Accessory Building - means a subordinate building, the use of which is incidental to that of the main building on the same lot.

Administrative Official - is the City Administrator, or other designated authority charged with the administration and enforcement of this Ordinance, or duly authorized representative.

Alley - Is a public minor way that is used primarily for secondary vehicular service access to the back or side of properties otherwise abutting on a street or highway.

Apartment - is a room or suite of rooms in an apartment house arranged, designed or occupied as a dwelling unit residence by a single family, individual, or group of individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit.

Apartment House - is any building, or portion thereof, which is designed, built, rented, leased, let or hired out to be occupied as three (3) or more apartments or dwelling units, or which is occupied as the home or residence of three (3) or more families living independently of each other and maintaining separate cooking facilities.

Automobile Repair, Major - is any area used for general repair, rebuilding or reconditioning of engines, motor vehicles, trailers; collision services, including body, frame or fender straightening or repair; paint shop; vehicle steam cleaning.

Automobile Repair, Minor - is any area used for minor repair or replacement of parts, tires, tubes, batteries and minor motor services, such as, grease, oil, spark plug and filter changing of passenger cars and trucks not exceeding one and one-half (11/2) ton capacity, but not including, any operation named under "automobile repair, major" or any other similar use thereto.

Automobile Sales Area - is an open area or lot used for the display or sale of automobiles, where no repair work is done.

Automobile Service Station - is any building and/or premises where gasoline, oil, grease, batteries, tires and automobile accessories may be supplied and dispensed at retail, including the servicing of vehicles designed or calculated to be performed by the customer.

Basement - is a building story, the floor line of which is below grade at any entrance or exit, but may have at least one-half (1/2) of its height above the average level of the adjoining grade level.

Block - means that property abutting on one side of a street and lying between the nearest intersecting or intercepting streets, or nearest intersecting or intercepting street and railroad right-of-way, waterway, or other barrier to or gap in the continuity of development along such street.

Boarding-Lodging House - means a dwelling where in lodging or meals for three (3) or more persons, not members of the principal family therein, is provided for compensation, but not including a building in which ten (10) or more guest rooms are provided.

Building - is any roofed structure built for the support, shelter, or enclosure of persons, chattels, or movable property of any kind. When such structure is divided into separate parts by one (1) or more un-pierced walls extending from the ground up, each part is deemed a separate building, except as regards minimum side yards.

Building Height - is the vertical distance from the average contact ground level at the front wall of the building to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, or the deck line of a mansard roof, or to the mean height level between eaves and ridge for gable, hip or gambrel roofs.

Building Line - a line parallel or approximately parallel to the street line, at a specific distance there from, marking the minimum distance from the street line that a building may be erected.

Building Official - see Administrative Official.

Carwash - is a building, or port, where automobiles or other motor vehicles are automatically or manually washed regularly as a business.

Cemetery - is land used, or intended to be used, for the burial of the human dead and dedicated for cemetery purposes, including columbariums, crematories, mausoleums and mortuaries, if operated in connection with and within the boundaries of such cemetery.

Certificate of Occupancy - is an official certificate issued by the City Secretary which indicates conformance with, or approved conditional waiver from, the zoning regulations and authorized legal use of the premises for which it is issued.

City - is the City of Alma, Ellis County, Texas.

Clinic - is a public or private, profit or nonprofit facility for the reception and treatment of outpatient persons, physically or mentally ill, injured, handicapped or otherwise in need of physical or mental diagnosis, treatment, care or similar service.

Club - is a nonprofit association of persons who are bona fide members, paying regular dues, and are organized for a common purpose, but not including a group organized solely or primarily to render a service customarily carried on as a commercial enterprise.

Club, Private (Class I) - is an establishment or enterprise wherein activities are carried on by, or for a group or association, of dues-paying members organized for some common purpose.

Club, Private (Class II) - is a club, as defined above, except such establishments shall have been issued an alcoholic beverage permit by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

Community Center, Public - means any building and grounds owned and operated by the governmental body for the social, recreational, health and welfare of the community served.

Conditional Use - means any building, structure, and use which complies with the applicable regulations and standards governing conditional uses of the zoning district in which such building, structure, and use is located, and for which a permit is granted.

Convalescent (Rest) Home - is a home designed for the care of patients after they leave the hospital, but before they are released from observation and treatment.

Convenience Store - see Neighborhood Convenience Center.

Display Sign - is a structure that is arranged, intended, designed or used as an advertisement, announcement or direction, including sign, billboard and advertising device of any kind.

