This chapter is ordained in accordance with a comprehensive plan for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals and the general welfare of the community. It has been designed to lessen congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, panic, and other dangers; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent the overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population; to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, and other public requirements. It has been made with reasonable consideration, among other things, to the character of the district, and its peculiar suitability for particular uses, and with a view of conserving the value of buildings and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the city.

(Code 1973, app. A, § 2; Ord. No. 359, 6-14-1955; Ord. No. 437, 5-27-1958; Ord. No. 482, 3-24-1959; Ord. No. 644, 5-14-1963; Ord. No. 660, 7-23-1963; Ord. No. 749, 4-13-1965; Ord. No. 750, 4-27-1965; Ord. No. 751, 4-27-1965; Ord. No. 752, 4-27-1965; Ord. No. 818, 10-25-1966; Ord. No. 826, 12-13-1966; Ord. No. 971, 7-8-1969; Ord. No. 1114, § 2, 4-24-1973; Ord. No. 1114-B, 11-27-2012)

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning. Words used in the present tense shall include the future; the singular number shall include the plural, and the plural the singular. The term "building" shall include the term "structure." The term "shall" is mandatory and not merely permissive or directory.

Accessory buildings and uses means 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.

Airport means Beeville Municipal Airport.

Airport elevation means the established elevation of the highest point on the usable landing area.

Airport hazard means any structure, tree or use of land which obstructs the airspace required for or is otherwise hazardous to the flight of aircraft in landing or taking-off at the airport.

Airport reference point means the point established as the approximate geographic center of the airport landing area and so designated.

Alley means a public or private thoroughfare which affords only a secondary means of access to property abutting thereon.

Apartment means 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 nonresidential use, which room or suite is intended or designed for use as a residence by one family and which includes culinary accommodations.

Apartment house means 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.

Assisted living center means a residential facility that provides direct and indirect physical assistance with, or the supervision of, activities of daily living, medications, rehabilitation services, health care, recreation and educational activities and other similar services.

Boardinghouse means a building, other than a hotel, where for compensation and by prearrangement for definite periods, meals, or lodging and meals, are provided for three or more persons, but not exceeding 20 persons.

Building means any structure designed or intended for the support or enclosure, shelter or protection of persons, animals, chattels, or property.

Clinic means an office or group of offices for one or more physicians, surgeons, or dentists engaged in treating the sick or injured, but not including rooms for the abiding of patients.

District means 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.

Dwelling means any building or portion thereof which is designed and used exclusively for residential purposes.

Dwelling, multiple, means a building having accommodations for and occupied exclusively by more than two families.

Dwelling, single family, means a building having accommodations for and occupied exclusively by one family.

Dwelling, two-family orduplex, means a building having accommodations for and occupied exclusively by two families.

Family means one or more persons occupying a premises and living as a single housekeeping unit as distinguished from a group occupying a boardinghouse, lodginghouse, or hotel as herein defined.

Filling station or service station means 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 means all the property on one side of a street between two intersecting streets (crossing or terminating), 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 or carport, private, means 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 vehicles may be a commercial vehicle of not more than 1 1/2 ton capacity.

Garage, public, means 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 means:

(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 all walls adjoining the streets.

(3)

For buildings having no wall adjoining the street, the average level of the finished surface of the ground adjacent to the exterior walls of the building. Any wall approximately parallel to and not more than five feet from a 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 means 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 eaves and ridge for gable, hip and gambrel roofs.

Home occupation means 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 on the premises excepting the building which is used by the occupant as his or her private dwelling. The term "home occupation" shall include in general, personal services such as furnished by an architect, lawyer, physician, dentist, musician, artist or seamstress, when performed by the person occupying the building as his private dwelling and not including a partnership or the employment of anyone not a member of the immediate family residing on the premises in the performance of such services.

Hotel means 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 boardinghouse, a lodginghouse, or an apartment which are herein defined.

HUD-Code manufactured home park means a parcel of land under single entity ownership which has been placed and improved for the placement of HUD-Code manufactured homes, accessory uses, and service facilities, meeting all requirements of the ordinance from which this article is derived, and any applicable deed restrictions and state laws

Joint airport zoning board means a board consisting of five members, two members appointed by the city council and two members appointed by the county commissioners' court, the four members so appointed shall elect a fifth member, the chairman.

Landing area means the surface area of the airport used for the landing, take-off or taxiing of aircraft.

