Consistent with the content, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the singular number include the plural number, words in the plural number include the singular number and words in the masculine sense include the feminine. For the purpose of this ordinance, certain terms and words are hereby defined as follows:
Accessory Structures, Commercial - Buildings designed for off street parking, garages for occupants and visitors, storage buildings and docks, processing and manufacturing incidental thereto. Temporary construction structures are also included.
Accessory Structures, Industrial - Buildings designed for warehousing, parking, open and enclosed storage, junkyards, equipment storage, docks and salvage yards.
Accessory Structures, Residential - In a residential district, a subordinate building that is attached or detached and is used for a purpose that is customarily incidental to the main structure such as a garage (less than 600 square feet in area); guest homes (less than 800 square feet in area); storage buildings (less than 300 square feet in area); non-commercial greenhouses; home occupations; and temporary construction structures. Accessory buildings, residential, are subject to the setback provisions hereinafter specified and shall be enclosed on all sides with one or more doors.
Accessory Use - A use naturally and normally incident to, subordinate to and devoted exclusively to the main use of the premises as further defined, and which does not change the character thereof.
Animated Sign - Any sign that uses movement, flashing lights, change of lighting or other audio-visual aid to depict action or create a special effect.
Approved - Means approved by the building official or City Council, as appropriate.
Bed and Breakfast - Homestay: A private, owner occupied residence where the frequency and volume of bed and breakfast visitors are incidental to the primary use of the building as a private residence; having no more than three guest rooms; and serving meals as a part of the cost of the room. Inn: a commercial business, offering overnight accommodations and meals as part of the cost of the room, and having four to twenty guest rooms.
Board of Adjustment - The Board of Adjustment of the City, or in their absence, the City Council.
Building - Means any structure for the support, shelter, or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels, or property of any kind which has enclosing walls around 50% of its perimeter.
Building Area - The total area enclosed by a line formed by the outside surface of all walls at the foundation line.
Building Setback Line or Building Line or Setback Line (see Attachment A) - A line defining an area on the building lot between the street right-of-way line and all other property lines and the building line within which no building or structure shall be constructed (also referred to as a “yard”), encroach or project except as specifically authorized in an adopted ordinance of the city. The term Building Setback Line may be used interchangeably with the terms Building Line(s) and Setback Line(s) throughout the subdivision regulations.
(1) Front Building Setback Line (defining a front yard). A line parallel to the street right-of-way line which the building faces, and takes its primary access from. Where lots have multiple frontages on one or more streets, the required front yard shall be provided on each street (see examples below).
(2) Side Building Setback Line (defining a side yard). A line parallel to an adjacent lot which the building sides up to.
(3) Rear Building Setback Line (defining a rear yard). A line parallel to an adjacent lot or alley, which the building backs up to and has its rear or secondary access from.
City - The City of Trinidad, Texas.
City Council - The City Council of Trinidad, Texas.
Conditional Use or Special Use - An additional use which may be permitted in a district, subject to meeting certain conditions and procedures established by the City Council.
County - Henderson County, Texas.
Development Standards - All or part of this ordinance which establishes minimum yard areas and dimensions, setbacks, floor area ratios, maximum lot coverage, building height, signage, and parking requirements.
Density - Number of dwellings divided by acreage.
Dwelling, Single-Family - A building designed for single family occupancy and constructed onsite as a permanent improvement to a legal lot.
Dwelling, Two Family (or Duplex) - A building designed for or occupied exclusively by two (2) families.
Dwelling (Multiple-Family) - Any building or portion thereof, which is designed, built, rented, leased or let to be occupied as five (5) or more dwelling units or apartments or which is occupied as a home or residence of five (5) or more families.
Farm Accessory Building - A structure, other than a dwelling, on a farm as herein defined, for the housing protection or storage of the usual farm equipment, animals and crops.
Fences - The erection of any structure or barrier used for protection or to create a boundary. Fencing materials not allowed within the City limits include: plywood, sheet metal, corrugated steel, fiberglass panel, or electric fences.
