Violations of the provisions under this chapter are hereby deemed violations of ordinances, rules, or police regulations that govern fire safety, zoning, and public health and sanitation, punishable as provided in section 1-12.

State Law reference— Enhanced penalty for violation ordinances governing fire safety, zoning, or public health and sanitation, V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 54.001(b).

The zoning regulations and districts, as herein established, have been made, in accordance with a plan, for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the citizens of the city. They have been designed to decrease 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 adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, and parks and other public requirements. They have been made with reasonable consideration for, among other things, the character of a district and for its peculiar suitability for particular uses, and with a view conserving the value of buildings and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the city.

(Code 1987, app. A, art. I, § 1; Ord. No. 1-12-84-B, art. I, 1-12-1984)

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:

Accessory building means a subordinate use or building customarily incidental to and located on the lot occupied by the main use or building.

Alley means a minor public right-of-way, extending only secondary means of access to abutting lots, used principally for service vehicle access to the backs or sides of properties otherwise abutting on a street.

Apartment means a room, or suite of rooms, in an apartment house or tenement arranged, designed or occupied as the residence of a single family, an individual or a group of individuals.

Apartment house means a building, or a portion thereof, arranged or designed to be occupied by more than two families living independently of each other.

Area of lot means the net area of any lot, which shall not include portions of streets or alleys.

Basement means a story partly underground and having at least one-half of its height above the average level of the adjoining ground. If subdivided and used for dwelling or business purposes, it shall be counted as a story.

Block means an area enclosed by streets and occupied by or intended for buildings; or, if used as a term of measurement, it means the distance along a side of a street between the nearest two streets which intersect said street on said side.

Boardinghouse means a building not a hotel where lodging and meals for five or more persons are provided for compensation.

Building setback line means a line parallel to the street line beyond which buildings may not be erected.

Business means a neighborhood shopping center, and retail, commercial and light industrial districts and uses, as herein defined.

Cellar means a story having more than one-half of its height below the average level of the adjoining ground. It shall not count as a story for maximum height limit purposes.

Clinic means any institution or station for the examination and treatment of ill and afflicted outpatients.

Convalescent home means a structure used for, and occupied by, persons recovering from illness or suffering from the infirmities of old age.

Court means an open, unoccupied space bounded on two or more sides by the exterior walls of a building. An inner court is entirely surrounded by said walls, or by said walls and an adjoining inside lot line. An outer court has one side open to a street, alleys, yard or other permanently open space.

Court, tourist, means a building or group of buildings designed, arranged or used for temporary occupancy, and having three or more living quarters and facilities for parking automobiles in close proximity to the quarters occupied by their owners.

Court, trailer, means an area designed and used for temporary occupation by one or more automobile trailer or tent quarters.

Curb level means the level of the established curb in front of the building, measured at the center of such front. Where no curb has been established, the city engineer shall authorize and approve the establishment of such curb, or its equivalent, for purposes of this chapter.

Day nursery means a place where children are left for care between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Depth of lot means the mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.

Depth of rear yard means the mean horizontal distance from the rear line of a building not an accessory building to the centerline of an alley if an alley exists, otherwise, the rear lot line.

District means a section of the city having uniform regulations as to area, height and use of buildings.

Dwelling, group houses, means detached or semidetached dwellings, on one lot, usually in opposing rows separated by a wall or court.

Dwelling, multiple, means a building used or designed as a residence for three or more families or households living apart and independently of each other.

Dwelling, one-family, means a detached building with accommodations for, and occupied by, only one family.

Dwelling, two-family, means a detached building with separate accommodations for, and occupied or to be occupied as, a dwelling for only two families.

Dwelling unit means a building, or portion thereof, arranged, occupied or intended to be occupied as living quarters.

Efficiency apartment means an apartment having a combination living room and bedroom (no separate bedroom).

Family means any number of individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit, but not a group occupying a boardinghouse and/or lodginghouse or hotel.

Frontage means all property abutting on one side of a street between two intersecting streets, measured along the street line.