Lodginghouse means a building or place where lodging is provided (or which is equipped to provide lodging regularly) by pre-arrangement for definite periods, for compensation, for three or more persons in contradistinction to hotels open to transients.

Lot means a parcel of land occupied or intended for occupancy by a use permitted in this article, including one main building together with its accessory buildings, the open spaces and parking spaces required by this article, and having its principal frontage upon a street or upon an officially approved place.

Lot, corner, means a lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection.

Lot, depth of, means the mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.

Lot of record means a lot which is a part of a subdivision, the map of which has been recorded in the office of the county clerk; or a parcel of land, the deed of which was recorded in the office of the county clerk prior to the adoption of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived.

Lot, through ordouble frontage, means an interior lot having frontage on two streets.

Mobile home means a structure that was constructed before June 15, 1976, 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 designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and including the plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems. Mobile homes shall not be allowed in a HUD-Code manufactured home park.

Motel means a group of attached, semi-detached, or detached buildings containing individual sleeping or living units, designed for or used temporarily by tourists, or transients, with garage attached or parking space conveniently located to each unit and offering to the public daily, as well as other longer term rental rates, and maintaining a register of guests or their vehicles.

Nonconforming use means any building or land lawfully occupied by a use at the time of passage of this article or amendment thereto, which does not conform after the passage of this article or amendment thereto with the use regulations of the district in which it is situated.

Parking space means an area enclosed or unenclosed to be not less than nine feet by 20 feet in area exclusive of driveways connecting the place with a street or ally. The parking space and connecting driveway shall be durably surfaced (all parking spaces and connecting driveways are to be surfaced with asphalt or concrete) and so arranged to permit ingress and egress of each automobile independently.

Place means an open unoccupied space other than a street or alley permanently reserved as a principal means of access to abutting property.

Runway means the paved surface of an airport landing strip.

Story means 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 is no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling next above.

Street means a public thoroughfare which affords the principal means of access to abutting property.

Structural alterations means 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.

Structure means 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, pergolas, towers, smokestacks and overhead transmission lines.

Travel trailer, camper ormotor home means any structure which can be used for temporary living, sleeping or storage purposes, used primarily for vacations and weekends, having no foundation other than wheels, blocks, skids, jacks, horses, skirtings, and which is, has been or reasonably may be, equipped with wheels or other devices for transporting the structure from place to place whether by motive or other means or mounted on a motor driven vehicle or self-propelled motor home.

Yard means 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, means 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, means 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 the 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 lots the rear yard shall in all cases be at the opposite end of a lot from the front yard.

Yard, side, means a yard between the main building and the side line of the lot, and extending from the front lot line to the rear yard line.

Townhouse. The terms "townhouse" and "row house" shall be used interchangeably and shall mean a structure which is one of a series of individually owned dwelling units, designed for single-family occupancy, which dwelling units are structurally connected or immediately adjacent to each other without side yards between individual units.

(Code 1973, app. A, § 3; Ord. No. 359, 6-14-1955; Ord. No. 437, 5-27-1958; Ord. No. 482, 3-24-1959; Ord. No. 644, 5-14-1963; Ord. No. 660, 7-23-1963; Ord. No. 749, 4-13-1965; Ord. No. 750, 4-27-1965; Ord. No. 751, 4-27-1965; Ord. No. 752, 4-27-1965; Ord. No. 818, 10-25-1966; Ord. No. 826, 12-13-1966; Ord. No. 971, 7-8-1969; Ord. No. 1114, § 3, 4-24-1973; Ord. No. 1304, § 2, 1-4-1979; Ord. No. 1796, § 1, 11-22-1994; Ord. No. 1114-B, 11-27-2012; Ord. No. 2307, § I, 9-13-2016)

In interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter, they shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public safety, health, convenience, comfort, morals, prosperity and general welfare. It is not intended by this chapter to interfere with or abrogate or annul any ordinance, rule, regulation, or permit previously adopted or issued, and not in conflict with any of the provisions of this chapter, or which shall be adopted or issued pursuant to law relating to the use of buildings or premises, and likewise not in conflict with ordinance nor is it intended by this chapter to interfere with or abrogate or annul any easement, covenant or other agreements between parties, except that, if this chapter imposes a greater restriction, this chapter shall control.