Floor Area Ratio - The percentage obtained by dividing the total floor area ratio of the main building, including balconies and garages, by the total area of the lot.
Freestanding Sign - Any sign supported by structures or supports that are placed on, or anchored in, the ground and that are independent from any building or other structure.
Group Home or Group Care Facility - A facility, required to be licensed by the state, which provides training, care, supervision, treatment and/or rehabilitation to the aged, disabled, those convicted of crimes, or those suffering the effects of drugs or alcohol; this does not include day care centers, family day care homes, foster homes, schools, hospitals, jails or prisons.
Half Story - A partial story under a gable, hip or gambrel roof, the wall plates of which on at least two (2) opposite exterior walls are not more than four (4) feet above the floor of such story, except that any partial story used for residence purposes, other than by a family occupying the floor immediately below it, sh all be deemed a full story.
Height - The vertical distance from the highest point on a structure to the average ground elevation where the foundation meets ground.
Home Occupation - An occupation incidental to the use of a dwelling, employing only members of the family, not offering commodities to be sold on premise, and which does not create obnoxious conditions for adjacent residential property. such as noise. odor, smoke, light, or excessive traffic. It is an accessory to a residential use subject to the following limitations: (a) the home occupation shall be conducted entirely within a dwelling unit which is the bona fide residence of the practitioner(s); (b) the residential character of the lot and dwelling shall be maintained; the exterior of the dwelling shall not be structurally altered; and no additional buildings shall be added on the property to accommodate the home occupation; (c) the occupation shall not produce external noise, vibration, smoke, odor, fumes, electrical interference or waste run-off outside the dwelling unit or on the property surrounding the dwelling unit; and (d) no vehicle used in connection with the home occupation which requires a commercial driver's license to operate shall be parked on any street adjacent to the property.
Industrialized Housing (Modular Housing) - A residential structure that is designed for the occupancy of single-family or duplex use and includes the structure's plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems; which bears an approved and clearly visible decal or insignia, under rules promulgated by the State of Texas signifying the dwelling as "industrialized"; the structure must be intended to be installed on a permanent foundation system approved by the locally adopted building codes; that meets all other state and local requirements for industrialized housing including as defined in Tex. Occupations Code § 1202.002, as amended from time to time, that is inspected and permitted by and under the jurisdiction and control of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations.
Legal Lot - A lot recorded in the Official County Records pursuant to and in compliance with the subdivision regulations and/or state law in effect at the time of the creation of the lot.
Lot - A separate parcel of land, created by the division or subdivision of a block or other parcel, intended as a unit for transfer of ownership, or for development, or for occupancy and/or use, platted in compliance with state law. See also: Legal Lot.
Lot Depth - The average horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.
Lot Lines - The lines bounding a lot as defined herein.
Lot Width - The average horizontal distance at the front building setback line of a lot.
Lighted Sign - Any sign which is illuminated but does not use movement, changes of lighting, flashing lights, or other audio-visual aid to create a special effect or depict a scene.
Manufactured Home - A complete living unit, manufactured at a location away from the lot on which it will be located, as defined in Tex. Occupations Code § 1201.003, as amended from time to time.
Manufactured Home Park - A unified development for manufactured housing spaces arranged on a tract of land in compliance with the Subdivision Ordinance and this Ordinance, with the individual lots or parcels being held under a common ownership and rented or leased to the occupants who reside in manufactured homes, modular component, or Tiny Houses.
Mobile Home - A movable or portable structure constructed prior to June 15, 1976 that is eight (8') feet, or more, in width and forty feet ( 40'), or more, in length constructed to be towed on its own integral chassis, as defined in Tex. Occupations Code § 1201.003, as amended from time to time.
Modular Component - A structure or building module as defined in Tex. Occupations Code § 1202.001, as amended from time to time, that is inspected and permitted by and under the jurisdiction and control of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations, that is transportable in one or more sections and designed to be used on a permanent foundation system. The term includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems contained in the component. The term does not include a mobile home or a manufactured home.
