals or lodging and meals are provided for three or more persons, but not exceeding 20 persons.
BREWPUB. A business required to hold a current, valid brewpub license (BP permit) from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission., provided that a business that only provides tasting or retail sale of alcoholic beverages is not a brewpub.
BUILDING. Any structure designed or intended for the support, enclosure, shelter or protection of persons, animals, chattels, or property.
CLINIC.
An office or group of offices for one or more physicians, veterinarians, surgeons or dentists, or other professionals, engaged in treating the sick or injured, but not including rooms for the abiding of patients.
COMMERCIAL/LARGE SCALE AGRICULTURE. Any use or product relating to or concerned with agriculture whose primary purpose is intended for either retail or commercial sales production.
COMMON AREAS.
Private property owned in common by, and designated for the private use of, the owners or occupants of townhouses in a particular project or subdivision.
COMMON AREAS
uses include, but are not limited to, recreation areas, parks and plazas, ornamental areas open to the general view within the project or subdivision, and building setbacks not otherwise required by ordinance. The
COMMON AREA
does not include public streets, alleys, required building setbacks or utility easements.
DAYCARE CENTER.
A facility that provides care for more than 12 children under the age of 14 for less than 24 hours a day. It does not include a group day care or drop-in care center.
DISTRICT.
A section or sections of the city for which regulations governing the use of buildings and premises, the height of buildings, the size of yards, and the intensity of use are uniform.
DROP-IN CARE CENTER.
A child care facility that provides care for children under the age of 14 for part of the day. It does not provide regular care for the same child. It does not include a group day care home or day care center.
DWELLING.
Any building or portion thereof which is designed and used exclusively for residential purposes.
DWELLING, MULTIPLE.
A building having accommodations for and occupied by more than two families.
DWELLING, SINGLE FAMILY.
A building having accommodations for and occupied exclusively by one family.
DWELLING, TWO FAMILY
or
DUPLEX.
A building having accommodations for and occupied exclusively by two families.
EXTERIOR LIGHTING.
Exterior lighting shall include, but shall not be limited to, all freestanding lights, ground lights, illuminated signs, lights and other luminaries mounted on the exterior of any building. For the purposes of regulations regarding exterior lighting, interior lighting visible from the exterior shall be treated as exterior lighting.
FAMILY.
One or more persons occupying a premises and living as a single housekeeping unit as distinguished from a group occupying a boarding house, lodging house, or hotel as herein defined.
FILLING STATION or SERVICE STATION.
Any building or premises used for the dispensing, sale, or offering for sale at retail of any automobile fuels or oils. When the dispensing, sale, or offering for sale is incidental to the conduct of a public garage, or retail store, the premises are classified as a public garage or retail store.
FRONTAGE.
All the property on one side of a street between two intersecting streets (crossing or terminated), measured along the line of the street, or if the street is dead-ended, then all the property abutting on one side between an intersecting street and the dead-end of the street.
GARAGE, PRIVATE.
An accessory building or portion of the main use building, designed for or used for the housing of motor driven vehicles which are the property of and for the private use of the occupants of the lot on which the private garage is located. Not more than one of the vehicle may be a commercial vehicle and of not more than one and one-half tons capacity.
GARAGE, PUBLIC.
A building or portion thereof, other than a private garage, designed or used for equipping, repairing, hiring, servicing, selling, or storing motor driven vehicles.
GRADE.
(1) For buildings having walls adjoining one street only, the elevation of the sidewalk at the center of the wall adjoining the street.
(2) For buildings having walls adjoining more than one street, the average of the elevation of the sidewalk at the center of the walls adjoining the streets.
(3) For buildings having no walls adjoining the street, the average level of the finished surface of the ground adjacent to the exterior walls of the building.
(4) Any wall approximately parallel to and not more than five feet from the street line shall be considered as adjoining the street. Where no sidewalk exists, the grade shall be established by the City Building Inspector.
HEIGHT OF BUILDING.
The vertical distance from the grade to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, to the deck line of a mansard roof, or the mean height level between the eaves and ridge for a gable, hip and gambrel roofs.
HOME BASED CHILD CARE FACILITY.
Any facility registered or licensed as such by the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.