(Code 1973, app. A, § 24; Ord. No. 359, 6-14-1955; Ord. No. 437, 5-27-1958; Ord. No. 482, 3-24-1959; Ord. No. 644, 5-14-1963; Ord. No. 660, 7-23-1963; Ord. No. 749, 4-13-1965; Ord. No. 750, 4-27-1965; Ord. No. 751, 4-27-1965; Ord. No. 752, 4-27-1965; Ord. No. 818, 10-25-1966; Ord. No. 826, 12-13-1966; Ord. No. 971, 7-8-1969; Ord. No. 1114, § 24, 4-24-1973; Ord. No. 1114-B, 11-27-2012)

This chapter is applicable within the city limits and within one mile therefrom.

(Ord. No. 1201, 3-25-1975)

State Law reference— Extraterritorial jurisdiction, V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 42.021.

(a)

Use of land. The nonconforming use of land where no building is involved existing at the time of the passage of the ordinance from which this chapter is derived may be continued for a period of not more than two years therefrom, provided that no such nonconforming use of land shall in any way be expanded or extended either on the same or adjoining property, and that if such nonconforming use of land or any portion thereof is discontinued or changed, any future use of such land shall be in conformity with regulations of the district in which it lies.

(b)

Use of buildings. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the nonconforming use of a building existing at the time this chapter becomes effective may be continued, and the use of a nonconforming building may be changed to another use of the same or more restricted classification, but where such use is changed to a more restricted classification, it shall not thereafter be changed back to a use of a less restricted classification.

(c)

Uses invalid after one continuous year of non-use. A nonconforming building which is or may hereafter become vacant and which shall remain unoccupied or its nonconforming use discarded for a continuous period of one year, shall not thereafter be occupied except by a use which conforms to regulations of the district in which it is located.

(d)

Building maintenance. A nonconforming building may be maintained or kept in good repair except as otherwise provided in this section.

(e)

Building alteration. No existing nonconforming building may be enlarged, extended, reconstructed, or altered unless its use is changed to a use permitted in the district in which such building is located except in the event such enlargement, extension, reconstruction or alteration is required by court decision, law or ordinance.

(f)

Building moving. No nonconforming building shall be moved in whole or in part to any other location on the lot unless every portion of such building is made to conform to all the regulations of the district in which it is located.

(g)

Substandard and nonconforming buildings. No substandard or nonconforming building shall be moved into the city limits without first complying with the following requirements:

(1)

Those desiring to upgrade, rehabilitate or improve a substandard or nonconforming building shall provide to the building official a detailed set of plans, including photographs of all building elevations, showing all phases of construction necessary to bring the building into compliance with city construction and zoning standards.

(2)

To the greatest degree practicable, as much work as possible shall be completed prior to moving the building into the city.

(3)

Upon approval of the plans by the building official, a permit may be issued.

(4)

After completion of all off-site improvements in accordance with the approved plan, the building official may approve the building to be moved into the city.

(5)

Compliance with all applicable standards and regulations shall be completed within six months from the date the permit is issued.

(h)

Building restoration. A nonconforming building which is damaged by fire, explosion, flood, wind, earthquake or other calamity or act of God or the public enemy to the extent of 50 percent or more of its reasonable value may not be restored except in conformity with the regulations of the district in which it is located.

(i)

Building prohibitions. The following uses now in existence and not in strict conformity with the provisions of the district in which they are located are hereby prohibited and such uses not in existence in the city shall be altered, replaced or removed to conform to the provisions of this article on or before the date shown in the following schedule:

(1)

Billboards and poster boards, January 1, 1958.

(2)

Junkyards and automotive wrecking yards, January 1, 1958.

(3)

Building supply and storage yards, construction supply and storage yards, and any and all machinery, equipment and other storage areas of every kind and character, January 1, 1958.

(Code 1973, app. A, § 16; Ord. No. 359, 6-14-1955; Ord. No. 437, 5-27-1958; Ord. No. 482, 3-24-1959; Ord. No. 644, 5-14-1963; Ord. No. 660, 7-23-1963; Ord. No. 749, 4-13-1965; Ord. No. 750, 4-27-1965; Ord. No. 751, 4-27-1965; Ord. No. 752, 4-27-1965; Ord. No. 818, 10-25-1966; Ord. No. 826, 12-13-1966; Ord. No. 971, 7-8-1969; Ord. No. 1114, § 16, 4-24-1973; Ord. No. 1114-B, 11-27-2012; Ord. No. 2257, § 2, 4-14-2015)