This chapter is enacted for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals, convenience, order, prosperity and general welfare of the present and future inhabitants of the city and 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 provision of adequate facilities for transportation, water, sewage, schools, parks, and the public requirements; and promote a more homogeneous relationship of land use within the incorporated limits of the city; to protect property values; and to regulate the use of the land and to promote the orderly development of the community in accordance with the comprehensive plan as adopted by the planning commission and approved by the city council; and all other accepted purposes of zoning.

(Ord. of 1998, art. 1, § 2)

As concerns interpretation, the provisions of this article shall be held to be minimum requirements. Where this chapter imposes a greater restriction than is imposed or required by other provisions of law or by other rules or regulations or ordinance, the provisions of this chapter shall control.

(Ord. of 1998, art. 1, § 3)

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 orauxiliaryuse or structure means a use or structure customarily incidental, appropriate, and subordinate to the principal use of a building or to the principal use of land and which is located upon the same lot therewith.

Accessory buildings means outdoor structures such as playhouses, storage buildings, pool houses, greenhouses and other similar residential buildings."

Advertising sign orstructure means any material or structure of any character whatsoever, placed for outdoor advertising purposes. The term "placed" shall include making visible in any manner whatsoever. The area of the advertising structure shall be determined as the area of the largest cross section of the structure. Neither directional, warning nor other signs posted by public officials in the course of their public duties shall be construed as advertising signs for the purpose of this chapter.

Agriculture means the use of land for agricultural purposes including farming, dairying, pasturage, horticulture, animal and poultry husbandry and the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating, or storing the produce; provided, however, that the operation of any such accessory shall be secondary to that of normal agricultural activities and provided further that the above uses shall not include the commercial feeding of garbage to swine or other animals, stockyards or commercial feed lots for cattle.

Alley means a minor right-of-way, dedicated to public use, not more than 30 feet wide affording a secondary means of access to abutting property and not intended for general traffic circulation.

Automobile or trailer sales area means an open area, other than a street, used for the display, sales or rental of new or used motor vehicles or trailers in operable condition where no repair work is done.

Automobile repair, major, means general repair, rebuilding or recondition of engines, motor vehicles or trailers; collision services including body, frame, or fender straightening or repair; overall painting or paint shop; or vehicle steam cleaning.

Automobile repair, minor, means incidental replacement of parts and motor service to passenger cars and trucks not exceeding 1½ tons capacity.

Automobile service station or filling station means any area used for retail sale of gasoline or oil fuels, or automobile accessories, and incidental services including facilities for lubricating, and washing and cleaning, but not including painting, major repair, or the sale of butane or propane fuels.

Automobile wash orautomatic car wash means a building or structure or chain conveyor, blowers, steam cleaners and other mechanical devices used primarily for the purpose of washing motor vehicles.

Basement means a story wholly or partly underground. For purposes of height measurement, a basement shall be counted as a story when more than one-half of its height is above the average level of the adjoining ground or when subdivided and used for commercial or dwelling purposes by other than a janitor employed on the premises.

Block, in describing the boundaries of a district, means the legal description. In all other cases, the term "block" refers to the property abutting on one side of the street between two intersecting streets or a street and a railroad right-of-way or watercourse.

Boardinghouse and roominghouse means a building where meals or lodging are provided for persons other than the family or their relations excluding facilities for transient persons such as hotels, motels, inns and other such facilities.

Board of adjustment means the city board of adjustment.

Board of county commissioners means the governing body of Texas County, Oklahoma.

Building means any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls that is used or intended to be used for the shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, or property. When such a structure is divided into separate parts by one or more un-pierced walls extending from the ground up, each part is deemed a separate building, except as regards minimum side yard requirements as herein provided.

Building accessory means the subordinate building, the use of which is customarily incidental to that of a principal building on the same lot.

Building height means the vertical distance from the average line of the highest and lowest points of that portion of the lot covered by the building to the highest point of coping of a flat roof, or the deckline of a mansard roof or the average height of the highest gable of a pitch or hip roof.

Building line means a line established beyond which no part of a building shall project, except as otherwise provided by this chapter.