Front yard means an open, unoccupied space extending across all the front of a lot and situated between a building and the street.

Garage, private, means a garage, for storage only, with a capacity of not more than two motor vehicles, and for private use.

Garage, public, means a premises not a private garage, as defined above, used for housing over three motor vehicles, or where the same are repaired, or kept for remuneration, hire or sale.

Garage, storage, means any premises, but not one defined as a private or public garage, used exclusively for automobile storage.

Gross floor area, apartment building, means the total of the aggregate area of the apartment building enclosed by the outside dimensions at each floor, excluding the floor area of basements or attics where the same are not occupied as living quarters.

Group houses means a group of detached or semidetached dwellings on one lot, usually in opposing rows separated by a wall or court or facing upon a wall or court.

Height means the vertical distance between the average established grade at the street lot line, or the average ground level if it is higher or if no street grade has been established, and the highest point of a flat roof surface, the deck line of a mansard roof, or the main height level between eaves and ridge of a hip or gable roof, but for buildings set back from the street line, height may be measured from the average elevation of the finished grade along the building front. In measuring the height of buildings, the following structures shall be excluded: chimneys; cooling, water, radio and television towers; ornamental cupolas, domes or spires; elevator bulk heads; penthouses; tanks; and parapet walls not exceeding four feet in height.

Home occupation means any occupation customarily performed at home not involving a structural change in the building, the employment or help, the installation of equipment, or the display of a sign; moreover, it shall not include beauty culture schools, beauty parlors, or doctor's offices for treatment of patients.

Home occupation, customary, means an occupation, ordinarily carried on in a home, not detrimental or injurious to adjoining property. It may include serving meals or renting rooms to not more than five non-household members, dress-making, millinery, washing and ironing; but, it shall not include barber, flower, carpenter, electrician's, plumber's, radio, tinner, sign painting or auto repair shops, or transfer or moving van offices.

Hospital means an institution or place where sick or injured inpatients are given medical or surgical care, whether at private or public (charity) expense.

Hotel means a building occupied as the more or less temporary abode of individuals lodged, with or without meals, in which rooms, as a rule, are occupied singly for hire; in which provisions are not made for cooking in any one apartment; and in which exist over 12 sleeping rooms, a public dining room accommodating more than 12 guests, and a general kitchen.

House trailer means a vehicle, designed or used for highway travel and not self-propelled, with living and sleeping accommodations.

Institution means a public-use building occupied by a nonprofit establishment or corporation.

Lodginghouse means a building, other than hotel, where lodging for compensation is provided for five or more persons.

Lot means a parcel of land occupied, or to be occupied, by a building and its accessory buildings and including such open spaces as are required under this chapter, and having its principal frontage upon a public street or officially approved place.

Lot, corner, means a lot having a width not greater than 100 feet, situated at the junction of two or more streets.

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

Lot lines means lines bounding a parcel of land defined in this section as a lot.

Nonconforming uses means a building or premises situated in a district wherein its use does not comply with the use regulations of said district.

Open space means a side, rear or front yard area, or any other unoccupied space on a lot that is open and unobstructed to the sky except for the usual projections of cornices, eaves or porches.

Parking area, public, means an open area, other than a street, alley or place, used for temporary parking of over five self-propelled vehicles and available for public use for free, for compensation, or as an accommodation for clients or customers.

Parking area, semipublic, means a parking area, as defined above, but not for public use. It is an accessory use to semipublic institutions, schools, hospitals, churches and noncommercial clubs.

Place means an open, unoccupied space reserved for purposes of access to abutting property.

Rear yard means an open area extending across the full width of the lot and measured between the farthest rear line of the main building and the rear line of the center of an alley, if an alley exists, otherwise, the rear lot line. Only an accessory use building may occupy the rear yard, and only as provided in this chapter.

Reversed frontage means a portion of a corner lot fronting a street which was originally platted as a side street.

Schools are nonprofit institutions of learning which offer and maintain a course or courses of instruction leading to degrees or certificates of graduation recognized by the state.

