The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning.

Abandonment means to cease or discontinue a use or activity without the intent to resume, but excluding temporary or short-term interruptions of a use, e.g. the change of tenancy or ownership, or activity during periods of remodeling, maintaining, or otherwise improving or rearranging a facility, or during normal periods of vacation or seasonal closure. A use is considered abandoned if the facts show the owner's intent to discontinue the use or activity and the discontinuance of the use continues for six months or more.

Accessory building means a subordinate building having a use customarily incident to and located on the lot occupied by the principal building. A building housing an accessory use is considered to be an integral part of the principal building when it has any part of a wall in common with the principal building, or is under an extension of the main roof and designed as an integral part of the principal building.

Accessory use means a use of a building or land which serves an incidental function to the principal use of a building or land. An accessory use is a subordinate use customarily incident to and located on the same lot occupied by the main use.

Agricultural use means the use of land where such land is devoted to the production of plants, animals, or horticulture products, including, but not limited to, forages; grains and feed crops; dairy animals and dairy products; poultry and poultry products; beef cattle; sheep; swine and horses; bees and apiary products; trees and forest products; fruits; nuts and berries; vegetables; or nursery, floral, ornamental and greenhouse products.

Alteration, structural, means any change or rearrangement in the supporting members of a building or structure, such as bearing walls, columns, beams, or girders, as well as any change in doors or windows, or any enlargement or diminution of a building or structure, whether horizontally or vertically, or moving a building or structure from one location to another; provided, however, that applying exterior siding to an existing building for the purpose of beautifying and modernizing shall not be considered a structural alteration.

Apartment means a room or suite of rooms, with toilet and culinary accommodations, intended, designed, or used as a residence by a single-family, located in a building containing three or more such rooms or suites.

Area regulations means the regulations controlling lot area, lot width, lot depth, front yard, side yard, rear yard, lot coverage and floor-area ratio.

Building means any structure designed or built for the support, enclosure, shelter, or protection of persons, animals, or property of any kind. When separated by a firewall, each portion of such structure so separated shall be deemed a separate building. The term "building" shall include structures wholly or partly enclosed with an exterior wall.

Building line means a line parallel or approximately parallel to the street right-of-way at a specified distance therefrom, marking the minimum distance from the street right-of-way that a building may be erected. For existing buildings, the building line shall be the exterior wall or omitted wall line which is closest to the street.

Building setback means that area between a lot line and the respective setback line, which shall remain unobstructed by buildings or structures from the ground to the sky, except as may be specifically permitted by other provisions of these regulations.

Centerline, street or alley, means a line designated midway between the boundary right-of-way lines of a street or alley. Where the boundary right-of-way lines are irregular, the centerline shall be determined by the zoning official.

Certificate of occupancy means a certificate issued by the city for the use of a building, structure, or land, when it is determined by it that such building, structure or land complies with the provisions of all applicable city codes, ordinances, and regulations.

Church means an institution where people regularly attend or participate in or hold religious services, meetings, and other activities. The term "church" shall not carry a secular connotation and shall include buildings adequately capable of assembly occupancy in which religious services of any denomination are held.

Clinic means a building designed and used for diagnosis and treatment of human patients, which does not include overnight care facilities.

Clinic, veterinary, means a building designed and used for the prevention, cure, or alleviation of injury in domestic and other animals that may require overnight care.

Commercial districts means zoning districts GC General Commercial and CBD Central Business District.

Commercial use means an occupation, employment, or enterprise carried on for profit by an owner, lessee, or licensee.

Density means the relationship of dwelling units or rooms to the area of the lot or tract upon which a residential structure is located or erected.

Detached means that a building does not have a wall in common or in contact with another building.

Development means the division of land into two or more parcels; construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any structure; any mining, excavation, landfill, or land disturbance.