District - means a portion of the territory of the City, within which certain uniform regulations and requirements, or various combinations thereof, apply under the provisions of this ordinance. The term "R District" shall mean any AG, MH, R-1, R-2, or R-3 District; the term "I District" shall mean any I-1 or I-2 District; and the term "C District" shall mean any C-1 or C-2 District.

Dwelling Unit - means a room, or a group of rooms, including cooking accommodations, occupied by one (1) family, and in which not more than two (2) persons, other than members of the family, are lodged or boarded for compensation at any one time.

Dwelling Unit, Single-Family, Attached - means a dwelling which is joined to another dwelling at one (1) or more sides by a party wall or abutting separate walls, and is designed for occupancy by one (1) family, and is on a separate lot delineated by front, rear and side lot lines.

Dwelling Unit, Single-Family, Detached - means a building containing one (1) dwelling unit, and located on a lot or separate building tract, and having no physical connection to a building on any other lot.

Dwelling Unit, Two Family - means a building containing two (2) dwelling units.

Dwelling Unit, Multiple - means a building containing three (3) or more dwelling units.

Dwelling Group - means a group or row of dwellings, each containing one (1) or more dwelling units, and all occupying one (1) lot or site, as defined herein, and having a court in common; including a bungalow court or apartment court, but not including an automobile court or automobile camp.

Essential Services - means the erection, construction, alteration, or maintenance by public utilities or by governmental departments or commissions of such underground or overhead gas, electrical, steam, or water transmission or distribution systems and structures, collection, communication, supply or disposal systems and structures, including towers, poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm boxes, police call boxes, street lights, traffic signals, hydrants and other similar equipment, and accessories in connection therewith, but not including buildings or microwave radio relay structures, as are reasonably necessary for the furnishing of adequate service by such public utilities or governmental departments or commissions, or as are required for protection of the public health, safety, or general welfare. For the purpose of this definition, the word "building" does not include "structures" for essential services.

Family - means one (1) or more persons, related by blood, marriage or adoption, occupying a dwelling unit as a single, nonprofit housekeeping unit, but not including a group occupying a hotel, boarding-house, club, dormitory, fraternity or sorority house.

Floodplain - is the relatively flat, low lands adjoining the channel of a river, stream or watercourse that has been, or may be, covered by flood water. Any land covered by the water of a one hundred (100) year frequency storm is considered in the flood plain and must comply with the Corp of Engineers requirements.

Frontage - is all the property abutting on one (1) side of a street between intersecting or intercepting streets, or between a street and a right-of-way, waterway, end of a dead-end street, or City boundary measured along the street line. An intercepting street shall determine only the boundary of the frontage on the side of the street that it intercepts. Where a lot abuts more than one (1) street, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall determine the frontage for purposes of this ordinance.

Garage, Private - means an accessory building, or portion of a main building on the same lot, and used for the storage only of private passenger motor vehicles, not more than two (2) of which are owned by others than the occupants of the main building.

Garage, Public - means a building or portion of a building, except that herein defined as a private garage or as a repair garage, used for the storage of motor vehicles, or where any such vehicles are kept for remuneration or hire; in which any sale of gasoline, oil, and accessories is only incidental to the principal use.

Garage, Repair - means a building or space for the repair or maintenance of motor vehicles, but not including factory assembly of such vehicles, auto wrecking establishments or junkyards.

Gross Floor Area - means the living area of a building, including the walls thereof, but excluding all porches, open breezeways and garages.

Home Occupation - means any occupation, customarily conducted for gain or support, entirely within a dwelling, by a member or members of a family while residing therein, and which is clearly incidental and secondary to the residential use of the premises, and does not change the character thereof.

Hotel - means a building, or portion thereof, in which ten (10) or more guest rooms are provided for occupancy for compensation by transient guests.

Industry - is the storage, repair, manufacture, preparation or treatment of any article, substance or commodity.

Junkyard or Salvage Yard - means any area used for the storage, keeping or abandonment of junk, including scrap metals or other scrap materials or goods, or used for the dismantling, demolition or abandonment of automobiles or other vehicles or machinery, or parts thereof.

Kennel - is any structure or premises on which more than three (3) dogs, over six (6) months of age and/or more than one litter, are kept.

Land Use Plan - is the long-range plan for the desirable use of land in the City, as officially adopted, and as amended from time to time, by the City Council; the purpose of such plan being, among other things, to serve as a guide in the zoning and progressive changes in the zoning of land to meet the changing needs, in the subdividing and use of undeveloped land, and in the acquisition of rights-of-way or sites for public purposes, such as, streets, parks, schools and public buildings.

Loading Space - is an off-street space or berth on the same lot with a building, or contiguous to a group of buildings, for the temporary parking of a commercial vehicle while loading or unloading merchandise or materials, and which abuts upon a street, alley or other appropriate means of access.