HOME OCCUPATION.
Any occupation or profession engaged in by the occupants of a dwelling not involving the conduct of a retail business, and not including any occupation conducted in any building on the premises excepting the building which is used by the occupant as his or her private dwelling.
HOME OCCUPATIONS
shall include, in general, personal services such as furnished by an architect, lawyer, musician, artist, and seamstress when performed by the person occupying the building as his or her private dwelling and not including a partnership or the employment of any one not residing in the home.
HOTEL.
A building in which lodging or board and lodging are provided and offered to the public for compensation and in which ingress and egress to and from all rooms is made through an inside lobby or office supervised by a person in charge at all hours. As such, it is open to the public in contradistinction to a boarding house, a lodging house, or an apartment which are herein defined.
INDUSTRIALIZED HOUSING.
(1) INDUSTRIALIZED HOUSING is a residential structure that is:
(a) Designed for the occupancy of one or more families;
(b) Constructed in one or more modules, or constructed using one or more modular components built at a location other than the permanent site; and
(c) Designed to be used as a permanent residential structure, when the module or the modular component is transported to the permanent site and erected or installed on a permanent foundation system.
(2) INDUSTRIALIZED HOUSING includes the structure's plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems.
(3) INDUSTRIALIZED HOUSING does not include:
(a) A residential structure that exceeds three stories or 49 feet in height, as measured from the finished grade elevation at the building entrance to the peak of the roof;
(b) Housing constructed of a sectional or panelized system that does not use a modular component; or
(c) A ready-built home constructed in a manner in which the entire living area is contained in a single unit or section at a temporary location, for the purpose of selling and moving the home to another location.
INDUSTRIALIZED BUILDING.
(1) An INDUSTRIALIZED BUILDING is a commercial structure that is:
(a) Constructed in one or more modules, or constructed using one or more modular components built at a location other than the commercial site; and
(b) Designed to be used as a commercial building, when the module or the modular component is transported to the commercial site and erected or installed.
(2) An INDUSTRIALIZED BUILDING includes the structure's plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems.
(3) An INDUSTRIALIZED BUILDING includes a permanent commercial structure, and a commercial structure designed to be transported from one commercial site to another commercial site; but does not include:
(a) A commercial structure that exceeds three stories or 49 feet in height, as measured from the finished grade elevation at the building entrance to the peak of the roof; or
(b) A commercial building or structure that is:
1. Installed in a manner other than on a permanent foundation; and
2. Either:
a. Not open to the public; or
b. Less than 1,500 square feet in total area, and used other than as a school or a place of religious worship.
LIGHT TRESPASS. The spilling or projecting of illumination beyond the boundary lines of the source property so as to annoy or disturb a person of ordinary sensibilities, or otherwise compromise or endanger the safety or privacy of any person.
LODGING HOUSE.
A building or place where lodging is provided (or which is equipped to provide lodging regularly) by prearrangement for definite periods, for compensation, for three or more persons in contradistinction to hotels open to transients.
LODGING HOUSE.
A building or place where lodging is provided (or which is equipped to provide lodging regularly) by prearrangement for definite periods, for compensation, for three or more persons in contradistinction to hotels open to transients.
LOT.
A parcel of land occupied or intended for occupancy by use permitted in this chapter, including one main building with its accessory buildings, the open spaces and parking spaces required by this chapter, and having its principal frontage upon a street or upon an officially approved place. It is intended that one platted lot have only one owner and that subdivision of any lot must follow appropriate ordinances.
LOT, CORNER.
A lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection.
LOT, DEPTH OF.
The mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.
LUMINARY.
The complete lighting fixture, including without limitation the lamp, lens, reflector, shield, and support assembly.
MANUFACTURED HOME.
The meaning set forth in § 152.01.
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK.
The meaning set forth in § 152.01.
NON-COMMERCIAL/SMALL SCALE AGRICULTURE. Any use or product relating to or concerned with agriculture and whose use is accessory to the primary residential use and is intended for the benefit of the individual or individuals who reside on the land and is not intended for either retail or commercial sales production.
NON-CONFORMING USE.