Servants' quarters are accessory buildings, located on the same lot or grounds as the main building, used as living quarters for servants employed on the premises and not rented or otherwise used as separate domiciles.

Story means that portion of a building 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 such floor and a ceiling next above it.

Story, half, means a story under a gable, hip or gambrel roof, with the wall plates of at least two exterior walls being not more than two feet above the floor of the story.

Street means a public thoroughfare dedicated to the public and not designated as an alley.

Structural alteration means any change in the supporting members of a building, such as bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.

Structure means anything constructed or erected, and whose use requires location on the ground or attachment to something having a location on the ground.

Yard means an open space, other than a court, on the same lot with a building, unoccupied and obstructed from the ground upward except as otherwise provided herein.

Yard, front, means a yard facing a street and adjacent thereto, and located between the building and the street line on those lots containing a building.

Yard, side, means the mean horizontal distance between a side wall of a building and the side line of the lot.

(Code 1987, app. A, art. XV, § 1; Ord. No. 1-12-84-B, art. XV, 1-12-1984)

Provisions of this chapter shall be administered and enforced by the official designated by the city council of the city. All applications for building permits shall be accompanied by a plat drawn in duplicate showing the actual dimensions of the lot to be built on, the size of buildings to be erected, the use of the property, and such other information that may be necessary and requested by the official designated by the city council to permit enforcement of these regulations. The record of the application plat and other information shall be carefully preserved in the office of the official designated by the city council.

(Code 1987, app. A, art. XIII, § 1; Ord. No. 1-12-84-B, art. XIII, 1-12-1984)

(a)

The city council may, from time to time, amend, change or supplement, buy ordinance, the district boundaries of the regulations herein established. Before acting on any proposed amendment, supplement or change, the city council shall submit the same to the planning and zoning commission for its recommendation and report.

(b)

A public hearing shall be held by the city council before adopting a proposed amendment, supplement or change. Notice of such hearing shall be published once in the official publication of the city, stating the time and place of such hearing, which shall be at least 15 days from the first day of publication.

(c)

Unless approved by the planning and zoning commission, or if a protest against it has been filed with the city secretary duly signed and acknowledged by at least 20 percent of the owners of either the area of the lots included in such proposed changes or those immediately adjacent in the rear thereof within 200 feet of the street frontage of such opposite lots, an amendment, supplement or change shall not become effective except by three-fourths vote of the city council.

(Code 1987, app. A, art. XVI, § 1; Ord. No. 1-12-84-B, art. XVI, 1-12-1984; Ord. No. 02102011-02, § 1, 2-10-2011)

Since congestion in the streets, danger from fire and panic, undue concentration and congestion of population, lack of adequate ordinances and provisions regulating the construction and use of buildings and other structures and lack of regulations governing and restricting the use to which lands and buildings may be devoted create an emergency and urgency within the city in behalf of the public peace, health, safety and general welfare, it was necessary that the ordinance from which this chapter is derived became effective immediately upon its passage and publication.

(Code 1987, app. A, art. XVIII, § 1; Ord. No. 1-12-84-B, art. XVIII, 1-12-1984)

(a)

A person who shall violate the provisions of this chapter or fail to comply therewith or with any of the requirements thereof, or who shall build, alter or use a building or structure in violation of a detailed statement or plan submitted and approved hereunder, shall be subject to penalties as provided in section 1-12.

(b)

The owners of any buildings or premises, or any part thereof, where anything in violation of this chapter shall be placed or exist, and any person employed in connection therewith and who may have aided in committing any violation, shall be guilty of a separate offense and fined as hereinabove provided.

(Code 1987, app. A, art. XIV, § 1; Ord. No. 1-12-84-B, art. XIV, § 1, 1-12-1984)

A violator of these rules and regulations shall not plead failure to ask for a variance from the board of adjustment, or an amendment in the zoning map or ordinance from the planning and zoning commission as reason for continuation of case in court.

(Code 1987, app. A, art. XIV, § 2; Ord. No. 1-12-84-B, art. XIV, § 2, 1-12-1984)