Lot - means the entire parcel of platted land occupied, or to be occupied, by a main building and its accessory buildings, or by a group, such as, a dwelling group or automobile court and their accessory buildings, including the yards and open spaces required there-fore by this title and other applicable law.

Lot, Corner - means a lot abutting on two (2) intercepting or intersecting streets where the interior angle of intersection or interception does not exceed one hundred thirty-five degrees (135°).

Lot Coverage - the total area of a lot occupied by the base (first story of floor) of buildings located on the lot.

Lot, Interior - means a lot other than a corner lot.

Lot Lines - means the property lines bounding the lot as defined herein.

Lot, Through - means a lot having its front and rear lines on different streets, or having its front or rear line on a street and the other line on a river, lake, creek or other permanent body of water.

Lot Depth - means the average depth from the front line of the lot to the rear line of the lot.

Lot Width - means the width measured at a distance back from the front line equal to the minimum depth required for a front yard.

Lot of Record - is a lot that is part of a sub-division, the plat of which has been recorded in the office of the County Clerk of Ellis County, or a parcel of land, the deed for which was recorded in the Office of the County Clerk, Ellis County, prior to January 1, 1986.

Manufactured Home, HUD-Code - means a structure constructed on or after June 15, 1976, according to the rules of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, transportable in one or more sections, which, in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more in width, or 40 body feet or more in length, or, when erected on site, is 320 or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling, with or without a permanent foundation, when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems. References in this ordinance to "mobile home(s)" shall be taken to be references to HUD-Code Manufactured Home(s). Mobile homes, as defined in the Manufactured Housing Standards Act, Article 5221f, Section 3(a), V.T.C.S., shall not be used as dwelling units within the corporate limits of the City.

Mobile Home - see "Manufactured Home, HUD-Code."

Mobile Home Park or Subdivision - means a parcel of land which is owned by an individual, a firm, trust, partnership, public or private association or corporation, and has been developed for rental or sale of lots to persons with HUD-code manufactured homes (mobile home).

Mobile Home Lot - means that part of a parcel of land (mobile home site) in a mobile home park that has been reserved for the placement of one (1) HUD-code manufactured home (mobile home).

Modular Home - means a dwelling that is constructed in one or more modules, at a location other than the homesite, or is constructed utilizing one or more modular components, and which is designed to be used as a permanent residence when the modular components or modules are transported to the homesite and are joined together, or are erected and installed on a permanent foundation system. The term includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems.

Motel - means a building, or a group of two (2) or more buildings, containing guest rooms or apartments, with automobile storage space provided in connection therewith, and used primarily for the accommodation of automobile travelers, including groups designated as auto cabins, motor lodges, motor courts, motels, and similarly designated groups.

Neighborhood Convenience Center - means centers that carry convenience goods, such as, groceries, drugs, hardware, and some variety items, and also includes some service stores. The neighborhood convenience center may contain one (1) or two (2) small apparel or shoe stores, but it is clearly dominated by convenience goods, which are items of daily consumption and very frequent purchase, sometimes called "spot necessity" items. This neighborhood serving store group is within convenient walking distance of families served (within convenient driving range in low-density areas), with due consideration for pedestrian access and amenity of surrounding areas.

Nonconforming Use - means use of a building or land, which existed previously, that does not conform to the present regulations as to use for the district in which it is situated.

Nursing Home - is a structure or building where ill or elderly people are provided with lodging and meals, with or without nursing care.

Open Space - is that part of any lot or tract that is used for recreational purposes, both passive and active, but not including areas used for parking or maneuvering of automobiles, or drives or approaches to and from parking areas. Floodplains, or 50 percent of any standing surface water, may be considered as open space, provided such open space is contiguous and part of the platted lot, and is maintained and utilized in the same manner and to the same degree as all other open space areas, as designated on the site plan as filed with the building permit application.

Parking Area, Private - means a permanently surfaced, open area for the same uses as a private garage.

Parking Area, Public - means a permanently surfaced, open area, other than a street, or other public way, used for parking of automobiles, and available to the public for a fee, free, or as an accommodation for clients or customers.

Parking Space - means a permanently surfaced area not less than one hundred eighty (180) square feet (measured approximately nine (9) feet by twenty (20) feet), either within a structure or in the open, not on public right-of-way, exclusive of driveways or access drives, for the parking of one (1) vehicle.