Building, principal, means a building in which the principal use of the building site is conducted. In any residential district any dwelling shall be deemed to be the principal building on the building site.

Bulletin board means any board or sign erected for announcement purposes.

Bulk limitations (floor area ratio) means the number of square feet of floor area, as defined herein, which is permitted for each square foot of lot area.

Cellar means that portion of a building between floor and ceiling, partly underground, but having half or more than half its clear height below the adjoining finished grade.

Cemetery means land used or intended to be used for the burial of the human dead and dedicated for cemetery purposes.

Clinic means a place used for the care, diagnosis and treatment of sick, ailing, infirm and injured persons and those in need of surgical or medical attention but who are not provided with room and board or kept overnight on the premises.

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

Convalescent home means a nursing home or a rest home which is a home for the aged, recuperating, chronically ill, or incurable persons, in which two or more persons not of the immediate family are received, kept, or provided with food and shelter or care for compensation, but not including hospitals, clinics, or similar institutions devoted primarily to the diagnosis and treatment of disease or injury.

Coverage means the lot area covered by all buildings located thereon, including the area covered by all overhanging roofs.

Dwelling means any building or portion thereof designed or used exclusively as a residence or sleeping place of one or more persons, but not including a tent, cabin, trailer coach, boardinghouse or roominghouse, hotel or motel.

Dwelling, multifamily, means a building or portion thereof designed for or used by three or more families or housekeeping units.

Dwelling, single-family, means a building designed for or used exclusively for residence purposes by one family or housekeeping unit.

Dwelling, two-family, means a building designed for or used exclusively by two families or housekeeping units.

Dwelling unit means one or more rooms designed for or used by one family.

Essential services means the erection, construction, alteration or maintenance by public utility or municipal or other governmental agencies, of underground or overhead gas, electrical, steam or water transmission or distribution systems, collection, communication, supply or disposal systems, including poles, wires, mains, drains, sewer, pipes, conduits, cables, fire alarm boxes, police call boxes, traffic signals, hydrants, and other similar equipment and accessories thereof, reasonably necessary for the furnishing of adequate services by such public utilities or municipal or other governmental agencies or for the public health or safety or general welfare, but not including buildings.

Exception means a variance from the requirements of this chapter properly authorized by the board of adjustment.

Family means a person living alone or two or more persons living together, related by blood or marriage, as a single housekeeping unit using a single facility for culinary purposes in a dwelling unit, as distinguished from a group occupying a boardinghouse, lodginghouse, hotel, motel, fraternity house, or sorority house.

Floor area means the sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a building measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or from the centerlines of walls separating two buildings.

Frontage means the width of a lot measured at right angles to the depth on the front or street side of the lot.

Garage apartment means a dwelling for one family erected as a part of a private garage.

Garage, parking, means any building or portion thereof used for the storage of four or more automobiles in which any servicing provided is incidental to the primary use for storage purposes, and where repair facilities are not provided.

Garage, private, means a detached accessory building or a portion of the principal building used or intended for use by the occupants of the premises for storage of passenger vehicles or trailers.

Garage, public, means the structure or portion thereof, other than a private garage, used for the storage, sale, hire, or care of any vehicles.

Garage, repair, means a building in which is provided facilities for the care, servicing, repair, or equipping of automobiles.

Height means the vertical measurement of any building or structure on any parcel of land measured from the average elevation of the lot or parcel to the uppermost point of the structure or building.

Height limit means the limit of height as imposed in this chapter for any structure or building or permitted use within the zoning district.

Home occupation means any occupation carried on solely by the inhabitants of a dwelling which is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling for dwelling purposes, which does not change the character thereof, and which is conducted entirely within the main or accessory building, provided that no trading and merchandising is carried on and in connection with which there is no display of merchandise or advertising sign other than one nonilluminated name plate, not more than two square feet in area attached to the main or accessory building, and no mechanical equipment is used except such as is customary for purely domestic or household purposes. A tea room or restaurant, rest home or clinic, barber shop, doctor's or dentist's office, tourist home or cabinet shop, metal shop, or auto repair garage shall not be deemed a home occupation.

Hospital means a building, or portion thereof, used for the accommodation of sick, injured or infirm persons.