Nonconforming Sign - Any sign which does not conform to the requirements of this ordinance.
Nonconforming Structure or Building - A structure or building the size dimensions or location of which was lawful prior to the adoption, revision or amendment of the zoning ordinance, but which fails by reason of such adoption, revision or amendment, to conform to the present requirements of the zoning district.
Nonconforming Use - Any building, structure or land lawfully occupied by a use or lawfully existing at the time of passage of this Ordinance or Amendments thereto, which does not, by reason of design or use, conform after the passage of this Ordinance or Amendments with the regulations of the Ordinance or Amendment.
Open Space - An area included in any side, rear or front yard or any unoccupied space on the lot that is open and unobstructed to the sky except for the ordinary projections of cornices, eaves, porches, and plant material.
Person - Means a natural person, his heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns and also includes a firm, partnership, or corporation, its officers or their successors, or assigns, or the agents of the aforesaid.
Private Club - A club where alcoholic beverages are stored, possessed and mixed on club premises and served for on-premises consumption only to members of the club and their families and guests, by the drink or in a sealed, unsealed or broken containers of any legal size.
Setback - The distance from the property line to the nearest part of the applicable building, structure, or sign, measured perpendicularly to the property line.
Sign - Any device or surface on which letters, illustrations, designs, figures, or symbols are painted, printed, stamped, raised, projected, illuminated, or in any manner outlined or attached and used for advertising purposes.
Story - That portion of a building, other than a cellar, 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 or private right-of-way which affords the principal means of access to abutting property.
Street Line - That line limiting the right-of-way of the street and being identical with the property line of persons owning property fronting on the streets.
Structure - Any building or anything constructed or erected on the ground or which is attached to something located on the ground. Structures include buildings, telecommunications towers, sheds, parking lots that are the primary use of a parcel and permanent signs. Sidewalks and paving shall not be considered structures unless located within a public utility or drainage easement.
Subdivision - The division or redivision of land into two (2) or more lots, tracts, sites or parcels for the purpose of development, laying out any addition to the City, or for laying out any subdivision or building lots, or any lot, street, alley, access easement, public utility easement, park or other portion intended for use by the public, or for the use of any owner, purchaser, occupant, person or entity.
Tiny House - A single-family detached house that is between nine hundred (900) square feet and one thousand one hundred (1,100) square feet in size. As used herein, this house is a permanent structure that is constructed on or off site.
Trailer - A recreational vehicle, travel trailer, motor home, camper, or other motor vehicle designed for human habitation, excluding manufactured homes and mobile homes, or a motor vehicle that is designed or used to carry a load wholly on its own structure and is drawn or design to be drawn by a motor vehicle.
Variance - A relaxing of the Development Standards of this Ordinance because conditions peculiar to the property not resulting from actions of the applicant, cause undue hardship and prevent the enjoyment of property rights as shared by other nearby properties which conform to the Development Controls.
Yard - An open space at grade between the principal and accessory buildings and the adjoining lot lines, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided herein.
Yard Depth - The shortest distance between a lot line and a yard line.
Yard, Front - A yard extending across the front of a lot between the side lot lines, and being the minimum horizontal distance between the street easement line and the main building or any projections thereof.
Yard Line - A line drawn parallel to a lot line at a distance therefrom equal to the depth of the required yard.
Yard, Rear - A yard extending across the rear of a lot and being the required minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the rear of the main building or any projections thereof.
Yard, Side - A yard between the main building and the side line of the lot, and extending from the required front yard to the required rear yard, and being the minimum horizontal distance between a side lot line and the side of any building on the lot, or any projections thereof.
Zoning Commission - The Trinidad Planning and Zoning Commission.
Zoning Official - The zoning official shall be the City Secretary or such other person as may be appointed by the City Council.
(Ord. 2021-005, passed 10-26-2021)