Any building or land lawfully occupied by a use at the time of passage of this chapter or amendment thereto, which does not conform after the passage of this chapter or amendment thereto with the use regulations of the district in which it is situated.
PARKING SPACE.
An area enclosed or unenclosed containing not less than 160 square feet exclusive of the driveways connecting the space with a street or alley. The
PARKING SPACE
and connecting driveway shall be durably surfaced and so arranged to permit satisfactory ingress and egress of an automobile.
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR.
The city official in charge of planning and development.
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION.
The appointed body designated as the city's planning and zoning commission.
SCREENING.
Landscaping, fencing or other material erected as required by this chapter to provide a visual and/or noise barrier from adjacent properties and streets.
SOURCE PROPERTY.
The property on which a device designed to emit light is installed, located or utilized.
STORY.
That portion of a building, other than a basement, included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it; or if there be no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it.
STREET.
A public thoroughfare which affords the principal means of access to abutting property.
STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS.
Any change in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams or girders, or any complete rebuilding of the roof or the exterior walls.
STRUCTURES.
Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires permanent location on the ground or attachment to something having a permanent location on the ground, including, but without limiting the general inclusiveness of the foregoing, advertising signs, billboards, poster boards, and pergolas.
TOURIST COURT (AUTO COURTS, MOTELS, OR MOTOR LODGES).
A group of attached, semi-detached, or detached buildings containing individual sleeping or living units, designed for or used temporarily by automobile tourists, or transients, with garage attached or parking space conveniently located to each unit, and offering to the public daily as well as for other longer term rental rates, and maintaining a register of guests and/or their vehicles.
TOWNHOUSE.
One of a series of single family dwelling units which are either structurally connected, or which are constructed immediately adjacent to each other without side yards between the dwelling units. The terms
TOWNHOME
and
ROW HOUSE
are similarly defined and may be used interchangeably.
TOWNHOUSE GROUP.
Two or more townhouses as an integral part of a townhouse project.
TOWNHOUSE PROJECT.
One or more townhouse groups, together with commonly owned structures or areas.
TOWNHOUSE SUBDIVISION.
One or more townhouse projects.
TRAILER. A vehicle, other than a pole trailer or semi-trailer, with or without motive power:
(1) Designed to be drawn by a motor vehicle and to transport persons or property; and
(2) Constructed so that no part of the vehicle’s weight and load rests on the motor vehicle.
UTILITY TRAILER. A trailer which generally features an open-top cargo area (bed) and is used for the hauling of light loads such as personal effects, articles of household furniture, loads of trash and rubbish, and does not exceed 20 feet in length or seven feet in width.
WINERY. A business required to hold a current, valid winery permit (G permit) from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, provided that a business that only provides tasting or retail sale of alcoholic beverages is not a winery.
YARD. An open space on the same lot with a building, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided herein. In measuring a YARD for the purpose of determining the width of a side yard, the depth of a front yard, or the depth of a rear yard, the horizontal distance between the lot line and the main building shall be used.
YARD, FRONT. A yard extending across the front of a lot between the side yard lines, and being
the minimum horizontal distance between the street line and the main building or any projections thereof other than the projection of the usual steps, unenclosed balconies or open porch.
YARD, REAR. A yard extending across the rear of a lot, measured between the side lot lines, and being the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and rear of the main building or any projections other than steps, unenclosed balconies or unenclosed porches. On corner lots, the REAR YARD shall be considered as parallel to the street upon which the lot has its least dimension. On both corner lots and interior lot the REAR YARD shall in all cases be at the opposite end of a lot from the front yard.
YARD, SIDE. A yard between the main building and the side of the lot, and extending from the front lot line to the yard line.
ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT or BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT. A quasi-judicial board appointed by the City Council to hear and decide appeals, and to consider variance requests, and the like.
(Ord. 2001-36, passed 11-13-01; Am. Ord. 2004-06, passed 3-9-04; Am. Ord. 2006-40, passed 10-24-06; Am. Ord. 2010-26, passed 9-14-10; Am. Ord. 2019-14, passed 5-28-19; Am. Ord. 2020-44, passed 9-8-20, effective 10-1-21; Am. Ord. 2021- 50, passed 10-12-21)