Hotel means a building, or group of buildings, under one ownership containing six or more sleeping rooms occupied, or intended or designed to be occupied, as the more or less temporary abiding place of persons who are lodged with or without meals for compensation, but not including a trailer court or camp, hospital, asylum, orphanage, or building where persons are housed under a restraint.

Industry means storage, repair, manufacture, preparation or treatment of any article, substance, or any commodity for commercial use.

Institutional uses means those uses organized, established, used or intended to be used for the promotion of a public, religious, educational, charitable, cultural, social, or philanthropic activity and normally operated on a nonprofit basis.

Junk orsalvage yard means a place where waste, discarded or salvage materials are bought, sold, exchanged, bailed, packed, disassembled or handled, including all wrecking yards, house wrecking yards, used lumber yards and places or yards for storage of salvaged house wrecking and structural steel materials and equipment; but not including such places where such uses are conducted entirely within a completely enclosed building, and not including pawn shops and establishments for the sale, purchase, or storage of used furniture and household equipment, used cars in operable condition, or salvage material incidental to manufacturing operations.

Kennel means any structure or premises on which five or more dogs over four months of age are kept.

Loading space means an off-street space or berth on the same lot with the building or contiguous to a group of buildings, for the temporary parking of a commercial vehicle while loading or unloading merchandise or materials.

Lot means a piece or parcel of land occupied or intended to be occupied by a principal building or a group of such buildings and accessory buildings, or utilized for a principal use and uses accessory thereto, together with such open spaces as required by this chapter, and having access on a public street.

Lot, corner, means a lot which has at least two adjacent sides abutting on a street, provided that the interior angle at the intersection of such two sides is less than 135 degrees.

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

Lot, double frontage, means a lot having a frontage on two nonintersecting streets, as distinguished from a corner lot.

Lot, interior, means lots other than a corner lot.

Lot, wedge-shaped, means a lot situated so that the front is either wider or narrower than the rear of the lot.

Lot of record means a separate and distinct parcel on a legally recorded subdivision plat or a legally recorded deed filed in the records of the county.

Manufactured home means a residential dwelling built in accordance with the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, 42 USC 5401 et seq., and rules promulgated pursuant thereto and the rules promulgated by the state used motor vehicle and parts commission. The term "manufactured home" shall not mean a park model recreational vehicle as defined in 47 O.S. § 1102.

Maximum coverage means the maximum amount of land that may be covered by buildings on any lot.

Meanlot elevation means the average elevation of a lot.

Medical facilities means any of the following:

Dental or doctor's office means the same as dental or medical clinic, including the various dental and medical specialties.

Dentalor medical clinic means a building used for the examination and treatment of the physically ill, provided that no facilities are provided for patients remaining overnight, except under emergency conditions.

Hospital means an institution providing physical and mental health services primarily for human inpatient medical or surgical care for the sick or injured and including related facilities such as laboratories, outpatient departments, training facilities, central service facilities, and staff offices which are an integral part of the facilities.

Nursing home, rest home or convalescent home means a physical and mental recuperation center wherein persons are housed and are given meals, medical attention and nursing care for compensation.

Public health center means a facility primarily utilized by a health unit for providing public health services including related facilities.

Mobile home means a residential dwelling fabricated in an off-site manufacturing facility, designed to be a permanent residence, but which is still transportable, that was built prior to the enacting of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, 42 USC 5401 et seq.

Manufactured or mobile home court means a parcel of land under single ownership that has been planned and improved for a placement of manufactured or mobile homes for nontransient use.

Manufactured or mobile home lot means a parcel of land for the exclusive use of the occupants of a single manufactured or mobile home.

Manufactured or mobile home stand means the part of an individual lot which has been reserved for the placement of the manufactured or mobile home.

Nonconforming use means a parcel of land lawfully occupied by a use that does not conform to the regulations of the district in which it is located.

Off-street parking means the provision of space reserved exclusively for the parking of motor vehicles entirely off the public street and lying wholly within the property boundaries of the parcel of land affected.

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

Parcel means a lot as defined herein.

Parking area, private, means an open area for the same uses as a private garage.

