(A) General rule. Words and phrases shall be taken in their plain, ordinary and usual sense. However, technical words and phrases having a peculiar and appropriate meaning in law shall be understood according to their technical import.
(B) Definitions. For the purpose of this code, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
CITY, MUNICIPAL CORPORATION or MUNICIPALITY. The City of Sunset Valley, Texas.
CITY SECRETARY, CHIEF OF POLICE or OTHER CITY OFFICERS or DEPARTMENTS. The City Secretary/Administrator, Chief of Police or other municipal officers or department, respectively, of the City of Sunset Valley, Texas.
CODE, THIS CODE or THIS CODE OF ORDINANCES. This municipal code as modified by amendment, revision and adoption of new titles, chapters or sections.
COUNTY. Travis County, Texas.
HIGHWAY or STREET. When used in this code, shall include any street, alley, highway, avenue, public place or square, bridge, viaduct, tunnel, underpass, overpass and causeway in the city dedicated or devoted to public use.
MAY. The act referred to is permissive.
MONTH. A calendar month.
OATH. An affirmation in all cases in which, by law, an affirmation may be substituted for an oath and, in such cases, the words SWEAR and SWORN shall be equivalent to the words AFFIRM and AFFIRMED.
OFFICER, OFFICE, EMPLOYEE, COMMISSION or DEPARTMENT. An officer, office, employee, commission or department of the municipality unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
OFFICIAL TIME STANDARD. Whenever certain hours are named in this code, they shall mean Central Standard Time or Central Daylight Saving Time, whichever is in current use in the city.
OWNER. Applied to a building or land, shall include any part owner, joint owner tenant in common, tenant in partnership, joint tenant or tenant by the entirety, of the whole or of the part of the building or land, except as otherwise defined in this code.
PERSON. Extends to and includes an individual human, partnership, co-partnership firm, company, limited liability partnership or other partnership or other company, joint venture, joint stock company, trust, estate, governmental entity, association or corporation or any other legal entity, or their legal representatives, agents or assigns. The masculine gender shall include the feminine, the singular shall include the plural where indicated by the context. Whenever used in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty, the terms PERSON or WHOEVER, as applied to any unincorporated entity, shall mean the partners or members thereof, and as applied to corporations, the officers or agents thereof.
PERSONAL PROPERTY. Includes every species of property, except real property, as defined in this section.
PRECEDING or FOLLOWING. Next before or next after, respectively.
PROPERTY. Includes real and personal property, or a mixture of the two, if the sense used so indicates.
REAL PROPERTY. Includes land, tenements and hereditaments.
ROADWAY. The portion of a street improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular traffic and that portion of a street used for drainage.
SHALL. The act referred to is mandatory.
SIDEWALK. Any portion of the street between the curb or the lateral lane of the roadway and the adjacent property line, all or a part of which is intended for the use of pedestrians.
SIDEWALK AREA. The space between the lateral lane of the roadway and the boundary separating the public right-of-way and the adjacent private property.
SIGNATURE or SUBSCRIPTION. Includes a mark when the person cannot write.
STATE. The State of Texas.
SUBCHAPTER. A division of a chapter, designated in this code by a heading in the chapter analysis and a capitalized heading in the body of the chapter, setting apart a group of sections related by the subject matter of the heading. Not all chapters have SUBCHAPTERS.
WRITTEN. Any representation of words, letters or figures, whether by printing or otherwise.
YEAR. A calendar year, unless otherwise expressed.