ACCESSORY: A subordinate use or building customarily incident to and located on the same lot with the main use or building.

ALLEY: A public right-of-way that extends only secondary means of access [to] abutting property.

ALTERATION; STRUCTURAL: Any change in a supporting member of a building or structure, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.

AUTOMOBILE SERVICE STATION: A building or place designed for the primary purpose of dispensing gasoline, oil, diesel fuel, liquefied petroleum gases, greases, batteries, tires and other automobile accessories at retail direct to the motor vehicle trade; also used for the care and repair of motor vehicles.

AUTOMOBILE WRECKING YARD: An open area used for dismantling or wrecking of any type vehicle or the storage, sale or dumping of dismounted or wrecked vehicles or their parts and accessories.

BILLBOARD OR POSTER PANEL: Any sign or advertisement used as an outdoor display for the purpose of making anything known, the origin or point of sale of which is remote from said display.

BOARDING HOUSE: A building other than a hotel where lodging and meals for five or more persons are served for compensation.

BUILDING; A structure having a roof supported by columns or walls.

BUILDING LINE: A line located a minimum distance from the defined perimeter, beyond which no part of a building shall extend.

BUILDING; FRONT: The side of a building most nearly parallel with and adjacent to the front of the lot on which it is situated.

CLINIC: MEDICAL: A facility or station for the examination and treatment of ill and affected outpatients, excepting veterinary facilities.

COMMISSION; PLANNING AND ZONING: Shall mean the Planning and Zoning Commission of Blue Ridge, Texas.

CUSTOMARY HOME OCCUPATION: An occupation, profession, domestic craft, or economic enterprise, which is customarily conducted in a “residential dwelling.” This use shall be secondary and the residential use and appearance will remain primary as use of the premises.

DANCE HALL: Any place open to the public in which persons move with either backward, forward or side steps, leaps or jumps, regulated or accompanied by music.

DISTRICT: A section of the City of Blue Ridge for which the regulations governing the areas, heights or use of buildings or lots are uniform.

DENSITY: Number of dwelling units divided by acreage.

DWELLING: A building or portion thereof designed exclusively for residential occupancy, including one-family, multi-family dwellings, and mobile homes, but not including hotels, boarding or rooming houses, tourist courts, and motels.

DWELLING UNIT OR APARTMENT: One or more rooms in a dwelling designed for occupancy by one family for living purposes, and having cooking facilities consisting of only one kitchen.

DWELLING; ONE-FAMILY: A detached building designed exclusively for occupancy by one family.

DWELLING; MULTI-FAMILY OR APARTMENT HOUSE: A building or portion thereof arranged, designed or occupied as a residence by two or more individuals and/or families having separate quarters and living independently of each other.

EXCEPTION: Permission to use property in a manner contrary to the provisions of this Ordinance, provided such use does not circumvent the general welfare or public interest.

GARAGE; PUBLIC: A building other than a private garage used for the care or repair of automobiles, or where such vehicles are parked or stored for remuneration, hire or sale.

GARAGE SALE: The sale of items normally accumulated by the household in which the sale is conducted.

LOCAL BUSINESS: A business located in the Central Business District.

LOTS: An undivided tract or parcel of land under one ownership having access to a street, either occupied or to be occupied by a building or building group, together with accessory buildings and use, together with such yards and other open spaces as are required by this Ordinance, which parcel of land is designated as a separate and distinct tract and is identified by a tract or lot number or symbol in a duly approved subdivision plat of record.

MANUFACTURED HOUSING; HUD-CODE: 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 (1) or more sections, which in the traveling mode, is eight (8) body feet or more in width or forty (40) body feet or more in length, or when erected on-site, is three hundred twenty (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 which includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems. All references in this ordinance to manufactured housing or manufactured home(s) shall be references to HUD-Code Manufactured Housing, unless otherwise specified.

MOBILE HOME: A structure. constructed before June 15, 1976, transportable in one (1) or more sections, which in the traveling mode, is eight (8) body feet or more in width or forty (40) body feet or more in length, or, when erected on-site, is three hundred twenty (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 which includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems. Recreational vehicle[s] and motor homes are not considered to be a mobile home.

MANUFACTURED HOUSING SUBDIVISION: A tract of land of not less than ten (10) acres which has been final platted of record in its entirety in accordance with the subdivision regulations of the city for occupancy primarily by HUD-Code manufactured housing.

MODULAR HOME: Sec Manufactured Housing, HUD-Code, Section 2.26.

NONCONFORMING BUILDING: A building or structure or portion thereof lawfully existing at the time this Ordinance became effective, and which does not conform with the building regulation[s] of the district in which it is located.

NONCONFORMING USE: A use which lawfully occupied a building or land at the time this Ordinance became effective and which does not conform with the use regulations of the district in which it is located.

PERSON: The word “person” when used in this Ordinance shall, for the purpose of this Ordinance, mean every natural person, firm, co-partnership, association, partnership, corporation or society, and the term “person” shall include both singular and plural, and the masculine shall embrace the feminine gender.

SIGNS: Any words, numbers, figures, devices, designs or trademarks by which any thing is made known, such as are used to designate an individual, a firm, profession, business, or a commodity and which are visible from any public street.

STREET: A public right-of-way that extends primary means of access to abutting properties.

STRUCTURE: Any thing constructed or erected which requires location on the ground or attached to something having a location on the ground.

VARIANCE: Relief granted to a property owner from a literal enforcement of any provisions of this Ordinance, which because of special conditions would result in an unnecessary hardship.

YARD: An open space other than a court on the same lot between a building or group of buildings and the nearest lot line and which is unoccupied and obstructed from the ground forward [upward].

YARD; FRONT: A yard extending across the full width of the lot between the nearest main building and the front lot line. The depth of the required front yard shall be measured horizontally from the nearest part of the main building to the nearest point of the front lot line, or the centerline of the street in certain specified cases.

YARD; REAR: A yard extending across the full width of the lot, between the nearest main building and the rear lot line, or the centerline of the alley in certain specified cases.

YARD; SIDE: An open unoccupied space between the main building and the side line of the lot extending from the front yard to the rear yard. No part of an alley shall be used as a part of the side yard.