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

Parking space means a permanently surfaced area of not less than 200 square feet, either within a structure or in the open, exclusive of driveways or access drives, for the parking of motor vehicles.

Permitted use means the use of a structure or of a tract of land allowed by the use regulations of this chapter.

Roominghouse. See Boardinghouse.

Sign means any structure or part thereof, or any device attached to, painted on, or represented on a building or other structure, upon which is displayed or included any lettering, model, banner, flag, pennant, insignia, decoration, device, or representation used as, or which is in the nature of, an announcement, direction, advertisement, or other attention-directing device. A sign shall not include the similar structure or device located within a building except for illuminated signs within show windows. The sign includes any billboard, but does not include the flag, pennant, or insignia of any nation or association of nations, or any state, city, or other political, charitable, educational, philanthropic, civic, professional, religious, or like campaign, drive, movement, or event.

Sign, illuminated, means a sign designed to give forth any artificial light, or designed to reflect light from one or more sources, natural or artificial.

Sign, projecting, means a sign erected on the face or outside wall of a building, which projects out at any angle therefrom.

Sign, temporary, means signs of a temporary nature used to advertise the premises for sale, rent, or lease.

Story means that portion of a building 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 it.

Story, first, means the lowest story or the ground story of any building, the floor of which is not more than 12 inches below the average contact ground level at the exterior walls of the building; except that any basement or cellar used for residence purposes shall be deemed the first story, provided that a basement or cellar used purely for recreational purposes shall not be deemed the first story.

Story, mezzanine, means a story which covers one-third or less of the story directly underneath it.

Street means a public right-of-way more than 20 feet in width which provides a public means of access to abutting property and is used primarily for vehicular circulation. The term "street" shall include avenue, drive, circle, road, parkway, boulevard, land, place, highway, thoroughfare, and any other similar term.

Street, collector, means those residential streets designed to carry inter-city traffic connecting neighborhood areas to a major street whose purpose is to collect traffic from other minor streets and to serve as the most direct route to a major street or to a community facility as described and shown on the thoroughfare plan.

Street, intersecting, means any street which adjoins another street at an angle, whether or not it crosses the other.

Street, major, means an arterial street which is designated on the thoroughfare plan and designed to carry inter-city traffic and to relate the various neighborhoods within the city.

Street, minor, means any street not designated as a major or collector street and intended to serve or provide access exclusively to the properties abutting thereon.

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

Structure means anything constructed, the use of which requires permanent location on the ground or attachment to something having a permanent location on the ground (not including sidewalks, driveways and similar improvement areas).

Thoroughfare expressway means a primary thoroughfare with divided roadways, partial or full control of access, in general, and with grade separations at intersections. The term "freeway" means an expressway with full control of access and meeting the standards of the Federal Bureau of Public Roads, a division of the Federal Department of Commerce.

Thoroughfare, primary or secondary, means an officially designated federal or state numbered highway or county or other road or street designated as a primary thoroughfare on the official thoroughfare or major street plan for the city or county or other road or street designated as a secondary thoroughfare on the plan, respectively.

Thoroughfare plan means the part of the comprehensive plan referring to transportation development goals, principles, and standards and also includes use of the terms "major street plan" and "trafficway plan."

Tourist court means an area containing one or more buildings designed or intended to be used as temporary sleeping facilities of one or more transient persons.

Traffic signaling device means a device of mechanical contrivance, used for the control of motor vehicular and pedestrian movement.

Trailer ormanufactured or mobile home means a portable or mobile living unit used or designed for human occupancy on a permanent basis.

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

Utility service installation means any structure or installation by a utility company deemed to be necessary for the safe or efficient operation of that utility.

Variance means any modification of the terms of this article.

Yard, front, means a yard extending across the full width of a lot from side lot line to side lot line abutting on a street beyond which a building may not protrude.

Yard, rear, means a yard extending across the rear of a lot measured from side lot line to side lot line and at the opposite end to the front lot line.

Yard, side, means a yard extending from the front building line to the rear building line abutting the side lot line beyond which no building may protrude.

Zoning map means the adopted zoning map together with all amendments.

(Ord. of 1998, art. 3, § 1)