Dwelling means a building designed exclusively for residential occupancy, including single-family (attached or detached), two-family, and multiple-family dwellings, but not including motels or hotels, to include the following:

(1)

Dwelling, single-family, means a building designed for or occupied by a single-family exclusively.

(2)

Dwelling, two-family, means a detached building designed for or occupied by two families living independently of each other.

(3)

Dwelling, multiple-family, means a building designed for or occupied by three or more families living independently of each other.

Dwelling unit means an enclosure containing sleeping, kitchen, and bathroom facilities and used or held ready for use as a permanent residence by one family.

Family means a person living alone, or any of the following groups living together as a single nonprofit housekeeping unit and sharing common living, sleeping, cooking, and eating facilities:

(1)

Any number of people related by blood, marriage, adoption, guardianship, or duly authorized custodial relationship;

(2)

Two unrelated people;

(3)

Two unrelated people and any children related to either of them;

(4)

Not more than eight people who are:

a.

Residents of a family home or family group home as defined by state law; or

b.

Handicapped as that term is defined in the Federal Fair Housing Act.

The term "family" does not include persons currently illegally using or addicted to a controlled substance. The term "family" does not include any society, club, fraternity, sorority, association, lodge combine, federation, or like organization; any group of individuals whose association is temporary or seasonal in nature; or any group of individuals who are in a group living arrangement as a result of criminal offenses.

Floor area means the sum of the gross horizontal area of all floors of a building measured from the exterior face of the exterior walls, or from the centerline of walls separating two buildings. The floor area of a building shall include basement floor area, but not cellar areas, penthouses for mechanical equipment, or attic space having headroom of seven feet or less.

Grade means the average elevation of the highest and lowest elevations measured at the finished surface of the ground at any of the exterior corners of the building or structure.

Group home means a dwelling unit occupied as a single housekeeping unit in a family-like environment, providing food and shelter to four or more persons who are unrelated to the proprietor of the establishment. This may include residents with disabilities, or elderly persons with support staff, and includes those facilities defined in the V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code ch. 247, and the V.T.C.A., Human Resources Code ch. 123. State licenses shall be required for such facilities prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy.

Height of a building means the vertical distance from the average ground level abutting a building or structure to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, the deck line of a mansard roof, or the average height of the highest gable of a pitched or hipped roof. Height, where not regulated in feet, shall be regulated in stories, which shall equal 12 feet for purposes of measuring structures. The height of structures within the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) 100-year floodplain shall be measured from the 100-year flood elevation, as certified by a licensed professional engineer or professional land surveyor.

Home occupation means an occupation which is an accessory use of a dwelling unit, which is customarily carried on in a home by a resident, incidental to the primary occupancy of the home as a dwelling.

Hotel ormotel means a building or group of buildings used primarily for lodging, and secondarily, for meeting areas, meals, entertainment, and personal services, offered to the public for compensation. As such, it is open to the public in contradistinction to a boarding house, or an apartment, which are herein separately defined.

Industrial districts means the GI General Industrial District.

Kennel means any building, establishment, place, or premises wherein any person engages in the boarding, breeding, buying, selling, letting for hire, or training for a fee, any canine or feline animals, or wherein any person keeps, harbors, possesses, or maintains more than four dogs or four cats, or a combination of said animals, with the total number exceeding four over three months old.

Licensed day care centers and homes means and includes group day care homes that provide care for less than 24 hours per day for seven to 12 children under 14 years old and day care centers, which are any facility that cares for 13 or more children under 14 years old for less than 24 hours. Day care centers include drop-in care centers and kindergarten and nursery schools.

Lot means a lot, tract, or parcel of land designated on a subdivision plat duly filed with the County Clerk of Liberty County, or any lot, tract, or parcel of land held in separate ownership and described by metes and bounds upon a deed duly recorded or registered with the County Clerk of Liberty County that existed prior to the date of adoption of applicable subdivision regulations of the city.

Lot area means the total horizontal area within the lot lines of a lot.