Planned Development - shall mean land under unified control, planned and developed as a whole; in a single development operation or a definitely programmed series of development operations, including all lands and buildings; for principal and accessory structures and uses substantially related to the character of the district; according to comprehensive and detailed plans which include not only streets, utilities, and lots or buildings sites, but also site plans, floor plans, and elevations of all buildings, as intended, to be located, constructed, used, and related to each other, and detailed plans for other uses and improvements on the land as related to the buildings; and with a program for provision, operation and maintenance of such areas, improvements, facilities, and services as will be for common use by some or all of the occupants of the district, but will not be provided, operated, or maintained at general public expense. Planned development is both a concept and a zoning classification which may include, in addition to planned unit development, commercial, shopping center, and industrial uses or combination thereof, which may be intended to serve areas within the district and areas without the district.

Private Garage - is an accessory building, housing vehicles owned and used by the occupant of the main building.

Recreational Vehicle - is a vehicular, portable structure designed to be transported over the high-ways, and containing living or sleeping accommodations, such structure being designed and actually used as a temporary dwelling during travel for recreation and pleasure purposes, and not exceeding eight (8) feet in width.

Rooming House - is a dwelling occupied by a resident family or resident occupant, and three (3) or more rent-paying persons.

Satellite Dishes - means a device used to receive any satellite signal.

School, Business or Trade - means a business organized to operate for a profit and offering instruction and training in a service or art, such as, a secretarial school, barber college, beauty school or commercial art school.

School - means an institution of learning which offers instruction in several branches of learning and study required to be taught in the public schools.

Screening Element (Device) - or suitably screened, as herein referred, shall mean any of the following:

Shopping Center - is an area consisting of one (1) acre or more, arranged according to a site plan, to be submitted to and to be approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council on which is indicated the amount of land to be devoted to the shopping center, the detailed arrangement of various buildings, parking area, streets and type of zoning desired. The installation of all utilities, drainage structure, paving of streets, parking area, alley, and installation of sidewalks shall be in accordance with the City specifications for each type of improvement.

Story - means that portion of a building included between the surface of a floor and the surface of a floor next above it, or if there is no floor above it, then the portion of the building between the surface of a floor and the ceiling or roof above it. A basement shall be counted as a story for the purposes of height regulations, if the vertical distance from grade to the ceiling is more than seven (7) feet.

Story, Half - means the topmost 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 two (2) feet above the floor of such story.

Street - means a public or private thoroughfare that affords the principal means of access to abutting property.

Structural Alteration - means any change, addition, or modification in construction in the supporting members of a building, such as, exterior walls, bearing walls, beams, columns, foundations, girders, floor joists, roof joists, rafters, or trusses.

Towers - Radio, Television or Microwave - means structures supporting commercial antennae for transmitting or receiving any of the radio spectrum (includes structures used for satellites dishes).

Trailer (including automobile trailer and trailer coach) - is any vehicle or structure constructed in such a manner as to permit occupancy thereof as sleeping quarters or the conduct of any business, trade, or occupation or use as a selling, or advertising device, or use for storage or conveyance of tools, equipment, and machinery, and so designed that it is or may be mounted on wheels and used as a conveyance on highways and streets, propelled or drawn by its own or other motor power.

Trailer Park - means any lot or part thereof, or any parcel of land, which is used or offered as a location for one (1) or more trailers.

Townhouse or Row House - means three (3) or more dwelling units attached by common vertical walls.

Use - means the purpose for which land, or a building or structure thereon, is designed, arranged, intended or maintained, or for which it is or may be used or occupied.

Use, Accessory - means a subordinate use on the same lot, with the principal use and incidental and accessory thereto.

Used Car Lot - is a lot or tract of land used for the sale, or display for sale, of two (2) or more previously owned motor vehicles, including, but not limited to, passenger automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, dune buggies and other types of motor vehicles designed for use upon the public roads or for pleasure off public roads, but not including farm implements, mobile homes, campers and recreational vehicles, or construction equipment, such as, cranes, bulldozers and related equipment and trucks over one ton capacity.

Vehicle Service Center - means a center for the repair and maintenance of, or diagnosis upon, motor vehicles, including tire installation, but not including the sale of gasoline, body work, or spray painting.

Yard - means an open space, other than a court, on the same lot with a building.

Yard, Front - means a yard extending across the full width of a lot and having a depth equal to the shortest distance between the front line of the lot and the nearest portion of the main building, including an enclosed or covered porch, provided that the front yard depth shall be measured from the future street line for a street on which a lot fronts, when such line is shown on the official map or is otherwise established.

Yard, Rear - means a yard extending across the full width of a lot and having a depth equal to the shortest distance between the rear line of the lot and the main building.

Yard, Side - means a yard between the side line of the lot and the main building extending from the front yard to the rear yard and having a width equal to the shortest distance between said side line and the main building.

Zoning Map - means the official zoning map of the City, together with all amendments subsequently adopted.