Lot coverage means the percent of lot area, which is covered by a roof, floor or other structure and is not open to the sky. Roof eaves to the extent of 30 inches and the ordinary projections from the building not exceeding 12 inches shall not be counted in computing coverage.

Lot line, front, means the line separating the lot from the street right-of-way in the case of an interior lot, and the line separating the narrowest street frontage of the lot from the street right-of-way in the case of a corner lot.

Lot line, rear, means the lot line which is opposite and most distant from the front line and in case of an irregular or triangular-shaped lot, a line ten feet in length within the lot, parcel to and at the maximum distance from the front lot line.

Lot line, side, means any lot line not a front lot line or a rear lot line.

Manufactured home 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 feet or more in width or 40 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.

State Law reference— Definition of manufactured home and HUD-manufactured home, V.T.C.A., Occupations Code § 1201.003.

Membership organization means buildings or facilities owned or operated by a corporation, association, or persons for a social, educational, or recreational purpose; but not primarily for profit or to render a service customarily carried on as a business.

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 feet or more in width or 40 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 includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems.

State Law reference— Definition of mobile home, V.T.C.A., Occupations Code § 1201.003.

Nonconforming structure means a building or structure lawfully existing at the time the provisions of this chapter became effective and any portion of which does not comply with the provisions of this chapter for the zoning district in which it is located.

Nonconforming use means a use lawfully occupying a building, structure or land at the time the provisions of this chapter became effective and which does not conform to the use regulations of the zoning district in which it is located.

Official zoning map means the zoning map adopted by this chapter, as amended, which defines zoning districts and designations in accordance with the zoning district classifications established within these zoning regulations.

Owner means, as to a particular property, any person, agent, firm, association, or corporation having a legal or equitable interest therein.

Parking area means any portion of a lot used for parking or storage of operable motor vehicles on a temporary (less than 24 hours) basis which is connected with a street or alley by a paved driveway which affords ingress and egress for motor vehicles.

Patio home means a single-family detached dwelling unit which may have a zero building setback requirement on one side while maintaining the normal required setback on the other. Patio homes are often constructed on smaller lots and have a higher building coverage ratio than the traditional single-family dwelling.

Principal building means a building in which the primary use of the lot on which the building is located is conducted.

Principal use means the primary use and chief purpose of a lot or structure.

Recreational vehicle park orRV park means any lot, tract, or parcel of land upon which accommodation is provided for two or more recreational vehicles used as living or sleeping quarters by the day, week, or month, whether a charge is or is not made. A recreational vehicle park is a unified development of recreational vehicle spaces provided for recreational vehicle use with or without community facilities and permitted permanent buildings.

Residential districts means zoning districts R-1 Single-Family Residential District, R-2 Single-Family Residential District, and HD High Density Residential District.

Restaurant means a building where food is prepared and served in ready-to-eat form to the public for human consumption. The term "restaurant" includes, but is not limited to, cafe, cafeteria, grill, pizza parlor, diner, snack shop, hamburger shop and steak or seafood house.

Setback means the required minimum horizontal distance between the building line and the front, side, corner, or rear property line. Required setback dimensions shall be measured from the property line to the outside wall of the structure, not to include normal eave projections of 30 inches or less.

Street, public, means any public roadway right-of-way which has been dedicated to the public for public use and which affords primary access to abutting property.

Structure means anything constructed or erected below, at, or above grade, which requires location on the ground or is attached to something having a permanent location on the ground, and which, out of necessity or precaution, includes support, bracing, tying, anchoring, or other protection against the pressure of the elements.

Townhouse means a structure on an individual lot, which is one of a series of dwelling units designated for single-family occupancy, which dwelling units are structurally connected or immediately adjacent to and abutting each other, without side yards between individual dwelling units.

Use means the purpose or activity for which the land, or building is designed, arranged or intended, or for which it is occupied or maintained.

Variance means a departure from any provision of the zoning regulations for a specific parcel of property, except use, without changing the zoning ordinance or the underlying zoning of the parcel of property.

Vehicle means an instrument of conveyance, such as an automobile, bus, truck, or motor driven cycle, for carrying or transporting persons or goods on land. The term "vehicle" shall also include, for the purposes of regulating parking herein provided, camper trailers, travel trailers, truck campers, water craft trailers, and utility trailers.

Wastewater plant means a facility designed or utilized for the purpose of collecting, conveying, pumping, treating or disposing of wastewater and byproducts of wastewater treatment, including an existing facility, the capacity of which has been expanded to serve new development. Wastewater plant includes land, easements or structures associated with such facilities. Wastewater plant excludes those wastewater lines or mains or portions thereof which are constructed by property owners, the costs of which are reimbursed from charges paid by subsequent users of such wastewater lines or mains.

Water plant means a facility designed or utilized for the purpose of producing, collecting, supplying, storing, pumping or conveying water, including an existing facility, the capacity of which has been expanded to service new development. Water plant includes land, easements or structures and all appurtenances associated with such facilities. Water plant excludes those water lines or mains or portions thereof that are constructed by property owners, the costs of which are reimbursed from charges paid by subsequent users of the facilities.

Yard means an open space at grade between a building and adjoining lot lines, unoccupied and unobstructed by any portion of a structure from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided. In measuring a yard for the purpose of determining the width of a side yard or depth of a front or rear yard, the least horizontal distance between a lot line and the building shall be used.

(Code 1998, § 126-1; Ord. No. 816, § 1, 8-14-2007; Ord. No. 987, § 1, 2-14-2012; Ord. No. 1244, § 1, 4-20-2021)

The zoning regulations and districts established in this chapter have been made in accordance with a comprehensive plan for the purpose of promoting the health, safety and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants. Such regulations and such districts have been designed to lessen congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers; to facilitate adequate provisions of transportation, particularly in times of natural disaster when timely evaluation is critical for the protection of lives; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent the overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population; and to facilitate adequate provisions of water, sewage, schools, parks and other public requirements. They have been made with reasonable consideration of the character of the city and its 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 1998, § 126-2; Ord. No. 816, § 1, 8-14-2007)

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, prosperity or general welfare. It is not intended by this chapter to interfere with or abrogate or annul any easements, covenants or other agreements between parties; however, where this chapter imposes a greater restriction upon the use of buildings or premises or upon the height of a building, or requires larger open spaces than are imposed or required by other ordinances, rules, regulations or by easements, covenants or agreements, the provision of this chapter shall govern.

(Code 1998, § 126-3; Ord. No. 816, § 1, 8-14-2007)

By the passage of this chapter, no presently illegal use shall be deemed to have been legalized unless specifically such use, by the terms of this chapter, is made a conforming use. Otherwise, such uses shall remain nonconforming uses where recognized, or an illegal use, as the case may be. It is further the intent and declared purpose of this chapter that no offense committed, and no liability, penalty or forfeiture, either civil or criminal, shall be discharged or affected by the adoption of this chapter; but prosecutions and suits for such offenses, liabilities, penalties or forfeitures may be instituted or causes presently pending be proceed in all respects as if such prior chapter had not been repealed.

(Code 1998, § 126-4; Ord. No. 816, § 1, 8-14-2007)

Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter or who shall fail to comply therewith or with any of the requirements thereof, or who shall erect or alter any building, or who shall commence to erect or alter any building in violation of any detailed statement of plan submitted or approved thereunder, shall for each violation or noncompliance be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be fined as provided in section 1-10. The owner of that building or premises or part thereof where anything in violation of this chapter shall be placed or shall exist, and any architect, builder, contractor, agent or corporation employed in connection therewith who may have assisted in the commission of any such violation shall be subject to the penalties herein provided.

(Code 1998, § 126-5; Ord. No. 816, § 1, 8-14-2007)